It isn't a "terrible existence" it's a wonderful feeling to happy with what you have and not want need or have to think about acquiring any more, after more than 60 years of photography" I feel enough is a feast".
How do you guys avoid having GAS- bodies are so cheap?
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Fair enough. Which cameras will you buy in your next lifetime?
Whenever I buy a camera or lens I don't "need" I remind my S/O that I could be spending it on hookers and cocaine. Her choice.
Like you, I have reached that point in life where I have all the cameras and equipment that I want.
I have not insured, do no worry about, have not serviced. But for the rest you are right.
You are lucky if that works!
I suppose one's life might be out of balance if they own more cameras than underwear. ...I need to buy a lot of underwear.
I see nothing innately out of the ordinary for someone who wants to have 10 or 15 or more for that matter, cameras. Some like to collect them, some collect and shoot while others buy just to try a fill up an empty niche in their otherwise lonely and empty life. There's a smorgasbord of reasons. Whatever makes one happy and content I'm all for it.
I want to reduce the bodies I have.
Leica MP
Olympus XA2
Holga 120
Nikon F3
Someone lent me a clean F3 with a 50mm and a 28mm lens.
Haven't heard from the guy in 2 years and asked several times.
I can't give it away and can't sell it.
Stuck with an F3...
Leica MP
Olympus XA2
Holga 120
Nikon F3
Someone lent me a clean F3 with a 50mm and a 28mm lens.
Haven't heard from the guy in 2 years and asked several times.
I can't give it away and can't sell it.
Stuck with an F3...
With 40+ cameras I doubt I have been spared...
(to be fair, I have many of the same type of camera as it is often cheaper to buy a "new" one that have the old one fixed - I keep the rest for parts should I need them)
Hi Moose
That is the answer to the OP : as maintenance is so expensive if you need a working camera it is cheaper to buy another working one than have one fixed.
Noel
Why avoid?
My personal journey into the darkness of serial acquisition began when I bought a Canon A-1 to replace a pair of crappy AF Nikons that had died in the drawer. I'd always disliked Canon, but the A-1 came with a bunch of barely used FD primes for the equivalent of about £20 each, so I thought I could learn to like the FD mount at those prices. Next came a series of A and T series Canon bodies to put them on, followed for no good reason by five or six Nikkormats. I remember the reason now, they were stupidly cheap and built like the manual Nikons I used to love.
Thereafter came a pair of Nikon AF bodies to replace the cameras that died, which could take the autofocus Nikkors I'd hung on to. I was looking for something between my heavy metal Nikons and plastic fantastic SLRs, and alighted on the Yashica FR. This coincided with a rapid rise in the price of lenses generally, and manual lenses in particular, and Yashica ML were selling for a lot less than Nikkors but had excellent all metal construction. The FR is a much underrated camera with very few vices and an understated layout. Some sources reckon they're more reliable than their Contax cousins and the ML lenses aren't far off the mark either. Various other cameras came and some even went, including a Kodak Retina, nasty AF Minoltas and a mountain of compact cameras so cheap it would have been rude to turn them down. And three German folders. And other things.
Compared to some people this "collection" is paltry, but it has grown too big for my tastes. I could probably whittle it down to my Canon FTb, 24mm, 28mm, 50mm lenses and one of the telephotos, but I like the AT-1 for it's basic-ness and modern batteries, so that would have to stay. The other Canon bodies I wouldn't miss. Of the Nikkormats the FT2 is lovely if slightly beaten, and my mint FT would be hard to sell because I'd never find another one even though the frame spacing is somewhat cavalier at times. The Yashica FR is just a nice thing as are its lenses. Completely off theme, there's an EOS 3000n with 40mm pancake that is tiny and is used at least two or three times a month. The Zeiss Ikon folders I couldn't part with. All of the cameras are used, even if it's once a year. None of the cameras are perfect.
A collection like this is a cry for help. I need someone to tell me what to keep so that everything else can go.
Thereafter came a pair of Nikon AF bodies to replace the cameras that died, which could take the autofocus Nikkors I'd hung on to. I was looking for something between my heavy metal Nikons and plastic fantastic SLRs, and alighted on the Yashica FR. This coincided with a rapid rise in the price of lenses generally, and manual lenses in particular, and Yashica ML were selling for a lot less than Nikkors but had excellent all metal construction. The FR is a much underrated camera with very few vices and an understated layout. Some sources reckon they're more reliable than their Contax cousins and the ML lenses aren't far off the mark either. Various other cameras came and some even went, including a Kodak Retina, nasty AF Minoltas and a mountain of compact cameras so cheap it would have been rude to turn them down. And three German folders. And other things.
Compared to some people this "collection" is paltry, but it has grown too big for my tastes. I could probably whittle it down to my Canon FTb, 24mm, 28mm, 50mm lenses and one of the telephotos, but I like the AT-1 for it's basic-ness and modern batteries, so that would have to stay. The other Canon bodies I wouldn't miss. Of the Nikkormats the FT2 is lovely if slightly beaten, and my mint FT would be hard to sell because I'd never find another one even though the frame spacing is somewhat cavalier at times. The Yashica FR is just a nice thing as are its lenses. Completely off theme, there's an EOS 3000n with 40mm pancake that is tiny and is used at least two or three times a month. The Zeiss Ikon folders I couldn't part with. All of the cameras are used, even if it's once a year. None of the cameras are perfect.
A collection like this is a cry for help. I need someone to tell me what to keep so that everything else can go.
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If you can afford it, have the time, have the room, why avoid buying more gear? You have the opportunity to own and use what were once luxury goods, or intended for and affordable by only professional photographers. Working examples are as good cameras as they ever were. What was once a month's salary costs coffee money. On the other hand, and I wish I'd had this advice to take when I started collecting, be selective. Junk will still be worthless in 10 years.
I can't avoid the GAS, but I certainly don't have to pay too much. I only bid on items I currently have a use for - no "future projects". Also, I bid low and stay low. Sometimes, just bidding and losing is enough to keep the GAS at bay for a while.
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