what if i had new stuff?

I'm going to get something new this year.

I've been selling off stuff to get it. What is really scary- where the hell did all that stuff come from and you just don't think that you've accummulated so much stuff over 40 years of collecting.

Photorama Show this weekend at Tyson's corner.

Are you going as a vendor?
 
I'm going to get something new this year.

I've been selling off stuff to get it. What is really scary- where the hell did all that stuff come from and you just don't think that you've accummulated so much stuff over 40 years of collecting.

Photorama Show this weekend at Tyson's corner.



I'd have to suspect an M9? :D
 
The Rollei sonnar is new to me for a month now. It's the perfect normal on the RD1 and M8 for me.

I've had mine for less than a month...it's the perfect normal for my CLE and my IIIc. :) And it works great as a longish normal on my NEX, too. I gave up my Contax T3 and don't miss it due to all this flexibility.

It's the simple things that matter...
 
I'm going to pick up an M9.

As far as "New Stuff"- it is not always better. I still write embedded code in Assembly language because it gives the response time that I need. I like older lenses for the look that they give. But Digital Cameras, the march of progress for high-end gear usually means better images.
 
I've learned the hard way - gear may improve image quality but has no bearing on making better images.

After spending the last year learning how to make prints (silver gelatin fibre and platinum palladium, I've come to the inevitable conclusion that the quality of my gear is more than sufficient to great the quality of prints I aspire to craft...

good luck whatever you decide...
 
I've been pretty successful at cutting back on my selling and buying - though I did just sell my M2 and buy an M6 (I've given up on not having a metered body for now.)
I got to a point where i was obsessing over it. It helps that I've been doing a ton more shooting - that seems to keep my mind from wandering toward new toys.
Still, I don't see anything wrong with it. Just part of the hobby.
 
I am sure that all my new stuff is only feeding an insatiable ego (mine).
It will never be happy.
So I can change my mind--or--just keep on buyin'.
One day I will notice that buying something new does NOT bring lasting satisfaction....and there seems to be less money.
Good luck to us all.
 
In psychology, it is called habituation, maybe the fancy term for "boredom". And boredom kills creativity.

So, kill boredom, to eliminate its detrimental impact on creativity.

If you were a writer, invest in nice instruments. If you were a painter, try different brushes, different paints.

And, in photography, we are blessed with GAS and an industry that supports it

:)
 
Here's what you do...
Run an Ad saying "I'd like to try XXXXXX camera and XXXXX lens...if you have this I would be willing to swap some of my gear that maybe you'd like to try..."

Swapping gear instead of trading it will allow you to give it a try and see if it "Floats your boat..." If it does then maybe you could start looking to buy...if it doesn't then just send it back...just make sure it's in the same condition as when you got it...

Right now I'd like to try an Olympus Pen F...I just don't know if I want to own one yet...
 
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New gear is exciting but rarely improves images. Getting rid of the darn winter cold and snow will do more for your attitude than new gear.
Plan a project, no matter how small or how easy. Thinking about that will get you more interested and save you money.

Steve
 
joe, the m5 bodies are a never ending source of fun. ever since i got mulder and scully i've been busy. sure, i'd like another 35mm lens (and in silver, and i'm thinking on a zeiss planar 35 f2) but right now, mulder has a nokton and scully has either a 'lux or my fast canon...

there's no end to the fun.

so, get yourself an m5! ;)
 
...why do i (we) want new gear, different gear?
what would it change in our shooting (my) shooting habits?
would my flickr site look any different?
could anyone tell?
Because it's fun, exciting, and refocuses our enthusiasm in working out new possibilities with the new gear. Isn't that what it's all about?

So you're talking to your dealer (in person or by phone or email) and shopping for what you want sometime soon... and something cracks and you say something about going to get it anyway, might was well be right now, and you offer your method of payment and the anticipation is delicious.

Yeah, I was just talking to Tony Rose the other day and had that experience. :D
 
I'm going to get something new this year.

I've been selling off stuff to get it. What is really scary- where the hell did all that stuff come from and you just don't think that you've accummulated so much stuff over 40 years of collecting.

Photorama Show this weekend at Tyson's corner.

I've done my "buy something new this year" thing already :D And having fun using it too, once I got past everything being backwards :angel:

I think that's one of the reasons why I so dearly love old film cameras - not too many other ways I could put together a first class SLR kit for under $500 total.

Enjoy that M9 Brian.
 
there is only one answer, everything will change and you will become a better photographer, a much better one.
 
I no longer even think about holding onto anything for years and years, I enjoy the mental refresh of switching from a small sensor digital to an 8x10 and everything else in between. Some set-ups are better for spontaneity and others for capturing detail, but the important thing is to shoot no matter what. There is always a good shot out there....

Someone will buy my X100 and my M6 and Linhof and D400 and Mamiya and the next Hexar AF I buy, use, and swap.
 
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Imagine the best piece of new gear you could want. Then save up the money to buy it. Then use the money to buy plane tickets to someplace you've never been and take your favorite camera and your favorite lens with you. Post the pictures here.
 
I'm going to pick up an M9.

As far as "New Stuff"- it is not always better. I still write embedded code in Assembly language because it gives the response time that I need. I like older lenses for the look that they give. But Digital Cameras, the march of progress for high-end gear usually means better images.

I've learned the hard way - gear may improve image quality but has no bearing on making better images.

After spending the last year learning how to make prints (silver gelatin fibre and platinum palladium, I've come to the inevitable conclusion that the quality of my gear is more than sufficient to great the quality of prints I aspire to craft...

good luck whatever you decide...

Must agree with quoted comments

Its all a matter of balance I'd say. Maybe I'm a no risk person, I'll stay at the middle balancing opinions. I can't forget to think about the great masters of photography. Think of HCB, he used to use what? One camera 2 lenses, 1? He produced so many great images... We all agree about that. When I have the lust for new gear, I watch the documentary we all know that sits at youtube.

Being open minded, perceptive, compromised with the environment (respectful), concentrated and have a lot of luck are part of he things that make our hobby fun. All of it have been said (magic numbers, contrast, interesting subjects)

Despite it was not named, I think we all pursue these holly grail, make it in new gear, new techniques, new behaviors at taking photos. Maybe its the path we choose or the objective we follow that differentiates us all. Maybe its a journey we all walk differently. Mine is for images that catch the eye, make you think/look twice, beautiful things that make you come back over and over again without boring. The awww factor. I still did not get It, none to my taste must admit, far away from it!

Don't want to say HCB was the holy gray holder, but, he made it simple, did not care if film was lost during its shipping to Paris or if it was bad developed at the location in Bombay, he was there like letting it be, floating in the air. Tools seems were not so important to him, it was more like the leica he was using atm was a nice tool, and he used that to better fit his ways, purposes.

On the other hand, I do also love new gear (and my new to me and until the grave M4), the unknown, unexpected thing I want from it. Is it all what I wanted/expected? Anyway, looking at the great masters work, interviews, writing makes me more humble and calm down my lust for new gear, the GAS thing as I've learnt to call it here.
 
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I don't know about you guys but i find it nice to buy myself something new or 'new to me' every now and then..........

The real problem is the "now and then" part ...:eek:

... and there's another problem I'm experiencing each time I stand before my "humble" camera collection: I would like to use them all at once, so each and every time I have to pick one, I'm fretting over the choice to make.

Should I take the camera A with lens X or camera A with lens Y or camera B with lens X and Y in my pocket or should I use MF now (and what camera to take then, and what lenses ...).

It does learn one to take tough decisions though :D

Stefan.
 
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