Originally posted by K7shooter For the record, I am a working professional photographer, educator, and trainer. I've seen many such marketing tactics over the years influence the general public and consumer base at large. I have learned not to make any assumptions as to the validity of a metric without knowing the source.
We seem to have similar backgrounds.
I've been a professional mentor for a very long time now.
I too am leery of marketing, but I will look at a new or improved technology without a jaundiced eye just because the ad guys like it.
As for not clamoring for ISO 6400 back in the day, the introduction of a usable 400 ISO colour film was cause for great joy, and there was always interest in getting faster colour films, or finer grained fast B&W films.
There has always been a contingent of photographers who push process film to try to get more speed out of it.
Without the internet, we clamored more quietly, I guess.
I suspect if the internet had existed in the 1960s, we'd be bemoaning the failings of Kodachrome and wishing for an ISO 64 version.
Some guy would be ranting about the new E-4 films and how they seemed to fade if left in the sun.
But I digress.
And we'd be arguing about the Zone System, which in a sense is what we all practice now if we do histogram sensitive post processing.