New Gear ??????????

[LCSmith]

The so-called 'gear acquisition syndrome' equals lowbrow consumerism.

This.

I see an analogy to expensive cameras in expensive guitars. People buy a Leica because Cartier-Bresson used one, just like they buy a Gibson or Fender or Martin guitar because BB King or Tom Petty or Eric Clapton used one. The consumer feels she is buying something of the experience of being famous-person-x by purchasing the same brand and model of "gear". "Being by purchasing" is an illusion of the American Dream.