Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful that camera introductions have slowed down enough so we can take time to enjoy what we've already got.

2005-2013. Those were heady years for camera introductions! Many a baleful and plodding blogger paid his mortgage introducing camera lovers to an ever expanding and ever "improving" flow of cameras; each camera model arriving with just enough new features and performance boosts to make a recently purchased model seem old, obsolete and borderline unusable. This, in turn, prompted photographers and camera lovers to keep chasing after each new camera model because of their fear, in commercial circles, that they would be missing out on a feature that clients might find useful --- which might give an opportunity to competitors who were quicker to upgrade. Amateurs felt that any additional advantage would help them make better and better photographs. The bloggers who incessantly praised new cameras didn't really care whether a newer camera was better than an older one as long as their reviews could generate revenue through their affiliate links. 

It was a crazy time in the industry. The turnover of gear was astounding. The ability to spend seemed bottomless. But in truth? It was mostly money down the drain. The benefits of the churn rewarded the camera makers and their co-conspiratores; the recipients of affiliate cash, much, much more than it ever did the working photographers or the people who were trying to polish up their camera skills. 

And, if you go back and read the blogs most of the writers postured and pretended that the "new" camera was so much better that they found themselves on the fence and might be buying one with their own money. But, most never did follow through and as soon as the access to the sample loaner expired so then did their interest in the new model. But that was okay for them because it was a time in which a new camera or lens from another maker was already arriving via the Fedex truck. 

Hoodwinked by persuasive writing so many people rushed to buy based on the sweet words of "reviewers" who had never worked a real photo job in their lives. Or even worse, people were taking advice from writers who had tried their hands at photography only to not succeed. To not make the grade. To not have successful encounters with cameras! 

Pretty darn amazing. My least favorite type of manipulation was perpetrated by "influencers" who never even touched the cameras before writing their reviews.  Bold. Insightful? Manipulative!!!! But I guess it's all fair game if money is involved. 

But we seem to have turned the corner. At least for a while. Many regular folks are realizing that the cameras they bought three years ago, five years ago, even ten years ago still work perfectly well. Some older cameras, by my measure, are even better than the latest models. Or at least they are less complex in actual use --- which counts for a lot.

About four years ago I bought a Leica SL camera. That's a camera that was introduced to the market back in October of 2015. Nearly ten years ago. It's a solid, full frame, 24 megapixel mirrorless camera which lacks a few features people take for granted these days but is, frankly, the most fun and best performing camera I have ever used. In the old era of churn, churn, churn I might have used it for a year and then chased after the next iteration. In fact, I did. I bought an SL2 which was intended to be the "new and improved" model. But then Covid interceded and camera makers slowed down the pipeline of new introductions and, since there was no compelling reason to get rid of the first SL, or the second one I bought as a back up, I had time to really get to know and appreciate the original. 

And if push came to shove today, in very late 2024, if I had to sell one of the Leicas the SL2 would go ---long before either of the two SL camera bodies. The older model is just more or less perfect ---- for me. I have a friend who works professionally and bought one of the first Nikon D850s to hit the market. He could well afford to buy any camera on the market right now without breaking a sweat but when he compares the new options against his tried and true D850 he sees absolutely no compelling reasons to "upgrade." 

The basic fact is that there have been very few actual/noticable improvements in cameras, image sensor design, or camera firmware over the last five years. At least not improvements that make a difference for the grand spectrum of our actual practices. And even comparisons with older cameras show that the newest gear has gained at most very small, almost imperceptible improvements in the way photographs look coming from any of the comparable cameras. People have learned now that it's okay to step back, take a breather, and enjoy the use of the cameras they've already had and mastered instead of being on the prowl for the next one. Which is great for them because the next one might not benefit them much --- if at all. 

While this line of thought is true for most professional photographers (I'll exempt sports photographers who've been brainwashed into believing that ever higher frame rates are always mission critical) it's even more true for the folks that don't need to earn a living working with their cameras. For them, if the camera did what they wanted it to when they bought it, and it still delivers the photographs they want today, then for all intents and purposes there is no reason at all for them to lose money trading in a long time friend for a new friend of unproven quality. It's probably the case that their D800, D810, Canon 5D3 or Sony whatever works perfectly well for all of their uses and all of the targets for which their output is intended. 

So, today I am thankful for all the things most happy adults are thankful for. A great kid. A wonderful spouse. Life in a fun city. Good friends. Health, and more. But I am also thankful that we aren't subject to the near endless equipment churn we endured in the past. That we now have time and space to appreciate what we already have in the camera bags --- and now have the bandwidth to relax and enjoy the gear that has been a steady companion for years instead of months.

That's a relaxing prospect for this blogger in particular. I have little to no interest in writing about an endless progression of new cameras. And even less interest in begging for money via affiliate links that tout products 99% of my readers don't need and probably don't want. Refreshing.

On a more moving note..... I drove to San Antonio today to have Thanksgiving Lunch with my in-laws, my spouse and my adult son. The dinner and time spent were wonderful. No conflict. No political discussions. No drama. Just mutual respect and ample servings of love. But the real story is in the driving. 

The weather was perfect for driving. Clear, clean highways with temperatures in the 60s. I made the round trip in the Subaru Legacy Sport I bought earlier this year. With nearly seven thousand miles on the odometer I have decided that I love sedans far more than SUVs, every big sedan should have a big, powerful motor, and high performance tires. I averaged 80 mph on the highway while getting 30.8 mpg. The car is heavy and solid on the road with a great, low center of gravity. The way the turbo kicks in when passing other cars is amazing. And exhilarating. 

Traffic on the way home was light. I drove fast. But no faster than the rest of the other crazy Texans blazing down the highway. I'd almost forgotten how much fun driving can be when you aren't stuck in inter-town traffic or stuck in an SUV bouncing down the road on the automotive equivalent of an easy chair. Vroom. Vroom. 

Tomorrow I will be thankful for everything I wrote above but will be additionally thankful for swim practice in the morning. We didn't swim today because of the holiday. Sad. But what can you do?

Dance with the camera that brung ya? Relish the classics? It's all good.

Here's a book recommendation: David Hobby, of the Strobist.com fame, wrote a book that was published this year. It's called, "The Travel Photographer's Manifesto." It is by far the best book I've read on the subject and you can be sure that it's not just a self-serving reason to print a portfolio of greatest hits because there are no photos in the entire book. Just great writing (not weird, overly fraught academic pablum that some even weirder photographers seem to like) and lot of great information. I learned a ton and I thought I already knew everything about photography (smile emoji goes here....). I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. David walks the walk (actually makes a living taking photographs) and talks the talk (well, I guess writes the writing....). Whatever. Just go over to Amazon and buy a copy. If you don't like it a lot then you might just be a landscape photographer ---- or an odd duck who doesn't at least think about traveling. And photographing. 

No hidden agenda here. No links to David's book. No cash in my hands.

Final Thanksgiving advice. Don't trust any writer who doesn't love fiction above all other writing. A person who reads great novels lives many lives. A person who doesn't read fiction leads only one life. And a sad one at that.

Night.