diff --git a/public/writings/when-new-is-not-better.html b/public/writings/when-new-is-not-better.html index 47f108a..0c0b639 100644 --- a/public/writings/when-new-is-not-better.html +++ b/public/writings/when-new-is-not-better.html @@ -83,9 +83,9 @@
So, why was I in awe with this Minolta? Well, I knew you could take pictures without power, but I didn't know you could have a camera as sophisticated as the SRT-101 work fine without power. Except for the - lack of automatic speed selection, it had every single feature my father's Pentax P30n. It felt like as - if I had some piece of alien technology between my fingers, which I had stolen from a time and place - where things we couldn't even imagine were possible. + lack of automatic speed selection and detection of the film roll's ISO sensitivity, it had every single + feature my father's Pentax P30n. It felt like as if I had some piece of alien technology between my + fingers, which I had stolen from a time and place where things we couldn't even imagine were possible.
The discussion with Sara turned then swerved towards the Minolta. Sara told me about how the SRT-101 was @@ -96,7 +96,31 @@
I was instantly sold on the Minolta, which has become my workhorse ever since.
- ++ Now that I've delivered my long rant on how I fell in love with my Minolta and it's simplicity, + I want to jump into the lesson that I learned from this whole story. Well, actually, I don't think + I've strictly learned it from the Minolta only, but from many other similar situations when dealing + with human engineered things. The Minolta is probably just an incredible example. +
++ The lesson is simply that new technology and features are not always better. Just like there is no + silver bullet for complexity, there is no silver bullet for adding fancy stuff into a camera without + sacrificing something. And I want to argue that not all of the combinations in the feature + richness/complexity spectrum make sense. +
++ Let me focus on the example of my two cameras. Again, the features that the Pentax provides and the + Minolta doesn't are (1) detecting automatically the sensitivity of the film roll and (2) having an AUTO + mode for the shutter speed, which adjusts itself to the aperture and film sentivity to get the right + amount of light. +
++ The Minolta doesn't detect the film itself. Instead, this is solved by... you setting it. This is done + in a second by simply adjusting it on the same wheel where you select the shutter speed. +