{"id":17137,"date":"2016-04-18T14:07:27","date_gmt":"2016-04-18T23:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/?p=17137"},"modified":"2024-12-10T11:53:15","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T20:53:15","slug":"what-camera-would-galen-rowell-use-if-he-were-still-alive-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/what-camera-would-galen-rowell-use-if-he-were-still-alive-today\/","title":{"rendered":"What Camera Would Galen Rowell Use if He Were Still Alive Today?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Galen\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Galen Rowell<\/a> was undoubtedly the father of modern day adventure and outdoor photography. He pioneered the style of going light and fast with small cameras in the mountains\u00a0and paved the way for guys like me.<\/p>\n

Having started his career with manual Nikon F bodies, he later moved up to the higher end pro Nikon SLRs like the 8008, N90, F4 (sans grip) and the F100. However, he wasn’t a huge fan of the F5; he considered it too heavy for fast and light use since it didn’t have a removable battery grip. (Here’s a complete list of his preferred camera gear.)<\/a><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, his untimely death in 2002 meant that he wasn’t around to see the photography world move to digital. Ironically, he was once quoted as saying:<\/p>\n

“Small, portable digital cameras that exceed the performance of an off-the-shelf Nikon using 35mm slide film are further away from current reality than the proposed NASA manned Mars mission, although I expect both to happen sometime during my lifetime.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Well, we haven’t gone to Mars yet, but small, portable digital cameras that exceed the performance of film-shooting Nikons are the norm today. The reality is that just about every digital camera on the market these days out resolves film.<\/p>\n

As someone who has been\u00a0heavily influenced by Galen over the years, I’ve often wondered how he would have navigated the digital camera world. For years, I always assumed that if he were still alive he’d be shooting with Nikon DSLRs. After all, he was a longtime Nikon guy.<\/p>\n

However, Galen was also a huge Fuji guy. Anyone who’s familiar with his work knows that Velvia was\u00a0his favorite slide film;\u00a0he\u00a0loved the\u00a0bold\u00a0color palette\u00a0and\u00a0rich blacks it produced.<\/p>\n

You can see where this is going, can’t you…?<\/p>\n

Given his style, what do you think\u00a0that Galen Rowell, the father of light-and-fast\u00a0photography would think of a camera like the\u00a0Fujifilm X-T1<\/a>? (2024 EDIT: the updated X-T5<\/a>. or even its little sibling, the X-T50<\/a>). It’s small, rugged, weather-sealed, highly capable, simple to operate, with its top-deck dials and SLR-inspired body, it takes gorgeous, incredibly sharp photos and has the Velvia film simulation mode built right in.<\/p>\n

I’m betting he’d be pretty intrigued.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As a former mechanic, constant tinkerer\u00a0and creative visionary, Galen wasn’t the kind of man to remain beholden to any one brand, he used Nikon SLRs because that was the best gear available during his time.<\/p>\n

That doesn’t necessarily mean he would have always<\/em> stayed with using Nikon gear in perpetuity.\u00a0After all, he once switched from Kodak to Fuji, so it’s entirely plausible that he might\u00a0have switched camera systems at some point if he found something that better matched his style.<\/p>\n

So here’s my question, and I’d love to get reader input on this. If Galen Rowell were still alive today, what do you think he’d be shooting with? <\/strong>More importantly,\u00a0if the digital photography industry had evolved with him still in it,\u00a0what kind of influence do you think he would have had with regards to innovation and modern camera design?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are the options I’ve come up with. Feel free to comment and add your own.<\/p>\n

Scenario #1: He’d Still Be Shooting with Nikon Cameras<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Given their\u00a0current lineup, my guess\u00a0is that in this scenario,\u00a0Galen’s camera of choice would be the\u00a0Nikon D750<\/a>. (2024 EDIT or Nikon D850<\/a>) It’s their best non-battery grip full frame DSLR, it’s lightweight and has a number of pro features. For some subjects, like wildlife and extreme telephoto sports, maybe he’d be using one of the new Nikon mirrorless cameras, like the \u00a0Z8.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Scenario #2: He Would Have Switched to Fujifilm Cameras<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Given the size, weight and performance of the Fuji X Series cameras and lenses, and the fact that the cameras have Velvia, and other legacy film simulations built right in, it’s easy to see why Galen might be really attracted to a camera like the X-T5<\/a> or X-H2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And don’t discount the X-T50<\/a>, which has the same sensor and image processor, and most of the same features as the X-T5, but in a smaller, lighter body. Or even the Fujifilm X-M5<\/a>, which has the same APS-C X-Trans sensor as all the higher end models, but in a tiny compact body that fits in the palm of your hand and stuffs into a jacket pocket.<\/p>\n

It’s well known that Galen often ran with his camera<\/a> inside his\u00a0Photoflex chest pouch<\/a>. Some of his favorite images were shot during his quiet morning runs when he carried just one body and lens. He also loved using wide angles, so how could he not like a small camera like the X-M5, or even the X100VI?<\/p>\n

There are a lot of reasons why Galen might have been drawn to the Fujifilm X Series cameras, and to mirrorless cameras in general. This brings me to my next point.<\/p>\n

Scenario #3: He Would Definitely be Shooting Mirrorless<\/h2>\n

Even if he still used DSLRs, my guess is that Galen Rowell would be very intrigued by mirrorless cameras. Not only are they smaller and lighter, they\u00a0offer a number of very useful features, including a full-time Live View LCD screen. As someone who often shot in tricky light, he would probably appreciate the benefits a live view screen offers. It’s quite possible that he would have used both DLSRs and mirrorless cameras,\u00a0each for different activities.<\/p>\n

And if it weren’t Fujifilm, maybe he would have been drawn to another system. In my mind, Sony would be the next logical choice, although Sony cameras don’t have Velvia mode. Still there’s no question that Sony cameras and sensors produce high quality imagery.<\/p>\n

That said, even if you shoot mirrorless with a full frame Sony A9, your lenses don’t really get any smaller, so you’re not going as fast and light as you could. At any rate, I just don’t see Galen switching from Nikon to Sony. And Olympus cameras have even smaller sensors than APS-C, so unless you can think of another option, we’re back to Fuji.<\/p>\n

…Which\u00a0brings us to my last point.<\/p>\n

Scenario #4: Galen\u00a0Would Have Influenced Nikon to Build a Better Mirrorless Camera<\/h2>\n

Galen had a huge influence when he was alive, and I think that if he were still around, he would have pushed Nikon to come out with a\u00a0mirrorless camera that would fit his style. At least something way better than what they currently offer, none of which\u00a0seems to appeal to very many serious outdoor and adventure photographers.<\/p>\n

Perhaps Nikon would have gone back to their “F” roots and pushed them to innovate in an entirely different direction. What about a\u00a0digital back for their film cameras?\u00a0Swap out the film door for a digital back and you\u00a0suddenly have a 16MP digital FM2, F3 or even FG. This could actually\u00a0create a huge market for all the people out there who still have their film cameras tucked away on shelves, unused for decades. I’ve always thought this would be a smart move.<\/p>\n

He might have pushed them to invent something more like the Fujifilm X-T series, which actually looks and feels more like an FM2 than all the little Nikon 1 models they keep coming out with. At the very least, perhaps the Df\/Zf might have been a better camera.<\/p>\n

Or, perhaps he would have worked closely with Fuji and influenced the design of the X-T1-5 series. At any rate, his presence in the industry would have undoubtedly made a difference, at least with Nikon.<\/p>\n

Then again, maybe not.<\/p>\n

What do you think?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Galen Rowell was undoubtedly the father of modern day adventure and outdoor photography. He pioneered the style of going light and fast with small cameras in the mountains\u00a0and paved the way for guys like me. Having started his career with manual Nikon F bodies, he later moved up to the higher end pro Nikon SLRs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[13,10,288,485,343,379,20,89,182,149,171],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17137"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17137"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26514,"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17137\/revisions\/26514"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}