A 'good' addiction?

[Roger Hicks]

My belief is that my understanding of equipment (and purchases, to a limited extent) have made me a better photographer. The art is never fully separate from the technique, the technique almost always aligned with the technical.

Of course, many people have created amazing work on the cheapest gear. But how would you know what really suits you without trying both the best and worst?

YES!

And once you have a reasonable range of experience, consider the possibilities that (a) you'll make better pictures with equipment you like and (b) that if you never find equipment that gives you better pics (note: better, not good in absolute terms) it may not be the equipment that's holding you back.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Matthew Runkel]

It is a safe bet that anyone who can say he is "tethered to or even . . . enslaved to" photography gear either has never been addicted to anything in the clinical sense or is a worthy subject for Oliver Sacks.

 

[Hsg]

Exactly, addiction is a world of pain and suffering.

The greater the pleasure, the greater the pain.

The pain from gear addiction might not be as sever as heroine addiction, but its the same condition, only milder.

 

[Spicy]

My photography has many negatives.

*rimshot*

10ch

 

[Scrambler]

The greater the pleasure, the greater the pain.

The pain from gear addiction might not be as sever as heroine addiction, but its the same condition, only milder.

Hsg, I don't know your story, but I seriously doubt heroin addiction has been part of it. No, buying and selling gear is not the same disease. Even collecting gear is not the same disease.

If you want a discussion about the psychology of GAS, try a real psychologist:
http://petapixel.com/2013/08/03/the-fear-to-photograph-and-the-gear-acquisition-problem/

I think GAS, when severe enough, is probably a form of Hoarding Disorder, which is related to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: http://pro.psychcentral.com/dsm-5-changes-obsessive-compulsive-and-related-disorders/004404.html

Based on your original post, owning a single camera is addiction (unless you hate photography). Enjoying driving a car (or riding a horse, or walking in shoes, or admiring a garden, or ...) is addiction because all these pleasures are dependent on an object.

"The greater the pleasure the greater the pain." I think you know that's nonsense.