Classifieds : Wanted - or Photography

dinners

dinners

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Phil
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Is it just me or do other folk find themselves drawn to photography 'gear' more than photography itself ?

It's a battle I'm fighting as I'd love to upgrade my kit but (being skint) it's a battle I'm happy to loose.

Don't get me wrong there's some fab kit on here for sale and whilst I would like to upgrade the odd thing it does seem that we all strive for kit like there's no tomorrow.

I took a peek at people's profiles and there's folk on here with zillions of posts but rarely do they post a photograph - just talk kit or buy and sell.

Are we a bit obsessed with photography gear ?

I love looking at the stuff for sale but as a newbie I try to contribute to the photographs and would like to see the results of all the fab kit - rather than it for sale.
 
There are people who are more interested in the gear than the pics and in many ways, photo gear is just as valid a hobby as taking photographs. A more expensive one though.

I have a load of kit that I need for work shooting and every day, I load up the car with bags of cameras, lenses, lights and various tripods and computers. Frankly, after a while it gets dull and there is nothing I love more than leaving it all at home and getting out shooting with a small pocket camera.

Having said that, I've been looking at an upgrade for my P&S and new gear syndrome is helping me every step of the way. :lol:
 
dazzajl said:
There are people who are more interested in the gear than the pics and in many ways, photo gear is just as valid a hobby as taking photographs. A more expensive one though.

I have a load of kit that I need for work shooting and every day, I load up the car with bags of cameras, lenses, lights and various tripods and computers. Frankly, after a while it gets dull and there is nothing I love more than leaving it all at home and getting out shooting with a small pocket camera.

Having said that, I've been looking at an upgrade for my P&S and new gear syndrome is helping me every step of the way. :lol:
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A P&S upgrade instills some faith :thumbs:
 
Some people do regard photographic gear as male-jewellery, that's for sure. Also some are obsessed with camera or lens performance without ever putting it to the test by taking actual photographs in what I call 'real-life' situations (it matters not how many pixels you have or how sharp your lens is compared to all the others, if you're trying to take photos in a War-Zone - what matters is ease of use and reliability), but there's nothing inherently wrong in that - it's harmless enough, I suppose...

Most of my images are only ever reproduced at either screen-size and resolution, or in the print Press - meaning I could easily get by with a camera capable of less quality than the one I currently have - but there is a certain joy to be had in knowing that you have the best kit out there and from using something that's finely-crafted in the first place - there is a tactile pleasure in handling a D3 that you don't get from a cheaper camera - the D90 and Sony S5-Pro in the cupboard here feel OK, but not as solid, not as...nice - they do a reasonable job, the images are almost indistinguishable from those taken on the D3, but there are niggles compared to the D3 and D3x, that having used them, I know I could never settle for less when it comes to buying my own kit...and I've just done so, thanks to the Classifieds on this Forum - and at a price considerably lower than anywhere else I could find online.
Plus there is an element of trust - I can read all a seller's threads and history here and get a 'pen-picture' of that person and decide if the's a man or woman I'd want to deal with...
For example, no-one interested in 'jewellery-cameras' would ever buy a 2nd-hand anything from me - they know what I put them through...

I think it comes again to providing people with what they want. For some, photography is as much about aquiring shiny kit as it is about the imagery that kit produces...and this Forum provides them with a venue as well as to those of us who regard the image as paramount.
 
Arkady said:
Some people do regard photographic gear as male-jewellery, that's for sure. Also some are obsessed with camera or lens performance without ever putting it to the test by taking actual photographs in what I call 'real-life' situations (it matters not how many pixels you have or how sharp your lens is compared to all the others, if you're trying to take photos in a War-Zone - what matters is ease of use and reliability), but there's nothing inherently wrong in that - it's harmless enough, I suppose...

Most of my images are only ever reproduced at either screen-size and resolution, or in the print Press - meaning I could easily get by with a camera capable of less quality than the one I currently have - but and from using something that's finely-crafted in the first place - there is a tactile pleasure in handling a D3 that you don't get from a cheaper camera - the D90 and Sony S5-Pro in the cupboard here feel OK, but not as solid, not as...nice - they do a reasonable job, the images are almost indistinguishable from those taken on the D3, but there are niggles compared to the D3 and D3x, that having used them, I know I could never settle for less when it comes to buying my own kit...and I've just done so, thanks to the Classifieds on this Forum - and at a price considerably lower than anywhere else I could find online.
Plus there is an element of trust - I can read all a seller's threads and history here and get a 'pen-picture' of that person and decide if the's a man or woman I'd want to deal with...
For example, no-one interested in 'jewellery-cameras' would ever buy a 2nd-hand anything from me - they know what I put them through...

I think it comes again to providing people with what they want. For some, photography is as much about aquiring shiny kit as it is about the imagery that kit produces...and this Forum provides them with a venue as well as to those of us who regard the image as paramount.
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I enjoyed that reply - the male 'jewellery' bit made sense although my wife (:naughty:)may differ.

This bit......... "there is a certain joy to be had in knowing that you have the best kit out there"..........is what confuses me.

Why ?
 
dinners said:
I enjoyed that reply - the male 'jewellery' bit made sense although my wife (:naughty:)may differ.

This bit......... "there is a certain joy to be had in knowing that you have the best kit out there"..........is what confuses me.

Why ?
Click to expand...

Because there is...
...it's not quantifiable...it's like knowing my car is capable of out-running nearly everything else on the road up to 155mph (excluding motorways, I'm talking about proper B-roads...lol), even if I never put it to the test...

Having the best kit available gives me a sense of coinfidence that arguably lesser kit doesn't - I can never blame the kit if my images aren't right, for example...
I never say "Oh if only I had a better camera/lens I could have made that shot..."
If the image is no good it's because I was not good enough on the day to get it...
 
Car - you don't put it to the test ?

D3 - gives you no excuses and confidence ?

I'm just a newbie so don't wish to to rock the boat but we've strayed a bit from my first post. It wasn't the 'value' of good kit it was more about the fascination of 'gear' over images.
 
errr...for legal reasons I cannot confirm or deny that I drive my car like a lunatic at well over the posted speed-limits in several European countries...but put it this way - I'm spending another £6k upgrading the supercharger next year which will push it about 500bhp...lol

D3 - yes. I now am able to get images that I couldn't when using the D2x last year due to the better high-iso capability it offers...it's also so easy to use...
 
Well, I was out with my camera Thursday night, shooting the local pub fireworks (or more exactly, the fireworks over the top of the pub with the pub in the foreground). Then the firework show on Saturday night, then junior rugby in the cold rain on sunday.

I was at the show on Saturday (marshall so nicely in an area away from the crowds) and someone was next to me was commenting on my kit, you don't need that all you need is a compact like mine, penis extension and similar comments.

Then we compared shots. Seems a tripod, DSLR and 5 sec exposure beats compact, autoflash etc. :D

Oh and if you have a fast car you rarely put it to the test on the road, especially against others. No need really, you just have that smug smile ;)
 
Arkady said:
errr...for legal reasons I cannot confirm or deny that I drive my car like a lunatic at well over the posted speed-limits in several European countries...but put it this way - I'm spending another £6k upgrading the supercharger next year which will push it about 500bhp...lol
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:thumbs: What is it ?
 
Nice one.

Expect the green is nicer than the red and white not to mention that Pink version !
 
and for those English speaking amongst us Rob? lol

I like cameras. I bought a Hasselblad and rarely use it. But when I do want to use it I can go and get it out of it's case and I can play with it till my heart is content. And it is :)

My digital gear gets put to good use though, hardly a week goes by without me doing some sort of shoot with it. As for gear, yes I will aim to have the best I can and for very similar reasons that Rob has already explained. I want to be able to deliver the best I possibly can. I want to be able to push myself to take the best images I can and that means that, at times, I aim to be the weakest link. I also want to know that if I don't get what I want, it's down to me, my fault, my lack. No excuses.

Upgrades of kit come along every now and again, I've just upgraded a 70-200mm Sigma to a Canon 70-200mm f2.8IS. The upgrade cost me £600 by the time I sold the Sigma but that has already paid dividends. Shooting at 200mm in a church at f2.8 and ISO 1600, I got 1/60 sec. So I'm pretty much on the limits of what I can use. So I'm planning an upgrade for that next year to give me better high ISO performance.

Sometimes I find I need to buy specific bits of kit for specific jobs. Just bought another pocketwizard because I'm getting more adept at using twin flashes off camera and to get me going I had rigged the two flashes together using cables and a headphone splitter. Now I'm getting better at it, I'll invest in the kit to do it properly. :)
 
bbb said:
Muscle cars FTW! :) I prefer older though ;)
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I'm working on how I can get a '71 Charger over to the UK in reasonable condition...lol

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Problem with cars of that vintage is that unless you do a full resto-mod, they still drive like a 40-year old car...bad brakes, sloppy steering and non existent safety features - crash one of these and you die...usually in flames.

The 'Green-Moose' (now that I've dispensed with the Bouncy-Castle Suspension that came as stock) drives like any other modern car...better, maybe as I have full control over everything - I'm not insulated from the road by too many layers of computer-controlled safety-features...if it goes wrong (and it does) I feel it way before it goes out of control and compensate accordingly...


Cameras are the same - I love the feel of my old Leica M6 - it's solid, beautifuly-made - hewn out of a solid alluminium billet no less - and looks gorgeous...But to use it in anger these days? On a paying-job...? Nahhh...
Would I sell it? Not a chance...:D
 
Sorry I know we're hi-jacking :)

I had this 67 Charger...

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...and would agree with what you say about steering and handling on that baby.

But my Camaro really does drive like a new car...

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...it was totally rebuilt and restored 10 years ago and you can really feel it. It is veering towards resto mod (or pro touring) now though. I have electric leather seats from a BMW convertable with proper seat belts built in which really helps comfort.

This '60 Ranch Wagon was the most rediculous car I've owned though...

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Terrible to drive but so much fun.
 
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