I apologize in advance if nobody else can identify with my "saga".
I've been a member here at Talk Photography for some time now, but having lost interest in photography some time ago I've posted infrequently. Recently, I've found that I've got my mojo back, bought a Nikon 35mm and started taking a few family shots with the old D90 - yep, I'm gonna get back into this photography mulllarky! So I started pulling out all my old gear. To my surprise I discovered I've got more lenses than I need... Indeed, I've got a few too many cameras than strictly necessary - the D90, a D80, Samsung Nx100 and a Fuji X-S1. I clearly had (have) a case of G.A.S.
I started dreaming of a Nikon D7000/7100 so that I could use my Falcon 85mm f1.4 lens to it's full potential and almost pulled the trigger on a brand new grey market D7000 for £300.00, but after reading about concerns over back focusing issues I decided against that camera, at least buying an imported model. The D7100 proved to be a little too expensive, so I started thinking about the D5300. But that would mean giving up on the 85mm f1.4, Sigma 70mm macro, 50mm f1.8 , Nikon 70-300mm and a Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 as there are no motors built into those lenses...
So, I started thinking why not sell the whole lot and start again? Which is about the time I realized that I preferred the size/handing of the Samsung NX100 over the Nikon and Fuji cameras. In fact, why not just keep the NX100 and buy another lens or two? Did I mention G.A.S.? Having read a few (!) reviews. I came to the conclusion that things had moved onward and upwards - high iso in particular had improved quite significantly. Even the Olympus cameras appeared to have virtually caught up. I'd eyed up my sister's boyfriend's Fuji X-Pro1 and started drooling over an X-E1 or X-M1 with a couple of lenses from the Fuji refurb site. I almost pulled the trigger, but started having second thoughts when I noticed just how expensive, relatively speaking, some of the desirable Fuji lenses can be. Then I became aware of the Olympus OMD E-M5. And, after again being so close to pulling the trigger on either a brand new E-M5 for £300.00 or a secondhand one plus a 12-50mm lens for £395.00 I started to become aware that the search for a camera system was, perhaps, just as much fun as the thought of actually taking photos...
And then I finally made up my mind. K.I.S.S. I really like the Samsung NX 30mm f2.0, so I bought a secondhand Samsung NX2000 body to go with it. Image quality impresses me, but with so few buttons and having to rely on the touch screen for changing settings takes some getting used to. So I bought a secondhand NX300 along with an 18-55mm lens, which should be delivered later this week.
And that's me done. I've finally accepted that I'm merely a photography "hobbyist" for want of a better description. I want loads of gear, for what amounts to being all the wrong reasons. I'll never be more than a casual photographer and compact system cameras do more than enough for me. Time to sell off all that accumulated gear and get back to the basics of enjoying the outdoors, taking a few snaps and living life in the real world.
And if the Samsung system doesn't work out I can always get that Olympus OMD...
I've been a member here at Talk Photography for some time now, but having lost interest in photography some time ago I've posted infrequently. Recently, I've found that I've got my mojo back, bought a Nikon 35mm and started taking a few family shots with the old D90 - yep, I'm gonna get back into this photography mulllarky! So I started pulling out all my old gear. To my surprise I discovered I've got more lenses than I need... Indeed, I've got a few too many cameras than strictly necessary - the D90, a D80, Samsung Nx100 and a Fuji X-S1. I clearly had (have) a case of G.A.S.
I started dreaming of a Nikon D7000/7100 so that I could use my Falcon 85mm f1.4 lens to it's full potential and almost pulled the trigger on a brand new grey market D7000 for £300.00, but after reading about concerns over back focusing issues I decided against that camera, at least buying an imported model. The D7100 proved to be a little too expensive, so I started thinking about the D5300. But that would mean giving up on the 85mm f1.4, Sigma 70mm macro, 50mm f1.8 , Nikon 70-300mm and a Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 as there are no motors built into those lenses...
So, I started thinking why not sell the whole lot and start again? Which is about the time I realized that I preferred the size/handing of the Samsung NX100 over the Nikon and Fuji cameras. In fact, why not just keep the NX100 and buy another lens or two? Did I mention G.A.S.? Having read a few (!) reviews. I came to the conclusion that things had moved onward and upwards - high iso in particular had improved quite significantly. Even the Olympus cameras appeared to have virtually caught up. I'd eyed up my sister's boyfriend's Fuji X-Pro1 and started drooling over an X-E1 or X-M1 with a couple of lenses from the Fuji refurb site. I almost pulled the trigger, but started having second thoughts when I noticed just how expensive, relatively speaking, some of the desirable Fuji lenses can be. Then I became aware of the Olympus OMD E-M5. And, after again being so close to pulling the trigger on either a brand new E-M5 for £300.00 or a secondhand one plus a 12-50mm lens for £395.00 I started to become aware that the search for a camera system was, perhaps, just as much fun as the thought of actually taking photos...
And then I finally made up my mind. K.I.S.S. I really like the Samsung NX 30mm f2.0, so I bought a secondhand Samsung NX2000 body to go with it. Image quality impresses me, but with so few buttons and having to rely on the touch screen for changing settings takes some getting used to. So I bought a secondhand NX300 along with an 18-55mm lens, which should be delivered later this week.
And that's me done. I've finally accepted that I'm merely a photography "hobbyist" for want of a better description. I want loads of gear, for what amounts to being all the wrong reasons. I'll never be more than a casual photographer and compact system cameras do more than enough for me. Time to sell off all that accumulated gear and get back to the basics of enjoying the outdoors, taking a few snaps and living life in the real world.
And if the Samsung system doesn't work out I can always get that Olympus OMD...