To all,
I'm going to go out on a limb here. I am newer (last 3 months) to
this forum, but have contributed both in thought and in photos, I
think that much is accepted. I currently have a 6900, and a S602
coming from Dell that I will test. I am fortunate to have that
luxury. There are some disturbing trends I see that I think we all
need to stop, think about, and try to correct. I am only
generalizng, I won't point to specific threads or names, nor will I
debate what I am putting out here. I only ask that everyone think
about some of these and see if we ALL can't do a little better job.
1. We are monopolizing the space here with S602 debates, and we
are not paying attention to other Fuji owners. I want to see and
hear about what folks are doing with all the other Fuji cameras out
there. There are a lot of other users I'm sure would love to get
feedback, but don't post based on all the S602 discussion. There
are some, but no where near enough. I am not blind to the fact
that the S602 is new, but there are a lot more owners of other
Fujis (also new), than there are S602 owners. Let's encourage them
to get back in.
2. These debates are getting far too personal. I am going to say
(again as a general observation) that both sides are at fault.
Clearly, some of those that are not thrilled with the S602 output
are entitled to their belief. That doesn't give license, no matter
how obvious someone feels something is, to become beligerant (sp?)
with someone who owns a S602. If you are going to offer some
criticism, keep it constructive, not destructive, which is hard
sometimes, based on my next point. Regardless though, someone has
to be mature enough to stop, rather than feel they must drill every
last little point to the nth degree. If you see someone is not
agreeing with you, agree to disagree and move on.
3. To the S602 owners (again, I may soon be one). There are some
absolutely great photos out there AND there are some absolute
garbage photos out there. If someone's photos need help, we should
be honest (no matter what camera it is), and tell them the photo
needs work, try to understand why, and help them see if they can
correct. In my opinion, some of the S602 owners are too protective
and defensive, and don't seem as willing to accept criticism right
now (perhaps based on the above point). Just like any other
camera, the S602 has warts. Again I understand the sense of having
something new, and not wanting to hear things that are negative,
but there have been "atta boys" and "great shots" on pictures that
were clearly terrible (my opinion) to the most casual observer.
That is an incredibly frustrating feeling, and does not do justice
to the poster. To the critics, that does not give license to
nit-pik though, or say "See I told you there was a bizzilion noise
dots there".
4. People do not have to own a Fuji camera to be able to make
comments about what they see. Somewhere, it appears that some
folks have adopted that rule. I personally welcome the thoughts of
owners of other brands. We should be open enough and willing to
realize that NO camera is perfect, including the A101, 6800, 4900,
S602, the 6900, the Canon 5700, DiMage 7, etc., etc. Today's
darling piece of equipment is yesterday's old hat, and in this
industry if you are not ready for that, then start getting used to
it. Technology leapfrogging is a way of life these days. I
welcome looking at other people's photos from other cameras. To
those people, I would ask that you not use your other brand camera
as a lever though. Just offer your photos, thoughts, and let
others judge.
We need to get back to what this forum is about, which is a place
for people to help each other, look at each other's work, try to
improve our techniques, etc.
To all, we need to face the facts. The S602 is here, people are
going to buy it and shoot photos with it, everyone needs to accept
that. To the S602 owners, there are going to be folks who just
don't accept the camera, get used to that as well. This isn't nor
should it be a battleground.
To those facing a buying decision, read everything you can get your
hands on. Look at ALL the photos, not only of Fujis, but other
brands as well. Read the reviews. Don't discount a review because
it was bad, and you thought you really wanted the camera, but by
the same token, don't take one review as the absolute gospel to
support your decision, just because it was good. After all,
reviewers are people too.
I'm not looking a non-spirited place for us to discuss things.
Discussion is helpful, but we need to get back to some basic
thoughts about HOW we discuss things.
My 2 cents worth, sorry for the long post. Again, not looking to
start any debates, nor will I get into any ;-) And hopefully
people will still review my photos and thoughts after this, because
I do appreciate your feedback. It makes me a better photographer
and person.
Jay S.
)