On May 3, 2005, at 5:24 PM, Rob Studdert wrote:
I guess that the fact that the new DSLRs aren't at all operationally like the
old film cameras you cite and that many DSLR owners were brought up on makes
convenience features and their ease of access important.
If you set them up right, and save exposures in RAW format, the differences disappear for the most part.
And all the more
important when there is only one control wheel to adjust even the basic
shooting parameters/functions. Most old cameras were easy to use, they had an
aperture ring on the lens and a shutter speed dial on the body which were both
easy to access and control at all times.
I find the control of shutter speed and aperture through the same wheel, plus or minus the press of a button, easier than shifting my fingers around to work an aperture control ring and a focus ring, and I'm terrible at remembering which of two thumb/index finger wheels is which on my other cameras with two. This is simpler.
My favorite street photography film camera has been a Rollei 35S for many years. Controls are all on the body, set up to set focus (by scale), shutter speed and aperture at waist level without bringing the camera to your eye ... perfect for unobtrusiveness. I use the *ist DS in much the same way a lot of the time.
Godfrey
