The analysis paralysis of modern cameras
Put simply, analysis paralysis is the fear of making a decision – any decision – when there's a risk you may be missing a better one. That seems to sum up the infinite complexity and potential of modern cameras perfectly.
'Analysis paralysis?' Really? I'm making this up, right? Actually, no. This idea is well established in modern business thinking, contemporary philosophy and also traditional wisdoms. It goes as far back as Aesop's Fables and has equivalents in multiple cultures. It's the idea that while you're deciding what to do, the opportunity is gone.
Digital cameras are the perfect example. Once, cameras were simple. You needed to figure out the exposure (always in advance), focus (often in advance) and just take the picture when it appeared. You got everything ready so that you had just one job.
Now it's different. Now we have to anticipate what the camera is going to do from one shot to the next and make sure it's what we intended (oh, the wonders of automation), worry about whether we're in the right focus mode or whether the camera will pick the right focus point and then worry about whether we're at the right focal length and shooting position or whether we need to move to a new place and/or change the zoom setting (yeah, zoom lenses – thanks for nothing).
This is what's changed. What we used to decide in advance is now 'live'. We are no longer free to simply react. By giving ourselves endless real-time choices we're paralysing ourselves with real-time decisions.
Photography is about the moment and the meaning. When it starts being about decisions and calculations, the moment is gone, and the meaning with it.
