{"id":64456,"date":"2017-08-30T16:32:08","date_gmt":"2017-08-30T23:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=64456"},"modified":"2017-08-31T22:16:10","modified_gmt":"2017-09-01T05:16:10","slug":"imperfect-cameras-are-perfect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/30\/imperfect-cameras-are-perfect\/","title":{"rendered":"Imperfect Cameras Are Perfect."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
CINDY X HENRI WRIST STRAP<\/a> by Eric Kim. Kyoto 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An essay in praise of imperfection and cameras.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Urban
Kyoto, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always wanted and lusted after the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153perfect\u00e2\u20ac\u009d camera. But it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exist, and never will. Thank god, or else there would be no innovation in photography and cameras.<\/p>\n

\"Cindy
Cindy exiting our Airbnb. Kyoto, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For example, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say this so-called perfect camera was invented. We would be stuck in the stone ages… forever.<\/p>\n

Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say the film 35mm Leica M2 was the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153perfect\u00e2\u20ac\u009d camera. If we saw it perfect, we wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have innovated and made a light meter in the camera, or the smartphone camera, or the medium format digital camera, etc.<\/p>\n

\n We need imperfect cameras to drive innovation in photography.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Who is the slave and who is the master?<\/h2>\n
\"Selfie
Selfie with Cindy. Kyoto, 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But for us as photographers, it is fucking stressful. Why? Every 6 months there is a new camera. Our camera is never good enough. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re drowning in choice. We have too many cameras, we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know what to shoot with. We feel like our cameras are holding us back.<\/p>\n

We have become the slave of our cameras, instead of the camera being our slave.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Technology marches on and doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care about us<\/h2>\n
\"HAPTIC
HAPTIC EYE CAMERA by ANNETTE KIM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not our fault. We are human, with human biases. We prefer the new (Nassim Taleb calls this \u00e2\u20ac\u0153neomania\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d we are always crazy for the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153new new thing<\/a>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d We exaggerate differences, instead of noticing similarities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But what should we do when it comes to the (very stressful) choice of knowing what camera to buy? Here are some ideas.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S A FEATURE, NOT A BUG!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/h2>\n

First of all, know that all digital cameras and film cameras and phone cameras are imperfect. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s okay. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what makes them perfect. Their imperfections… ARE BENEFITS, not bugs!<\/p>\n

Or in Silicon Valley talk,<\/p>\n

\n It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a feature, not a bug!\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For example, people hate film because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s slow to develop, process, and see your image. But… that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the FEATURE! That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what makes shooting film fun. We get the SURPRISE and the excitement before<\/em> seeing our images. This is the genius and innovation with the LEICA M-D<\/a>, a digital camera with no LCD screen. \u00e2\u20ac\u009dChimping<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d distracts us from the picture making process.<\/p>\n

For the thrill of shooting film, buy FILM NOTES<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/p>\n

For medium format film cameras, it is hard to shoot with, and slow. But that forces us to SLOW DOWN… and enjoy the more zen process of photography<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/p>\n

With a digital camera with slow autofocus, it might force you to just shoot more static objects… and focus more on your composition. This might be a GOOD THING for your photography, not a bad thing.<\/p>\n

Love being the under-dog<\/h2>\n

A psychological trick for myself,<\/p>\n

\n I feel cooler using shittier gear, than using the best gear.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Why? By intentionally adopting \u00e2\u20ac\u0153inferior\u00e2\u20ac\u009d technology and camera, I can SHOW OFF that I am skilled, and can make good photos with a crappy camera. Thus, one of the reasons I like to brag I shoot with a $600 RICOH GR II camera, or compare my phone pictures to a medium format film camera<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Practical recommendations<\/h2>\n

Digital cameras always get outdated and very quickly. Therefore, always buy the cheapest digital camera with the best specifications. Think of VALUE with cameras.<\/p>\n

Also, consider… what are you going to think of buying that new camera, 20 years from now?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Good thing about film cameras: it will work well in 20 years, the same. <\/li>\n
  2. All digital cameras will be horribly outdated 20 years from now. Thus, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t buy expensive digital cameras. I think the best value digital camera now is the Fujifilm XT-XX series (The Fujifilm XT-20, with the same sensor as the more expensive counter parts, and much smaller).<\/li>\n
  3. If you are gonna buy an expensive digital camera, make sure it is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153modular\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d has inter changeable lens or sensor system. For example, I would buy a digital medium format PENTAX 645Series, that will last a bit longer than other camera systems. Also it means don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t buy a Leica Q, Sony RX-series… any expensive non-interchangeable lens camera, because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like buying an expensive iPhone that will quickly get outdated in 2-3 years. <\/li>\n
  4. Prefer classic designs: Ricoh GR has a classic design, and so does Leica, and Olympus Pen F<\/a>. Classic designs are more usable, and therefore probably less likely to get \u00e2\u20ac\u0153outdated\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. The human hand isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t gonna change. Therefore, we need classic designed cameras, that fit well in the hand. <\/li>\n
  5. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get suckered by the newest hyped up digital camera. Sensor technology is always in a state of flux. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    An essay in praise of imperfection and cameras.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":64239,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/ERIC-KIM-PHOTOGRAPHY-KYOTO-0136345-scaled.jpg?fit=4928%2C3264&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64456"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64635,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64456\/revisions\/64635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}