Using obsolete gear quite often, yes- mostly digital, but also some analog equipment
Obsolete in the sense of not being oppressively «modern» . Yes the «useful»features are present in my digital, but not configured for use
"clever and theoretically work saving" ,but in practice useless, bells and whistles remain unused, if not entirely missing, on my digital Olympus pen-F
Examples of pernicious features that remain unused when out snapping pictures: battery-sappingg and interference creating internet ,and bluetooth connections.
Also of limited utility, automatic distrortion correction of my perfectly distortionless Leitz, Nikon and Zeiss lenses. No EXIF- recording of aperture&c (which I would never have looked at) since the lenses are manual and chipless (apart from the Leitz less functional Rom-chip)..
In adittion, , not only unused, but missing, GPS- reminding me where I have been, in case I had left the map at home and had a severe case of dementia, also missing is 20 frames per second capability in case I would like to imitate muybridge and 8K videorecording. All this is conspicuously lacking even if I will never use it. My ancient Bolexes, Bealieus and Leicinas have rested in their drawers ever sice Kodachrome 2x8 and S-8 disappeared
I do without autofocus that get sharp tree twigs far in front of or behind the subject , so for film I still use the "obsolete" Leica R8 and its manual lenses.
I remain rewarded with unfocussed and malexposed snaps from when subjects complain about me focussing and fiddling with exposure controls and not taking the time to spotmeter thoroughly. Luckily, buildings and landscapes are patient.
Another outmoded device, one of my ancient Werras has only been excercized to judge its tessar and the Flektogon.
Recently I also recorded the local climate demos with a Voigtländer Prominent II dating from right before the first climate change worries were published (if you do not count professor Arrhenius over a hundred yesrs ago), both with Ilford XP with satisfactory results.
I have not yet excerzied my first edition ( narrow mount) Practica . While my complete series of Alpas remain safely stored, but in the past they were my usual very reliable picture taking devices.
The useless and expensive frills of the current camera crop can be dipensed with, as can the dim focussing screens and potentially unreliable and in the future unobtainable intyegrated cirquits in electronics that stabilized lenses, sensors and fancy exposure systems and autofocus requires.
Facing large bills when developing films once I gave up doing it myself, I have found that .Digital evices have a large economic advantage in use, – assuming that - time, - computers,- their software, -ots of storage and backup plus a 4k monitor comes free of charge
. My otherwise quite good MFT Olympus pen F is a kind of obsolesent machine in the sense that I am about to replace it because the Pen Fs center focussing enlargement and spot metering point keeps moving erratically when held firmly and using superglue to dissable the culpable button will make it impossible to set the stabilization.
The replacement ? A Nikon Z7, which is definitely full of expensive and unnecesary junk « features», but where the focus and meterfing point stay put.
