GAS explained

[Pablito]

http://petapixel.com/2013/08/03/the-fear-to-photograph-and-the-gear-acquisition-problem/

"......Overcoming gear acquisition syndrome will not be easy and it is something that will always have to be attended to as a photographer. The onslaught of new gear, choosing to create, exposing oneself to failure is difficult and buying new things won’t solve these problems. Studies show that spending money on objects can be very rewarding but only for an incredibly short period of time."

 

[Pablito]

Yikes.... a sore subject, I guess...

 

[one90guy]

I fell off the wagon bout 3 weeks ago, 2 camera and a lens. But have only spent about $70.00 and sold other equipment to pay with.

David

 

[pvdhaar]

And there I was, thinking GAS was caused by eating too much beans in tomato sause.. Well, you're never too old to learn.

 

[Bobfrance]

I think that is a very interesting article. Thanks for posting.
Working within marketing I was already aware of the concept of manufactured discontent, but this peice helps to complete the picture and explain why it is so effective.

Make what you will of its frosty reception on this forum. 😉





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[thegman]

I think that is a very interesting article. Thanks for posting.
Working within marketing I was already aware of the concept of manufactured discontent, but this peice helps to complete the picture and explain why it is so effective.

Make what you will of its frosty reception on this forum. 😉

.

I think the 'manufactured discontent' line is a perfect description of what we are seeing. Not just in cameras of course, but in just about any field, particularly technology.

I think the main thing to remember is that quite simply, the interests of camera manufacturers, and your own interests, are not aligned.

Contrarily, the interests of Kodak, Ilford, or Fujifilm and the interests of film photographers are more aligned. Ilford does not care if you buy a new camera, they just want to sell you a consumable, film. Digital camera makers want to make the camera you just bought seem as useless as possible, in as short a time as possible, but not so short that you feel aggrieved. So if they feel that 1 or 2 years of use is acceptable to the consumer, that's what they will strive for.

 

[jim sparx]

I fell off the wagon bout 3 weeks ago, 2 camera and a lens. But have only spent about $70.00 and sold other equipment to pay with.

David

Wow, three weeks ago, you must be having the shakes by now. I started yesterday, lets' see how long I last (everything i buy i need).

(as an afterthought, I really did get my fix with two digital cameras and i seriously doubt if I will do another)

 

[v_roma]

Surprisingly insightful article. A lot of it resonated with me.

 

[giellaleafapmu]

I think the 'manufactured discontent' line is a perfect description of what we are seeing. Not just in cameras of course, but in just about any field, particularly technology.

I think the main thing to remember is that quite simply, the interests of camera manufacturers, and your own interests, are not aligned.

Contrarily, the interests of Kodak, Ilford, or Fujifilm and the interests of film photographers are more aligned. Ilford does not care if you buy a new camera, they just want to sell you a consumable, film. Digital camera makers want to make the camera you just bought seem as useless as possible, in as short a time as possible, but not so short that you feel aggrieved. So if they feel that 1 or 2 years of use is acceptable to the consumer, that's what they will strive for.

Interesting, still I am waiting to read somewhere why my GAS (well...kind of) is usually toward old cameras and/or "modern classic" such as the Nikon D2h or other out of date digital cameras and once I buy them I actually use them with as much satisfaction as I get from the new toys. Also I would like to know why there is a lens and a camera GAS but not a lights and trigger's or a printer's one even tough those items actually go out of fashion and get changed by new ones just as often as camera do and much more so than lenses actually. I think that there must be something in cameras and mechanical gears, such a watches that thick some part of (mostly) men's brain the same way other items do with women's brain. I hope I don't get misunderstood in this last sentence, I hope I am not being sexist but just by looking at men's and women's magazines it really seem that certain object have a very special appeal to either of the sexes. Most men's magazines have half of their advertisements about watches and most women's magazines get supported by perfumes and shoes makers. Now I don't know exactly where cigars and fine whisky
stand in this discussion but I guess that there is something more to GAS than simple manufactured discontent.

GLF

 

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

I think that there's just enough truth in the article to convince some people of its accuracy.

I also think that humans are massively complex systems. In my opinion, such simplification as this provides a misleading explanation of behaviour that is, in fact, the outcome of a multitude of subtle stimuli.

Of course, I could well be wrong in my analysis...

😉

 

[Pablito]

And there I was, thinking GAS was caused by eating too much beans in tomato sause.. Well, you're never too old to learn.

Thankfully, I suffer from the kind of GAS you get from beans much more than the other kind.

Any kind of "rush" I get from buying some new camera usually ends about 5 minutes after opening the box.

 

[farlymac]

My rush is over after about two minutes after hitting the "Buy It Now" button. That's because when it comes in, I know I'm going to have to go over the item with a fine tooth brush, a fiberglass pen, and lots of lens cleaner. I don't get excited again until I see the film results. But then, sometimes it's not pretty.

I appreciate fine machinery like some folks appreciate fine wines.

PF

 

[Gerry M]

Maybe we should all get fitted with one of these:

GAS METER 😱

 

[Pablito]

I appreciate fine machinery like some folks appreciate fine wines.

PF

I'll take the wine any day, and I like fine machinery! 😀

 

[Chris101]

I'll take the wine any day, and I like fine machinery! 😀

Yeah, but mix 'em, and you end up with bent metal!

 

[CactusJuice]

GAS is simply "consumerism". No need for another acronym.

 

[redisburning]

why is it that the people who write about GAS are always the ones saying that people use new gear as a panacea to photographic problems.

look at his picture of his gear. 6 L lenses, including 4 L zooms. sounds like he is projecting HARDCORE.

I, on the other hand, own 5 macros in the 50-60mm range. they are pure overlap. I could live with any one of them as my only lens. I own different ones because I like this particular kind of lens. what argument could possibly be made that I think I am trying to solve problems with gear/money when all of the lenses I have money in do exactly the same thing? as in they literally don't give me anything else vs another in the group?

find what you like and buy backups. just because this twat says it's a problem doesnt mean it is. when you jeopardize putting food on the table then we can talk about it being a problem.

 

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

just because this twat says it's a problem doesnt mean it is.

Harsh, very harsh. But true.

🙂

 

[giellaleafapmu]

find what you like and buy backups. just because this twat says it's a problem doesnt mean it is. when you jeopardize putting food on the table then we can talk about it being a problem.

Agree, also it has to be said that GAS in camera forums in most of the cases is nothing compared to any other hobby connected to mechanical items. Go to any watch or car collectors' forum and you can easily see that an "entry" into their world might very well cost several times what the average collection of cameras from RF Forum members costs and after all a Bugatti moves you from point A to point B just as a Prius does (no, actually much less comfortable) and a tourbillon watch tells you the time just as a Casio does (no, actually much less precise)... Then there are those strange beasts such as "lathe collectors" who spend the equivalent of a digital Leica just to actually MOVE their next piece to their house... 😱

GLF

 

[Murchu]

GAS is simply "consumerism". No need for another acronym.

You're bang on there.