I discovered at coffee time this morning that one of my work colleagues has never seen a record. That’s record, as in the black vinyl disc with grooves. This isn’t a child, it’s an adult old enough to have a degree. From this I conclude that 1. The pace of technology is faster than I appreciated or 2. I’m older than I thought.
Come to think of it, I haven’t seen a record for about the last twenty years.
Marcus – you are older than you thought. We all are!
Brendan – I too have a Minolta Dynax 7 something. And a fridge full of film. I keep my eye on each new Sony model as they come out and will have to splash out some time.
Mind you – at this stage in life perhaps I can get by?
I’ve seen lots of records (although now they’re called ‘vinyls’), but only in the hands of friends who’re DJs or serious enthusiasts…
Or my parents, come to think of it (one day, I hope to inherit their collection)
Should I admit here that not only do I have a stash of vinyl in my cupboard, but I also still have a record player to play them on. And I’m not even a DJ. I didn’t think I was that old, but maybe I am! My stereo (with the turntable) also dates from the late 80s and I can’t bring myself to replace it because (a) it still works perfectly, and (b) then I’d have nothing to play my records on (on the once in a blue moon that I actually drag them out of my cupboard)! Sometimes people who come round to my house can’t believe I still have a turntable and the first thing they want to do is run home and dig out their records, so maybe this means my late-80s stereo is increasing in value?
Ken- I’m quite fond of the Kodak portra films (stocked in my fridge), but the DSLR has made a lot of difference to my shooting. One big appeal has just not having to juggle rolls of film when travelling- I came back with 1200 photos from the NT. Convert that to rolls of film and well, you get the idea. The stabilised bodies are also very useful (especially for macro, or shooting crocs from an unstable boat).
I prefer to use film for landscape work, and for black-and-white.
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There have been some very rapid changes, especially in the very visible area of ‘consumer electronics’.
In the late 80s we got our stereo system- it came with a record player and the CD player was optional. The record player disappeared long ago and the CD player has been replaced with a DVD player.
VHS has gone from rapidly penetrating the home market to being practically dead. This point was emphasised some years ago when a UK insurance report said that VHS recorders were now being left behind by thieves. I don’t know about you, but when thieves turn up their noses at something, that technology is dead. :)
A lot of people are still surprised to learn that I continue to shoot with film in some applications. While I can still get professional film (noting this is becoming harder to source), the reality is that the big camera manufacturers have really cut back on film camera models. Once my Minolta Dynax 7′s ‘bite the dust’, that will be the end of that technology for me. There won’t even be the parts to fix them.