Those old enough to remember actual family photo albums will recall the horrible, flat or super-overexposed harsh light from a built-in flash.
Most of these pictures were taken during a completely random event – you know, while eating, or pointing at something off-camera, maybe yelling during a festive period. While the fashion choices of relatives or friends are recorded to live on forever through journalism of the elder kind. Like a stain on the character of the poor souls' life and fashion choices.
Fast-forward many years and that same style has lived on. Not through grandma's camera – no – but it's become part of the advertising content mystical journey. A rite of passage of sorts. You only have to look at the Instagram feeds of singers like Miley Cyrus or The Boys star Erin Moriarty to see that the style has been thrust into marketing machines of social media.
It’s become cool to have the look of ill-considered family photos, such as those your grandparents might have snapped on their classic compact from the Seventies or Eighties. So what does a contemporary grandma use now? One of the best compact cameras?
Panasonic recently announced an update to the Lumix ZS99, and it comes with a new USB-C port. The ZS99 has been around 10 years in the making and it's great for, you know who, 'grandma' (or indeed any relatively relaxed family member less obsessed with settings).
It comes with a few bells and whistles though it lacks an EVF, which for some weird reason Lumix has removed. Still, it's great to see Lumix keeping these pocket-sized powerhouses for those who don’t want to carry their phone around everywhere – but it does make me think.
Grandma can no longer take horrible photos; no more overexposed, harsh-shadow pictures. The mature user from my generation has lived through a technical revolution, somewhat, from film compacts with little more than a flash – perhaps even a disposable flash cube. I suspect many grandmas now have one of the best camera phones and know how to take a relatively decent picture.
Would a granny from a generation before take worse pictures than today's new batch of semi-pensioners? Yes, I suspect so, but not with something so capable as the breed of compact cameras that are available today. I'd almost like to make this a science test. I'd probably call it a battle of the biddies, but I can sense the editor wincing.
The kitsch look of yesteryear that has become the staple of advertising and influencers; invented by the generic grandma, would certainly been lost.
Saying that, maybe the next trend is just a generation of Lumix users away, probably taking better pictures than you are. How will we identify it a generation later though? Because they're 'only' 2D?
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Compact cameras make a comeback as the ZS99 is announced, or perhaps read about the Sony ZV-1 – an ever-popular alternative which is already out (no need to wait until mid February).
