[deepGem]

I was an ardent manual film photography fan. Heck, I even bought a medium format camera. The hassle of developing film was too much even in the US. What won over digital is not just the freedom to click a million pictures, but the freedom to run your own darkroom on your PC/Mac.

What I really need now is a compromise. I want the freedom of my own digital darkroom but I need a fully manual and digital camera with an incredible 4-6 month battery life. So cut everything out of the camera that sucks battery - the LCD screen, the motors, just have the sharpest lens and the best sensor, bring back the optical viewfinder. In fact, I wouldn't even mind having film as a backup, in case the battery runs out.

Sure this will add a bit of weight and all that, but this will appeal to those photographers who love the process, and believe that the end result takes care of itself. I can't help but draw parallels to programming but I'll refrain from doing so.

Being at the right place at the right time, perhaps takes a week of backcountry hiking, so be it. I need a camera that doesn't run out of juice, and has zero lag, for that once in a lifetime shot.

On similar lines, we have auto focus and manual focus, 2 extremes why not a middle ground, assisted focus ?. Nikon AI and AI-P lenses had this ideology, but surely that didn't survive.

[donatzsky]

The Pixii digital rangefinder might be for you then (except for the poor battery life).

https://pixii.fr/

https://www.macfilos.com/2023/04/17/new-kid-on-the-block-the...

[nimajneb]

I saw the Pixii for the first time today actually. It's unfortunately way above my budget. The other commenter explained a high end bare bones camera. I've always a much lower tier camera without a screen on the back. Like just take less than $1000 and remove all that extra stuff. Just give me ISO, shutter, aperture (if not on lense), shutter button, and AF selector, on the body. And make it compact, maybe even like a point and shoot with a fixed focal length lens. That's my pipe dream for a digital camera.

[deepGem]

Agreed not shelling out 3K for a camera, it's not the Vision Pro. My sweet spot price for a camera like this is $500. A fabulous 35-200mm zoom, a great sensor and all manual. The only other aspect I wonder about is in camera image stabilization. How can that be achieved without sacrificing battery life.

[moritz]

Fuji X100 almost checks all the boxes (imho that’s why it’s sold out all the time). Would they dare to make one without a screen? Guess it’s unlikely, unfortunately.