Does this bother anyone else?

I think we're getting to a point where things are getting SOOOOOO good that it will soon be a question of diminishing returns. I already feel that way with my OMD and X-Pro and I think we're only a year or two away from having compacts nearly that good. Not that I'll never upgrade them but I can't think of what I'd really want either of them to do better than what they do currently, and until April of this year (when I bought both of them), I never felt that way - I always had a list of things I wished would be improved. Well, they have been...

I'm feeling pretty content with what I've got these days. I think I'm going to stay with the same gear for a long time to come. No new cameras in 2013 and all that :).
 
I would not call film photography a downgrade..

well my tongue was somewhat in my cheek Kristen :)

in time film will be eradicated so while it isn't a waste of time, it won't have longevity. All the more reason to strike while there is time

now that's a point worth considering, but with a twist ... I too suspect that film will disappear in time, except as a sort of "renaissance fair" sort of activity ... but I also think that in - say - 100 years time, the only digital images from today that still exist will be the ones that have been printed; technology churn is so fast that I simply can't see jpegs, dngs cds, hard drives or whatever even existing in readable forms. There are already digital media made 20 or so years ago that can no longer be read, either from deterioration of the physical media or the lack of any devices on which they can be read.

of course photography can be considered ephemeral ... maybe I just want to take holiday snaps to show my friends, so archival permanence doesn't come into it, and it won't matter if my snaps get erased or unreadable.

this isn't an argument for abandoning digital and for a return to film, by the way, just noticing that the way technology changes adds complexity as well as better AF and more megapixels.

So if you want your digital pictures to outlast you - print them.

oh, and adanac, could you also bring along the mercury box ...
 
I think that some digital cameras are built to last, and some probably aren't. The difficulty in using a recent model camera many years from now will likely come from the availability (or lack thereof) of accessories like memory cards and batteries.
 
PDH,

Good point about digital storage media . . . it keeps changing. I don't know if I can even buy a card for my old D-550.

I once attended a lecture by Clifford Stoll (The cuckoo's Egg, Silicon Snake Oil). He said that NASA has original data tapes from one of the early space probes but can no longer read them because the readers are all broken and no one makes parts for them.

Part of my concern in the original post is thinking that there are no "legacy" digital cameras. A 40 year old film camera is still repairable and usable (so long as there is film for it), but I doubt that a 10-year-old digital camera would be repairable. I hope that is not the case for folks who have purchased high-end gear.
 
You guys have seen those "weather radios" that operate from cranking a handle to generate and store some energy....how about that feature on a camera? Kind of like you're winding the film.....LOL.
 
Modern tech trash is certainly different from film and chemicals but it has it's own problems. More chemical bulk with film but most highly toxic bits with digital.
 
You guys have seen those "weather radios" that operate from cranking a handle to generate and store some energy....how about that feature on a camera? Kind of like you're winding the film.....LOL.

You're onto something there Luke m'boy ... how about a mobile phone/camera with built-in bicycle (with a dynamo on the back wheel)?
 
I'm feeling pretty content with what I've got these days. I think I'm going to stay with the same gear for a long time to come. No new cameras in 2013 and all that :).
I'd never be so rash as to pledge "NO" new cameras in 2013, but I'd be pretty surprised if anything comes along that makes me want to replace either the X-Pro or OMD. There's an outside chance I could add a second small m43 body, but I doubt it. But if the advances in the compact market keep coming on the heels of the RX100, I could easily imagine getting another compact sometime next year. If not, I'm fine with the X10, really happy with it actually, but I anticipate some killer compacts coming along at some point in the next year or two...

-Ray
 
I was really surprised with how much I liked the E-PM1, which I essentially bought refurbished on a whim. My inclination now is to buy a lens and wait until the E-PM2 is about to be discontinued.
 
I'd never be so rash as to pledge "NO" new cameras in 2013, but I'd be pretty surprised if anything comes along that makes me want to replace ........

Ray, I'm not picking on you.....this could easily apply to anyone here. I just happen to remember this post of yours vividly Outta GAS... - Micro Four Thirds User Forum because I was green with envy. IMAGINE how great it must feel to be wanting of nothing....totally satisfied with one's gear. ;)

And can you IMAGINE Amin going a year without buying a camera?! He runs (at least) 3 web forums dedicated to cameras! No, he's good..... he doesn't need anything else. (Well, maybe just a couple for the boys :rofl:)

I admit, I'm just as bad. I think I'm single-handedly keeping the post office and Paypal afloat just re-getting cameras I regret selling :blush: or trying something out because bricks and mortar stores around here just don't carry a lot of this stuff.

But seriously....the current cameras are good enough. We don't need anymore..... well, maybe just a small one, for the pants pocket.... or wait, I need one that's weatherproof. Actually my wife could use one..... :daz:
 
Lytro is digital, though. We will see a neat convergence of analog and digital if/when organic transistors and crossover tech becomes available, though.

It is.. but the tech is interestingly different.. and in the Lytro's case instead of discarding film bodies, you wouldn't need a ton of lenses. Maybe one all purpose with a zoom.

well my tongue was somewhat in my cheek Kristen :)

now that's a point worth considering, but with a twist ... I too suspect that film will disappear in time, except as a sort of "renaissance fair" sort of activity ... but I also think that in - say - 100 years time, the only digital images from today that still exist will be the ones that have been printed; technology churn is so fast that I simply can't see jpegs, dngs cds, hard drives or whatever even existing in readable forms. There are already digital media made 20 or so years ago that can no longer be read, either from deterioration of the physical media or the lack of any devices on which they can be read.

So if you want your digital pictures to outlast you - print them.

Oh I know you were teasing.. but I also don't like to think of doing something a different way as backwards. Digital is great but I also like film :) And Printing is necessary or all will be lost.

yep, forgot to mention batteries. perhaps more likely than anything else to make a digital camera (or fully electronic film camera, come to that) good only as a museum piece

Fully mechanical cameras, yea!

You guys have seen those "weather radios" that operate from cranking a handle to generate and store some energy....how about that feature on a camera? Kind of like you're winding the film.....LOL.

The idea that makes you millions Luke!
 
yep, forgot to mention batteries. perhaps more likely than anything else to make a digital camera (or fully electronic film camera, come to that) good only as a museum piece

There are piles of vintage mechanical cameras that no longer work because there are no batteries for them
 
My guess is we'll see today's common cameras well supported by after market battery packs for quite a while.

If concerned, one could pick up some spare li-ion packs, partially discharge them (say to 50%), and put them in air/moisture tight containers in the freezer. This will almost completely arrest the aging process all lithium-ion cells undergo from the moment they are manufactured.

Pop out a pack 10 years from now, allow it to warm before removing it from the sealed container, and it should be good as new.

Just don't lose the charger, although there are solutions for that too.

(If I do buy a RX1 I think I'm going to take my own advice and freeze a few packs)
 
All of my current cameras have me content in terms of image quality, AF speed, AF accuracy, display/viewfinder, buffer, and other performance issues. I can't really imagine an advancement that will help me make better images.

I'm sure I'll buy more cameras*, but that's basically for the gadget love. Any money I spend changing from one camera to the next is basically budgeted for toys, not improving my photography. Lenses are different, but they tend to hold their value much better anyway.

*Right now, I'm kind of obsessed with the idea of a monochrome camera. If I can't get my GX1 converted, which is a current project, I may buy a converted DSLR from MaxMax.com.
 
I still have and use my original DReb, which is about 10 yrs old. My 1Ds classic (2nd hand) is also about 10 yrs old. My 20D, 1Dm2, 350D all aren't far behind in age either.
 
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