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There's a book by Jeremy Clarkson - "You've Got Soul" - it'a about machines that have just that. There are chapters devoted to the Riva speedboat, the Spitfire, the Zeppelin, etc. I have had a couple of Canon cameras, and a few more lenses (in LTM) but I have never bonded with them, and for me at least it is that reason - they are highly efficient machines but just have no discernable soul.

Just in case people with Canons think I am picking on them I have felt the same about other cameras; Voigtlander, for instance, and Bronica. It's a personal, subjective, intangible thing I know, but I do think it has a bearing, particularly somewhere like here where I think that the average EQ of the members is higher than you would find on a more gear-orientated site.

I am kind of in this group but for one thing. Canon FD's have soul. The Canon F1's are efficient machines with shutters of silk. FTb's are great cameras as are A1's and even now T90's, but I know of not 1 Canon digital that has soul. In fact, no digital camera has soul.
 
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Way back in the 70s, I learned that computers had a sense of humor.

One of my codes hit an "abend" with the termination code (in hex) '2BAD'. An $8M vector supercomputer, no less. My Vax 11/780 needed a hug to boot-up after some major maintenance. Must have soul.
 
My first-version Canon F1 has a metal foil shutter, similar to the Canon 7 and Canon P. The FTb- silk, the EF- metal square.

Having worked on Digital Imagers (cameras) throughout the 80s, writing code for the data acquisition portion, image calibration, image display, and image processing- I poured my soul into the work. It was fun, and we were bleeding edge. I pulled out a lot of that code and converted it to process DNG files from my Leicas. So, they have some of my soul driving them.

At some point I'll get the darkroom set back up, shoot B&W film again. At 60, can "audit" classes at the local community college for free, they have several B&W film classes with darkrooms. If none of the students have cameras, I could bring in a few boxes of them. I switched over to shooting digital for personal use a little over 8 years ago, a long time holdout. A long time coming- when Nikki was in Kindergarten (14 years ago) another Dad looked at my camera and stated "Still shooting film, huh. I have 3 SLR's at home." I told him, "Are you kidding- this camera used to be digital, I converted it to use film." It had been a Kodak DCS200. Then took out the SX-70 Sonar, took a picture of his cute kid, and gave her the picture to watch develop.

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But this one still works, I've taken it apart several times. Had it for 25 years now, custom made to shoot IR at my request- the first one sold by Kodak. hard to believe that a quarter century has gone by. That's a lot of soul.
 
My first digital cameras, and serious compacts, were from Canon. S45 in 2002, S70 in 2005, G7 in 2007, G10 in 2008, and S90 in 2009/10. Handling them makes me nostalgic, and I took thousands of images with them, although the compacts from Ricoh and Panasonic are much more my speed now.
 
Looking back over the past 40 years as a Computer Engineer, A good engineer puts their soul into the work. I've had optical engineers work for me in that time- easy to see the personality come through in the trade-offs and optimizations that they chose. Of course phrases such as "Has Soul" are nebulous, to me it means the camera has traits that must be learned, bestowed by the personality of the designers and culture of the company that produces it. Canon has a "never look back" culture, Nikon has a "Never forget our past".

Ever read "The Soul of a New Machine", 1981? The same year that I started working on digital imagers.
 
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For cameras, soul means (to me anyway) the extension of or the connection with the photographer. So I often use terms such as bonding with a camera to describe the "it." There are cameras that we feel are a natural extension and help us to do whatever is it that we want to do with the camera -- take photos, look good as a hipster accessory, self defense throwing or clubbing weapons, etc. Some cameras, we pick it up and we go ... no. Others, they stay on the night stand next to us.
 
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That's a good way of putting it. I have had many Leicas - LTM, M, R and digital - but the only one I have kept is my IID. My Ricoh GR has no viewfinder and is getting long in the tooth but I won't trade it in until there is a GRIII that is basically the same camera with a bigger sensor. I use Fuji X for the same reason as I used to use Leica M - they don't come between me and my subject by distracting me or being demanding or obstructive.

Some cameras are divas, some have soul. Same with cars, fountain pens, watches...
 
I am kind of in this group but for one thing. Canon FD's have soul. The Canon F1's are efficient machines with shutters of silk. FTb's are great cameras as are A1's and even now T90's, but I know of not 1 Canon digital that has soul. In fact, no digital camera has soul.

The soul of a camera is behind it, not in it. The minds eye is it's soul.

:hmmm:
 
Hi all,

I merged quite a few forums, taking a brand-specific approach rather than the prior brand-and-format approach. This was done in preparation for merging a few of the other sites into this one, namely FujiXspot, Leica Place, and Forever Film.

The main reason for the changes is that it has been too much $$ and work keeping all these sites updated, licensed, etc. That said, I do think it will be a good change for everyone, bringing in some more members and activity.

Let me know what you think. Also, a name change is probably in the works again. I know this isn't gonna be to everyone's liking, but it's an important part of making the new members from the other sites feel welcome regardless of whether their gear is compact. @Lightmancer suggested a bunch of different names. Right now I like CameraCommune.com - love it, hate it, indifferent, other ideas, let me know :).

All best,
Amin

Whatever it takes. Thanks for the service!
 
Yeah I contradicted myself. I still shoot with a T90 an OM2n and an F100. I just like film cameras more than digital. Too many pain meds for my back possibly. The soul is still behind the camera, but I will say that I like some more than others. I regularly pick up my OM2n to play with. If some like to believe they have souls, then ok with me.
 
Yeah I contradicted myself. I still shoot with a T90 an OM2n and an F100. I just like film cameras more than digital. Too many pain meds for my back possibly. The soul is still behind the camera, but I will say that I like some more than others. I regularly pick up my OM2n to play with. If some like to believe they have souls, then ok with me.
OK, I look at as camera and lenses have characteristics. You can like, dislike, or simply not gel with them. Soul or art is it part or the image that's created.
 
For me- the Canon P, Nikon SP, Leica M9, and Nikon F2. I can pick up most any camera and use it, have an insane number of them.
I tend to "bond" more with a lens, especially Sonnar formula lenses. Also an insane number of them. As will be evident once the Lens Showcase section of Leicaplace is re-established.
 
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