If the cameras start to become a distraction, then there's a problem with obstruction. But only as far as creating photographic art is concerned.
Other times, a certain camera will lead me to an idea (i.e. what can I do with this camera?).
Too much gear? Isn't that when one can't red-line their motor in top gear?
No, that means it's geared (or propped) just about right.
At redline the output has usually fallen off considerably. "Redline" is a mechanical concept which prevents "shrapnel".![]()
Okay... top out at the peak of the torque curve then.![]()
When you buy something you think that you miss only to come back home and discover that you already have one or even two of the same you know that you have too much.
Part of my rejection of gratuitous high tech is rooted in the recognition that in order to keep selling the new stuff the marketing case must be made that the older stuff it is intended to replace is now useless. It isn't.
Thus I have a nice cross section of formats and cameras, partly in resistance to the above sentiment. The majority are vintage or outright antique. And I revel in the recognition that light itself hasn't really changed appreciably in the last 100 or so years, so they all work just as well as the day they were made.
By continuing to use them I also consider it to be a respectful, cross-generational pat-on-the-back to the designers, engineers, and craftsmen who created them back in the day. These guys weren't cavemen. They built beautiful, functional, robust and appropriate instruments that work just as well today as they did back then.
So yes, I do own more than one camera. And each serves a different photographic purpose. Even if that purpose may primarily only revolve around the mood it sets. Or the reaction it invokes. Or the enjoyment it brings. Or the atta' boy recognition to its makers its use sends.
Anyone who has ever attempted portraiture with a smartphone camera knows the sullen, bored, disinterested or outright hostile cooperation it elicits from subjects. Anyone who has ever attempted portraiture with an 8x10 bellows camera knows the rapt attention, laser-sharp focus, and total compliance and cooperation it elicits from subjects.
Different cameras can give totally different end results in many ways beyond just being a different format.
So it's often necessary to be able to select the proper tool for the job. One can certainly make do pounding nails with screwdrivers. But perhaps it's better to carry both a screwdriver and a hammer in one's toolbox?
Ken
When you need to keep going down to the local hardware store to buy more shelves...
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I know I have too much gear.
But if I spend all my time worrying about all the gear I have, I get no photography done.
I enjoy photographing...
I don't enjoy worrying...
I will probably always have too much gear.
Well, having too many cameras is better than collecting too many guns. ...
I know I have too much gear.
But if I spend all my time worrying about all the gear I have, I get no photography done.
I enjoy photographing...
I don't enjoy worrying...
I will probably always have too much gear.
I do not know how many cameras and lenses I own. That saves a lot of anxiety and worry ...![]()
Well, having too many cameras is better than collecting too many guns...
That sounds like fun and can be amusing. There's also Paul Ghica's one camera, one lens, one film project - where he shot with a compact Yashica for one year:I think i own way too much gear, because I don't like cameras sitting around unused. But this post gives us a GREAT idea on what to do about it:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
I don't worry. My "man purse" is heavier than those people pointing it out....![]()
That sounds like fun and can be amusing. There's also Paul Ghica's one camera, one lens, one film project - where he shot with a compact Yashica for one year:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pghica/sets/72157639667665763/
I've also thought of using just one camera and one lens each month.
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