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am I just a grump or are these digital cameras junk

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

I had a look at one of the new Minolta DiMage 7 cameras in the London Drugs today. I worry about photography if this is what amateur photographers will be reduced to. It was a gimmicky piece of plastic with a wonky view-finder (the view is essentially a small closed-circuit display of what the camera's CCD 'sees', and it doesn't have a good refresh rate) and worrisome battery consumption (someone had left this one 'on', and it was dead; of course, that might have been weeks ago, but my guess is not). Also, the manual focus ring had all the feel and responsiveness of a video camera's focus.

I worry not because Minolta - my favorite brand - is putting out iffy stuff, but because that model was one of the top end in the store (at $CAD 2k), and easily one of the sturdiest-looking models. I also worry in case I'm becoming a grump.