March Challenge: Photo and no equipment buying

[rbiemer]

Raid,
Let's see...March in upstate NY: ugly weather, difficult light, no new gear. Sounds like a blast! I'm in.
Don't know if I'll have any photos worth sharing but it will be a challenge and that will be fun.
I do need( 🙄 ) to replace my camera bag but I'm not in any hurry so I'll have more time to search out what I wan-sorry-need.
And I guess if you can get enough people to do this then March will be the month to buy ebay stock at reduced $ ! 😀
Rob

I'm not changing my mind about this idea but I have two cameras off getting serviced. Not sure when I'll see them, hopefully before March. One I have used (and liked) so that will be the return of an old friend. The other one I bought last week and it went directly from the seller to the service guy. There's a reasonable chance that the "new" camera will be in my hands by the end of this month. If it does show up after 1 March, I don't think I'll be able to resist using it for the rest of the month.
Well, if it wasn't challenging it wouldn't be interesting!
This is one of those things my Dad used to tell me "builds character" which usually translated into "You're not going to like it" or "I don't like it/want to do it so you get to" or BOTH. 😀 I remember at age 13 or so painting the eaves and gutters on a three story house Dad owned--that was "character building" because he's afraid of heights. I'm not, thankfully, so I guess it worked.
I will make one exception--when the RFF Book 2 comes out I am NOT waiting 'til after March to buy it.
Rob

 

[sf]

I'll second that (Raid's initial post). Enough FS and WTB and all that junk. Go take some pictures. And stop whining about your lumpy bokeh, wiggly aperture rings, shutter sound, the imperfection of the Zorkis and Feds, the greater imperfection of the RD-1, lust for the impossible camera purchase, or pretty much anything besides taking pictures and loving THAT process.

I have certainly spent months where the gear is more fun than its real use - nothing to brag about.

 

[back alley]

i see whining as an excellent form of therapy, works for me...🙂

 

[Honus]

Raid - Did my wife PM you and put you up to this? 😀

I am in with a caveat - accessories don't count. I say hoods, caps, filters, soft releases, etc. are still fair game. Just no big ticket items. Of course, if someone actually takes Dave's request to heart and offers up a ridiculously inexpensive Summilux then all bets are off.

Robert

 

[SergioGuerra]

This means I must buy my Leica till end of month :>

 

[amateriat]

This thread got me to searching for something I wrote four years ago ("Slipping Out of Gear"; if enough people here actually want a look, I'll post it here a little later), on the eve of switching out my entire SLR outfit for what I've been using since. Funny how little has changed for me on this front. The GAS attacks I've had afterward have been relatively minor - my only significant purchases, camera-wise, in the last two years have been a worn-around-the-edges-but-still-good Olympus XA (which I'll actually be selling soon, and cheap), and, more recently, a Konica Auto S3 which I love to pieces, but seriously needs new foam seals. I sort of regard it as overdue compensation for the Hexar AF I gave up along with the SLRs.

If I think really, really hard, I can think of a few things that I could use, but it's less about acquisition as much as changing-out stuff: since just about my only need for an SLR concerns extrme close-up and architectural work (I don't do that much of either, but when I do, the Right Stuff counts), I'd love to trade out my small Olympus OM-2n-based outfit for a Nikon F3, waist-level finder, 55 or 105 Micro and 28mm PC. Oh, yes, and finally send my sweet but busted Ricoh GR1 for a proper rebuilding.

That's it. Really. And, other than fixing the Ricoh, I'm in no hoppin' hurry for the rest.

Well, there actually is one extra thing: a mini-'fridge for all the extra film I want to keep handy...no room left in the kitchen 'fridge, and I won't mention the look I get from galfriend when I ask if there is...


- Barrett

 

[billwheeler]

Hey, all.
With any luck, the dip in demand for rangefinder equipment this next month will drive down prices for the rest of us. Hang in there with those resolutions.
Bill

 

[Frank Granovski]

I'm sorry but I can't be a comrade for March. I'm planning on buying 2 or 3 items. I suggest you break down and do the same. 😎

PS: :bang:

 

[taffer]

Good idea. I won an auction today on a Nikkor AIS 35/2. Whew, just in time! 😀

Gene

Sweet !!! 😀

That is a cracking optic Gene, if it came only in LTM and RF coupled... 🙄

 

[raid]

This thread is hitting the right nerves. While it may not do much good to many, it will maybe help some others stop the buying craze and get back to taking photos with the wonderful equipment that you already have (I am still talking about lenses!). :angel:

What have I bought since January 1 this year .... let me think a little here.
I recall the following:

Moskva 5
Elmar 50
Fuji Natura
Konica II
plenty of film
more film
Retinette
J3 lens
Horizont 202
more film

I'm sure I forgot some equipment here.

 

[Byuphoto]

Raid wrote: think we all have sudden impulses when we see a great deal somewhere, but once in a while it is good to stay away from the buying machine (your pc) and go out and take photos. I am "in" for sure. I have done my deeds and should be able to control any new impulses.
I had never thought about it but until the advent of the computer and the internet I was never exposed to the gluttony of for sale stuff we are seeing available now. A couple of camera shops a few camera shows and one or two friends was the extent of the circle we bought and sold in. Now I am like raid
1-1-06
Moskava 5 now sold
Mamiya C330 now sold
Zorki 4
Ikon Nettar
J12
50mm Summicron
Kowa super 66 2nd one
Canon T90
Oly Xa and XA2
Canon AF35ML
Sold a Canonet
Bought another
Sold on 90 elmar and bought another
But If I win Saturdays mega millions power ball lottery I will have to spend it all by Mar. 1st
I am in and declare March a GAS free month

 

[raid]

Raid - Did my wife PM you and put you up to this? 😀

I am in with a caveat - accessories don't count. I say hoods, caps, filters, soft releases, etc. are still fair game. Just no big ticket items. Of course, if someone actually takes Dave's request to heart and offers up a ridiculously inexpensive Summilux then all bets are off.

Robert

Robert,
You got me one this one! I realize that all bets are off if you see a good deal. :bang:

 

[XAos]

I can do this. No photo gear this month. This month we're back to motorcycles and guns. Alright I think I can handle this thing after all. 😀

 

[amateriat]

I had never thought about it but until the advent of the computer and the internet I was never exposed to the gluttony of for sale stuff we are seeing available now. A couple of camera shops a few camera shows and one or two friends was the extent of the circle we bought and sold in.

Well, that's the double-edged sword of the 'net. Without it, I'd never have found my Konica S3, nor my Prinz electric film dryer, nor a number of non-photographic stuff that's actually come in awfully handy (plus one totally non-essenital item: a 30th Anniversary Hello Kitty figurine...yes, Hello Kitty. You got a problem with that?) 🙂 .

To paraphrase an older parable, the fault is not in the 'net but in ourselves. This is a great communications medium; we make of it what we can, and will, sometimes to retched excess.


- Barrett

 

[Stanton]

Thank heavens need expired long ago, and now it's want. I'm in for March. Dave

 

[Stephanie Brim]

Okay. If we can have my darkroom equipment not count I'm in. I'm getting a timer, developers/stop/fix, some film, and some paper. If you can forgive me all that I'll play. 😉

 

[amateriat]

Okay. If we can have my darkroom equipment not count I'm in. I'm getting a timer, developers/stop/fix, some film, and some paper. If you can forgive me all that I'll play. 😉

I think there should be an exmption here. 🙂

 

[Goodyear]

I'd love to manage it for longer than March. If we can ignore 'consumables' like film, chemistry, and the 3-reel tank I have on order which will probably turn up sometime in March!

Intending to pick up a couple of half-frames this morning, I may actually be dangerously close to gear-satisfaction anyway! Now, to get shooting more.

All my (pretty poor, anyway) street stuff is shot with a 35, you see ;-)

 

[rover]

OK, let's see what the next week or two brings. I need to prepare myself if I am going to do this.

Actually, maybe in March I will sell some stuff, the total opposite of buying. I'll let you guys know.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Why do you people keep buying cameras? I have three fantastic user cameras for different situations, which is about two cameras too many.

Recently somebody was 'complaining' that the Classified forum in here was now password-protected or something. I never even noticed that there was a Classified forum before.

I do not wish to buy and I do not wish to sell. I want to use what I have.