Too often, photographers (myself included) become obsessed with gear, megapixels, lens sharpness, auto-exposure modes, raw modes and more.

Indeed. I too get my priorities confused all the time. The more dials to
play with, the easier to shoot, the stronger the temptation to forget what
you are actually doing. With a digital camera, here are several such game-changesr, show-stopper, and (for many) joy-killers:

1. The ability to view the results immediately. So convenient, yet so
boring, depriving the photographer of the pleasure of anticipation,
of suspense even, attendant upon having a film exposed yet undeveloped.

2. The practically unlimited storage capacity coupled with the low cost of a shot, encourages machine-gun shooting, or making lots of similar shots
with tiny modifications. This is clear deskilling in at shooting time
and nervous strain at post-processing time, where the photographer has
to sift through the increased volume of raw materials and pick winner among many close competitors.

3. The power of digital post-processing, especially using AI, discourages
the making of creative decisions on location, hunting for the right light and composition. Why bother if one can hundreds of "creative" filters
are available at a key press?

Getting back to the fundamentals with a basic camera helps solidify
those fundamentals.

It is often hard to get back, for both subjective (mental effort) and objective reasons (film price).

I used to feel the same way shooting with a Smena 35 - a plastic $20 camera with no meter, no autofocus, and a sharp 35mm triplet lens.

Soviet cameras seem popular all over the world. But they were quite natural
to me, as a Russian. I have FED Micron (18x24mm) Zenit-E, Zenit-TTL, Zenit-APK, and a heavily upgraded Kiev-88 branded Arax.

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ant wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

Soviet cameras seem popular all over the world. But they were quite natural to me, as a Russian. I have FED Micron (18x24mm) Zenit-E, Zenit-TTL, Zenit-APK, and a heavily upgraded Kiev-88 branded Arax.

Now, we're talking! I started off with a Smena 35, then discovered
soviet-era LOMO LC-As. Bought a Kiev 35 (minox 35 clone) and loved it. A
FED 50 came next, a Zenit EM, more Smenas, and I have a FED 2 with a
roll of film sitting in it right now.

A fond memory of the early 2000s was waiting impatiently for the postal carrier, waiting to see that brown paper-wrapped package, tied with yak
string - the hallmark of any Russian camera order...



... Look at the order in which you do things
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Soviet cameras seem popular all over the world. But they were quite

Now, we're talking! I started off with a Smena 35, then discovered soviet-era LOMO LC-As. Bought a Kiev 35 (minox 35 clone) and loved it. A FED 50 came next, a Zenit EM, more Smenas, and I have a FED 2 with a
roll of film sitting in it right now.

Very well! Do you have good repair&service available for mechanical cameras at your location, or do you maintain your cameras yourself?

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