Severe G. A. S. Attack

[archphoto]

My latest: I got an signment for a wood compagny that makes floors, doors and so on from solid brazilian woods............
When I saw samples of it I got a severe GAS attack !!!!!!

He promissed me enough Brasil Wood (red brown fine grained hard wood) for a 4x5 field..........
Got to build one !!!!!!!!!

Peter

 

[colrehogan]

What! no crowsfoot wrenches? what about ratcheting box wrenches? Need a nice set of digital SnapOn torque wrenches?

I think my husband owned the entire Snap-On catalog at one time. But he is a mechanic.

 

[Curt]

I can't compete with that many lenses so I might bring an Instamatic with me and pretend to shoot. To simplify the process I will be making some fine contact prints from the Instamatic negatives.

I'm afraid to count the lenses I have, did you folks include enlarging lenses in the lot? The problem there is you buy an enlarger and some lenses come with it, you buy a lensboard and a lens comes with it. They might not be worth anything but you put them away. I don't know about the majority but I personally have not sold any photo equipment in 30 years.

It's not enough that the World is so large but the choices of equipment is also large. So as I yearn for a new 5x7 and or and an 8x10 I'm stuck enjoying the very old vintage equipment I have.

 

[Ralph Javins]

I think my husband owned the entire Snap-On catalog at one time. But he is a mechanic.

Good morning, Diane, and "epatsellis;"

Diane, you already know how addictive tools can be, whether for mechanical purposes, or for photographic purposes. At the same time, I also admit that I had purchased some tools to enable me to perform work either that could not be done without that tool, or was done in a much more expedient manner. There were a couple of times when having the tool meant just changing the offending part, rather than dismantleling the entire assembly to get to it.

"epatsellis," yes, there are crowfoot wrenches also, up to 2 & 3/8 inches (for me a special tool to use with certain traffic signal assemblies), and the ratcheting box wrenches, and a few others also. No, I did not have any digital torque wrenches. I was quite satisfied with a deflecting beam type, or a dial type, or a micrometer adjustment spring preloaded "click" type. The young man I started buying my tools from back in Washington, D. C., wound up eventually at the Snap-on Headquarters in Kenosha, Wisconsisn.

Why Snap-on tools? There is a difference in the way that they are built, and the way that they are finished. There is a difference in the way that a Hasselblad is built, and the way that a Kiev 88 is built. Just using the tools was a pleasant experience. It made work a more enjoyable activity for me. Mechanical work was always more relaxing and satisfying. Later I went back into electronics, because I could earn more money that way. I had a need to make more money at that time. Getting unmarried can change an awful lot in your life.

 

[colrehogan]

Yes Ralph. I do know. This is why I have so many lenses at home and often still find myself lusting after another one. The fact that I have the available lens/camera is probably why I haven't sold anything, since I usually find a use for it/them eventually.

My husband has worked on semi trucks, cars, school buses, you name it over the last 30+ years, so he's needed most every tool at one time or other, I am sure.

 

[John Kasaian]

I may be suffering from a previously undiagnosed case of acute G. A. S. (gear acquisition syndrome). In thinking about what I would take to the workshop in Tonopah, I decided to do an inventory of all my LF lenses. After rummaging through all my cases, bags, boxes, and cabinets I came up with 69 lenses. While I know that this is nothing compared to the severity of Jim Galli's case, I was still surprised. These things can really sneak up on you over the years!

There's far more important stuff to stress over. Define your lens collecting as just that---a collection. Enjoy your collection (if that's what floats your boat) but your most used lenses don't belong in your collection---they belong on your camera!

 

[outwest]

John, believe me, they get used. Each camera has its own set of lenses and, while some lenses get used more often than others, they all get their chance. Lenses are for making images, not looking at.

 

[Steve Hamley]

I think there's a better argument for tools over lenses - most of the professional photographers I know probably had/have 5 lenses for 8x10 and probably less than that for 4x5. These are people that make a living with them, and they don't buy/keep lenses that don't pay for themselves. But making a living with them can be quite different from having fun with them, and most of the pros also have tried many lenses in their careers. Roman Loranc used one lens on his Technika for many years and was happy with the simplicity. But Jim's right; the main reason is because we enjoy them.

Snap-On tools are superb in their own right, but one of the reasons they are so expensive is the finish, a very smooth finish versus the un-smooth drop forged finish of cheaper tools. This makes them much easier to clean at the end of the job, often just a wipe with a shop rag versus solvent and a rag or two for the rough finishes, and i've owned some that were just darned difficult to keep clean. When you add the time up over a year or more, Snap-On looks like a bargain. There are more reasons of course, and Snap-On will, unlike Schneider or Rodenstock, build you a one-of-a-kind tool if your pockets are deep enough.

Cheers, Steve

 

[Ken N]

I think there's a better argument for tools over lenses - most of the professional photographers I know probably had/have 5 lenses for 8x10 and probably less than that for 4x5. These are people that make a living with them, and they don't buy/keep lenses that don't pay for themselves. But making a living with them can be quite different from having fun with them, and most of the pros also have tried many lenses in their careers.

To follow this thought, there have been two lenses which I acquired which immediately became part of the permanent collection and will be primary lenses for as long as I have equipment which they fit. But then I've bought and sold many lens other lenses through the years which either filled niche uses or were part of the "search for the holy grail lens" which seems to elude.

So, it's not uncommon to buy one lens which is automatically a "keeper" but other lenses will be part of a normal upgrade cycle. For example, wide-angles and telephotos are frequently swapped when improved coatings or formulations become available.

 

[PeteZ8]

WOW, that's quite a collection!

And to think I shoot 4x5 with a Calumet 4x5 I paid $30 for and some lens I paid $20 for, I think it might be a Kodak?

 

[outwest]

Some of my best lenses cost me less than $20

 

[epatsellis]

Why Snap-on tools? There is a difference in the way that they are built, and the way that they are finished. There is a difference in the way that a Hasselblad is built, and the way that a Kiev 88 is built. Just using the tools was a pleasant experience. It made work a more enjoyable activity for me. Mechanical work was always more relaxing and satisfying. Later I went back into electronics, because I could earn more money that way. I had a need to make more money at that time. Getting unmarried can change an awful lot in your life.

Yup, when I was building aircraft engines and restoring/rebuilding aircraft, dealing with a fastener that cost a fortune to replace (and having to if you round it off or ding it) makes you appreciate tools that just work and don't slip, chew up the fastener, etc. I've sold off alot of my tools, down to 2 toolchests, a top/bottom cabinet and a tool cart (were it cleaner, I'd of put it in the studio, it's just the right size for the Sinar and RB bits.

erie