DSLRs.....are they just a fashion statement?

BirdDude007 · 10-01-2011, 10:32 AM

Last night I was at the local fair here in NE Georgia, I was sporting my Pantax K-x with the Kit 18~55 lens, as I walked around obviously snapping shots here and there and everywhere I noticed that there are more and more folks these days that own DSLRs, many Canons and Nikons. But what I found rather puzzling is that during the four hours that I spent there with my wife and daughter I never not once saw anyone with a DSLR actually using them at all. folks with P&S cameras and phone cameras were mostly using them, but not one person other than myself was taking shots with their DSLR even though they had the chunks of equipment hanging around their necks. I even ventured close enough to take note of what their mode knob was set on and at least 90% of them were set on the green "auto" setting.
My wife was amazed at all the photos I was taking, I was shooting any and everything, I was having a blast just practicing away and gathering images that I can stack up in photoshop layers.
I just couldn't believe these folks, some of them had some pretty impressive equipment in fact. I made the conclusion that these folks were just wearing their cameras like a fashion accessory, just showing off their latest monetary acquisition.
On the upside......towards the end of the night I was shooting a cool hand held night shot of a ferris wheel and got out of the croud for a cool angle on the subject and alas...there was someone actually going for a similar shot..........He was shooting a Pentax K-7! We both looked at each other in total surprise lol. It was the only other Pentax I saw there during the whole night. He too was telling me that he noticed the same thing there with all these folks with nice cameras not using them and how it was such a shame that all this nice gear was going to waste.
I gave him info about this site and continued shooting and stopped bothering him because like me he was there to take shots and didn't want to wast too much time BSing with someone else.
When I lug around a camera on my neck I will for sure use it, I cannot understand why folks just walk around with some fancy camera hanging around their necks and not use them.

RonHendriks1966 · 10-01-2011, 10:56 AM - **1 Like**

Well maybe the story is different? You got home with a thousend pictures, hoping that at least one was a succes, where all those nice CaNikon's you saw just took one good picture that just tells the story of that event.

I do see the things that you discribe a lot

Philoslothical · 10-01-2011, 11:00 AM

It's OK. People like the ones you describe do serve a useful function. Just think, as soon as the next "fashion statement" comes along, a lot of that gear will infuse the used camera and lens market.

I think a lot of these people fall into the trap of "wanting to buy the best" and they hear that compact cameras can't really compare to DSLRs, so they get one. They're then overwhelmed with the settings, disappointed with the results, but "stuck" with this expensive camera around their neck. So, with no other useful purpose for it, they show it off.

Mareket · 10-01-2011, 11:55 AM

I'll confess that I'll wear my DSLR everywhere I go, just in case I see a shot that I NEED to get, but the majority of the time, if I'm not on a job, I want to enjoy the place I'm in, so I don't really shoot much. Then again, I generally have the 35 or 15mm on the front of my K-5, so I'm not exactly raking in the attention.

And I think the fashion statement camera (if it exists) will be replaced by X100s and their ilk. People would buy the M9 for that exact reason, if it weren't so hideously expensive. And they'd never figure out how to use it.

Wheatfield · 10-01-2011, 12:06 PM

We are getting to be afraid to use them in public lest we be accused of being some sort of evil person.

**grhazelton** · 10-01-2011, 12:59 PM

As a grandparent of fairly recent standing I've been struck, when out and about with the kids, by how many parents of small children visiting the Children's Museum here in Atlanta, for example, take so few pictures of their kids! At this attraction the kids are busy, engaged, unselfconscious - in other words, ideal subjects. I see folks with point and shoot cameras and DSLRs who don't seem to shoot at all or who pose their kids. I can understand that most point and shoot cameras are not good for action - although I understand there are workarounds, but DSLRs are good to go!

I'll typically take 40 or 50 shots of Sofia and Audrey in an hour's time. A lot are discarded, but I usually have a few keepers. If these parents had grown up with film, as I did, I might understand ingrained habits of economy, but with digital, shoot a lot. You truly can't go back for that shot you wish you'd tried.

Funny story - recently when her folks took little Sofia, she's 4, to Olan Mills for a "free" portrait, Sofia informed the photographer that "My Grandpa takes MY pictures!" I wonder how the photographer responded.

photoleet · 10-01-2011, 01:15 PM

Originally posted by Philoslothical

It's OK. People like the ones you describe do serve a useful function. Just think, as soon as the next "fashion statement" comes along, a lot of that gear will infuse the used camera and lens market.

Alas they are not Pentax users.

I can bet it would be really hard to find a Pentax user that wouldn't know the true value of their used equipment. As a result it must be hard to find great deals on used Pentax stuff.

Philoslothical · 10-01-2011, 01:34 PM

Still means less competition for the Pentax gear on the used market. Looking on the bright side here.

**kiwi_jono** · 10-01-2011, 01:48 PM

Oh no - I hope DSLRs are not becoming fashionable - I don't really like being fashionable!

And I'm having way too much fun with my K-x to want to sell it all!

**crewl1** · 10-01-2011, 02:07 PM

Works for me because I can pick up their discarded canikons cheap on craigslist. Pentax stuff is harder to find.

RioRico · 10-02-2011, 12:14 PM

Not long after I bought my K20D kit (AF360, DA10-17, DA18-240, FA50/1.4) about 3.3 years ago, we drove down Mexico's west coast. We took the Copper Canyon train from Los Mochis up to Creel and back. I was on open railcar platforms most of the way, shooting the splendid scenery. A distinguished-looking older gentlemen in spiffy dress-whites was seated onboard, with a large Canon SLR around his neck, mounting a large lens, with a large camera bag at his side. He didn't budge for the entire journey, didn't raise the camera, did absolutely nothing photographic that I could see. I'd say that his gear was definitely a fashion statement.

yeatzee · 10-02-2011, 12:46 PM

Maybe they are like me*.... with experience I know what an image will roughly look before I snap the shot and thus decide whether its worth taking or not. I don't shoot much..... im the kind of person that will only shoot something if I know it will/can be good. I do not take "snapshots" with my DSLR

Note: Everyone shoot's their own way, if you get the shot than the means don't really matter

RioRico · 10-02-2011, 12:57 PM

Originally posted by yeatzee

Maybe they are like me*.... with experience I know what an image will roughly look before I snap the shot and thus decide whether its worth taking or not. I don't shoot much..... im the kind of person that will only shoot something if I know it will/can be good.

Quite understandable. I'm like that with film, for obvious reasons. But if I'm carrying a camera, especially digital, I do try to USE it every now and then. Deletion is free.

Laurentiu Cristofor · 10-02-2011, 05:30 PM

Originally posted by RioRico

Not long after I bought my K20D kit (AF360, DA10-17, DA18-240, FA50/1.4) about 3.3 years ago, we drove down Mexico's west coast. We took the Copper Canyon train from Los Mochis up to Creel and back. I was on open railcar platforms most of the way, shooting the splendid scenery. A distinguished-looking older gentlemen in spiffy dress-whites was seated onboard, with a large Canon SLR around his neck, mounting a large lens, with a large camera bag at his side. He didn't budge for the entire journey, didn't raise the camera, did absolutely nothing photographic that I could see. I'd say that his gear was definitely a fashion statement.

Maybe he just forgot to charge his batteries...

**Digitalis** · 10-02-2011, 06:37 PM

Originally posted by Wheatfield

We are getting to be afraid to use them in public lest we be accused of being some sort of evil person.

That is an interesting perspective.

I grew up around cameras,and not just 35mm cameras either my family used everything from 35mm to 8X10. There are hundreds of photographs of me and my sister as we grew up - especially when my mother bought a Leica-M 50mm f/1.0 Noctilux. I'm used to cameras,I don't view my camera as special...I see it as a tool* I don't see it as an accessory I see all my cameras from my Leica M9 to my pentax K10 the same way - I don't give any camera special treatment. As soon as I was considered mature enough(age 13) my mother gave me a Leica M3 with a Summilux 50mm f/1.4 on it - and from those not-so-humble beginnings I was directly involved in photography.

Some people will see a camera as some sort of status symbol and to people of a certain generation they are - because a camera was a big expense and depending on the brand they still are. Camera collectors are a testament to that fact, I know leica collectors that leave their precious Leica IIIa's still in the plastic wrap - never to be used, which to me is abhorrent.

* A tool that has become increasingly automated and like most electronics - is dependant on batteries.

10-01-2011, 10:32 AM	#1
BirdDude007 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Las Vegas NV Photos: Albums Posts: 784	DSLRs.....are they just a fashion statement? Last night I was at the local fair here in NE Georgia, I was sporting my Pantax K-x with the Kit 18~55 lens, as I walked around obviously snapping shots here and there and everywhere I noticed that there are more and more folks these days that own DSLRs, many Canons and Nikons. But what I found rather puzzling is that during the four hours that I spent there with my wife and daughter I never not once saw anyone with a DSLR actually using them at all. folks with P&S cameras and phone cameras were mostly using them, but not one person other than myself was taking shots with their DSLR even though they had the chunks of equipment hanging around their necks. I even ventured close enough to take note of what their mode knob was set on and at least 90% of them were set on the green "auto" setting. My wife was amazed at all the photos I was taking, I was shooting any and everything, I was having a blast just practicing away and gathering images that I can stack up in photoshop layers. I just couldn't believe these folks, some of them had some pretty impressive equipment in fact. I made the conclusion that these folks were just wearing their cameras like a fashion accessory, just showing off their latest monetary acquisition. On the upside......towards the end of the night I was shooting a cool hand held night shot of a ferris wheel and got out of the croud for a cool angle on the subject and alas...there was someone actually going for a similar shot..........He was shooting a Pentax K-7! We both looked at each other in total surprise lol. It was the only other Pentax I saw there during the whole night. He too was telling me that he noticed the same thing there with all these folks with nice cameras not using them and how it was such a shame that all this nice gear was going to waste. I gave him info about this site and continued shooting and stopped bothering him because like me he was there to take shots and didn't want to wast too much time BSing with someone else. When I lug around a camera on my neck I will for sure use it, I cannot understand why folks just walk around with some fancy camera hanging around their necks and not use them.

10-02-2011, 12:14 PM	#11
RioRico Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263	Not long after I bought my K20D kit (AF360, DA10-17, DA18-240, FA50/1.4) about 3.3 years ago, we drove down Mexico's west coast. We took the Copper Canyon train from Los Mochis up to Creel and back. I was on open railcar platforms most of the way, shooting the splendid scenery. A distinguished-looking older gentlemen in spiffy dress-whites was seated onboard, with a large Canon SLR around his neck, mounting a large lens, with a large camera bag at his side. He didn't budge for the entire journey, didn't raise the camera, did absolutely nothing photographic that I could see. I'd say that his gear was definitely a fashion statement. Last edited by RioRico; 10-02-2011 at 12:53 PM.

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10-01-2011, 10:56 AM - 1 Like	#2
RonHendriks1966 Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,675	Well maybe the story is different? You got home with a thousend pictures, hoping that at least one was a succes, where all those nice CaNikon's you saw just took one good picture that just tells the story of that event. I do see the things that you discribe a lot

10-01-2011, 11:00 AM	#3
Philoslothical Veteran Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 1,889	It's OK. People like the ones you describe do serve a useful function. Just think, as soon as the next "fashion statement" comes along, a lot of that gear will infuse the used camera and lens market. I think a lot of these people fall into the trap of "wanting to buy the best" and they hear that compact cameras can't really compare to DSLRs, so they get one. They're then overwhelmed with the settings, disappointed with the results, but "stuck" with this expensive camera around their neck. So, with no other useful purpose for it, they show it off.

10-01-2011, 11:55 AM	#4
Mareket Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Chester Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 719	I'll confess that I'll wear my DSLR everywhere I go, just in case I see a shot that I NEED to get, but the majority of the time, if I'm not on a job, I want to enjoy the place I'm in, so I don't really shoot much. Then again, I generally have the 35 or 15mm on the front of my K-5, so I'm not exactly raking in the attention. And I think the fashion statement camera (if it exists) will be replaced by X100s and their ilk. People would buy the M9 for that exact reason, if it weren't so hideously expensive. And they'd never figure out how to use it.

10-01-2011, 12:06 PM	#5
Wheatfield Moderator Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The wheatfields of Canada Posts: 15,981	We are getting to be afraid to use them in public lest we be accused of being some sort of evil person.

10-01-2011, 12:59 PM	#6
grhazelton Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Jonesboro, GA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,972	As a grandparent of fairly recent standing I've been struck, when out and about with the kids, by how many parents of small children visiting the Children's Museum here in Atlanta, for example, take so few pictures of their kids! At this attraction the kids are busy, engaged, unselfconscious - in other words, ideal subjects. I see folks with point and shoot cameras and DSLRs who don't seem to shoot at all or who pose their kids. I can understand that most point and shoot cameras are not good for action - although I understand there are workarounds, but DSLRs are good to go! I'll typically take 40 or 50 shots of Sofia and Audrey in an hour's time. A lot are discarded, but I usually have a few keepers. If these parents had grown up with film, as I did, I might understand ingrained habits of economy, but with digital, shoot a lot. You truly can't go back for that shot you wish you'd tried. Funny story - recently when her folks took little Sofia, she's 4, to Olan Mills for a "free" portrait, Sofia informed the photographer that "My Grandpa takes MY pictures!" I wonder how the photographer responded.

10-01-2011, 01:15 PM	#7
photoleet Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: DMV Photos: Albums Posts: 431	Originally posted by Philoslothical It's OK. People like the ones you describe do serve a useful function. Just think, as soon as the next "fashion statement" comes along, a lot of that gear will infuse the used camera and lens market. Alas they are not Pentax users. I can bet it would be really hard to find a Pentax user that wouldn't know the true value of their used equipment. As a result it must be hard to find great deals on used Pentax stuff.

10-01-2011, 01:34 PM	#8
Philoslothical Veteran Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 1,889	Still means less competition for the Pentax gear on the used market. Looking on the bright side here.

10-01-2011, 01:48 PM	#9
kiwi_jono Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,437	Oh no - I hope DSLRs are not becoming fashionable - I don't really like being fashionable! And I'm having way too much fun with my K-x to want to sell it all!

10-01-2011, 02:07 PM	#10
crewl1 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,807	Works for me because I can pick up their discarded canikons cheap on craigslist. Pentax stuff is harder to find.

10-02-2011, 12:46 PM	#12
yeatzee Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Temecula Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,675	Maybe they are like me*.... with experience I know what an image will roughly look before I snap the shot and thus decide whether its worth taking or not. I don't shoot much..... im the kind of person that will only shoot something if I know it will/can be good. I do not take "snapshots" with my DSLR Note: Everyone shoot's their own way, if you get the shot than the means don't really matter

10-02-2011, 12:57 PM	#13
RioRico Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263	Originally posted by yeatzee Maybe they are like me*.... with experience I know what an image will roughly look before I snap the shot and thus decide whether its worth taking or not. I don't shoot much..... im the kind of person that will only shoot something if I know it will/can be good. Quite understandable. I'm like that with film, for obvious reasons. But if I'm carrying a camera, especially digital, I do try to USE it every now and then. Deletion is free.

10-02-2011, 05:30 PM	#14
Laurentiu Cristofor Banned Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: WA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,055	Originally posted by RioRico Not long after I bought my K20D kit (AF360, DA10-17, DA18-240, FA50/1.4) about 3.3 years ago, we drove down Mexico's west coast. We took the Copper Canyon train from Los Mochis up to Creel and back. I was on open railcar platforms most of the way, shooting the splendid scenery. A distinguished-looking older gentlemen in spiffy dress-whites was seated onboard, with a large Canon SLR around his neck, mounting a large lens, with a large camera bag at his side. He didn't budge for the entire journey, didn't raise the camera, did absolutely nothing photographic that I could see. I'd say that his gear was definitely a fashion statement. Maybe he just forgot to charge his batteries...

10-02-2011, 06:37 PM	#15
Digitalis Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Melbourne, Victoria Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,694	Originally posted by Wheatfield We are getting to be afraid to use them in public lest we be accused of being some sort of evil person. That is an interesting perspective. I grew up around cameras,and not just 35mm cameras either my family used everything from 35mm to 8X10. There are hundreds of photographs of me and my sister as we grew up - especially when my mother bought a Leica-M 50mm f/1.0 Noctilux. I'm used to cameras,I don't view my camera as special...I see it as a tool* I don't see it as an accessory I see all my cameras from my Leica M9 to my pentax K10 the same way - I don't give any camera special treatment. As soon as I was considered mature enough(age 13) my mother gave me a Leica M3 with a Summilux 50mm f/1.4 on it - and from those not-so-humble beginnings I was directly involved in photography. Some people will see a camera as some sort of status symbol and to people of a certain generation they are - because a camera was a big expense and depending on the brand they still are. Camera collectors are a testament to that fact, I know leica collectors that leave their precious Leica IIIa's still in the plastic wrap - never to be used, which to me is abhorrent. * A tool that has become increasingly automated and like most electronics - is dependant on batteries.