Kings of the digital ghetto

I spend way too much time with way too much tech at my day-job. While old certainly doesn't have to mean anything less than full original function, I'd agree there is such a thing as outdated. In the case of a digital camera I suppose that can relate to a few things:

- file formats no longer commonly supported/out of style
- memory card format no longer common or batteries not readily available
- requires no-longer-common tech to use - odd interfaces, cables, etc
- for internal memory, only talks to very old operating systems/programs

That said, I'm a fan of much outdated tech - one of my motorcycles, my wife's 42 year old car, a very simple 1946 home, vacuum tube equipment, etc. Looking for my next hotrod project at the moment, thinking pre-WWII, with any eye towards daily driveable.

I guess the pattern goes something like new > used > old > outdated > expired, with some things never getting all the way down the line.


Roger Hicks said:
What does the question mean? As long as it works and takes the pictures you want, it ain't 'outdated'.

Cheers,

R.
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oddly enough, my ancient Sony DSC-U20 has a really neat look for available light shots. tough and tiny, decent protection for the lens, runs on a pair of AAA batteries, and unfortunately, stores images on Sony Memory Sticks, 128mb max. comes out every few months just to surprise me I think.


nongfuspring said:
With everyone talking about the speedy obsolesce of digital cameras, does anyone have any outdated digital gear they still use regularly for the special features, unique images or just for kicks?
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sykotec said:
I spend way too much time with way too much tech at my day-job. While old certainly doesn't have to mean anything less than full original function, I'd agree there is such a thing as outdated. In the case of a digital camera I suppose that can relate to a few things:

- file formats no longer commonly supported/out of style
- memory card format no longer common or batteries not readily available
- requires no-longer-common tech to use - odd interfaces, cables, etc
- for internal memory, only talks to very old operating systems/programs

That said, I'm a fan of much outdated tech - one of my motorcycles, my wife's 42 year old car, a very simple 1946 home, vacuum tube equipment, etc. Looking for my next hotrod project at the moment, thinking pre-WWII, with any eye towards daily driveable.

I guess the pattern goes something like new > used > old > outdated > expired, with some things never getting all the way down the line.
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All very true, and, I'd suggest, implicit in 'As long as it works'. Though even the odd cables are OK as long as you've got 'em and they work.

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger Hicks said:
What does the question mean? As long as it works and takes the pictures you want, it ain't 'outdated'.
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Quite right. All my digital cameras are, by prevailing standards, "out of date". My most up-to-date camera is my Canon 50D, bought in 2008. My most-used digital camera is an original Canon 5DmkI.

Every time I think of buying an "upgraded" model, I note that the largest size I can print to is A3+ (19"x13"), and ponder on just how much I would really see of any gains from a newer camera when printed at that size. For the last few years I've concluded "not enough".

Sure there's more than just the image chain to consider: there's ergonomics, there are other functional aspects like AF speed and sophistication and on and on. (The impressive advances in high-ISO imaging are also there and actually in the imaging chain. Not that I'd make much use of that.)

What I have right now suits me for the kinds of photos I take. If that changed (eg. if I decided I had to shoot football matches in available darkness, played on unlit grounds on moonless nights) then I might find my existing cameras inadequate or inconvenient for the task. When that happens, I'll assess my options. Until that happens I think I'll leave things as they are. When I do eventually see the need to upgrade, it will be to better equipment (and probably cheaper) than anything available right now. That's in the nature of technology, especially one in it's not-yet-mature stages.

In my kitchen, I have an A3-size print of this photo:


The print looks pretty good, and people often say exactly that. Despite it having been taken with an oh-so-obsolete 6MP Canon 300D (which I still have and even occasionally use, though mostly I've lent it out to friends since it's semi-retirement).

Every time I think about buying a new DSLR, I look at that photo and wonder just how much improvement a newer camera will give me over that (let alone the considerably better cameras I've acquired since then), and how much I'm prepared to pay for that improvement, given all the other things I could do with the money.

...Mike
 
Olympus C2100-uz.

2mp, f/2.8, 38mm-380mm (equivalent) zoom with stabilization.

Bought it in 2001 on clearance before CompUSA went under.

Works great and is still in mint condition.

I take about 6 digital photos per year these days.

-Bill
 
I still have my Nikon D70s and Panasonic L1. Both are in the 6-7 meg pixel range. I can't really bring myself to sell either as I love their image quality - especially the Panny. Besides I would get next to nothing for them so why not keep them? Neither have the dynamic range of the latest offerings which blow them away in this respect but with the right image both cameras can kick *ss and are well worth using. My main DSLR right now is the D700 which is superb but the others a still taken out for a ride more or less regularly.
 
agreed. something can certainly be outdated as I see it, but still work fine for the intended (or often other) purpose - I love stuff like that.

alas, it DOES get pretty darned inconvenient at times. I'm far less than thrilled as film photography hits the early stages of this. fewer people deal with it properly at airports, film/paper/chemistry not so readily available locally, etc.

won't change what I use one bit, but planning gets alot more important.

honestly, media ends up being one of the first problems with 'outdated' digital bits, the same as film may be to some extent in the future.

Roger Hicks said:
All very true, and, I'd suggest, implicit in 'As long as it works'. Though even the odd cables are OK as long as you've got 'em and they work.

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...
 
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