Point & Shoot

Believe it or not, Black Friday is not only an American phenomenon. This annual day dedicated to consumerism is now celebrated all over Europe. The only difference is that in Europe people don’t camp out for three days in advance to get their hands on an inexpensive TV or X-box and there isn’t a mad dash when the doors open followed by fist fights over the year’s hottest toy. You know?!?! The true meaning of Christmas! The REAL Christmas! Not the Christmas served up on the Hallmark Channel. In comparison, Black Friday in Europe is a total joke. They advertise like you’re getting the deal of a lifetime, but a simple Amazon query will retrieve a similar or lower price as the one advertised on Black Friday circulars. No proud American would dare waste his time on the European Black Friday. With that said, I did find one true Black Friday deal in Greece this year! The deal was for a compact point and shoot camera that I’ve wanted for some time. This was the exception to the rule and was none other than the Canon G7x Mark ii and it was on sale for 400 euros. Since I bought it in December, I’ve been popping my head in and out of camera stores all around Barcelona to find this camera still sells for over 600 euros.

Why a point and shoot?

Earlier this year, I visited Paris for a long weekend. I feel like these trips need to be memorialized by a camera and not the iPhone. Plus, the images on a camera can be captured in RAW for additional processing in Adobe Lightroom. Don’t get me wrong, the best camera that you have is always going to be the one in your hand at any given moment. However, to truly feel like you’re on vacation, I think you need a camera to go with the sunscreen, bucket hat, and backpack. A paper map of Paris would’ve also been nice to have with me to see how well I can still orientate and navigate after a few glasses of wine. The only requirement I had for the new camera is something compact to fit in my pocket; commonly known as a point and shoot camera. The majority of the photos taken on vacation are taken on the street and today’s point and shoot cameras outperform camera phones in every category; especially in low light situations. I prefer something compact over the long lenses of a full camera kit, because I associate these larger cameras with creepy guys. The point and shoot kind of camera is less threatening or intimidating. From the start of my search I was looking to purchase a used camera, because most higher end point and shoot cameras cost well over 600 euros, with some Sony mirrorless cameras costing well over 1,000 euros. I’m still not ready to jump up into the +2,000 euro price range of a Leica. The Canon G7x Mark ii checked all the boxes for me except for 4K video quality. The G7x Mark ii only had 1080p hd video, but the latest G7x Mark iii had 4k and came with a much higher price tag of ~800 euros. I didn’t think 4K video warranted spending another 400 euros for basically the exact same camera. I can stomach getting a 400 euro camera lifted by a thief or dropped into the Seine more so than an 800 euro camera.

Is Gen Z just Gen X reincarnated?

I’m a Gen Xer. We’re tech-savvy… but not tech-dependent. I always viewed Gen Z as only tech-dependent, but not tech savvy. Apparently, I’m totally wrong. Maybe I’m thinking about millennials? I’m starting to believe that Gen Z is actually tech agnostic. They just don’t care anymore. I find this to be in direct conflict with the stereotypical Gen-Z profile as TikTok and Instagram driven youngsters that order expensive salads from Sweet Green through an app. You can understand my shock when I read this article in the NYTimes about the re-emergence of the point and shoot camera among Gen Z aptly titled: The Hottest Gen Z Gadget Is a 20-Year-Old Digital Camera. The subtitle is: Young people are opting for point-and-shoots and blurry photos. This is hard to square with the fact that the point and shoot camera market is basically dead since the emergence and widespread acceptance of camera phones over the past two decades. Camera manufacturers are now focussing their efforts on higher-end models to meet the needs of photographers. So, what gives? I feel like I woke up in the twilight zone. My perfectly fine 15 year old Canon Powershot G10 with an impressive 14MP that accompanied me on all my travels is still perfectly fine to continue using on my adventures. I never thought I needed a new camera until my mind tricked me into believing that newer = better. That’s why I gave my Powershot G10 to my niece this past year as an excuse to buy a new camera. Now I find out that the kids these days are perfectly content with 7MP lower-res, limited functionality, point and shoot cameras. I had too much camera at 14MP and now have way too much camera at my current 20MP. Even though Gen Z can use any number of available filters to achieve the same effect on their iPhones, they prefer to use a low res camera. As odd as this may all seem, it all makes perfect sense to this Gen Xer, because my super advanced point and shoot camera is all wrapped in a vintage inspired camera case with a neck strap emulating cameras from the golden age of photography.

Why Now?

I think Gen Z is trying to tell us what we all already feel and know, but afraid to say out loud. People are just burnt out with trying to keep up with the latest and greatest in technology. It has never been fully explained to me – the average tech user – why I need 4K video or the difference to the naked eye of a 20MP images over a 10MP image? Somehow, someway Apple has me feeling like my iPhone X is becoming obsolete because it is four models behind now with the introduction of the latest iPhone 14. I paid $1,000 for my iPhone X back in 2018 only to see it eclipsed by the iPhone XR and XS within a year. Two weeks ago, I changed the battery for 75 euros at the Apple store in Barcelona and now I’m expecting to get another five years out of this phone before I need to shell out serious cash for a new one. If my work wasn’t so dependent on the iPhone and its integration through iCloud and related project management and messaging apps, I would be totally content walking around town with a flip phone.

I like to think we may finally be entering into an era where we fully explore all our available options and prioritize experiences over technology. The first shots have been fired by Gen Z with the re-emergence of point and shoot cameras on the scene. I believe the revolution will need the guidance and wisdom of Gen X that walked blindly into the transition away from an analog world to a new digital one. Gen Z will need Gen X to show them the way back to a time where records were played in our family living rooms and mixed tapes were made to let the other person know how we felt about them. I think Gen Z can get along with Gen X, because we both share a common enemy: Boomers! Ok Boomer?!?! Millennials was just a failed experiment in helicopter parenting. Let’s be honest, What does Gen X actually use their iPhones for anyways? A few emails? Facebook updates? Spotify? Coupon apps to save at the supermarket? The majority of iPhone “power” users don’t even use the expansive features that are included and built in with each subsequent updated iPhone. We’re failing to see the ridiculousness of these “upgrades”. Gen X is rooting for Gen Z to continue making gains against tech. Apple has successfully sold us endless possibilities (at a price) with each subsequent iteration of the iPhone. We never stopped to think that we’ve already had these endless possibilities available to us for the past 20 years. Apple just made the choices easier and easily accessible to us. Don’t get me wrong, the revolution is happening! A day of reckoning is on the horizon. One low res image at a time. One vinyl purchase at a time and every time an iPhone gets traded in for a flip phone. From my vantage point, my new point and shoot camera will follow me into retirement. Best Black Friday purchase ever! Check out a few photos taken with the new camera over the past couple of weeks: