View Camera

[Brian Ellis]

If the question is whether print should be discontinued, for me it's a resounding NO. I've been a View Camera subscriber for about 13 years and have no plans to stop subscribing. If it went on-line only I wouldn't subscribe. As for discontinuing news stand distribution, I don't know enough about the benefits vs the costs to have an informed opinion.

[Tracy Storer]

I have tried a couple PDF "magazines"...I would much rather have a physical, paper copy. Further, VIEW CAMERA has become almost impossible to find around here, so I guess it's finally time to subscribe.

[Mark Sampson]

well, "View Camera" isn't exactly full of fast-breaking news (thank god). So whether it arrives on Tuesday or Thursday doesn't matter much to me. The only reason to consider 1st-class mail would be to improve reliability, and that's not been an issue for the last 19 years. And I have yet to see an on-line 'magazine' that cuts the mustard. I spend too much time in front of a monitor as it is... I like real magazines for many of the same reasons that I like real photographs.

[Don Wilkes]

Steve: I strongly considered getting a subscription, but it would actually cost me slightly more (here in Canada) than getting it at the newsstand. It's only 75 cents more per issue, but one generally expects a subscription to cost less, not more, than the stand price. Besides, I love scouring the racks, waiting for the new issue to finally arrive <g>. Plus, I get to pick out one that's in pristine condition.

\donw in Victoria

[Paul Bujak]

I like [I]View Camera[I]. I also like Photo Techniques and Shutterbug and Popular Photography. Each supplies its own brand of information and know-how. I don't have a particular style to my photography. At least, I cannot identify one so each publication gives me ideas to piece and join and maybe develop my style. I don't want to see any of these become unavailable.

The photographs in View Camera are wonderful and can inspire the most casual photog to more serious output. I do wish that more how-did-I-do-this articles be offered as well as more information on older equipment. Not all of us are as lucky as Jim G and his never-ending source of antique lenses and stuff. I have engaged in photography for more than 50 years but am only a pre-teen in LF. Every bit of technique that someone else has developed can add to my knowledge base and improve my photography.

With respect to subscriptions, I have encountered no problems with the current method of delivery. Any day a favored magazine arrives is a timely delivery. Of course, I live in a larger city. Perhaps small-town postal service might not be as good. I do not want to see a first-class only delivery because I don't need it. But if that is the only solution, I'll just buy one gallon of gas less every two months. I often forget to read on-line magazines, often leaving that to some future date which never arrives.

Paul

[Collin Orthner]

I would vote for the current system. Sometimes it's nice to haul a number of pdf's along on the laptop when travelling, but I much prefer the issue in my hands. Now that we have a distributor in Canada, we are getting every issue. Our newstand is notorious for only bringing in maybe one or two issues a year, and then the next year all six, then again the following year none. Two thumbs up for your distributor in Canada!!

[Marko]

Besides, there are some favorite reading places that aren't available with an on-line magazine.

They are if you go wireless.

[Robert Brummitt]

Here we go again. First Lenswork and now View Camera. I buy directly from the news stand aka local bookstore. I want to see what I'm paying for before I put down the dollars. That way I have control of what I'm spending my money on and getting the information that I wish to have.
If View Camera does go the route of pdf files. It will be no big loss to me as I buy maybe 4 issues or less a year. What I do hope is that Steve will do as Brooks Jensen did and have a email flyer of what the next issue will be and that I or others like me can decide if that single issue is worth buying.
I wish Steve and View Camera well and I hope to continue buying issues when I want in the future.

[steve simmons]

We always announce our issues here and on our web site.

If you buy 4 issues a year at 6.95 plus tax if there is any you are paying more than you would for a subscription that would get you six issues a year. You are also giving minimal support to the bookstore, a lot of support to the distributor and almost nothing to View Camera. You lose, we lose and the distributor wins. It just depends on whom you want to support.

steve simmons

[Erich Hoeber]

Steve -

I really enjoy the print version and I'd rather get it that way than on-line. I don't really care about 1st class.

BUT... What would be really valuable to me is if you had all of the back issues on-line in some sort of searchable database that people could subscribe to, or pay extra for. That way I wouldn't have to keep stacks of magazines around and it might be a great way to get new revenue from old content.

Cheers!

Erich