Decision paralysis.

Don't worry, this isn't a "what camera" thread.

I haven't really taken photos for ages. I should, but I just sort of lost momentum. This Summer I'm lucky enough to have two trips away, one to Spa to watch the 24h GT3 race and one to New York. "Aha!" I thought, "The excuse I need to start snapping".

Then I discovered my main walkabout 18-135 is knackered (it was rubbish anyway). It's probably been 10 years since I last bought any gear so what started out as a process of finding a replacement ended up with me reading up on the pros of mirrorless and so on and deciding that maybe I should replace my DSLR. Get the same brand, buy adapters, nice easy transition. But wait - that's not good for New York, I don't want to lug a bloody great camera bag around, I want something streamlined. But that's not really going to work for track stuff. Which way to go?

Cue a three week long anxiety-riddled decision making process that has now gone on so long that Spa is in 6 days and I don't think I have time to get anything posted to me regardless of what I decide.

My wife thinks I'm a lunatic. I'm really just hoping that someone here can sympathize. It's not just me that goes through this, is it?

Is it?

nickbee said:

Is it?

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Yup.



No, not just you. I tend to be cautious with gear additions, however with true upgrades as you're discussing then I would tend to identify what I need in abstract without being emotionally involved before just ordering. So early 2018 I sold almost all my Nikon kit and bought a Sony A7III plus a couple of lenses. It was just easier to start again, and glad I did.

OTOH I find it tricky adding more lenses, and do take a while to be sure.

Good luck finding decent kit to take. Maybe it's worth buying a cheap used lens (DSLR kit prices are low now) just for this trip, then review the whole system when you get back.

ancient_mariner said:

Maybe it's worth buying a cheap used lens (DSLR kit prices are low now) just for this trip, then review the whole system when you get back.

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This is probably the answer! Newer cameras might be better but I guess mine's not got any worse.

nickbee said:

This is probably the answer! Newer cameras might be better but I guess mine's not got any worse.

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It should be every bit as capable as the day you bought it - if you were pleased with the photos then, they should be just as good now.

If you're after a 2nd hand lens check out usedlens.co.uk for a decent price - it was built by a forumite.

You've just described me in a nut shell.

The 'anxiety' a new purchase can cause - the research - watching dozens of you tube videos, reading plenty of reviews, go to make a decision, change your mind, decide again, decide against it. Buy it, absolutely love it, but still get buyers remorse every time. Drive me crazy. My wife thinks I'm a mentalist. I tend to agree.

I done a rare thing for me last week. An impulse buy of the Insta360 Luna Ultra. Weirdly, love the little beast and haven't had an ounce of buyers regret. Yet.

nickbee said:

but I guess mine's not got any worse.

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Totally, they were good back in the day, they're good now.

@nickbee, grab yourself a second hand DSLR and/or lens bargain, especially if you have trader/dealer within a reasonable distance of home, then reconsider your options at a later date.

You might want to look at getting a Tamron 18-400 mm lens for your DSLR. It's what I take, usually with one of my Canon 77D cameras when out shooting close and far away. It's heavy, but lighter than taking multiple lenses, and with only one lens it stays on the camera, not in a bag. I have a 90D as well, but usually don't take it out of the studio. I bought all of these just before "mirrorless" became a big thing. I had tried mirrorless, but wasn't comfortable with it, so just stayed with my recently new DSLRs. I'm fully retired now, so on a tighter budget too.

Hauling any kind of big pro camera and gear around NY City is something that I find not worth the effort if just shooting for me, and I'm originally from upstate NY, but now living in North Carolina. Walking in NY becomes a predominant method of travel, even if you take trains, subways, and buses for any of the longer spaces between what you are interested in, so you will still walk a lot. Hauling anything relatively heavy and/or bulky is going to wear you out quickly, especially if you are there in the warm/hot Summer time.

This year I expect to be going back for a visit, and I'm seriously deciding to take an older Fuji X camera with me. It is 16 megapixels, which is about equal to a 35 mm film camera, with a permanently attached zoom lens, and it's way smaller and lighter than my 77D and 90D Canon cameras. It uses AA penlight batteries too, which are available everywhere, if I should use up what is with me. I have taken it in the past, whenever significantly out and away from my studio and taking photos "just for me", and I don't want to haul around heavy photo gear. It was my backup, in-the-car camera back when shooting weddings and other money making photos. The quality has always been good with the Fuji, though an older camera with less than half the megapixel capability of my present Canon DSLRs, and I have never cared for the control placement on it, but it works well for me when smaller and lighter has been needed.

I think I'm going by train this year, since I'm not pressed for time. About 13 hours on just one train (The Carolinian - Amtrak) each way for me. I've driven and flown many times from here in the past. This will be the first trip this far by train, but since finally retiring, I'm not in the need to get anywhere quickly any more.

Charley

It's a big late for your first trip now, but it sounds like something Fuji or M43 would suit both your trips.

I think your best option would be a Canon R7 with the 18-150mm, get the adapter for your EF lenses, and you will have a pretty manageable holiday set up.

There’s plenty of time go on WEX website ,choose a lens ( you don’t mention your camera or system ) Wex do next day delivery in the u.k.. changing camera at this stage may be a problem as most mirrorless need programming for best results

Hey everyone, thank for your replies and sorry I didn't come back to them all at the time, I was busy rocking back and forth under my desk.

Having decide to stick with what I had I went online to find a replacement for the 18-135... and whilst on ebay saw a nearly-new R7 with the 18-150 at a price I couldn't resist. And then of course I had to buy an adapter for it so I could use my EF lenses (although actually I only have a couple that I'm really fond of). @Hogboy you guessed correctly!

So it turned out to be an expensive venture! All in all the camera is fantastic. A very steep learning curve to figure out the AF before I left but had good fun shooting cars with it at Spa. Absolutely didn't solve my walking-about-NYC problem but I'm not sure there's anything which is vaguely pocketable and also good for motorsport, so maybe I was on a wild goose chase from the start.