Comment by gist | Hacker News Reader

Comment by gist | Hacker News Reader

I used to visit this site a great deal but I haven't been there in years. I don't even know how many years.

Other than generally Amazon doing layoffs my guess is interest in equipment that they talk about has dropped greatly and specifically because of smartphone cameras (Iphone in particular in my case). I have an expensive Sony Camera (several thousand for the body with a $2000 lens and other lenses) and haven't used it in years. I just use the Iphone. And I am someone that had a darkroom years ago and really enjoyed photography (and made money selling pictures even). It was a big deal to me to take pictures. But it was more exclusive since most people didn't have a professional camera.

Photography has changed in the sense that back when I did and enjoyed it there weren't any digital aids or easy ways to make pictures look good. Or be able to just take as many pictures as you wanted in all sorts of light conditions. And that was actually part of the fun for me. I mean even my Sony camera can't fix pictures like the iphone can on the fly.

The iphone (I've had all of them now an iphone 14 pro max is what I use) is just good enough to provide enjoyment.

The thing with this website is that it is one of those leave it until you need it situations. 10 years ago or so I was in the market for a new digital camera, and used their site heavily during that search. Of course, being a prosumer camera, it still takes great photos 10 years later, so I haven't been in the market.

There was a time where upgrading your digital camera constantly was necessary, because sensors at the time struggled in low light and you saw some really big gains for a while especially in the entry level. That said, even a 2005 5dmk1 is still a great camera today as elderly as it is compared to any other piece of consumer technology, and blowing up its 12 mega pixels into a huge print down the side of a building will probably still look a lot better than doing the same with a new phone with twice as many pixels. Having pro cameras last a long time of course hurts sites that favor a customer base that is constantly changing gear and checking in.

I think this is a more common thing than people realize, people who have quite a bit of expensive camera gear and have been into the whole thing since the film days but yet are simultaneously really happy with a smartphone.

For me multi-lens phone cameras was the thing that really tilted things. I know initially I was infatuated with SLRs and DSLRs because of the big fancy lenses, especially the long ones out beyond 200mm.

But over time I realized the vast majority of my favorite photos were all getting taken with lenses < 100mm in focal length, and I simultaneously got bored with the whole "bokeh" stuff and narrow depth of field. That's what made it so hard to avoid using the phone more and more often.. a super wide, a moderate wide, and a short telephoto cover so much.

It can be hard to argue against a good smartphone + a small drone as a travel photography kit.

I was in the same boat. Large Canon Full frame with IL lenses. What got me in the end was the bulk and the worry about the camera being stolen, broken, and then dealing with the media. I find I take a lot more photos all the time with my iPhone 13 Pro Max as I always have it with me.

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