Do you own too many cameras?

ozmoose said:
Me too. This has hit home particularly hard.

Many decades after I picked up my first ever camera (a Yashica D TLR I bought new for C$35, for the record), I came to the bitter realisation that 95% of my photography could be done with a rangefinder (I don't want to say the magic word, L---a, but it's a strong contender) and a 35mm lens. The other 5% would be more than adequately taken care of with a 90mm.

Which makes me wonder, what for my several shelves of expensive gear and all the time I spend on dust-spit-polish?

The jury stays out on this for now. It's just too dismaying to think about...
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Just indulge until it hurts.....
 
Knowing that other folks have cameras in the dozens makes me feel less guilty about owning 15. Out of that group of mostly rangefinders, from Canon P, 7, 7s to Leicas, IIIa, IIIc, M2, M7 the ones I use the most are the IIIc and M2. Perhaps it is time to begin weeding out the static displays.
 
seany65 said:
"Do you have more cameras than your photographical talent can justify?"
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How do you quantify such a thing? What if you only have three dozen thrift store cameras totaling $100? or if you only have one camera and lens that is worth $20,000? Who is the judge of talent? The only thing that matters is if the person who owns them can afford them without detriment to their lifestyle. Too many cameras cause me anxiety. For someone else, it is heaven.
 
On the one hand, I don't believe that the 'one camera - one lens' approach will necessarily produce 'better' pictures. On the other hand, I do believe that GAS or out-of-control consumerism is an entirely negative affliction.
 
Here at the end of the Earth it's basically impossible to get old cameras repaired, so I've accumulated a few spares. Actually I did need one, once. As for the rest, I'm obliged to give them a run from time to time. I should sell them before I die because they'll go to waste if I don't.

I can't help reminding myself that most of the world's great photos that I admire the most were made with basic cameras that would hardly be prized today.
 
ozmoose said:
...I came to the bitter realisation that 95% of my photography could be done with a rangefinder (I don't want to say the magic word, L---a, but it's a strong contender) and a 35mm lens. The other 5% would be more than adequately taken care of with a 90mm....
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This is generally where I've been at for the last couple years. When out and about or traveling, it's a pair of M2's and two different 35mm lenses. That's all I really need for most shots and I don't worry about the rest.

Still have a few other cameras for variety or sentimental reasons, but the hoard has definitely been shrinking over time. Ha, ha, survival of the fittest! Maybe even those other cameras will hit the used market shortly.

Makes for more room for B&W film on the shelves/refrigerator, which, given out current inflationary times, may be a good idea to stock up!
 
john_s said:
Here at the end of the Earth it's basically impossible to get old cameras repaired, so I've accumulated a few spares. Actually I did need one, once. As for the rest, I'm obliged to give them a run from time to time. I should sell them before I die because they'll go to waste if I don't.

I can't help reminding myself that most of the world's great photos that I admire the most were made with basic cameras that would hardly be prized today.
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Quite true, though also quite true that those photographers almost universally owned more than one camera, and those cameras are only “basic”, in hindsight, to us. At the time, generally, the cameras they owned were top shelf, even if they seem primitive today.
Our problem is that, unlike the past, we have a 100 years worth of camera production and advancement stretched out before us, and, since the introduction of digital, mostly these are cheap as chips, relatively speaking, though that has changed recently. For someone like me who grew up not being able to afford any single one of what I own and enjoy now, it’s been like someone left the door to the candy store open, and nobody’s around to stop me.
Also, for photographers in our distant past, the cameras which existed deep in their past were few in number, so, for them, there wasn’t much out there of historical interest for them to “collect”. For us, today, there’s the possibility of creating a museum, in whatever part of our homes our wives let us have, dedicated to the fascinating progression of technology over the last hundred years, how various engineering minds solved basic problems. It’s catnip to anyone with an inquisitive mind.
It’s all harmless, if perhaps a bit unwise on occasion, if it morphs from enjoyment to obsession.
People wandering around through the neighborhood, though, peeking into everyone else’s business and suggesting, that they “justify” their fun, that seems a bit churlish. Church ladies. (But you over there with 200 cameras, we need to talk:))
 
for those of you...and you know who you are...who believe y ou have squirreled away too many cameras and feel guilty as hell, please show us some of those cameras in the Classifieds. And don't tell me your wife made you do it...because you have your ways if you want.
 
Larry Cloetta said:
...
Our problem is that, unlike the past, we have a 100 years worth of camera production and advancement stretched out before us, and, since the introduction of digital, mostly these are cheap as chips, relatively speaking, though that has changed recently. For someone like me who grew up not being able to afford any single one of what I own and enjoy now, it’s been like someone left the door to the candy store open, and nobody’s around to stop me. ...
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You’re right: from the 1950’s to ~2005, there was such a plethora of film cameras to choose from. I started in 1971 with my first serious camera. Over the decades it became progressively easier to buy “one of these which I’ve always wanted”, especially once digital photography caused a huge slump in film-camera prices.
 
What Larry anf Pal_K said. I tried a number of Nikon F2 and finally settled on the F2S. £200 icluding a 35mm f1.4, Lordy a real steel. Linhof Master Technica and MPP VII, cheap as chips. Back in the 50/60S my father worked with a guy in the oil industry (3x the average national UK wage). This guy would treat himself now and agin for items for his Technica E.g. a new film back. 2Nd hand backs now are cheap and pentliful. Look at new prices to see cost of these items if people had not moved to digital (although some are comming back to film..are they?)
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by seany65
"Do you have more cameras than your photographical talent can justify?"


jsrockit said:
How do you quantify such a thing? What if you only have three dozen thrift store cameras totaling $100? or if you only have one camera and lens that is worth $20,000? Who is the judge of talent? The only thing that matters is if the person who owns them can afford them without detriment to their lifestyle. Too many cameras cause me anxiety. For someone else, it is heaven.
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What I mean is:

Does the quality (however you want to define it) of the photos you produce, please YOU enough to justify all the cameras you have, or even any of the cameras you have, irrespective of how many you have or the cost of any you have?

So a Heather Angel or David Bailey could justify any camera they have, including 'blads etc. but someone who almost always ends up taking photos of their ear or feet, or even their eye as they are trying to look through the lens instead of ther eyepiece, probably can't even justify owning a single-use camera.

So far, for me, I've produced several photos that I think aren't "bad", but none that I think are "good", the rest of the photos range beween "wish I'd not bothered" and "eeek, that's absolute poop!"

Of the ones that aren't "bad", most have elements which if they'd been different, the photo could've been considered "almost reasonable".
 
Yes, certainly. Same thing for hifi gear. I have to keep reminding myself that I’m not running a museum. I’ve started selling the excess hifi gear (Sony VFET integrated, pair of EICO mono tube amps, Sansui turntable, Nakamichi tuner/pre, McCormack pre all gone now) and will now be trying sell some pieces that are stand-alone item that I rarely use (Petri Color 35, Contax T maybe, some lenses like a 135mm f/1.8, etc.). I find having too many items laying about unused is getting to be just too stressful for my 70-year-old brain.
 
Trask said:
... I have to keep reminding myself that I’m not running a museum. I’ve started selling the excess hifi gear ... and will now be trying sell some pieces that are stand-alone item that I rarely use (Petri Color 35, Contax T maybe, some lenses like a 135mm f/1.8, etc.). I find having too many items laying about unused is getting to be just too stressful for my 70-year-old brain.
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Welcome to the club!! My (almost 74-year old) thoughts are similar. I am doing this as well, with unused photo gear and other collections - music, books, objets de junk, collectables from past Asian travels. Much of all this has sat unloved in storage cartons for too long. The time has come for me to bite the proverbial bullet, sort, dust, spit-clean and polish more things for other younger photographers to use and enjoy. I've had my time with all this stuff. So be it!

On the other hand, old habits die hard. A photographer mate now too old to peer thru small viewfinders, wants to sell me his almost as new Leica iiig, Summitar 50/2, lens hood, B&W filters, VIOOH viewfinder and other Leitz bits. His asking price is not cheap, but reasonable - all the gear is in 'very fine' condition and all very usable.

I need a new 'kit' to rekindle my flagging interest in film cameras by actually using one, if only to dent the stocks of ancient B&W films in my photo fridge but more to get me out and shooting, be physically fit and active, and use up all my sensitised celluloid before it fogs to battleship grey.

If I do buy it, a few sales must be made to top up my bank balance. What will I sacrifice? Nikkormats, Contax G1s, maybe a Rolleiflex? The N65s? The too-long-neglected 6x6 folders? A box or two of darkroom things? Or (mot likely) none of the above, but an enforced regime of less good food and red wine and more long treks in the bush with my "new" Leica.

The brain reels at all these heretical thoughts, but think it through I must.

I have always thought those LTM Leicas were among the most quirky cameras that foxy German, Herr Barnack created. Now I may get to find out for myself. As always, my brain boggles.

More will surely follow. Watch this space.
 
No “justification” is needed. If a person likes cameras simply for what they are - precision mechanical or electronic devices - and buying those cameras causes no financial harm or domestic angst, then stock away to your heart’s content.

I’m a decent enough photographer, but I don’t buy cameras with the thought they’ll make me a better photographer. I buy a camera because I know I’ll enjoy using the camera. I bought an SRT-101 because I’ve always liked the way they looked. I bought a Nikonos V because I liked the way it felt and operated. I bought an M6 because I liked the smoothness of focusing and the viewfinder. I bought a Canon EF (“Black Beauty”) because of it’s viewfinder display and solidity. I bought several Rolleiflexes because I realized a fine instrument like that would never be made again. So, that’s my “justification”. It’s merely a hobby and doesn’t need justification other than it brings harmless enjoyment.
 
ozmoose said:
What will I sacrifice?
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It's tough to do if you think of it in those terms! I make it easier on myself by doing "trial runs" beforehand: I have a box designated for possible sale / give-away items, and if I pretty much forget about items I've put into said box, then it's a good indication that they won't be missed. Sometimes I'll waver and remove / reevaluate an item, but usually my rekindled interest is brief, and I can feel satisfied that I haven't overlooked any special Something about it.
I need a new 'kit' to rekindle my flagging interest in film cameras
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Why? Maybe it's time to give film a rest. I took a film-break starting in early 2020 and only just had a strong urge to wander around taking snaps with my Olympus Pen-S yesterday and today. It felt great. Not a new acquisition, Pen-S was actually one of the first cameras that I successfully restored but I had never run any film through it until yesterday.
 
I remember a question that my brother-in-law asked me about 35 or so years ago, when he noticed that I was 'accumulating' cameras: "Do you want to be a photographer or a collector?" I don't recall my reply to him at the time, yet here I am all these years later under the firm belief that it's possible to be both, and that the two philosophies don't necessarily have to fight with each other. Either that or perhaps I'm just making excuses?

I'm a commercial photographer and have been one for 25 years. I have cameras that I use primarily for paying work (my Nikons), one of which is a main camera and the other two are backups (although the main camera has been pretty reliable so the backups usually remain in their camera bag), plus a drone. I also have a pretty healthy collection/accumulation of 'personal' cameras of all different types. An earlier post in this thread mentioned something about being fascinated with the history of different camera types and how the manufacturers addressed different issues at given points in time (shutter design, film type, lens design etc). That's something that I have a keen interest in, and am also interested in the kinds of photos taken by photographers at the time those cameras were new and the technical limitations they faced. One of my recent acquisitions is an Ermanox, made famous by the 'father of photojournalism', Erich Salomon. It's presently being overhauled and I should hopefully have it back soon. I have the 4.5x6cm glass plates and a 127 roll film back ready to go. Do I hope to achieve anything close to what Erich Salomon produced? Of course not. But it's a camera that's been on my mind for over 30 years and I guess it was a nagging itch that I finally decided to scratch.

I have a sizeable storage cabinet in my office, and three of the five shelves are currently occupied with vintage cameras, lenses and accessories of various types. Looking through all of them, I can really only see three cameras that I could probably sell — two Leicaflexes and a very complete and beautiful Bronica S2 kit. But the Leicaflexes aren't exactly going to command big bucks if I sold them, and the Bronica S2 was overhauled last year and is a real beauty, so I really don't want to part with it just yet. And they're not really bothering me by currently occupying shelf space. My biggest problem right now is finding time to take these cameras out to use them for personal work when the 'paying' work is presently flourishing (maybe that's a good problem to have?). But honestly I'm not worried about 'too many' cameras — it's been part of my life for 40+ years and I can happily live with being both a photographer and a collector. I think it's more a case of striking the right balance of both and making peace with it. How one determines that 'balance' is up to the individual, I suppose.
 
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