A new plan for a digital black-and-white camera.
As many of you know, I was thinking about launching a gofundme project for a new Leica Monochrome M camera, the best digital black and white camera on the market, it would cost in entirety, $15,000. The price made me uneasy, that is just a lot of money, and I was having trouble pulling the trigger, so I have been exploring possible alternatives for several days, from used cameras to some kind of conversion.
There is a new idea, and a much cheaper one.
I am seeking $3,000 or a Canon XNite 7D, a Microchrome digital camera built for black and white photography, a camera I did not know existed until today. I appreciate the many offers of support, contributions can be made via my Post Office Box (P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816) or via Paypal, Friends And Family, [email protected].
I was touched by the many messages of support I got, there were also a number of critical responses as well. Crowdsourcing is still new and unpopular with some people. Sometimes, there is the sense that people as rich and comfortable as me – heh-heh- should not be asking for outside help. After all, wrote one man, we went to Cape Cod a couple of years ago.
The readers of my books and my blog know me well enough to decide if they wish to contribute, or if they don’t. That, as my friend Ed Gulley said, is the end of it.
My photography is my art, it is shared and free to anyone who wishes to use it. I am comfortable asking for help in moving to the next level and exploring black and white photography as well as digital color. I was looking all week for an alternative to the Leica, I kept choking on the price tag. I was stuck.
But the blog is my mother, it provides. Here’s what happened:
Yesterday I got a message from Susan, a long-time blog reader steering me to a column about Monochrome technology, it led me to explore two new possibilities – buying a new Monochrome Canon or paying for a Monochrome Conversation, the re-building of one of my two existing Canon cameras by a highly-regarded tech firm in New Jersey called maxmax.
This firm said it could replace the sensor in my Canon 5D and convert the camera to black-and-white monochrome, they call this “visible light” monochrome, it cost $2,500, and while talking to their staff, I explored a new Canon Monochrome on sale at maxmax for between $2,500 and $3,000. I looked through the portfolios for the black and white photographs this camera has taken and I was impressed, I was happy with the enhanced detail, shade and quality.
A new camera at roughly the same price makes sense, it will last longer, come with a guarantee and require less maintenance.
This camera will help me do what I am trying to do, but what the digital SLR’s were not built to do. And I will continue taking color photographs – the farm and landscapes, the animals, the farm. I wouldn’t wish to cast my life her only in black and wite.
I can’t say these new cameras were quite as good as the Leica is supposed to be, but they are very good and I would be fortunate to have one. I want to grow as an artist, I want to move forward with my photography.
These photographs would, as always,be shared with the readers of my blog. I give the photographs away for free, I have given away more than 50,000 photographs so far, which makes me comfortable seeking help in their purchase. They were worth a lot of money.
So after talking with some other photographers and doing some online research, I’ve decided to buy the Canon XNite 7D which is built for black and white photography only. I can use the Canon lenses I already have, but would need new batteries, chargers, cases, etc. The single Leica lens alone cost more than this camera. So I will not be using the camera Henri Cartier-Bresson used, I will be using mine. That sounds right.
And if I get a new one, I could keep the 5 D as a spare, both of my Canons have been used so heavily in all kinds of weather and been dropped so often that they need some repair. I will pay for those myself. I think it’s a good plan, but I can’t do it by myself.
So I’m going to go for this and ask your help, I’m going to skip the gofundme – which takes seven percent of the donations – and instead open a Camera Fund through my Post Office Box in Cambridge, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. People who are so inclined can send checks there in any amount. You can also send money via Paypal to “Friends And Family,” all you have to do is type in my e-mail, [email protected] and the amount you are choosing to send.
All you will get is my photographs every day, to use in any way you wish. I hope that is worth something to you, it means a lot to me. I will not watermark my photos or charge for their use. They are free to anyone who wants them.
You can leave a message for me on Paypal if you wish, mentioning the camera.
The Leica was a sweet dream, I didn’t realize this other option – quite good enough for me – was a possibility. I think a Leica is not in the cards for me in this lifetime. Perhaps the next. I am grateful to Susan.
I don’t want anyone to feel pressured into contributing if they are not able or willing.My good life will go on either way, and lots of you have experienced financial challenge, as I have.
This is not a crisis or a drama, it is a way of supporting an artist in the new world in the new way artists are supported. The camera my readers bought for me so that I could work on my Talking To Animals book was invaluable, the book will be published next Spring, the photographs will appear online. Crowdsourcing is a way scores of artists are doing their work in an era when many of the traditional sources of funding – in my case, royalties and advances – have dried up.
So I’ll go ahead and accept contributions to the Post Office Box,I will contribute as much of my own money as I can. This feels right to me, and much more manageable.Thanks for your encouragement and support, whether you choose to contribute or not. We are a community. Contributions can do to the Camera Fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or Paypal, “Friends And Family” to [email protected]