The photography is brilliant! It is an accessible art form adopted by millions of amazing people. However, there are some things that should have evolved by now. Here are my bottom six things we should give up in 2023.
1. Full-frame equivalent discussion
What I said, isn’t that like being beaten to death? It’s the strangest thing people still discuss, it’s both boring and funny. Some advocates of the 35mm full frame sensor look down on smaller sensors the same way medium format photographers did when David Bailey started shooting with the Pentax S3 SLR. That’s snobbery. Every system has advantages and disadvantages, and claiming one system is better than another is as ridiculous as saying Porsches are better than Land Rovers are better than 18-wheeler trucks. (I won’t insult your intelligence by explaining that analogy.)
But there’s more to it than that. As a photography writer, I feel pressured to include a 35mm equivalent lens for other systems’ lenses. However, using one sensor size as an arbitrary standard for evaluating lenses is meaningless. If you put a 50mm lens on a 35mm camera, you wouldn’t say it’s equivalent to 80mm on a Medium Format camera. Why should we compare crop factor to any other system, especially one that occupies a minority position in the market, like full frame?
If I shoot with the OM-1, I choose the right lens for the situation. I don’t even think about which lens goes on my medium format or 35mm camera. Similarly, when I choose a 35mm camera, I choose the lens that best suits what I’m shooting with it. To say that this lens and its settings on this system are equivalent to the settings on that system is nonsense.
For those who regularly shoot with Micro Four Thirds, we choose the right lens and learn to use the camera differently than when using a 35mm camera. Photographers using APS-C cameras will do the same. Comparing cameras and lenses in this way is pointless, as all major brand cameras take good photos once the photographer has learned how to use them.
Let’s drop the idea of equivalence and talk about the much more practical realm of perspective. Include a depth of field at a subject distance of 1 meter at the lens’s widest aperture. That’s what’s useful to the photographer, not what another system does with those specifications.
2. NFTs are dying, thank God
In the UK in 2016, a man made headlines when he sold 580 ml (1 pint) bottles of Fresh British Air to wealthy people in China. They sell for £80 (about $96). NFC is like this: money for nothing. At the beginning of 2022, news was all over the NFC. Like cryptocurrencies, they are the next big thing that makes people rich. They seemed no different than the Emperor’s New Clothes. People paid huge amounts of money for nothing. When their bottom falls out – cryptocurrencies too – the gullible will be left alone.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, sold his first Tweet for more than $2.9 million. A few years later, it was brought to market again. It was only bid up to $280. The price paid for the high initial values of NFTs is nothing more than an exaggeration; It’s everyone’s fear of missing out.
3. Buy the newest camera because it is the newest camera
Over the past two decades, fear of missing out has also driven sales of camera upgrades. People have caught on to that now and it’s a contributing factor to the decline in camera sales.
Think about the camera you have now. Can it take great photos? Is it good enough for what you do? When the next upgrade comes, will you need it?
Sometimes there are innovative cameras that break the mold. Last year, some models with stacked sensors did just that. I bought the OM-1 for $2,199 because it was a significant jump from what was on the market before. Such cameras and other professional models such as the $6,949 Sony Alpha A1 and $4,498 A9 II, $5,999 Canon EOS R3, $5,496.95 Nikon Z9, and $2,499 Fujifilm X-H2S have attracted attention. buyers thanks to this improvement. But most upgrades over the past few years have brought only minor changes in specifications, especially the number of pixels on the sensor.
Most cameras on the market today have more than enough resolution and good enough image quality for photographers. Focusing is fast enough for the most part. Shutters can shoot more frames per second than we know what to do with. Higher resolution is beneficial in some niche markets, like astrophotography, but most sensors are well beyond the specifications we need. If you doubt this, forum posts from 2009 show photographers successfully creating A1, 40” x 60” and 50” x 40” prints from a Canon 1D Mark II with the sensor 8.2 megapixels.
If your needs have changed and you want to upgrade from a hobby camera to a professional camera or you need something smaller and lighter to carry with you other than a giant camera is worn around the neck, then the exchange is reasonable. However, buying the latest version of what you currently have, unless it’s packed with useful, innovative features, will cost you money that would be better spent on a new lens. .
4. Fake online photography degrees
Again, this is something I mentioned in a recent article. There are online businesses that sell photography courses, that’s normal; it’s a great way to learn. However, some pretend to sell accredited qualifications by calling their courses “degrees”. If you are considering entering the industry, these certifications are meaningless.
In the UK, there is a nationally recognized National Vocational Qualification, or NVQ. In Scotland they are known as SVQ. They are awarded at levels one through eight. One is equivalent to a high school level, level 6 is a full Bachelor’s degree and level 8 is a PhD. Reputable organizations name their internal photography certifications the same, not worth the paper they are written on. There are no regulations to protect the unsuspecting.
I recently had a client come to an advanced engineering seminar with me. I always check their experience first; on this occasion, he told me that he had a Level 4 Diploma. When they arrived, they quickly realized that they did not understand the relationship between the exposure settings on their camera. Their diploma is a certificate of attendance from a low-quality training facility. This happened a few times.
As I mentioned in my previous article, it is well known in the industry that people who constantly leave negative comments on forums are not good photographers. If they spend as much time improving their work as they do online, they can leave a legacy that has a positive impact on the world of photography. After all, it’s just photography and not worth the stress and heartache. As they say, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it.” You may disagree with an opinion. For example, this article is just an opinion and I suspect some people will argue that the Canon EOS Rebel T100 is the best camera for beginners ever made. I’m getting it. I am happy to listen and respect your constructive criticism.
What’s worse is when people arbitrarily criticize other people’s work. I don’t use Facebook every day, but recently I had a reason to visit it. There was a post from Fstoppers that appeared in my feed. It highlights an article that looks interesting. Below the post was a comment from a reader, and someone replied criticizing her photography. I looked and saw a picture of that woman that was amazing. What’s amazing is that the person who made that unkind comment was also promoting a photography business. How much damage did he do to that business?
Would I ever write about that business and make it public? When we witness unwanted criticism of creative work, whether of someone’s photos or articles, it always says more about the person making those comments than anything else. What. It damages their reputation the most and can get them retained.
6. Canon EOS Rebel T100 DSLR camera and other cheap plastic cameras
If you own one of these, I’m truly sorry.
Of all the cameras I’ve handled, the Canon EOS Rebel T100, known as the 4000D in Europe, is probably the worst camera I’ve ever handled. I feel sorry for the people who have to spend their hard-earned wages on this poor, flimsy, low-quality landfill animal feed. Besides the rickety structure, it is very difficult to use. That’s not because it’s complicated. No, the cramped, low-quality LCD and small viewfinder, without even diopter adjustment, make framing a shot difficult.
Furthermore, it only has nine focus points. Shooting three bleak frames a second, you’ll miss your pet turtle’s action by the time this camera slug finally gets focus. It’s often paired with the equally shabby and bland EF-S 18-55mm III lens.
I was going to mention other cameras from other brands that are equally bad, but this camera is in a class of its own. If you want to buy a camera for beginners, this is the camera you should buy.
This camera may be a prime example of the company’s skepticism towards its customers. It’s there to attract new photographers to the brand, so they need to upgrade quickly. Don’t mind if it hurts and discourages others along the way.
On the plus side, owning one of these cameras will make you put in a lot of effort to get good photos. If you own one and are getting great photos, think about what you could get with a good camera.
For less money, you can buy high-end professional cameras from online retailers, albeit slightly older ones.
I know some of these opinions are controversial and you may disagree with me if your opinion differs. Instead, there are other things you’d like to see consigned to history. It will be interesting to hear their comments.
