1972 the dawn of the electronic age

[belgiumreporter]

I remember when in 1972 i held the pentax ES (short for electronic spotmatic) for the first time i was amazed of the "electronic" shutter, wich automatically set the right shutterspeed with a selected aperture ( yes what we call aperture priority these days)and on top of that the shutter speed could be any number between 8 seconds and 1/1000th even if a 382th of a second was neccesairy the ES could generate that or any other shutterspeed.

It was the first "electronic" slr i saw and it made me fantasize how handy it would be in changing light conditions the camera itselve would set the right exposure.Still i'd just bought my nikon F and funds and reason prevented me from buying one. The ES however was the forerunner of things to come. The same year the nikormat EL was launched and september '72 the incredible minolta XM was unveiled at the photokina.

Came '73 and canon introduced the EF it was diffrent to all the forementioned as it was an shutter priority camera, with one big advantage, evrything (exept for metering) worked without batteries in case of battery failure.

The pentax ES had mechanical shutterspeeds from 1/60th to 1/1000th so it could be operated at a range of shutterspeeds without battery power, The minolta and the nikkormat only had one mechanical shutterspeed so they had very restricted use if the battery went dead.

All being wonderfull cameras, their price made them out of reach of most amateurs and the pro's didn't like 'em because of the battery issues.

4 years later, april 1976 everything changed with the introduction of the canon AE-1. Canon succeeded in making a "automatic" SLR that was affordable for the general public resulting in selling 5.000.000 AE-1's from then on everything changed as micro electronics became available for use in cameras, but that is another story...

[raybar]

I worked in a camera store during that time - the long gone Schaeffer Photo and Camera in Hollywood California. I remember the Canon AE-1 as a "tipping point" between being happy working in the store and becoming exasperated with the continuous stream of new SLRs arriving from all the major manufacturers.

Prior to that, most mechanical 35mm cameras were basically similar. It was a mature technology, the "odd balls" had mostly disappeared from the market, and the arrangement of controls had evolved into almost a standard form. If you knew how to operate one model, you could operate nearly any other model after playing with it for a minute or two.

That all changed as electronics replaced mechanics. There was no longer a "standard" set up. The wind lever, shutter button, and the shutter speed dial usually remained on the top right. For a while, at least. But other controls could be anywhere. For example, on all four cameras pictured above, the self timer is beside the lens and works the same way. On electronic camera, it could be anywhere. And what was worse, many of the new cameras had unlabeled buttons. The AE-1 had four unlabeled buttons - self timer, battery check, exposure preview, and backlight control. (I know this only because I have both a camera and an instruction booklet in front of me.)

The poor camera salesman had to learn a new camera every few weeks, and keep the details of a couple dozen models in memory so as to be ready to answer any reasonable (or unreasonable) question from customers. And we also needed detailed knowledge of all the other cameras in the store, from 110 snapshot models to medium and large format as well. At least we had a separate darkroom department so I didn't have to know every enlarger and timer on the market too. My head hurts just thinking about it.

[belgiumreporter]

A few hours a week, i teach photography class. The main problem with pupils learning about their camera is the enormous amount of diffrent cameras available and the steep learning curve to master all functions and buttons of the camera.
In the old days it was simple, set shutterspeed, set diafragm, focus, select film speed and thats about everything you needed to know to use just about any camera. Nowadays when you want to select a certain shutterspeed (or any other camera command) you have to go through a 300page manual just to find how it can be done on your specific camera.
A lot of time is lost in trying to explain the basics of photography when each camera maker has their own idea of how a camera needs to operate and where to find the commands to make it work. I try to prepare my pupils by telling them they need to read the manual of their camera before coming to class, but this mostly becomes hopless as they dont know what to look for, or are unable to comprehend what is written. I can't require all pupils to buy the same camera, but it sure would make things a lot simpeler if they would do so.
With these electronic(digital) marvels everybody is able to make a "picture"and thats a good thing,but controling a camera to do what you want to "create" the image you had in mind is something completely diffrent and has become more complex with the more complex electronic cameras that want to take you by the hand and do the thinking for you.

[lesdmess]

If the Canon EF's shutter priority autoexposure mode is to be considered as part of the dawn of electronic slrs then you would also have to consider the Topcon Auto 100 and the Konica Auto-Reflex both of which were released many years before - 1964 & 65.

[hansz]

Here, in the center of NL, the HKU (Hogeschool voor de Kunsten te Utrecht), basic photography class students are obliged to bring with them an "old" analog camera with a mandatory manual mode of operation. The only electronics permitted is the shutter operation. They even require a hand-held exposure meter (or phone:-). Film has to be black&white. Later on they move to colour and to dark room management.

With the help of some volunteers (like me) all the classes are fitted with the proper gear. Canon FTb, OM1, Icarex, Nikormat etc category. It really is big fun!

Hans

[SidW]

The pre-electronic camera is still there at the heart of a digital camera, except perhaps for simpler compacts and smartphones that are usually auto-only. Then concentrate on the basic settings only - aperture, shutter and focus, ignoring other modes and features for the time being. My steepest learning curve occurred in 1990 when I shifted from Minolta XE to Canon EOS (for the autofocus, presumably the first sign of cateract). Moving later from EOS film to EOS digital was smoother, the basic controls were similar and mostly in the same place.

Aperture priority and shutter priority have always been there as methods. Aperture priority has been my preference since the 1950s - you would set your desired aperture first, then use your meter and read off the appropriate shutter setting. Once coupled meters appeared, set the aperture and find the shutter speed by turning the shutter knob to line up a needle or LEDs in the viewfinder. Now it's all automated - set the aperture and the camera will set the shutter.

[daveh]

A camera is a tool to do job. Some look better or work better than others. Much is down to personal preference and as a result some things are promoted while others are dismissed without real reason.

Most camera advances go through a developmental "must-have" phase, which for whatever reason doesn't fully deliver. Certainly the biggest problem with early electronics was the type of batteries available. Having at least mechanical shutter speed included was always a good idea.

With current configurations of batteries and low power drain cameras the electronic age has become..., well, it's become of age. I wonder though how far off anyone is from making a solar powered camera which never needs an external method to charge its system.

[lesdmess]

Jul 23, 2016 3:44:54 GMT -5 daveh said:

I wonder though how far off anyone is from making a solar powered camera which never needs an external method to charge its system.

There was the Ricoh XR-S with a solar charging circuit circa 1981.