20 Years and Still Going

On Wed, 04 Oct 2006 16:16:53 +0000, Faz wrote:

> Have you noticed how many of these digital cameras break down or go wonky
> in such a short time. Although I have a D-70, my old FM2 is still chugging
> away perfectly after 20 years.......any comments>

Olympus OM-2n: 26 years old, never had any problems.

Nikon Coolpix 880 - binned after 5 years.

--
Phil Stovell, South Hampshire, UK

"They said I should not take him to the police, but rather
let him pay a dowry for my goat because he used it as his wife"
 >> Stay informed about: 20 Years and Still Going 

"Faz" <chuckfaz DeleteThis @shawdelete.ca> wrote in message
news:V7RUg.88783$1T2.18863@pd7urf2no...
> Have you noticed how many of these digital cameras break down or go wonky
> in such a short time. Although I have a D-70, my old FM2 is still chugging
> away perfectly after 20 years.......any comments>
>

The days of handcrafted, mechanical cameras are mainly over. Now the focus
is on planned obsolescence and upgrades every two years.

My personal way of dealing with this is to have bought a film scanner and to
keep on using my legacy gear.
 >> Stay informed about: 20 Years and Still Going 

On Wed, 04 Oct 2006 18:29:08 +0100, Phil Stovell <phil.DeleteThis@stovell.org.uk>
wrote:

>On Wed, 04 Oct 2006 16:16:53 +0000, Faz wrote:
>
>> Have you noticed how many of these digital cameras break down or go wonky
>> in such a short time. Although I have a D-70, my old FM2 is still chugging
>> away perfectly after 20 years.......any comments>
>
>Olympus OM-2n: 26 years old, never had any problems.
>
>Nikon Coolpix 880 - binned after 5 years.

My Nikon F2 is still working great after 32 years.

But why use it?

I'm having FAR too much fun with digital photography!

A 2001 trip to Midway Island was the last time I ever took a film
camera with me. Even with the 4 megapixel Olympus E-10 I was using at
the time, 8x10 enlargements came out FAR better than enlargements from
the Nikon. Since then, it's been 100% digital for me.

Gary
 >> Stay informed about: 20 Years and Still Going 

> Gary Edstrom wrote:
> []
> > I am reminded of an Engineer I was working for back in 1976. While
> > primitive by today's standards, it was clear to me that, even then,
> > microprocessors were the wave of the future. But the Engineer I was
> > working for was convinced that they were a passing fad and would NEVER
> > replace discrete logic. Therefore, all of his complex circuit designs
> > used discrete logic! I wonder where he is today?
-

>David J Taylor wrote:
>
> Upper management?
>
> <G>
>
> David

Or a consultant
 >> Stay informed about: 20 Years and Still Going 

jeremy wrote:
> This thread was about equipment longevity, not a "film vs. digital" debate.

How is this not a film vs. digital debate when the OP is pointing out
that his film cameras are holding up longer then his digital cameras?

Scott
 >> Stay informed about: 20 Years and Still Going 

"Faz" <chuckfaz.RemoveThis@shawdelete.ca> wrote in message
news:V7RUg.88783$1T2.18863@pd7urf2no...
> Have you noticed how many of these digital cameras break down or go wonky
> in such a short time. Although I have a D-70, my old FM2 is still chugging
> away perfectly after 20 years.......any comments>
>

Rangefinder SP............52 years and still going strong..

Coolpix 950, one of the originals must be 6/7
years............lovely..........and always with me.
 >> Stay informed about: 20 Years and Still Going 

On Wed, 04 Oct 2006 17:29:46 GMT, "jeremy" <jeremy.DeleteThis@nospam.com> wrote:

>
>"Faz" <chuckfaz.DeleteThis@shawdelete.ca> wrote in message
>news:V7RUg.88783$1T2.18863@pd7urf2no...
>> Have you noticed how many of these digital cameras break down or go wonky
>> in such a short time. Although I have a D-70, my old FM2 is still chugging
>> away perfectly after 20 years.......any comments>
>>
>
>The days of handcrafted, mechanical cameras are mainly over. Now the focus
>is on planned obsolescence and upgrades every two years.
>
>My personal way of dealing with this is to have bought a film scanner and to
>keep on using my legacy gear.

I am reminded of an Engineer I was working for back in 1976. While
primitive by today's standards, it was clear to me that, even then,
microprocessors were the wave of the future. But the Engineer I was
working for was convinced that they were a passing fad and would NEVER
replace discrete logic. Therefore, all of his complex circuit designs
used discrete logic! I wonder where he is today?

It really doesn't matter if you like it or not, digital photography IS
the wave of the future (actually the present!). It may take a while
yet before replacing the 4x5 and larger cameras, but replace them it
will. The smart person will learn to use the new technologies rather
than holding on to something that, like it or not, is going to fade
away.

Yes, film will be around for a while yet, but you can bet that its
price is going to go up and up as the demand goes down and down.

Gary
 >> Stay informed about: 20 Years and Still Going 

"Faz" <chuckfaz.RemoveThis@shawdelete.ca> wrote in message
news:V7RUg.88783$1T2.18863@pd7urf2no...
> Have you noticed how many of these digital cameras break down or go wonky
> in such a short time. Although I have a D-70, my old FM2 is still chugging
> away perfectly after 20 years.......any comments>

Average lifetime is short for many electronic products. Folks just won't
pay a premium price for longevity as they fully realize that the feature set
is expanding so rapidly.

Manufacturers adopt policies based on sales and the competition.

Would you pay a lot more for reliability?
 >> Stay informed about: 20 Years and Still Going 

Gary Edstrom wrote:
[]
> I am reminded of an Engineer I was working for back in 1976. While
> primitive by today's standards, it was clear to me that, even then,
> microprocessors were the wave of the future. But the Engineer I was
> working for was convinced that they were a passing fad and would NEVER
> replace discrete logic. Therefore, all of his complex circuit designs
> used discrete logic! I wonder where he is today?

Upper management?

<G>

David
 >> Stay informed about: 20 Years and Still Going 

In article <V7RUg.88783$1T2.18863@pd7urf2no>, Faz
<chuckfaz RemoveThis @shawdelete.ca> wrote:

> Have you noticed how many of these digital cameras break down or go wonky in
> such a short time. Although I have a D-70, my old FM2 is still chugging away
> perfectly after 20 years.......any comments>

1954 Leica IIIg, still going strong; though I did have it serviced by
Leitz back in the late 70's.

What it comes down to is technology and design parameters; and
ultimately to price. Current "cameras" do far more than older ones, and
do it mostly with solid state components too small to see. These
components fall prey to deterioration at a microscopic level, from
oxidation, "tin whiskers" and just plain heat. Then they die.

At the larger scale, 99.9% of retail products are not engineered to
last past their warranty expiration. That's just good corporate
business; and if you think any corporation on earth makes things a
certain way because it's "right" or because of love of photography,
you're kidding yourself.

Take my field, computers. You CANNOT buy a desktop computer - at any
price - as well made as a late 80's Compaq or IBM. They don't exist,
because people won't pay for them. Think what it would be like if all
you could buy was a Leica?
 >> Stay informed about: 20 Years and Still Going 

"Gary Edstrom" <gedstrom.RemoveThis@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:n9v7i2d7scjrle7acmeuim3gb91r2mg4mk@4ax.com...
>
> It really doesn't matter if you like it or not, digital photography IS
> the wave of the future (actually the present!).

It really doesn't matter if you parrot the industry line or not--film is not
going to disappear in our lifetime, and there will always be people that do
not blindly follow the rest of the herd and who will continue doing their
own thing.

This thread was about equipment longevity, not a "film vs. digital" debate.
 >> Stay informed about: 20 Years and Still Going 

"Faz" <chuckfaz.TakeThisOut@shawdelete.ca> wrote in message
news:V7RUg.88783$1T2.18863@pd7urf2no...
> Have you noticed how many of these digital cameras break down or go wonky
> in such a short time. Although I have a D-70, my old FM2 is still chugging
> away perfectly after 20 years.......any comments>
>

Still have my dad's Graflex Norita 6x6 120 roll film enormous SLR, purchased
1976, still fine just this last summer.
H
 >> Stay informed about: 20 Years and Still Going 

Matt Clara wrote:
>
>
> Let me guess, Kodak Super MAX?

Sadly even with good film the prints most often came out pretty bad if
you used a mini-lab.
It was not until I started scanning my film that I got close to all
that the film was capable of.

Scott
 >> Stay informed about: 20 Years and Still Going