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I dare say this subject has been covered a few times already, but the other thread about creativity got me thinking though, that perhaps gear acquisition, while a lot of fun, can have a negative impact on our photography, as we obsess about new, different (and what we perceive to be better), gear. It's also something I feel I'm coming 'full circle' on....maybe....and would be interested to compare my journey with others.
I imagine to some degree or other most of us on this thread are on some kind of gear acquisition journey, and even if we think we’ve got to the end of it, and have the perfect gear for the photography we do, probably deep down quite enjoy buying (and maybe also selling) camera gear, trying out new stuff, thinking about whether we like it better than something else, etc.
My personal journey started a long time ago with the Nikkormat I inherited from my dad, and which I still have, and then a pretty nasty Nikon F401, which I don’t. But then about 5 years ago on a whim I bought a Nikon FE and fell in love with it. I then started acquiring a few lenses. And a few more bodies….an FM, an FM2, an FE2, an F2, then an F3, an F, an F4, plus a few cheapies….an F90X, an FG, an FG20 and probably more besides. I didn’t own all of these together, but at my ‘peak’ probably owned around 10 or so Nikon bodies, selling a few as I went. I’ve even bought and sold certain models, bought another of them, then sold them again! Overall I think I was trying to rationalise this buying by telling myself it would be good to own a variety of different types, for different purposes, and to find the ones I liked best, but in truth there’s no sensible rationale for having so many, unless you’re doing it as a collector, which I really don’t think I am.
In parallel, in medium format, a slightly less laborious process: I’ve bought and sold a Yashicamat, then bought a Fuji GW690, a Rolleicord Va, and a Pentax 645N, for which I’ve added a few lenses, and I still have these.
But in the last few months, I’ve had a bit of clarity over my Nikon stuff, and sold almost all of it, keeping just the Nikkormat (for sentimental reasons), a Nikon F2AS (because it’s the best mechanical Nikon SLR ever made, has a fantastic meter, and I invested too much in it, including Sover Wong servicing, to justify selling), and a Nikon F100 which although only recently acquired, already feels great to use, and has all the automation you could want. I think these are more than enough, and cover all bases from traditional manual focus mechanical goodness, to high-tech modernity, G lens and VR compatibility.
As well as selling most of the bodies, I’ve also got rid of most of the lenses. Although it was nice to have an 85mm and a 105mm lens, and a 20mm and a 24mm, they’re pretty close to each other, so I sold one of each pair. I also sold the 180mm lens I barely ever used, even though it was great. And the fisheye, same story. I’m left with a modern AF-S zoom, and 4 manual focus AI lenses, covering the focal lengths I’ve used for 95%+ of all the photographs I’ve ever taken.
Part of this selling was to fund the Pentax 645 system, partly for financial reasons (feeling guilty about all the money tied up in kit, when I don’t need it, and when money is generally tight), and partly because of the realisation that there’s no photographic reason at all for me to have more cameras than this. What I have now is everything I need: I’ve sold a load of 35mm kit, and still have a great 35mm system, plus now a 645 SLR system, a TLR, and a 6x9 rangefinder. Maybe not everything I want (for instance, if money was no object, I would have got a Contax 645 system instead of the Pentax), but a realistic usable set of cameras that is affordable and a pleasure to use, and covers all bases from 35mm up to 6x9 with varying degrees of traditionalism and modernity to suit different situations.
In conclusion, I think that I’m nearing the end of the journey, and feel quite satisfied about that. One of the reasons for satisfaction is because I know I haven’t lost money while doing it – in fact I’m pretty sure I’ve generally sold kit on for more than I’ve paid. Focusing particularly on the Nikons, I feel like maybe I needed to go through that journey, trying out all the different bodies and lenses, now getting to the point where I have settled on the ones I like best. It’s been a huge amount of effort, buying and selling on ebay, on TP, trips to the post office, etc, but I enjoyed it all, and at least now I no longer yearn to try out the F3, or the F4, or the FM3a, because I’ve been there, and am happy that the cameras I’ve kept do the job I need them to, with all the same pleasure to use. They’ve made some bloody good cameras, that’s for sure! Do I need to try the F5 or F6? The F6 would be lovely, but costs too much still – maybe that would be the ultimate partner to my F2AS, and maybe it’s nice to still have something vaguely on the wish list!
I’m aware that I’ve probably felt like I’m ‘nearly there’ before, and who knows whether I’ll go back to the acquisitive phase. I do know that I’ll miss watching ebay auctions for cameras that are far too cheap and tempting, but unless the cameras I have stop working, I can’t see me buying and selling like before.
Sorry for the lengthy amble through my photographic history…I will forgive anyone who can't be bothered to read it! Perhaps this thread is more for my therapeutic benefit than anyone else, as now I’ve said I’m nearing the end of my gear acquisition, it will be too embarrassing for me to come back on here talking about buying or selling cameras!!
However, I would be interested to know if anyone else has gone through a similar process, and if so, what stage you think you’re at on the journey. Part of me hopes I’m not the only one who has gone through such a ridiculously elaborate buying and selling process to get to this point, because otherwise I may question the sanity of my behaviour over the last few years! And to bring the thread back to the creativity question, do we need to get this GAS out of our system (hehe) before we can concentrate properly on the photography itself?
I imagine to some degree or other most of us on this thread are on some kind of gear acquisition journey, and even if we think we’ve got to the end of it, and have the perfect gear for the photography we do, probably deep down quite enjoy buying (and maybe also selling) camera gear, trying out new stuff, thinking about whether we like it better than something else, etc.
My personal journey started a long time ago with the Nikkormat I inherited from my dad, and which I still have, and then a pretty nasty Nikon F401, which I don’t. But then about 5 years ago on a whim I bought a Nikon FE and fell in love with it. I then started acquiring a few lenses. And a few more bodies….an FM, an FM2, an FE2, an F2, then an F3, an F, an F4, plus a few cheapies….an F90X, an FG, an FG20 and probably more besides. I didn’t own all of these together, but at my ‘peak’ probably owned around 10 or so Nikon bodies, selling a few as I went. I’ve even bought and sold certain models, bought another of them, then sold them again! Overall I think I was trying to rationalise this buying by telling myself it would be good to own a variety of different types, for different purposes, and to find the ones I liked best, but in truth there’s no sensible rationale for having so many, unless you’re doing it as a collector, which I really don’t think I am.
In parallel, in medium format, a slightly less laborious process: I’ve bought and sold a Yashicamat, then bought a Fuji GW690, a Rolleicord Va, and a Pentax 645N, for which I’ve added a few lenses, and I still have these.
But in the last few months, I’ve had a bit of clarity over my Nikon stuff, and sold almost all of it, keeping just the Nikkormat (for sentimental reasons), a Nikon F2AS (because it’s the best mechanical Nikon SLR ever made, has a fantastic meter, and I invested too much in it, including Sover Wong servicing, to justify selling), and a Nikon F100 which although only recently acquired, already feels great to use, and has all the automation you could want. I think these are more than enough, and cover all bases from traditional manual focus mechanical goodness, to high-tech modernity, G lens and VR compatibility.
As well as selling most of the bodies, I’ve also got rid of most of the lenses. Although it was nice to have an 85mm and a 105mm lens, and a 20mm and a 24mm, they’re pretty close to each other, so I sold one of each pair. I also sold the 180mm lens I barely ever used, even though it was great. And the fisheye, same story. I’m left with a modern AF-S zoom, and 4 manual focus AI lenses, covering the focal lengths I’ve used for 95%+ of all the photographs I’ve ever taken.
Part of this selling was to fund the Pentax 645 system, partly for financial reasons (feeling guilty about all the money tied up in kit, when I don’t need it, and when money is generally tight), and partly because of the realisation that there’s no photographic reason at all for me to have more cameras than this. What I have now is everything I need: I’ve sold a load of 35mm kit, and still have a great 35mm system, plus now a 645 SLR system, a TLR, and a 6x9 rangefinder. Maybe not everything I want (for instance, if money was no object, I would have got a Contax 645 system instead of the Pentax), but a realistic usable set of cameras that is affordable and a pleasure to use, and covers all bases from 35mm up to 6x9 with varying degrees of traditionalism and modernity to suit different situations.
In conclusion, I think that I’m nearing the end of the journey, and feel quite satisfied about that. One of the reasons for satisfaction is because I know I haven’t lost money while doing it – in fact I’m pretty sure I’ve generally sold kit on for more than I’ve paid. Focusing particularly on the Nikons, I feel like maybe I needed to go through that journey, trying out all the different bodies and lenses, now getting to the point where I have settled on the ones I like best. It’s been a huge amount of effort, buying and selling on ebay, on TP, trips to the post office, etc, but I enjoyed it all, and at least now I no longer yearn to try out the F3, or the F4, or the FM3a, because I’ve been there, and am happy that the cameras I’ve kept do the job I need them to, with all the same pleasure to use. They’ve made some bloody good cameras, that’s for sure! Do I need to try the F5 or F6? The F6 would be lovely, but costs too much still – maybe that would be the ultimate partner to my F2AS, and maybe it’s nice to still have something vaguely on the wish list!
I’m aware that I’ve probably felt like I’m ‘nearly there’ before, and who knows whether I’ll go back to the acquisitive phase. I do know that I’ll miss watching ebay auctions for cameras that are far too cheap and tempting, but unless the cameras I have stop working, I can’t see me buying and selling like before.
Sorry for the lengthy amble through my photographic history…I will forgive anyone who can't be bothered to read it! Perhaps this thread is more for my therapeutic benefit than anyone else, as now I’ve said I’m nearing the end of my gear acquisition, it will be too embarrassing for me to come back on here talking about buying or selling cameras!!
However, I would be interested to know if anyone else has gone through a similar process, and if so, what stage you think you’re at on the journey. Part of me hopes I’m not the only one who has gone through such a ridiculously elaborate buying and selling process to get to this point, because otherwise I may question the sanity of my behaviour over the last few years! And to bring the thread back to the creativity question, do we need to get this GAS out of our system (hehe) before we can concentrate properly on the photography itself?
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