This addiction is consuming me!...

[Sirius Glass]

This addiction is consuming me!...

There is hope ... you have only just begun. Get to know and love the technical term for that ==> GAS

 

[ntenny]

I have a Rolleicord which is my favorite camera I own. I would love a Flex though...

I have both---the 'cord was my childhood camera, and a few years ago my dad gave me his 'flex (2.8C) since he'd converted fully to digital. The two cameras are more similar than different in use, I'd say; the three big differences are crank vs. knob advance, brightness of the screen, and of course the taking lenses.

What's telling is that I haven't quit using the Rolleicord. The theoretically inferior Xenar lens has a certain warmth and I find myself reaching for it regularly for that reason; the Planar on the Rolleiflex is of course just absurdly sharp and contrasty and all that, but can get a little bit "clinical" in black and white. Bottom line: two incredibly great cameras.

-NT

 

[mhcfires]

I have both---the 'cord was my childhood camera, and a few years ago my dad gave me his 'flex (2.8C) since he'd converted fully to digital. The two cameras are more similar than different in use, I'd say; the three big differences are crank vs. knob advance, brightness of the screen, and of course the taking lenses.

What's telling is that I haven't quit using the Rolleicord. The theoretically inferior Xenar lens has a certain warmth and I find myself reaching for it regularly for that reason; the Planar on the Rolleiflex is of course just absurdly sharp and contrasty and all that, but can get a little bit "clinical" in black and white. Bottom line: two incredibly great cameras.

-NT

The Tessar in the older Rollei Automats is a wonderful lens, not as sharp as the Planar, but it has its own quality and charm. Mine seems to have its own signature different from any of my other TLRs' - Mamiyas which have pretty much been relegated to the shelf since I acquired this old Rollei.

 

[Neanderman]

And a medium format transparency is mind blowing...but I really want a large format now...

You should see an 8x10 transparency. Then you'd REALLY want a LF.

Ed

 

[tjaded]

So true. Nothing quite like an 8x10 transparency. I was lucky enough to see some af Mr. Adams 8x10 Kodachromes. Good lord....

As for the Rollei quest, I have/use/love my Rollei but I do get frustrated by the fixed focal length. I think I would love a Tele-Rollei, but $$$ is not on my side right now.

As for the collections, I've got it bad, too. The "worst" is when you get a good deal on a camera and then obsess on getting every available lens for it. Not that I have ever done that or anything...

You should see an 8x10 transparency. Then you'd REALLY want a LF.

Ed

 

[ChrisC]

I'm pretty good in this regard. Maybe it's because I don't have the money to justify it, but I only ever have 1 camera per format. I can't really get attached to any more and just feel bad having stuff sitting around not being used. Then again I do seem to rotate that one camera per format more often than I probably should. Maybe one day I'll find that silver bullet…

 

[IloveTLRs]

Anyone else battling with similiar urges? (i bet you all are!)

I was, yes. Thankfully I'm on the road to recovery. G.A.S. can be a serious problem.

I believe it Ken Rockwell said something along the lines of "Rung what you brung and be happy with it" - words I'm trying to live by

 

[benjiboy]

It's a great feeling to be happy with what you have, and not constantly aspire to more "stuff" , most of the masters of the medium became legends with equipment that most hobbyist photographers these days would sneer at.
What do you do when you own the best and most expensive equipment that money can buy, and your pictures are still crap ?, I've been a photographer for more than fifty years and speak from bitter experience I've been there and have the T shirt, and although I'm in the happy financial position to be able to afford to buy any equipment I wish I haven't bought a camera for about eighteen years, and try to spend any cash I have available on trying to improve my skills and knowledge to get better results with what I already own.

 

[Sirius Glass]

My latest burst of GAS occurred in LF 4"x5" lenses: 90mm, 210mm [two of them], 12" [304mm], and 15" [380mm].

Now I feel better. I have all but one mounted and the GAS has been replaced by siriusly using them.

Steve

 

[Joe O'Brien]

Hi, I'm Joe and I'm an addict. It's been three days since I made my last photographic purchase.

It seemed like I had no other choice, and you know I don't think I did. The tripod was just sitting on the shelf looking so beautiful, and my dealer was explaining that it could hold up to my Bronica without a problem. I just meant to go in and get a bag, of film, to hold me through the weekend, but, before I knew it the tripod was under my arm and I was thanking the guy for helping me! Helping me? I go to sleep fondling my 85mm 1.7 Rokkor-X like some sick pervert!

Thanks for letting me share myself, and I will keep coming back.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

The worst part of GAS is that one purchase is never enough- it always fuels at least another several purchases. I just got a Fresnel light for my strobes. Now I'm toying with buying a new heavy- duty light stand to support it, and a second power pack for my strobe kit so I have a dedicated pack to drive the fresnel. Sick, sick, sick I tell you...

 

[vpwphoto]

I sold all my rangefinders this year..... but did end up buying a Nikonos to have around, I still freed up a lot of money.
Now I have to figure out why I have 7 TLRs when I always use the Blad.
I thought about teaching a workshop with them.

 

[benjiboy]

I think the act of actually buying equipment and not necessarily owning of large numbers of cameras, the majority of which they never use is what turns on people with G.A.S, once they own them they quickly seem to loose interest and wonder why they bought them in the first place.

 

[trials2k]

I never said that I need more gear or that I expect the tool to make the image... My film collection is a hobby, that goes alongside my photography career... nothing else. Neither any mention of crap images either...

I will keep collecting till I am old and pruney, not for the search of a camera to take a perfect image for me, but just to find the most beautifully made camera collection that I can enjoy, and bore future children with

 

[Sirius Glass]

I think the act of actually buying equipment and not necessarily owning of large numbers of cameras, the majority of which they never use is what turns on people with G.A.S, once they own them they quickly seem to loose interest and wonder why they bought them in the first place.

Speak for yourself. If I buy as a result of G.A.S., I use it. If I was not using it, I would send it to you. Now exactly how many cameras have I sent to you?

Zero
Zilch
Nada
Ayin
Ephas
Bupkis
​

 

[benjiboy]

Speak for yourself. If I buy as a result of G.A.S., I use it. If I was not using it, I would send it to you. Now exactly how many cameras have I sent to you?

Zero
Zilch
Nada
Ayin
Ephas
Bupkis
​

If that's the case I don't think you're typical, and I don't want any more cameras even for free, I just want to continue enjoying using the ones I have

 

[Sirius Glass]

So we are both free thinkers, non conformists, comfortable with ourselves, ...

 

[tjaded]

I collect two types of cameras--ones I use and ones for looks. The users may have value from a collector standpoint, but I use them and I don't baby them. I don't abuse them, but I don't wear white gloves when touching them either. The other side of it is the aesthetic value of many old cameras. While Ansco Shur-Shot Jr box cameras are not really a great daily user for me, they look nice on the shelf in front of my desk. I enjoy surrounding myself with aesthetically pleasing things--as photographers we are supposed to be visual people, right? My favorites are the ones that fit the bill on both ends. To me, a my Hasselblad SWA is amazing both in looks and function. Now that I have a photo store I can "justify" my collection to some degree since I can use a lot of my cameras as display in the shop. Denial works wonders...

 

[mablo]

A good clean user Rolleiflex (whatever model) is quite a risk free investment because you can always sell it for roughly the same money than you paid for it. I have a Flex with F/3.5 Planar and a 'Cord with F/3.5 Xenar and cannot say which one makes better images. Both are just pure joy to use. I had to dig deep in my pockets to finance the Flex but I'm glad I did it.

 

[Diapositivo]

Worse, one buys new cameras because of GAS and then one must use them to justify the expense, so the bag is always too heavy or the camera at the neck is the wrong one... but there's also a silver lining, a different camera sometimes invite to explore a different genre, a small rangefinder invites to try street photography, a MF will induces a more reflective and "choosy" attitude, a fixed-focal-length lens makes a good exercise in using that focal length, a new ultra-wide lens is a new eye to the world, etc. so GAS be blessed.

 

[John Koehrer]

In the camera collection department, I've got a jones on for a Nikon F with the non-metered prism. It's just such a classic, elegant-looking camera. Either that or a Canon F-1 (not the F-1N, which although a much more useful camera, is a lot uglier). I'd also like to get my 12x15 restored so it is workable - it has most of the required bits and pieces, but needs first and foremost a new bellows, and then some film holders to go with it.

Bah! There's no question. It HAS to be the Nikon. The F1 isn't even in the same league.

Pardon me as I begin to bob and weave to avoid flying objects.=@) like cameras.

 

[bill spears]

but there's also a silver lining, a different camera sometimes invite to explore a different genre, a small rangefinder invites to try street photography, a MF will induces a more reflective and "choosy" attitude, a fixed-focal-length lens makes a good exercise in using that focal length, a new ultra-wide lens is a new eye to the world, etc. so GAS be blessed.

Totally agree !
Whenever my photography is going through a stale patch, another camera always gets me going again. It doesn't have to be an expensive one...... a crappy toy camera or an old folder for a few quid and the creativeness is unleashed !!

On the other hand .... GAS can sometimes be a real problem for me because I buy and sell cameras as part of my living. I can't describe the emotional pain I suffer when Rollei's, Exakta's and nice little bakelite beauties come in one hand and have to go straight out the other..... just so's I can put food on the table !

 

[bill spears]

Talking of Nikons..... A friend came round to my place a while back and said, about my Nikon F on the display shelf ''Isn't that Nikon an ugly looking thing''.
It still hurts when I talk about it.
It does have the clumsy photomic meter on it though so I guess I can forgive him a little.

 

[Andrew Moxom]

but if you knocked him out with it and then said do that with a pretty camera and I doubt it would still work!

 

[SafetyBob]

Nice to know I am in good company. I got it a couple of years ago and have enjoyed the depleting funds. I started out with that Nikon F4 that I have always wanted and now have all sorts of 35mm Nikon and Yashica cameras and a really good Mamiya 645 Pro setup I try to use all the time but have no time right now to use anything......


Yes I want an RB or RZ setup, got the Super 23 and working on all the assessories.....I am finding I am buying two of each camera just incase one goes south on me I still have a working copy. I would tell you how many cameras I have because it would scare me........I don't have a camera problem......

Bob E.