Do you suffer with GAS?

[postcardcv]

Originally Posted by Ade G

There is of coarse a formula for the ideal amount of equipment required for any hobby, be it photography, surfing, mountain biking etc which is that the perfect number of 'tools' required to partake in the hobby effectively is (N +1) where N equals the number currently owned!!
This is why my garage is full of bikes & surf gear & my house rapidly filling with photographic gear.
My lovely wife bless her is happy as long as whilst there is an almost constant stream of couriers knocking on the door with parcels occasionally I brag about how I sold something on ebay for more than half what I paid for it!

I have seen that equation before, there is an alternative G=D-1 where G is the amount of gear owned and D is the amount that would lead to divorce...

My problem is that I know that I don't need anything new and honestly don't think that it will help my photography but I do enjoy shiny new toys and retail therapy is a good for depression (in the short term at least). Late last year I decided to buy an ultra wide angle lens as I didn't have one and thought it would add something different to the bag. However it has only been on the camera to test it and I haven't found a situation yet where I was inspired to use it... I have had the same lens in the past and sold it due to lack of use, looks like a repeat cycle may be on the cards.

My current trade in will give me funds towards a new bit of gear. Torn between a decent compact (they are always fun) and a bridge camera that I can let my kids use then perhaps they will let my wife use her SX50.

Thankfully camera gear holds value fairly well so I can sell unused gear to fund the shopping trips!

[davet47]

Oh dear I'm afraid I do! Sold a load of Panasonic M4/3 gear and bought into the Fujifilm X series with an XT10 and 16-50 lens. I now have a second body,50-230, 35mm f1.4 and 60mm f2.4 macro lenses. The Domestic Finance Director has threatened to cut my hands off if I buy any more but I do rather fancy the 90mm lens.This kit is light enough to operate one-handed!!!!

Dave

[postcardcv]

Originally Posted by davet47

Oh dear I'm afraid I do! Sold a load of Panasonic M4/3 gear and bought into the Fujifilm X series with an XT10 and 16-50 lens. I now have a second body,50-230, 35mm f1.4 and 60mm f2.4 macro lenses. The Domestic Finance Director has threatened to cut my hands off if I buy any more but I do rather fancy the 90mm lens.This kit is light enough to operate one-handed!!!!

Dave

The Fuji system is a bit special, some very good lenses and affordable prices and all well built but still light weight. The 35mm is a particularly impressive lens for the money, it is a shame some of the other manufacturers don't produce lenses that fast for that sort of money.

[sassan]

As if problem wasn't intense enough, got email with info indicating availability of Nikon D5for pre-ordering, today. The camera that surprisingly has lower than old D800 MP at just under 21MP, but then not surprisingly, has ISO that can be elevated to a mere 3.3 million...No you heard it right, a seven digit figure ISO! (Wondering if grains are going to be any smaller than my thumb). The price is just shy of $6.5K if you preorder it right now.
And Andy, your wanted Olympus 300 F4 is also available for preorder today for under $ 2.5K... And what all these means? Canon is going to talk back in 1D language with whatever their new baby 1Dx is going to be named.
Thanks God I am not good in math to understand those quoted equations s.a. G=D-1 but the marital threat appears imminent and all I know in terms of math is "Life without wife, is fifty without five"!! so better WATCH OUT. Repeat after me; No Gas, no gas, what gas?

[Nigel G]

Released this morning SLRGEAR's review says - "the (Olympus) 300mm ƒ/4 is thoroughly impressive on all fronts: excellent sharpness and all-around wonderful optical qualities with little to no distortion, aberrations or vignetting. What's even more impressive is the lens' stunning image stabilization. Combining lens-based and body-based I.S., the Olympus 300mm ƒ/4 Pro lets you capture handheld images down to shockingly slow shutter speeds. All this, plus impressive close-focusing capabilities, make the Olympus 300mm ƒ/4 Pro a stunning lens for the professional and advanced photographer looking for a top-notch wildlife, sports, stage performance and close-up lens no matter the weather or lighting conditions".

Bugger - I'd convinced myself I didn't need it
(If anyone in UK is rushing to buy it consider Amazon.de as the euro price is roughly £200 less than the UK price and no import tax from Europe).

[Adey Baker]

Originally Posted by Nigel G

Released this morning SLRGEAR's review says - "the (Olympus) 300mm ƒ/4 is thoroughly impressive on all fronts: excellent sharpness and all-around wonderful optical qualities with little to no distortion, aberrations or vignetting. What's even more impressive is the lens' stunning image stabilization. Combining lens-based and body-based I.S., the Olympus 300mm ƒ/4 Pro lets you capture handheld images down to shockingly slow shutter speeds. All this, plus impressive close-focusing capabilities, make the Olympus 300mm ƒ/4 Pro a stunning lens for the professional and advanced photographer looking for a top-notch wildlife, sports, stage performance and close-up lens no matter the weather or lighting conditions".

Bugger - I'd convinced myself I didn't need it
(If anyone in UK is rushing to buy it consider Amazon.de as the euro price is roughly £200 less than the UK price and no import tax from Europe).

We need patience! The fewer people who jump in and pre-order it, the sooner the price might drop! Look at how much those revised big white Canon lenses (ie 500 F4 MkII) were when they were first anounced compared to now

[Dave598]

LOL my wife hates it when I go to the Camera store and threatens to take my debit and credit cards away anytime I tell her I am heading there.

[plugsnpixels]

Normally you hear about GAS with guitar players (who suffer in exactly the same way as photographers and even computer users).

It's always tempting to seek out something new, and this might be a legit approach if you're doing photography (or music or computer work) professionally and need to keep up for the sake of delivering results to the client in a competitive manner.

But if you're shooting for fun, I suspect there is no need to chase the wind with your wallet open.

For example, here is an image upon which I added some artsy effects. What gear did I take it with, and when? If you can't tell, it proves my point.

[sassan]

Originally Posted by plugsnpixels

Normally you hear about GAS with guitar players (who suffer in exactly the same way as photographers and even computer users).

It's always tempting to seek out something new, and this might be a legit approach if you're doing photography (or music or computer work) professionally and need to keep up for the sake of delivering results to the client in a competitive manner.

But if you're shooting for fun, I suspect there is no need to chase the wind with your wallet open.

For example, here is an image upon which I added some artsy effects. What gear did I take it with, and when? If you can't tell, it proves my point.

Not that I tried to cheat and look at EXIF but it doesn't exist. So not sure what the gear is but I won't be surprise if you tell me that it is a smart phone cam!

[plugsnpixels]

No smartphone; they have more megapixels, ha!

But we're about at the point where one could get away with that in a lot of cases.