people are very spoiled these days

[iPhoto17]

i went to a very very old train yard where they now do repairs on train cars and very old engines and such and is a museum as well, i went with my pentax k1000 and nikon d3000 all zoom lenses, and all the other people taking pictures with point and shoots just snapping off picture after picture after picture.

as an avid photographer that knows somewhat more about cameras than the person holding a point and shoot, they have no idea how the camera works whatsoever (whether it be film or digital) they take for granted all the hardwork that came to making these modern day cameras.

ill be out shooting in public with my d3000 and the first question i would get about it is how many megapixels is it, or if im out with my k1000 the question is how much zoom do i get?

never any good questions like "how does this part of the camera affect this part of?" and so on and so forth.

i do understand the convenience and simplicity of a point and shoot (and i personally hate them after having dealt with a kodak easyshare that took nothing but bad snapshots to sub-par photographs with a terrible battery life of 5-10 pictures. i say within 10 years (if it hasnt happened already) we will lose sight on what photography really is than just "auto-face recognition" because you cant tell your friends face from a tree trunk in the distance if the camera didnt tell you which was which.

im just glad that exposures dont take as long as hours anymore

 

[Neil S.]

Why does it matter what other photographers think/know?

Yes it has become easy for anybody to get a point and shoot, and take pictures. Do you think this is a bad thing somehow?

Technology has made many things easier/more accessible.

 

[Overread]

Huh?

Ask yourself how well you know and use the capabilities of your computer - do you know how to program in pure basic code? Can you work without a windows/mac mouse and click based interface?

What about your car - can you detail every component the how and why it works?

We are all surrounded by tools that we use to varying degrees of proficiency and through our needs and interests we all develop to a certain level of skill and understanding with those tools. So long as the tool enabled you to achieve the end result you want in a time frame that is suitable for your needs then people won't feel the pressure to learn and advanced their understanding of the tool or to advance the tool quality itself.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Just like people asking how many HP your car has when really it doesnt matter. A car with twice as many HP isnt necessarily faster on a straight track or a track with turns.

 

[ghache]

When they ask how many megapixel my camera has i answer 80!

 

[Scatterbrained]

Modern car owners have it too easy. Automatic transmissions, automatic wipers, automatic headlights, electronic fuel injection which "chokes" and controls ignition advance "automatically". Real drivers don't drive anything made after 1910.
Seriously, not everyone gives a **** about their car beyond keeping it clean and maintained so it will get them where they need to go, are they "spoiled" because they don't know how to rebuild their own transmissions? I'm willing to bet you couldn't graph the function of an IAT sensor, are you spoiled? Change the context of your argument and I bet you feel a bit different. Most people aren't interested in photography beyond recording a moment in time for themselves, they don't care, nor should they.

 

[Leo4]

Ha try explaining why a Rolls Royce is special beside it just being driven by the latest rapper of the week. People dont get or understand cars dont bother trying. Never mine more engineering goes into a Roll Royce's seat than a Nissan Altama.

 

[DennyCrane]

Is this some revelation? Where were you in the days of the 126 cartridge film? The 110 cartridge film? The "Kodak Disk Camera"? Or worse, the Polaroid days? There have been casual snapshot shooters for many many decades. You think a P&S makes things simple? Back then, no memory cards, no batteries, no settings. Pop the back open, drop in a cartridge, close cover, press shutter release. Flash? Snap on a flash cube.

I think too many self-proclaimed photography "experts" are looking down their nose at the average Joe with his P&S. Personally, I believe the more people who get into photography, the better it is for people at all levels. And if they take bad snapshots? So what? It just makes mine look that much better. And if they create something dazzling? More power to them. We didn't all start out with thousands of dollars worth of gear and that teen with the Canon Powershot P&S just might be the next Ansel Adams.

And did it ever occur to you that asking something about zoom or megapixels just might have been their way of breaking the ice? Maybe they were opportunities to welcome newcomers into the world of more serious photography. Maybe they looked at you like some little kid looks at a major league pitcher and just wanted to say something to get a conversation started and MAYBE learn something from an expert?

Or maybe I'm all wrong, they're all pests, and we should just sneer at them.

 

[supraman215]

I think too many self-proclaimed photography "experts" are looking down their nose at the average Joe with his P&S.

This is becoming an epidemic. :er:

 

[Leo4]

I was getting sensitive about the Rolls Royce issue and people having no clue about cars.


As far as breaking the ice and bringing people into the SLR world your preaching to the choir. I do it everyday all day



I work in a camera shop

 

[IlSan]

I work in a camera shop;-)

I feel for you Worked summer jobs in camera shops and yes, a lot of people really do not know ANYTHING about cameras, but want to most expensive thing on the menu

All I can say is that in my opinion it has nothing to do with spoiled, but rather the answer from the manufacturers for the growing demand in affordable camera equipment for the everyday Joe.

I can remember, long before I started taking the images I do today that I was running around with a P&S (granted, back then it was film, film & film, no digital around) but still - trying to imitate great photographers and so on and on.

Yes, it does get annoying when people only focus on zoom and megapixels, but then again, (I really like the car comparison) what does the "amateur" car buyer focus on? HP, Top Speed, maybe acceleration. MP3 player?...don't own a car and honestly have no clue about them, but yeah, that would be my fair guess.

When someone approaches you in a friendly manner (had a thread not long ago where a P&S owner was convinced that his camera was the best thing on the market...etc...) but yes, approaches you in a friendly manner, with an open mind to see, what the difference is between his small and handy camera and that massive thing you are lugging around - I tend to smile, and give it my best shoot. Some are looking to break the ice, and I value the opportunity to impart some "wisdom". Others, well, others don't

Or maybe I'm all wrong, they're all pests, and we should just sneer at them.

Might work But I guarantee one thing, they ain't going nowhere...

Fully agree though - those of them that want to learn (or to put it into the words of Fox Mulder - I want to believe) show them..."teach" them some of the things they will understand at their current level.
IMHO - I actually found a photo buddy that way. Started with a P&S, wanted to know more, approached me in the park one day asking about my gear, got talking, few months later he went DSLR, and about every 2-3 weeks we head out together on a "photo walk". Just my 2 cents...

 

[RauschPhotography]

Just remember as they're shooting away with their dinky little point and shoot, when it comes down to quantity vs. quality, quality always wins. Megapixels are just the beginning of understanding anything at all in digital photography. Don't even give them attention, just keep what you're doing and put them all to shame with your work