Mastery - an alternate theory

[Roger Hicks]

The prices of German stuff are held artifically high due to old men with cabinets and meanwhile it prevents young blood from acquiring the gear they need to further their photography.

Dear Charly,

Not really. New kit costs the same no matter how old you are, and USER old kit is driven by the fact that it's usable.

I started using Leicas when I was about 20 and I'm 58 in a fortnight. I've never seen an unreasonable price for the vast majority of user gear, and if it's collectables -- tri-lens turret, Three Crowns bodies and so forth -- well, we're not talking about user gear.

The Thambar is, it's true, equally sought after by both users and collectors; which again, is not so much to do with age as with supply and demand. As far as I recall, fewer than 6000 were made.

Cheers,

Roger

 

[hawkeye]

I have lots of camera gear. Most of it is for use on assignments where there is a need for a specialized lens (wide for architecture, telephoto for sports etc) or camera.

But When it comes to my own photography I prefer one camera and one lens. Whether it is a small digital or a CL w/40 I want a camera that Let's me think about the things I'm seeing and not the camera itself.

In fact I think that perhaps this is one of the differences between using a rangefinder and an SLR. With a rangefinder you see the world and use the camera to frame what you see and want to photograph. With an SLR you enter into its world and as you focus as you see the focus shift and the image change, I've felt that the SLR forces me to re-see the world in its terms.

 

[aniMal]

In fact I think that perhaps this is one of the differences between using a rangefinder and an SLR. With a rangefinder you see the world and use the camera to frame what you see and want to photograph. With an SLR you enter into its world and as you focus as you see the focus shift and the image change, I've felt that the SLR forces me to re-see the world in its terms.

Thats a VERY good way of defining the difference between RFs and SLRs!

Thanks a lot, I was just searching for a way to define that difference... Actually I have been pondering on that difference since I got my first M 15 years ago!

 

[georgef]

Hello, my name is George and I am a GAS-oholic!
...maybe a valid question here for everyone is to consider the GAS syndrome a non isolated event: are you also going the same way about other things as well?

My epson RD1 is the camera I have used and kept the longest, by far. All the others were flings in my life..I have owned and used sh@#$loads of gear, but never more than one or two at a time (I am a user, not a collector); At the same time, I dont like lugging anything big or multiple lenses, and hate camera bags (I like pockets)...what a strange situation; I am still trying to deal with it. LOL

 

[f/stopblues]

The one thing that contradicts your theory, Bill, in my experience, is that for me GAS and photography a very separate. Once I have picked what I will use, in fact agonized over the choice, I pretty much forget the background and just use it - focus much more on the desired output and photographical experimentation. Friends have seen me "roll my Leicas in the dirt" and seemed surprised.

I do that same thing. I own few cameras and really like to get to know them after I initially buy them. Shuffling through a bunch isn't my cup of tea (that's how I've always felt about women, too, minus the "buying" part! Connection?) I like when they hit that point where the camera sort of disappears in my hands.. I'm only concerned with the subject and how to approach it. That said, simple is good!

Over the last three years or so I've severely thinned out my gear. Most everything I have can be tossed in my favorite Crumpler and I'm good to go. My 6x7 SLR beast, however, has to go! I think I just "see" in RF. It's a nice kit, but I think I have more fun operating the thing than concentrating on photos and I don't usually like the photos I take.