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Comment by captainclam | Hacker News Reader

There are plenty of people who sincerely enjoy the aspects that make older tech less convenient or practical. Maybe it's an appreciation for the engineering or "comprehensibility," often it's because older tech produces unique outputs that can't be adequately captured by newer technology.

Reducing people's interest to "social signalling" comes off as dismissive.

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Come on. This article isn't about the joys of doing things the hard way. To quote: "Then, at the start of 2022 I got my first analogue film camera: a Leica M6. (I know... I dived straight in the deep end.) This was my first introduction to how editing could be easier."

It isn't easier. Film is pain. Pain can be good, but this is selling a mirage.

Just to be clear, your comment had a general statement about how you perceived the motivations of "people buying vinyl". That's what I was responding to. (People using VHS filters on social media is by definition social signalling so no comment there lol).

And I completely agree with your point about touting film as "easier" than digital. That's a stretch.

I’m a believer that the hard work brings more joy, digging crates of vinyl and finding that rare album even if it has pops and noise feels 100x more enjoyable that streaming it.

Hello, original author here. What I meant by “easier”:

Consumer film is designed to be developed and scanned/printed by your lab. You then get a finished image.

Most modern interchangeable-lens digital cameras are designed for you to shoot RAW and edit in software like Lightroom.

Because I first started photography around 2010, I was taught at school to take pictures, then edit them on a computer.

Shooting film for the first time was originally about trying something new in a hobby I enjoy. As stated, it removed the need to sit in front of a computer. “Easier”.

I wish I’d stopped shooting RAW sooner. Trying film led to that realisation.

(And I agree film can be a pain. I’ve ruined several rolls through both stupidity and cameras breaking. I still enjoy it.)

> Most modern interchangeable-lens digital cameras are designed for you to shoot RAW

I don't think I agree. The photos straight off my GH4 are perfectly fine as-is, it's quite a bit of work to get the same thing out of Darktable, let alone something better. I do still shoot in RAW, for those 1% where I do want to go in manually. (The GH4 isn't great in low light.)

> I wish I’d stopped shooting RAW sooner. Trying film led to that realisation.

I mean... yeah. But don't blame the camera for your personal habits ;)

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