amateriat
We're all light!
Well, there's gear lust, and there's gear love...
I went through a decent amount of gear in the first decade of my getting "serious" about my own photography, although I spaced my system change-outs to every three years of so. Lots of SLR stuff, which is funny, because one of the cameras that was on the short list for my first "El Serioso" purchase, back in late '74-early '75, was a Leica M5; imagine all the metaphorical skirt-chasing that choice might've saved me! (Or so I like to think, anyway.)
But I've been "settled down" with my Hexars for six years now, with a small passel of fixed-lens cameras for lighter packing and the occasional desire for variety. I think my hardware lust has pretty much leveled off. My love of good gear, however, has never died.
I went through a decent amount of gear in the first decade of my getting "serious" about my own photography, although I spaced my system change-outs to every three years of so. Lots of SLR stuff, which is funny, because one of the cameras that was on the short list for my first "El Serioso" purchase, back in late '74-early '75, was a Leica M5; imagine all the metaphorical skirt-chasing that choice might've saved me! (Or so I like to think, anyway.)
But I've been "settled down" with my Hexars for six years now, with a small passel of fixed-lens cameras for lighter packing and the occasional desire for variety. I think my hardware lust has pretty much leveled off. My love of good gear, however, has never died.
amateriat
We're all light!
Not me...the answer is likely to be as tricky as the question.How are GAS and Sex related ?
Discuss ....
- Barrett
DEcevR
Member
Gear lust is bad in itself with one hobby but for some (me) when you lust for gear in 4-5 different activities it is just plain insane :bang:
Especially, on retirement .........
Another retiree and myself were just talking about GAS today at the skeet range just before we left to go to the gun shop :bang:
Especially, on retirement .........
Another retiree and myself were just talking about GAS today at the skeet range just before we left to go to the gun shop :bang:
Roger Hicks
Veteran
How about a distinction between lust and curiosity? The parallels with sex are exact.
Many young men (and, I'm told, many young women) are consumed with sexual curiosity; they'll try just about anything, with just about anyone, often several times in order to make sure.
Once they've tried it, they realize that some of it, they don't care for; that some bits are better than others; and that there's quite a lot to be said for consensus opinions, provided they're reasonably broad minded.
Quite unlike cameras, then...
Cheers,
R.
Many young men (and, I'm told, many young women) are consumed with sexual curiosity; they'll try just about anything, with just about anyone, often several times in order to make sure.
Once they've tried it, they realize that some of it, they don't care for; that some bits are better than others; and that there's quite a lot to be said for consensus opinions, provided they're reasonably broad minded.
Quite unlike cameras, then...
Cheers,
R.
yanidel
Well-known
With gear, you can resell it !How are GAS and Sex related ?
Discuss ....
When you have found your other one, you can't resell it, you eventually will have to pay to have it go ...
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
There is no defence for gear lust ... only acceptance! Just when you think you've controlled the urge to buy more cameras than you need or can ever use regularly ... lens lust hits! I find myself wanting lenses more these days.
I recently bought a beautiful 1.4 50mm Nikkor ... it happened to have an immaculate Nikon S2 Black Dial attached to it unfortunately but I recalibrated my values and accepted the compromise!
I recently bought a beautiful 1.4 50mm Nikkor ... it happened to have an immaculate Nikon S2 Black Dial attached to it unfortunately but I recalibrated my values and accepted the compromise!
squirrel$$$bandit
Veteran
Ha! I don't know if I'm a young man anymore, but I'm afraid I'm the same way about sex. Except I never act on it, because I'm happily married. Maybe I'm channeling it all into gear.
Or maybe Joe and his compadre Freud are right, and it's all castration anxiety.
HuubL
hunter-gatherer
When I look through my Flickr account and ask the same question, the answer is invariably always "YES"...
HuubL
hunter-gatherer
There is no defence for gear lust ... only acceptance! Just when you think you've controlled the urge to buy more cameras than you need or can ever use regularly ... lens lust hits! I find myself wanting lenses more these days.
I recently bought a beautiful 1.4 50mm Nikkor ... it happened to have an immaculate Nikon S2 Black Dial attached to it unfortunately but I recalibrated my values and accepted the compromise!
Exactly like I did yesterday. There was this lovely J9 for sale. After reading all the good things about this lens here on RFF, I bought it. The fact that its lens cap was a nice chrome 3-lug M5 couldn't stop me.
kevin m
Veteran
Chrome, black paint, vulcanite, leather, brass....what's not to like?
Dektol Dan
Well-known
squirrel$$$bandit
Veteran
That's a nice diverse stable right there. My last one is a goldtop Tokai Love Rock. Awesome.
I really like my DSLR, especially for macro and tele. But I would love, love, love an affordable digital RF to supplement the film ones. That's probably the one additional thing I would really dig.
imajypsee
no expiration date
OK, here's my story...
OK, here's my story...
Way back when I was a young mother my (now) ex husband traded a car we didn't use for a Mamiya Sekor 500DTL; prior to that I used a Minolta RF my dad gave me and box cameras, a kodak instamatic... that SLR came with one 55mm lens and that's all I had and could afford. When the meter went bad on the 500DTL I went to a hardbody polaroid and the instamatics and a Yashica Autofocus S (a really good camera, but no low light without flash) and then one day my budget got better and I bought some Pentax gear and a few lenses and used them til Canon came out with the 300D with lens for less than a grand. By now my kids are grown, I've divorced the ex and my budget is good....more lenses, more Canon digital bodies... gave away all the analog gear... more Canon bodies, a Pentax DSLR and... one day I was bored and it was HOT out for weeks so I started scanning my old negatives and found my old stuff was pretty interesting... so I bought a Mamiya Sekor 1000DTL with 55 f/1.4 lens and some other stuff and, since I have a good income and I CAN, I just decided to try out as much stuff as I want.
I truly don't get why buying stuff to mess around with it is anyone's business buy your own. My "obsession" is what keeps my brain sharp and my life interesting.
Mary in SW Florida
Canon: 5D;40D;30D;20D;300D;16-35L;400L;80-200L;100f/2.8;85f/1.8;50f/1.4;28f/1.8;20f/2.8;28-135IS;
Pentax: K10D and kit lens; 50f/1.4; various M42 lenses and Kmount lenses
Mamiya-Sekor 1000DTL; RB67;Pentax Spotmatic;Leicaflex SL; Canon QLGlll 17;Vivitar35ES; Ricoh Diacord;Mamiya SIX folder; Polaroids; Kodak duaflexes; Welta Weltax; Zorki4, Fed3b, BessaR...probably more
OK, here's my story...
Way back when I was a young mother my (now) ex husband traded a car we didn't use for a Mamiya Sekor 500DTL; prior to that I used a Minolta RF my dad gave me and box cameras, a kodak instamatic... that SLR came with one 55mm lens and that's all I had and could afford. When the meter went bad on the 500DTL I went to a hardbody polaroid and the instamatics and a Yashica Autofocus S (a really good camera, but no low light without flash) and then one day my budget got better and I bought some Pentax gear and a few lenses and used them til Canon came out with the 300D with lens for less than a grand. By now my kids are grown, I've divorced the ex and my budget is good....more lenses, more Canon digital bodies... gave away all the analog gear... more Canon bodies, a Pentax DSLR and... one day I was bored and it was HOT out for weeks so I started scanning my old negatives and found my old stuff was pretty interesting... so I bought a Mamiya Sekor 1000DTL with 55 f/1.4 lens and some other stuff and, since I have a good income and I CAN, I just decided to try out as much stuff as I want.
I truly don't get why buying stuff to mess around with it is anyone's business buy your own. My "obsession" is what keeps my brain sharp and my life interesting.
Mary in SW Florida
Canon: 5D;40D;30D;20D;300D;16-35L;400L;80-200L;100f/2.8;85f/1.8;50f/1.4;28f/1.8;20f/2.8;28-135IS;
Pentax: K10D and kit lens; 50f/1.4; various M42 lenses and Kmount lenses
Mamiya-Sekor 1000DTL; RB67;Pentax Spotmatic;Leicaflex SL; Canon QLGlll 17;Vivitar35ES; Ricoh Diacord;Mamiya SIX folder; Polaroids; Kodak duaflexes; Welta Weltax; Zorki4, Fed3b, BessaR...probably more
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Roger Hicks
Veteran
That was my point, really. You're happier married than you would be screwing around. Otherwise, why would you stick with marriage?
Well, all right, there's less opportunity as you get older, and possibly a bit more consideration for the people you'd be screwing around with. But even so, I'd still consider the parallel to be pretty close. From time to time, of course I fancy new gear. But basically, I'm happier sticking with the Leicas I have (and occasionally adding to them), than I would be if I were endlessly buying and selling cameras.
I'd rather have my wife than a string of girlfriends, and I'd rather have the Leicas than a new DSLR every year, or 40 different FSU cameras and associated lenses, each of which cost very little, but which would have allowed their owner to buy a decent Leica outfit if he hadn't frittered his money away on 'bargains'.
Mind you, that's because I'm more interested in taking pictures than accumulating gear. Camera collecting is a perfectly understandable hobby, but it is only tangentially related to photography.
Cheers,
R.
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imajypsee
no expiration date
Roger, you'll pardon me if
Roger, you'll pardon me if
I take your words that folks who accumulate gear are in any way less interested in the making of photographs/photography. You seem to be saying that.
Mary in SW Florida (I have over 4000 photos online, so I think I'm accurate when I say I'm interested in photography.)
Roger, you'll pardon me if
I take your words that folks who accumulate gear are in any way less interested in the making of photographs/photography. You seem to be saying that.
Mary in SW Florida (I have over 4000 photos online, so I think I'm accurate when I say I'm interested in photography.)
photophorous
Registered User
I always say, "whatever floats your boat." My boat, however, is sinking because it's weighted down with irresistably cheap Minolta SLR gear.
FallisPhoto
Veteran
Somehow, it never occurred to me that I need to justify my GAS. After a few seconds thought though, it still doesn't.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
I'm so glad you understand the dillema ... we all know how hard it is to get a decent rear lens cap for a Nikon rangefinder lens ... or a J9 for that matter!
Andrew Sowerby
Well-known
That's a pretty common sentiment. People tend to get their backs up about it, but if you take good pictures no one cares how many (or few) cameras you have. Trying to draw a correlation between quantity of cameras and quality of photographs is pretty useless, IMO. The pictures speak for themselves.
BTW I browsed through a bit of your online gallery. I like the 1971 bussing protest series.
Mabelsound, I think your initial statement in defense of gear lust is very nicely said! The difference with me is that I'm not good at selling stuff, so it just accumulates. In compensation, though, I'm very careful in the shopping side of things.