are you an equipment snob ?

Alan Gales

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I'm a small time Ebay Seller (not a power seller) and because of this I have had the opportunity to shoot a lot of cameras. There is no way that I could be a camera snob. If you shoot enough cameras you learn that there are advantages and disadvantages to all of them.

Besides, the images are what's important. Not the cameras.
 

StoneNYC

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OK I get it, I didn't realize in the TLR market the lens designs varied to such a degree that they would produce different qualities. I know that might sound ridiculous, but I wasn't around then, and all the old guys talk about how one manufacture simply copied the other manufacturer's design and they were all just clones, so I kind of assumed that the lens element systems were also all similar. Thanks for the reply and I totally get it now. I, myself, just discovered that my 150mm Mamiya lens is GREAT for modeling, it produces this beautiful swirl bokah that I never thought I would get from this lens, I totally get what you mean now about the effects.
 

AndreasT

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Yes sometimes I am a snob. Actually no, but then, maybe.
I have 2 SLR, the first one I bought from a friend. To get started. Then I saved some and took up a loan which I paid off for four years to buy the camera I wanted. That was round about 1996.
For years I have wanted another on, but it being rather expensive, I will have to wait or never have it. Donations are welcome.
If I buy a 35mm camera I want it to be new. Virgin like.
With large format well the stuff I bought was used. I have no desire to own many cameras, I just want the one I want nothing else.
The next thing I want is an Aston Martin DB9 and a Lange und Söhne watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af1OxkFOK18
 
OP
OP

removed account4

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come on guys, keep it the equipment ( including chemistry film, whatever ! ) you use, and if you are a clenched jaw snob, keep hectic remarks
about whatever ... out of it. if you need to make hectic remarks, just mutter them to yourselves, don't mutter them through your fingers.
 

Ricardo Miranda

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To the original question: yes, I am, but in a very peculiar sense. I tend to use one system, one camera or a group of similar cameras exclusively for a period of time and then change for whatever reason (equipment needs to be repaired, found a fault or can't find a particular accessory, etc.) to another camera or system. Unlike the OP, I can't just grab one and use it one day and the next use something else.
I have far too many cameras and I have a love/hate relationship with them. Six months ago I was using two Nikon F90X and really liked them. But, I wasn't happy with the height I was carrying, so started to look for solutions. First, I changed the lenses to ones less heavy, then I put aside the F90X in favour of the F80 and F75. I ended up looking at my Nikon EM and started to investigate it and its history. Fell in love with the EM and the Series E lenses. Now, they are the only ones I use.
It seems to me, I am never happy with the equipment I have and I'm always looking for faults or don't like the way X camera does one thing and keep changing cameras and lenses looking for something that is perceived to be better.
These days, I'm doing the opposite, looking at cameras that are perceived as lacking features and see what I can do to overcome their limitations.
 

John_Nikon_F

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No, not a snob. Yeah, I have pro film bodies. Except for the F3P, however, I've paid maybe $225 max for each of the current bodies. Most of them have been purchased with trade fodder thrown in. Even the F3P came out to about $64 when all was said and done. Lost a couple lenses, a flash, and my Nikon F in the deal, but that's ok. Have replaced all but the F on the cheap anyway. I typically cycle through them every couple weeks. At the moment, the F3 and the F4 are being used, with the F5 waiting its turn, and the F2AS being used with that body as a manual backup. I also shoot digitally. D200 that I got for ~$100 or so after trade of an extra F2AS and an FM2n. May add a Canon F-1 or F-1n (the mechanical version, not the "New F-1") and a 50/1.4 SSC just to mix things up a bit, and to make the "Nikon-only" fanboys and the "Canon-only" fanboys have a heart attack when they see both an F2AS and an F-1 hanging from my neck... That's how unsnobbish I am. I don't care what brand the gear is, as long as it gets the job done. Took some decent photos with an old Pentax H3v back in the '80s. Stuff that was surprisingly well-exposed for an 11 year old kid who didn't have a hand meter or even the "toad on the prism".

I've also considered getting another Powershot S70, since it's a little annoying to have to carry two camera bodies with a lens on each wherever I go. For a P&S digicam, the S70 worked quite well. So, I could leave the D200 at home and just carry one film body with a lens, then the S70.

-J
 

David A. Goldfarb

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I like having nice cameras, but I don't look down on anyone else's. I always have a good feeling when I see someone out on the streets of New York with a film camera, whatever it may be.
 

DannL.

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When I read the original post I took the inquiry to mean "was I particular about the cameras that I took?". In that context the response must be "yes", and simply because I have so few cameras to choose from these days. In a different context I never look "down" on others because they carry a certain make or model of photographic apparatus. Having only one camera of a specific format makes it easy for me to choose which camera goes. ie; Do I take the half-plate, the 35mm or the 8x10 today? Some days I just have to take them all.
 

pgomena

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I'm not a camera snob, but I do believe in buying professional-quality equipment and keeping it. I've had my Rollei, my 35mm cameras, and most of my view camera lenses for 30 years. I once bought a Sinar F2 based on Sinar's reputation, didn't like it, sold it, and bought a good wooden view camera.

It's not what's on the label that counts. It's more about what's between the ears.
 

Someonenameddavid

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Not a camera snob: I do appreciate the fine skills that went into making cameras, like watches, and I find it sad that digital cameras/telephones are destroying silver based photography, so I have taken it upon myself, as people rescue dogs from the pound, I will rescue cameras... I tried to explain this to my wife but she was, somehow, unreceptive...

David
 

Mainecoonmaniac

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flatulent1

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I once lusted after a disc camera. I wouldn't dare consider myself a gear snob.
 

Mainecoonmaniac

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benjiboy

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I try not to be an equipment snob and look down on others, for my own personal equipment I like reliable professional workmanlike gear that you can come home with pictures with not excuses, and would rather spend my money on having my gear serviced than buying more and more equipment which makes more sense to me.
 

lxdude

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Sirius Glass

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I have a single frame Tessina, three 35mm cameras, two Hasselblads and two 4"x5" cameras, so I do not need to be an equipment snob.
 

Mark Fisher

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I'm not sure I've met someone who I thought was an equipment snob in the film world (probably says I'm one of them!) Personally, I've tended to get beat up versions of very durable cameras, get them overhauled and use them. Even a Hasselblad or a Leica can be had for less than a decent DSLR.....of course if you want modern conveniences like built in light meters......
 

David T T

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I've never been a gear snob, in music (mostly) or photography. It's all about picking an acceptable point of diminishing returns. I picked up an RB67 when I got the photo bug again because it has "very good" lenses (Sekor C) that can be serviced nearly forever, it was cheap, and it is extremely versatile. I'm sure an RZ or Hasselblad would have technically superior lenses, but in the real world it will never make an artistic difference imo.

I also grabbed an Olympus XA for street photography. Cheap, compact/stealthy, easy to use with one hand, and a very good lens.
 

Jim Taylor

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I don't think I'm a gear snob, but I admit, I don't tend to buy 'off-brand' - I think the branded gear just 'does it's thing' better... does that make me a snob? :confused: Can't help feeling there may be some thinking "a fool and his money..."
 

Mainecoonmaniac

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I'm more like 7-Up. Never had it..never will. I'm still gonna shoot with my Chinese Rollei.
 
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