Guns are generally black. Sure there are some flashy chrome and silver ones, but normally they are black. Historically, they are black because metals rust and the treatment that was used to avoid corrosion made them black. Also because guns are designed to do one thing and one thing only which is to kill (and not merely to hurt and injure), black seems to be a logical colour for it. Black is mysterious, dangerous and downright scary.
Operation Hello Kitty?
Nobody takes coloured gun seriously. In fact, if you run around with a coloured replica gun no one reallys pays any attention. But spray it black, and it becomes a whole different story. You'll get dragged to the ground and probably tasered. Guns are to be taken seriously, so yeah, let them be black. That's fine by me.
But what about dSLRs? Are they to be taken so seriously that they HAVE to be black? Some colours wouldn't hurt would it? Or is it because dSLRs are meant to be 'professional' hence it's gotta have a serious black colour to it. Too flashy, and nobody would take you seriously? But to be fair, war journalist probably shouldn't have multi-coloured cameras.
How about the rest of us?
I like photography because it's fun and enjoyable. I would like my equipments to be fun as well! Everything in my bag is now black - the flash, the remote trigger, the lens cap (What? No Paul Frank Lens Caps?!)... Everything! Black as coal.
Look at the Lomography people... now, those guys got it right. The made photography cool and film relevant again!. Why? Cos they made it FUN. Digital photography may have made photography accessible but Lomo brought back the fun. Just look at their collection of cameras. Makes u wanna pick one up even if you are not a photonut.
But what about dSLRs? Are they to be taken so seriously that they HAVE to be black? Some colours wouldn't hurt would it? Or is it because dSLRs are meant to be 'professional' hence it's gotta have a serious black colour to it. Too flashy, and nobody would take you seriously? But to be fair, war journalist probably shouldn't have multi-coloured cameras.
How about the rest of us?
I like photography because it's fun and enjoyable. I would like my equipments to be fun as well! Everything in my bag is now black - the flash, the remote trigger, the lens cap (What? No Paul Frank Lens Caps?!)... Everything! Black as coal.
Look at the Lomography people... now, those guys got it right. The made photography cool and film relevant again!. Why? Cos they made it FUN. Digital photography may have made photography accessible but Lomo brought back the fun. Just look at their collection of cameras. Makes u wanna pick one up even if you are not a photonut.
They even have cool names for their cameras! Fun stuff always have cool names... Think Wall-E as oppose to T-1000. dSLRs should have cool names too! Canon Balls, Nikon Ball-breaker or even Olympus Olliedoo. Haha, ok maybe not...
But not all is doom and gloom for those into digital photography. Remember when compact cameras were black as well? Neither do I, but boy have they moved on. Now they come in all sorts of design and colour. But it remains a compact, meaning smaller sensors and a fixed lens. What if we want more creative control over our images and require better quality pictures in a fancily designed package?
That's where the "New Generation System Camera" comes into play. Designed to be an "SLR in a compact body", it has an SLR image sensor (many times bigger than a compact's), interchangeable lens (more creative control over lens used) and in a much smaller body (due to the omission of a mirror and prism that makes an SLR an SLR).
Many of the camera boys have already forage into this arena. Olympus with it's PEN, Panasonic with it's G (series, i think that's what its called), Samsung's NX and the latest addition, Sony's NEX.
dSLR giants Canon and Nikon have yet to announce their mirrorless system camera, but methinks it will be soon. A quick google search reveals that Canon may have already something in plan and it does look exciting. If rumours are right (http://43rumors.com/ft3-canon-giii/ ), the Canon will be calling it GIII EVIL SYSTEM (cool name, i gotta say. Apparently, EVIL stands for Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens..NICE!).. If they are smart, they'll follow Olympus route by basing their design on their predecessor (GIII is Canon's range finder system from way back, just like the PEN was).
But not all is doom and gloom for those into digital photography. Remember when compact cameras were black as well? Neither do I, but boy have they moved on. Now they come in all sorts of design and colour. But it remains a compact, meaning smaller sensors and a fixed lens. What if we want more creative control over our images and require better quality pictures in a fancily designed package?
That's where the "New Generation System Camera" comes into play. Designed to be an "SLR in a compact body", it has an SLR image sensor (many times bigger than a compact's), interchangeable lens (more creative control over lens used) and in a much smaller body (due to the omission of a mirror and prism that makes an SLR an SLR).
Many of the camera boys have already forage into this arena. Olympus with it's PEN, Panasonic with it's G (series, i think that's what its called), Samsung's NX and the latest addition, Sony's NEX.
dSLR giants Canon and Nikon have yet to announce their mirrorless system camera, but methinks it will be soon. A quick google search reveals that Canon may have already something in plan and it does look exciting. If rumours are right (http://43rumors.com/ft3-canon-giii/ ), the Canon will be calling it GIII EVIL SYSTEM (cool name, i gotta say. Apparently, EVIL stands for Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens..NICE!).. If they are smart, they'll follow Olympus route by basing their design on their predecessor (GIII is Canon's range finder system from way back, just like the PEN was).
I feel the design team at Olympus got it right by letting the PEN be a retro-styled camera. Somehow, it has fun and style written all over it. It has some allure to it. Now, both Nikon and Canon has a rich heritage in cameras (just like Olympus) so they could easily take what worked from way back and adapt it. Retro designs are always cool.
Which is where Sony failed (to me at least). Sony's NEX design is a tad too futuristic to me. It lacks character, and it feels a little flimsy and difficult to hold. Would the lens break under it's own weight? You decide.
Which is where Sony failed (to me at least). Sony's NEX design is a tad too futuristic to me. It lacks character, and it feels a little flimsy and difficult to hold. Would the lens break under it's own weight? You decide.
The other 2 new camera boys also failed to excite me with their new generation cameras. Panasonic has a ho-hum design which looks like the designers couldn't really decide whether it should be an SLR look-a-like. Samsung on the hand, went head-on with the SLR route. Why should it be an SLR clone? It shouldn't! If you want a camera that looks like an SLR, and works like one - GET AN SLR!
I personally like the Olympus PEN E-PL1. The latest in the PEN series and well, the most affordable one as well. It comes with a built-in flash (which the previous 2 PEN lacked), so it'll come in handy (come to think of it, I rarely use my built-in flash on my dSLR - but there will be emergencies and it's good to know it's there, i suppose).
The white one is especially sexxaayy and guess what?! Third-party flash maker, Nissin, has made a white flashgun just for the PEN system! Niiicee....
The white one is especially sexxaayy and guess what?! Third-party flash maker, Nissin, has made a white flashgun just for the PEN system! Niiicee....
Now doesn't that look like a fun camera. I bet it will turn heads. This is one camera I wouldn't mind having in my designer bag. Small and light enough for traveling and everyday use. Flashy enough to evoke conversations. But will it take over my dSLR? Nah, my trusty dSLR will be for work and the PEN, well, it'll be for play.
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