An old lady brings her newly purchased Canon T2i and kit lens back to a camera store in Toronto claiming they were defective.
Clerk: So whats wrong with your camera? Lady: It only takes blurry shots, it’s broken. Clerk: Were you shooting indoors? Lady: Yes. Clerk: What mode were you shooting in? Lady: I don’t know. Clerk: So auto… Was the flash going off? Lady: No, I hate the flash. Clerk: Were you using a tripod? Lady: Now you’re asking the really hard questions! Clerk: … Lady I could sell you any lens behind me and none of them would help you take a better picture until you learn how to use your camera. Lady: … Clerk: We can point you towards some places that can give you excellent short classes, or sell you a book. Lady: I don’t need lessons, my camera is broken.
You know all those not-so-awesome portraits found all over social networking services like Facebook and Myspace? If you’ve felt like there’s something strangely uniform about them, perhaps the reason is because they were all taken by Sheffield Quigley, the world’s first and only professional Myspace photographer.
Customer: Hi, I am looking for a Canon lens. Shopkeeper: Certainly, which one specifically or what’s the purpose? Customer: I am looking for a lens that can shoot pictures with sharp foreground objects and sharp background objects. Shopkeeper: Right, you mean a lens that is good for close-ups and landscape? Customer: Well, not exactly, I want a lens to shoot pictures that everything is in not blurry, especially not those blurry backgrounds with people. Shopkeeper: Hmm? Customer: Should I buy the 70-200 2.8 IS II? What do you think I should buy? Shopkeeper: I think you should buy a photography book first.
The shopkeeper proceeded to show the customer a photography book, but he decided to leave.
Here’s a fun blast from the past: in the early 2000s The Daily Show ran this short segment in which Ed Helms (now known for playing Andy Bernard on The Office) introduces viewers to digital cameras. It’s an interesting glimpse at how some people felt about the emergence of digital photography as it was starting to become popular.
You won’t really learn anything about how to use cameras from this short film, but it’s pretty amusing and can be a nice photography-related 2-minute diversion from your work.
Here’s a humorous introduction to the Arri Alexa digital motion picture camera by Inspiration Studios. Though they have the Canon 7D available for rent, they don’t seem to think too highly of it.
If only there were educational videos of this style for every camera on the market… That would make learning quite enjoyable.
Here’s a humorous Amazon user review of the Nikon F6 35mm SLR, which currently sells for $3,200. With only 5 other user ratings (all perfect scores), this single user was able to knock off half a star off the rating for this camera.
The stories are often the same — you spend some time saving up money for the perfect piece of gear that you’ve spent hours reading reviews about and comparing. You finally order it, and spend some days checking the tracking information every few minutes to see if your package is still traveling according to schedule. Finally, the big day arrives, and you eagerly stay fixed at home, unwilling to step out for a minute or take a shower lest the UPS delivery person arrives. After something forces you to step out of the house briefly, you arrive home and are crushed to discover a “failed delivery” slip affixed to your door.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look into why this always seems to happen.
