Do you list your gear?

[jan normandale]

If I'm interested in equipment I go to the various forums here such as Yashica, MF, Leica etc. I can find out a lot there and usually those there are owners so if I'm interested in who owns what I could go that route.

Additionally we are supposed to put details of our shots into our gallery photos so I can check the gallery of Backalley and see what he used.

Personally I'm not really wanting to tell people what I use. So I refrain from posting my equipment. It's a choice. If someone is curious about my cameras they can check my gallery and see what I use. I'm also in some of the 'camera groups' so that also tells people what I use.

I'm mostly interested in the camera when I see something in a gallery and wonder how the image was made, film or camera or both? Sometimes it's even digital in the galleries... that's another topic and I'm not going there tonite...

 

[clarence]

I agree that listing your equipment is a personal decision, really, and not something that can be judged at face value. For every bloke who wants to flaunt the fact that he owns a bevy of Leitz lenses, and who sets up a poll every week to help him decide which of them to use, there are many other photographers who have a harmless desire to share their fascination with gear and the thrill of acquiring what they want.

I've decided to list a different set of my favourite things in my signature now, though.

Clarence

 

[Warren T.]

Personally, I don't see listing equipment as showing off. I find it useful to know what sort of equipment a forum member owns. It sort of puts their posts in context of their experience with that equipment. I chose to be a member in RFF because a subset of my camera hobby is my interest in using RF cameras. So, I listed my RF gear here in RFF so that if someone has a similar interest, and they happen to see one of my posts, they can feel free to PM or email me to discuss our mutual interests. And just because I choose to list my equipment does not imply anything about my capabilities or experience as a photographer and/or artist.

This hobby is supposed to be fun. There is room for all different ways to enjoy, right? 🙂

Happy Shooting,

---Warren

 

[ClayH]

List gear, you mean like cameras?

 

[reagan]

And, on a more practical note, I agree with JohnM's reasons for why it can be useful to know what sort of gear others are using.

I once "rescued" a little camera from a garage sale that I personally had no interest in. A week or so later, I noticed a friend had a similar model listed in his sig, so I PMd him to ask if he was interested in the one I had and then shipped it to him. Another time, I had an RF that was lacking a battery when acquired. I saw in a sig a FellowRFFer had the same model and wrote him to ask battery specs, which he graciously sent.

Sigs can be helpful, but...

I agree that listing your equipment is a personal decision, really, and not something that can be judged at face value.

Amen.

Sigs are meant to be unique/personal (like our sig-na-tures). So who really gives a flyin' rip why the next RFFer sigs what he sigs? Please. Correct me if I'm wrong, but forums are places where people DO share things like interests and ideas, right? So sharing with a Rangefinder Forum the rangefinders that interest us is suddenly immature/smug/uncool? 🙄 If my list of bling-bling 50yr old Zorkis and 70yr old Leicas puts anyone off... well... OOPS! 😉

Like joe, I enjoy 'em, so, nanna-nanna-naaa-naaa.

 

[JimG]

There use to be so much anti-leica sentiment expressed here I didn't want to read anyone one's b.s. about the gear I used so I didn't list what I used. Now I'm bothered by the fact that for all the great gear I have I'm still a mediocre photographer.

 

[Dougg]

I obviously don't list my gear in my sig, though I do specify what was used in a gallery upload, as I think that's useful for member research in aid of the next GAS attack. 😀

In fact, I still follow a practice begun in a gun hobby forum where I would share experiences using certain equipment while being deliberately vague on whether it was a current possession or not. Discretion and privacy... with specifics in PMs.

I can see listing a few current favorites in active use, though, and relevant to the forum.

 

[HuubL]

My sig not only lists my gear, but even links to a photo of it. I not only love to look through these cameras, but look at them also.

 

[Rich Silfver]

This triggered me to 'iconize' the links in my sig 🙂

 

[telenous]

It's not showing off. But it may be perceived as such. The tension between the two is what had me putting a list of my gear in my signature, then erasing it, then putting it back again, many times over.

A few weeks back I saw the sig of another forum member and I liked the fact that he used a dark grey colour and very small size letters in his signature: I had to make an effort to read what his signature said. This way it seemed that the list was both available for those of us who find interesting and informative knowing what someone else is using (I do) while those who would be annoyed by such things would hardly notice. I found that it kinda works, in that peculiarly jaded way that compromises do.

 

[jaapv]

yet you DO have it listed, just not as easy to find as looking down a little.

obviously, i like listing my gear and posting pics of it too.
i would normally insert a joke about it now but i really get a little 'pissed off' at the 'you can't be a good photographer if you like your gear too much' attitute that crops up here at rff at times.

i work hard for the things that i have. i don't make alot of money by most north american standards. i don't own a house and my car is a 1992 model.
i'm divorced and live on a single income.
i have a decent stereo and some nice camera gear;these are the things that bring me pleasure.

and i'm proud of it all!

joe

and, i'd like to add that some of my gear was a gift from rff members and it's a (modest) pride thing to show it off a bit.

Sorry, maybe I used ambivalent wrongly. I meant I was in two minds,as I don't want my every post to show that list again, yet I do feel it has relevance. That is the reason I put it in my profile.... And yes, I too work 10 hours a day and enjoy what I have and worry about my retirement, like a large percentage of RFF members, I think.

 

[Nachkebia]

telenous : going to do same thing 🙂

 

[rover]

This hobby is supposed to be fun. There is room for all different ways to enjoy, right? 🙂
---Warren

Glad to be able to start the day off with a great quote.

Agreed Warren.

 

[Andrew Sowerby]

I think it's tacky to list gear in a sig. On the other hand I always like to gawk at what other people are using . . .

 

[burninfilm]

LOL. My list is 5 lines long and ORANGE. Tacky? Maybe. Do I care. No.

I listed it so others could see what I have, and ask questions if they are interested in something similar. For instance, how many people have taken a Perfex Speed Candid apart? I'll tell you right now, anyone thinking about a shutter curtain replacement on a Speed Candid should think twice!

If you don't like the listing, ignore it. It's that simple.

 

[thelovecollect]

🙁 yeah i list my gear...
it's all i have man..

 

[Andrew Sowerby]

P.S. I'm not unaware of the contradiction of getting sniffy about gear sigs when I have a gear avatar.

 

[Max Power]

Interesting question,
Honestly, until reading this thread, it had never ocurred to me that it might be an issue of being a gear-snob! I always figured that it had more to do with communicating your own 'field of expertise' if you will. It gives others an idea of what it is that your interests are.

CBVLZ4's list stands as an example...I remember when I picked up my Zorki 4 and saw his FSU gear listed in his sig, I visited his blog just to get an idea of what he thought of his collection. It never crossed my mind that he was being a gear-snob; rather, that he was/is celebrating the FSU cameras and lenses that he loves.

Just my $0.02 CDN

Kent

 

[kshapero]

I list my gear because its all I have going in my life. have mercy.

 

[Ash]

hmm well some of us could list our gear, then the cars/motorbikes we own, and the ladies/men we've slept with, and everything else that can be tallied.

I list my gear to remind me I own it!! Every post I make I read through, and I think "hey I should really go take some photo's with the _____". If I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have photo's from my now beloved kiev - I'd have used the Zorki for everything.


There may be a snob or two among us, but most people list the gear just for the love of using/collecting em.


oh and i don't own a car or a motorbike 😀