Do all of those modes on your digital camera complicate things for your point-and-shoot purposes? Or are you happy to use them for some added creative possibilities?
When I first heard of a digital camera setting that would recognise my pet, I thought the photographic trade was pulling my leg. Useful as it is to have pre-sets for night shots, and portraits, I thought other specialist settings, like a ‘food mode’, were taking things a bit too far.
Now I own a camera with all of these settings. In fact, I have two pre-sets for babies. I just don’t have any babies.
And although manufacturers seem to have run out of modes, there are a number of new innovations on the way. These include ‘superimposition‘, which takes several pictures of the same scene at different exposures to create a single image that’s supposedly better quality. And yes, 3D lenses are already out in the wild as well. But is all this really necessary?
Is the camera industry trying too hard?
The camera industry seems hard stretched when it comes to re-inventing itself. Maybe this is because the idea behind it – making still photographs – is so straightforward.
I had my last camera for eight years, and the one before that for 20. So maybe it’s because of people like me that manufacturers are trying so hard to find new directions that’ll force me into another purchase.
But maybe you find all of these camera modes useful? Even with all the added features, every single camera out there still has a straightforward automatic setting, and most of the features are designed to get better photos without having to do anything other than press ‘shoot’.
What’s the future of cameras?
Many of these ‘new’ modes have been spotted by technology researchers Rich Parris and Ben Stevens during their time at Cologne’s camera show, Photokina. Both of them will be talking about all the new camera modes, models and trends in this week’s Tech Podcast (up on Thursday 30 September).
I might be proved wrong about all this. I remember not too long ago hearing a radio comedy sketch about a ‘futuristic shaving razor with five blades’. Not long after, the comedians were laughing on the other side of their well-shaved faces, and five-blade razors are nothing new. So perhaps ‘4D’ cameras will be next big thing? Who am I to say?
Do you find your preset camera modes useful?
Sometimes, but I don't need all of them (56%, 85 Votes)
No, they're too complicated (24%, 36 Votes)
Yes, they help me get a good picture (20%, 30 Votes)
Total Voters: 151
