old folder in Spring 2020 auction
Toronto. There are both good and bad for collectors and picture takers with the digital revolution in photography. Digital cameras are faster, smaller, and often just added on to smartphones. Sensors are far faster. Image viewing is near instantaneous as is the sharing. Auto everything and full colour make it hard to mess up a photo in decent (or even dim) light.
As picture takers, we throw away these gadgets every few years and buy newer, faster models. But what about the collectors in us? From inception to well into the last century cameras were mechanical and prints viewable (usually) without added gear. Carefully handled, cameras and lenses remained fully workable and repair, if necessary, could be done by any competent camera technician.
For a brief time when the world moved to hybrid mechanical/digital film cameras, repairs could still be made by any independent repair shop. Once camera makers took over, their refusal to sent the needed sub-units to independent repair shops spelled an end to any such work on the newer hybrid mechanical/digital film cameras.
Today as takers we value the convenience and speed of digital gear over longevity but as collectors, what will be left of this era to collect? Just beautiful doorstops (if stacked together). …
PS – If you are devoted to the older mechanical gear and plate or film media, be sure to visit one of our events this spring. You just may find an intriguing piece for your collection or actual use (and we do cater to both the film and the digital brigade).
