sounding board

back alley

back alley

IMAGES
Local time
1:21 PM
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Messages
41,288
Location
true north strong & free
View My Gallery
i have been trying to sort this out in my mind and thought that writing it down might help. i'd talk it out with a buddy but most of my friends just shake/scratch their heads when it comes to this stuff.

for whatever reason, i feel the need to organize my gear, in my head and into camera bags.
how does this sound to you?

first let me say that i have decided to keep both bottom feeders and the 50/1.9.

here's the deal...

i have mated the lll with the 28/3.5 and finder - seems logical due to the dim finder. this is my point & shoot street kit.

the iv sb is now married to the 50/1.9. i like that it collapses completely into the body. this will be my alternative daily carry camera whem 'smaller' is the need.

one p will hold the 35/2 while the other mates with the 35/2.8, it will be a 'in the mood for' decision as to older/more modern look. (photo wise)
p #3 will likely wear the 50/1.4 and be my speed camera, used for my soon to be full blown bar series of pics.

that leaves the 85/2...i love this lens. it is sharp and large and weighs a ton, is built like a tank and i doubt that i will ever sell it. it will be found in the bottom feeders bag.

the 100/3.5 will be in a p bag and used as a carry along when i think i might need to stretch a bit. it is so tiny & light that it won't be noticed wherever it is.

i think this makes sense in a gear/use/nod to history kinda way.

it also shows me that i really don't have a need for ANY more gear.
(please don't snicker, you have felt like this at times also...😉)

ok, thoughts/comments/criticisms ???

joe
 
I have two compact bags. One carries an F1 with 24 and 100 and 2Xtele. The other carries one or two Canon/Leica rfdrs with two or three lenses (50 Nockton, 35 Summaron OR 25 Skopar plus 90 Elmar for weight at the bottom). Both bags are serious protection for one camera, but the smaller does not protect the two rfdrs from each other until I insert rubber carpet pad material between them (backpacker mattress rubber would work in a looser bag). Coupla' rolls of film, notebook, lens tissue, pen and I'm good to go.
 
Sounds too organised, if you ask me... I'm usually hunting all over the living room for one of my four lenses when I'm on the way out the door. 😱

Actually, it sounds fairly well thought out; don't think I could do it much better, really. If I had that much stuff, it would be all in a pile on the carpet. I'd just stick my hand in and be forced to use whatever I pulled out. 😀
 
i'm also compelled to constantly organize my camera system, not only to see what can be sold (so that more may be bought), but to tend the garden. maybe i should just plant a garden so i don't bother doing that with my camera collection!
 
i have to admit i feel a bit less bonkers knowing i'm not alone in this semi - obsession.

i also think a part of me feels more 'justified' in having this much gear if i can envision a use/place for it all.

if any of you recall my story, i sold off my medium format gear and had planned to find a nice 35 mm shooter with one lens and then go out to face the world.
i have surpassed my plan and grown way larger than i ever conceived.

i hope it's good thing.
joe
 
sometimes i wonder where the attraction of an optimal camera system comes from. all the bases need to be covered. there should be no extraneous equipment. each piece of equipment should be used for its greatest aptitude. everything should be in excellent working order. nothing should be awkward. what other rules are there?
 
I do this all the time too. It leaves little time and energy to actually shoot 😱 .

I keep churning it around in my head so that I can come up with my 'final solution'. Only that itself keeps changing over time. All this means that I'm constantly selling off something to get something else because then my line up makes the most sense to me. I feel I am prepared to face anything. The only thing that remains is to actually face something 🙂 .

Not only lenses, this obsession encompasses bodies, bags, filters, pods, what not.

It's a bad thing if it's occupying all your 'mental space'. But the other way of looking at it is that once you have these things thought out and organized, you will not be bothered again and can go on with your life (meaning using your equipment). For a while, of course 😀 . Then you will be intrigued by that folder or something or other that you hadn't even considered before and you will buy it. Now the balance of your system is again upset. It isn't the perfect system you once envisioned because you have too many of one focal length or whatever else 😉 . The process begins anew. But so long as you get time in between cycles to actually be at peace with what you have, it's all good.

Your strategy sounds good to me. It appears you have decided that what you have is enough for now. So if you feel that moment of inner peace, you will be able to go out and use what you have. Hope I get there soon.
 
Futility explained

Futility explained

backalley photo said:
i have been trying to sort this out in my mind and thought that writing it down might help. i'd talk it out with a buddy but most of my friends just shake/scratch their heads when it comes to this stuff.

for whatever reason, i feel the need to organize my gear, in my head and into camera bags.
how does this sound to you?

first let me say that i have decided to keep both bottom feeders and the 50/1.9.

here's the deal... <<big snip>>
joe
Click to expand...

Joe, I tried the bag organization trick but it did not solve the problem. As I sit here typing this post there are six bags scattered around on the floor and end-tables behind me. One has Leica rf's in it, another has Canon rf's in it, a third has Pentax SLR stuff, another has Nikon SLR stuff, the fifth bag is for my SO's p&s stuff, and the sixth has Olympus bodies and lenses. That is just the bagged items.

The rest of my GAS treasures are scattered around in various drawers and shelves ready for shuffling to a bag or pocket when the feeling hits me. The Keiv's, Zorki's and FED's, the Contax rf, the Konica SLRs, the Yashica TLRs and whatever else I've forgotten. Everyone talks about the camera or lens they used to have, but sold, and then later wishes that they had never sold it --- not me.

Sometimes I think there are too many choices, but then I think if I did not have this stuff I would probably be trying to get it. Actually I get a good bit of pleasure just tinkering with the gear. A lot of it is old and occasionally needs fixing which is also enjoyable.

I guess the point of this is that you will probably never really settle on one way to organize your gear. Do it the way you envision now, and let us know when you change your mind and want it another way. 🙂

Enjoy the journey!
Paul C.
 
Everyone talks about the camera or lens they used to have, but sold, and then later wishes that they had never sold it --- not me.

Sometimes I think there are too many choices, but then I think if I did not have this stuff I would probably be trying to get it.
Click to expand...

so true. cross it off the list, and hope the list doesn't get much longer.
 
Your organization scheme sounds good Joe.

The perfect camera bag would need to be catagorized into how much stuff you have/or want to carry.

Minimal gear would be 1 body with 1 lens (50 or 35 or 40).
Next step up would be 1 body with 2 lenses (50 and 35)
Followed by either:
a) 1 body and 3 lenses (35, 50, and 25 or 90), or
b) 2 bodies each with a lens (50 and 35)
Next:
if you chose a), add a second body, or
if you chose b), add a 25 or 90 lens
finally you would end up with 2 bodies, 25, 35, 50, and 90mm lenses

I've found that unless you are packing out of a camera bag in your car, actually carrying 3 or more bodies is too much for me.
 
lenses or film?

lenses or film?

Joe, correct me if I'm wrong, the lenses are interchangeable, right? 😉
Film is not that easy to change unless shot completely.
What film do you use in your scala of bodies? I tend to use different film in different bodies. Colour slides, BW slides (Scala), BW prints, sometimes colour slides.
So I should need at least another body!

I have no real preference on certain lenses on certain bodies. I can use all lenses on all bodies. (15/4,5, 35/2,5, 50/2, 50/1,2, 90/4, 135/4,5) The 135 on the CLE is pushing it a bit, but should work.
 
rob,
i pretty much use one type of film in all the cameras.

right now i'm using tri-x.
i don't shoot colour at all.

with the same film in all cams i don't have to bother with reminders of any kind, just pick up a camera and shoot.

joe
 
I worked as a photographer for a summer with two OM SLR bodies, and was glad to have both, especially when one of them developed a winding clutch problem mid-contract. But, although I had a Mamiya 645 at hand for heavy artillery, a third OM body would have been an impediment at best. (Sometimes, you just need to finish the damned film and get printing.) Based solely on my experience, I still think you're keeping too many interchangeable camera bodies, unless you wish to officially declare your collector status. There are forms to fill out for that. There will be a test.

Camera bodies are like arms. Lenses are knives, forks, and spoons. And you only have one mouth...

Submitted without prejudice; just being bloody-mindedly practical.
 
If we were practical, we would not be using 40 and 50 year old cameras.

Last week, before visiting my family in Georgia (a 720mi trip), I discovered a nail in the tire of the "big family car". So all luggage and the three of us had to go into the '97 Cougar. I ditched the DLSR and everything needed to run it and took the Canon 7, 50mm F1.5 Summarit, 85mm F2 Nikkor, 135mm Nikkor, and an original Nikon Lite-Touch for wide-angle (28mm lens) and flash shots. All fit into one fairly small bag.

But that does not mean I am selling off the other 30 RF's. Feel better Joe?
 
I still think you're keeping too many interchangeable camera bodies, unless you wish to officially declare your collector status.

there is no reason to be mean. 😉

i'm the first to admit i have about 2 too many cameras to be comfortable with.
but i like the bottom feeders to play with (and maybe fondle, just a bit). having 3 canon p's is pure heaven though and i may add more as opportunity & finances permit.
i just might become a p collector but one who uses all of them also.

joe
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

ped
Lens carrying system
Replies
10
Views
567
ped
ped
boojum
Carry-on Bag - Camera Bag
6 7 8
Replies
140
Views
11K
Archiver
A
Jbennett68
First roll of film in a Barnack
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
MNS
MNS
M
FED 3 .
Replies
3
Views
319
Valkir1987
Valkir1987
farlymac
Leica IIIf Post DAG Overhaul Test
Replies
18
Views
2K
Godfrey
Godfrey
Back
Top Bottom