How do you guys avoid having GAS- bodies are so cheap?

mweintraub · Oct 14, 2015

blockend said:
It's because you know the moment you sell one the other will develop a fault. They know what we're thinking. Don't be fooled.

Yeah, the one I'd keep has a weird issue with it (that goes away) when I don't use it for a long period.
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

David A. Goldfarb · Oct 14, 2015

Too much gear costs too much to maintain in good working order and keeps you from really internalizing the operation of what you have, so you pick up a camera you haven't used in a year, and you make mistakes, or forget to set everything, or hesitate when the action of making a photograph needs to be automatic.

DannL. · Oct 14, 2015

blockend said:
You're probably right, but if I add up the cost of my time photographing the item, writing up the details, answering dumb questions, finding an appropriately sized box, packaging it as I would like to receive it, labelling the parcel, going to the post office to have it weighed, and sending it off, I'd have to have made a helluva steal on the purchase to be in pocket.

You're right. That's the cost involved with doing business. The down side of course is that unused camera gear setting in a desk drawer is akin to money left on the table. You can't do anything with it as long as it's tied up. And in order to buy what you really want, you have to generate "new money". So, either way, you have work for it.

Ap507b · Oct 14, 2015

GAS lol. I have far too many bodies & lenses from too many manufacturers & so what. Just want until you get an F3. Cameras with a system built around it are terrible. In my case add an MD-4, add the nicad battery for it & the charger, add another finder, add a few focusing screens, add another finder then add a second F3 body. GAS is fun. At least my GAS this month has come to under £30. For that I have picked up a body, 5 lenses & a flash gun. GAS can be cheap at times.

pbromaghin · Oct 14, 2015

David A. Goldfarb said:
Too much gear costs too much to maintain in good working order and keeps you from really internalizing the operation of what you have, so you pick up a camera you haven't used in a year, and you make mistakes, or forget to set everything, or hesitate when the action of making a photograph needs to be automatic.

Ain't this the truth. I just can't let myself stick to one camera for very long, but keep switching between 3 of them and screwing up.

benjiboy · Oct 14, 2015

You have to basically decide if you want to be a camera hoarder or a photographer because the more gear you have the more you have to insure, worry about , have serviced, protect thus dissipating your efforts instead of concentrating on trying to produce good pictures.

ColColt · Oct 14, 2015

I started out seriously in 35mm back in summer of 1977. My first three cameras(all Nikon) are no longer with me as I traded or sold. Over the years till now I still have seven 35mm SLR's cameras and another being a Leica M2(and a host of lens) and yet another 6x7. Digital there's three. I seldom use but one of those as the other two sit in the safe.

I can think of wants/desires like a Pentax 645N but, I don't shoot all that I have so; a little self discipline for me was in order.

blockend · Oct 14, 2015

There are practical cameras and nice cameras to use. A practical camera is a late model AF SLR with pop up flash. The entry level ones weigh nothing, the AF issues had been ironed out, the auto exposure is impeccable. It has every conceivable setting plus overrides and fulfils 95% of the job asked of it. It will look and feel like a toy and take great photographs.

On the other hand you can have a fully mechanical one that will leave you with a stoop, will probably be set at the wrong aperture, shutter speed, ISO and focal setting for that once in a lifetime shot, and will feel fantastic. If people on this forum were practically minded, we'd be shooting digital.

C Jensen · Oct 14, 2015

Beware of the photographer with only one camera. He/she probably knows how to use it.

frank · Oct 14, 2015

benjiboy said:
You have to basically decide if you want to be a camera hoarder or a photographer because the more gear you have the more you have to insure, worry about , have serviced, protect thus dissipating your efforts instead of concentrating on trying to produce good pictures.

While I respect that this is your opinion, I do not share it. No, not at all. Photography has many facets we can take advantage of for enjoyment. It does not HAVE to be ALL ABOUT THE IMAGE.

OldBodyOldSoul · Oct 14, 2015

Five years ago I told myself that, in order to get a new toy, it had to come at the expense of the ones I already had. At that time I had lots of different stuff, half of which didn't mean much to me. I would say that everything I had was worth between two and three thousand dollars. So I went on a selling/buying/swapping spree, most of which was GAS-induced. But then, some of the newly obtained things became important. As the time went by, the pile available for transactions was getting smaller and smaller. Today, I am almost in the equilibrium. There is maybe $300 worth of stuff that I would be willing to let go, but only if something really special popped up in front of my nose.
Two F3HP, one F100 and about 10 F-mount lenses, plus a Hexar AF, cover everything I ever wanted to shoot. Then there is a decent M42 kit for the times when I feel like not using Nikon, and there are two MF cameras for when I think that I might want to move up in the format. It is getting extremely hard to get GASed up now and that's a great feeling, actually.

frank · Oct 14, 2015

Before I got married, I could buy whatever I could afford. Hasselblad, Nikon F4, Mamiya 6.
After I got married, I had to become more responsible and shot weddings on the side for photography money. Now I buy and sell existing gear inventory, like Boris.

ColColt · Oct 14, 2015

Before I got married, I could buy whatever I could afford

You can do that again if you're not married and retired with no money to doll out to wives, kids, grand kids, etc. Me and my dog are quite content in our state of being and if I want something I just get it...within reason of course. Hassleblad has never interested me so that's not in the equation. I still feel guilty when I buy something over a few hundred bucks for whatever the reason.

Paul Howell · Oct 14, 2015

benjiboy said:
You have to basically decide if you want to be a camera hoarder or a photographer because the more gear you have the more you have to insure, worry about , have serviced, protect thus dissipating your efforts instead of concentrating on trying to produce good pictures.

I have always thought there are folks to take pictures in order to own cameras and folks who own cameras in order to take pictures.

I tired to collect, started with Miranda, assembled a nice range of EE bodies and lens, then lost interest, next time KEH is in town will sell off and take a loss. On the other hand I do have a bunch of Pentax bodies that came attached to a lens I wanted, guess will see if KEH will take them as well.

Cant be too bad, so far the film crew from Hoarders has not shown up with a psychotherapist for an intervention.

Theo Sulphate · Oct 14, 2015

For me, GAS is not a problem. I do use all my cameras and have made many outstanding photographs.

I apologize for nothing

Nikon: F, F2, F2, F2, F2S, F2S, F3/T, F3/T, F4S, F4S, FM, FM3a, D700
Canon: EF, AE-1P, RebelG, RebelG, RebelG, Elan 7NE, QL17GIII, Canonet 28
Leica: M3, M3, M6, M6, SL
Exakta: VX, VX, VX,, VXIIa
Hasselblad: 500C/M, 501C, SWC, 553ELX
Mamiya: RB67 Pro S, RB67 ProS
Fuji: GW690III, X-Pro1
Polaroid: SX-70, SLR 690, Image 1200
Minolta: SRT-101, SRT-101, Maxxum 7, DiMAGE X1
Minox: III, IIIs, IIIs, B
Graflex: Pacemaker 4x5
Olympus: XA, XA2
Other: Pentax SP500, Ricoh GR1, Voigtländer Bessamatic, Rolleiflex 3.5F

Peltigera · Oct 14, 2015

My Gas is controlled by Bestbeloved. We have little storage space and my quota is currently full of cameras. I want any more kit, it has to fit into that already full space.

Sent from my A1-840 using Tapatalk

BradleyK · Oct 14, 2015

Dan Fromm said:
Your mantra for the rest of your life: "My my wants are simple, needs are few, I have enough."

Gerald C Koch said:
My grandmother used to say, "It's not a bargain if you don't need it ." Remember this when you are tempted to buy something.

Sage advice, both.

Anon Ymous said:
snip...
I'd rather spend money on paper, chemicals and film.

My thinking to the letter.

ColColt · Oct 14, 2015

For me, GAS is not a problem. I do use all my cameras and have made many outstanding photographs.

I apologize for nothing

You need and F2A(or F2AS) and an M2 to round out the list. Two of the greats.

Sirius Glass · Oct 14, 2015

It is easy. I kept yielding to GAS until I had every camera and lens that I wanted, then the GAS went away.

Saganich · Oct 14, 2015

GAS attacks when you feel in need of transformation. Schrooms are the best remedy.

Theo Sulphate · Oct 14, 2015

ColColt said:
You need and F2A(or F2AS) and an M2 to round out the list. Two of the greats.

Well, your M2 is stunningly beautiful. I've never liked the external frame counter on the M2. If I had a 35mm Leica lens, I'd look for an M4 to put it on. I'm strange in that once I put a lens on a body, it tends to stay there. I rarely change lenses. On most of my cameras I've just put one lens on and kept it there. So my M6's have a 50/2 and a 90/2.8.

When I want to make photos, I decide what format and lens I want, then I pick the body that has that lens. How else can I explain three Rebel G's?

I don't understand the appeal of the F2A or F2AS other than better metering. I have as many pre-AI lenses as AI(S), so on an F2A they require stop-down metering whereas on an F2 Photomic or F2S, all lenses are metered wide open (assuming the lens has the rabbit ears).

ColColt · Oct 14, 2015

The counter on the M2 doesn't bother me at all. I do like the 35-50-90 frame lines more than the others as that's the lens of choice for me. I never have liked a cluttered viewfinder and hence, have shunned some of the later models.

I don't understand the appeal of the F2A or F2AS other than better metering.

that's primarily it for me, especially the F2AS-more stable even than the F2A with it's Cds cells although mine just got Soverized with new cells recently even though they were working fine they were nonetheless, old and may have lasted another year maybe longer but I wanted to get the new cells while they're still available.

I only have a couple of non-AI lens and they get used on the three FTN Photomics I have. The 50mm f1.4 SC lens is especially nice.

4season · Oct 14, 2015

How to control GAS? Recalibrate your attitude towards money! If $200 feels like play-money to you, try spending it on a meal (per person, booze extra) a book or (1) nice shirt or belt and see if you still feel that way.

For me personally, I think sticking to ~$1000-or-less total market value for all of my analog gear combined would not be a bad idea, and $500-or-less would be an intriguing challenge. Forces a guy to prioritize and get resourceful, maybe discover the charms of under-appreciated gear too.

destroya · Oct 15, 2015

I told myself no more cameras till I sell a few. No more lenses till I sell a few. No more film till I shoot more. I was a good boy for about a month then found two great deals on 2 cameras I always wanted and thought I never would buy. So after I bought them I started the count over again. you know, like "stay safe, there have been no work injuries on this job site for X days." I have reset that count 3 times this year alone. "be cheap. no new gear till you unload some".

John_Nikon_F · Oct 15, 2015

I finally gave myself an intervention. Realized I didn't need an F4, F5, a bunch of Nikkormats, etc. I'm now down to three film bodies. An F FTn with drive, an F2AS that pretty much always wears a RRS QR plate on its bottom, thus preventing usage of a drive, and an F3P that usually is also without a drive on it. I also got rid of duplicate lenses, getting down to a 24/2 AI, 35/2 O with factory AI ring, 50/1.4 S (again with factory ring), 85/1.8 K (factory AI'd), and a 105/4 Micro AIS. It also helped me to have the F2AS Soverized. Expensive repair job, but, worth it, and, also makes it a bit harder for me to consider using the camera as trade fodder, partly because it works *so* nicely, and partly because I'd lose my shirt if I did so.

Will I get another body? Yes. Will I get tons more bodies after that one? No. Only body I'm looking for is an FM2n in the 7360xxx-7361xxx serial range for black, or 7465xxx for chrome. Mainly because my original FM2n was from the 7465xxx serial batch. Lens-wise, I'd like to get another 20/3.5 UD with AI ring, and one or two lenses longer than 105. The 20, I didn't use much, but it was nice to have when I did use it. I have found lenses in the 180-300mm range to be useful enough that I should probably get one first, then find what I'm looking for, 20mm-wise.

We'll see how long this intervention lasts. I did delete the "Nikomat FT" search from the saved searches on my eBay account.

-J

How do you guys avoid having GAS- bodies are so cheap?

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