This may strike a chord - it did with me.

Oh yes indeed! I fell into the trap shortly after joining this site, and Pentax Forums: hence my ownership of my Pentax K5, Fuji X100, Ricoh GRD3, Olympus XZ-1 plus VF2. My later acquisitions of the Nikon P610, LX100 and FZ1000 are my own mostly uninfluenced decisions. I havent bought a new camera since... cant remember. Last year sometime. And I am still preferring to use the FZ1000 for most things when out and about.
 
I think the telling quote was “Are these things really better than the things I already have? Or am I just trained to be dissatisfied with what I have now?” I don't know if trained is the right word, but that tendency definitely comes into play. Over the past month or so I've been going through my photo archives. Thousands of photos. I found myself asking numerous times "Why did I sell that camera?". In many cases, the IQ from one to the next was nearly indistinguishable. Even the 2/3" Fuji X30 is capable of capturing excellent imagery. To the best of my recall, over the past 5 years I've owned 15 digital cameras, another 10 or so film cameras, and who knows how many lenses. Through sales or giveaways I've cut my collection way back. I am trying very hard to just cultivate an attitude of gratitude, and just create the best photos I can.
 
sickness....that's what it is. It's a very specific mental illness. At least I think it is for most people. And like any illness, not everyone suffers from it to the same degree. I'm aware of it in myself....and I've gotten better at battling at in the last year or so. But it still plagues me. I really should just stop going to gear websites.....that would definitely help.
 
sickness....that's what it is. It's a very specific mental illness. At least I think it is for most people. And like any illness, not everyone suffers from it to the same degree. I'm aware of it in myself....and I've gotten better at battling at in the last year or so. But it still plagues me. I really should just stop going to gear websites.....that would definitely help.
Definitely agree with that last sentence. The kicker is that when I got my first film camera as a gift, I was ecstatic with it. For 20 years or so, I owned only that camera. I didn't go through photo magazines (remember those?) lusting over the latest and greatest. I used my camera and enjoyed it. So I ask myself, what changed? I don't know, but I'm focusing very hard on returning to that state of mind.
 
Definitely agree with that last sentence. The kicker is that when I got my first film camera as a gift, I was ecstatic with it. For 20 years or so, I owned only that camera. I didn't go through photo magazines (remember those?) lusting over the latest and greatest. I used my camera and enjoyed it. So I ask myself, what changed? I don't know, but I'm focusing very hard on returning to that state of mind.

THats pretty much it, for me, too. I made do with my old Kodak instamatic from 1969 to 1972, then, I made do with the old Minolta SRT303b from 1973 to 2001. Then I made do wiht my old Kodak DC5000 until 2007 and my Olympus C760uz for a couple of years, with the time between purchases growing ever shorter.

Insanity, as Luke says.
 
I owned and enjoyed using my Olympus OM2 from when I was a student in around 1982 to the mid-1990s when I retired it in favour of an OM4. Did I need multi-spot metering and a titanium body? No I did not. For my purposes the OM2 was the better of the two cameras and I should have spent the money on getting it serviced rather than going for something new. I recognise this now as an example of the sickness described above, showing itself back in the film days.

-R
 
I don’t know if it’s a sickness, or a pervasive cultural theme (or meme) that is as ingrained as eating three meals a day or ‘needing’ to get the next, new iPhone. Acquisitiveness beyond need is central to our economy. Advertising strives to convert wants into needs and necessities.

I also used to scrutinize photography magazines convinced that the lenses I had for my Nikon were not as good as the new ones. I ended up with 4 lenses and 2 bodies. But my Lens Envy ended when I bought my first digital fixed-lens camera. I confess that I have owned 4 digital cameras in the last 15 years (including my current LX100), but maybe this is my final keeper, or . . . maybe not.
 
Over the past 2 months, I spent nearly 500 euros on... prints. Big, juicy, fill-me-with-joy prints. And contrary to the latest camera gear, my grandkids will be able to enjoy them 50 years from now, provided I take good care of them.

There's all the pouring over reviews, and technical differences, and pre-purchase anticipation that you get with a camera purchase, minus the built-in obsolence. And at some point you'll have printed out all of your images worthy of printing, which means you'll have to go out and... actually shoot more in order to satisfy your PAS (print acquisition syndrome)...
 
I don't think it is restricted to camera gear. I am sure Hi Fi "aficionados" have the same illness....along with fishermen/women, car owners; the list goes on! If it wasn't for GAS I am sure "CanonNikonFujiOlympusPentaxPanasonicLeica Company" would go bust.
 
I've acquired quite a few cameras and lenses over the last few years, and have lost all interest in adding anything more.
I own a Sigma DP1 Merrill, DP2 Merrill, DP3 Merrill, Sony NEX-7 with umpteen lenses, X100s and adaptors, Samsung NX1 and the 'S' lenses, and various 35mm and MF film cameras. I've finally realised that new gear won't take me any further, and I need to concentrate on learning and practice. I'm doing my best and being humble about it.
 
What I need is the time, opportunity, and (maybe) motivation to go out and shoot. Aside from subjects, I need to shoot enough with the cameras I have to get good with them. I think that's why I get my best results with Olympus mu43. I've used them so long and they have been sufficiently consistent that I know what I'm doing.
 
I can rarely afford the new stuff, but it does not stop me from lusting over this or that to buy used when I can afford it -- like an original Sony RX-1 I just got.

But it's records too, or was until I could not fit anymore in the house, and computer gear. The answer may be to head off the the hermitage in the desert, but then I'd be collecting cactus .. or cattle skulls. Something at any rate.
 
I’m actually going to sell up and go back to a single compact, have 2 m43 bodies and a ton of lenses, but take my best shots with my iPhone. A nice little 1” sensor compact will be easier to carry around, and might actually get used, unlike the m43 stuff - oh and it won’t be a 1000 on the RX100 V, as nice as it is (Can’t wait for the 6 though, if it has a touch screen, it’ll be the only camera I ever need!)
 
Back
Top