Less and less interested in trying different gear...

Lol, is this turning into Jerry McQuire's mission statement? "Less cameras. More personal attention". Oh, dear! No soapbox here, just thinking out loud. I mean, someone needs to be playing the field while I'm not.

I had also best remove Ricophile from my signature soon. I think my CX1 is about to retire due to injury.

"Show me the camera!!!!"
 
Interesting thread!
I often play mental games to see just how minimal I can go on gear.
Like carry just a cameraphone etc.
Much as I lust after the Fuji X10, I am really Happy with my Oly E-PL1 and XZ-1
I love the m4/3 IQ and the common UI between the two.
I just need to shoot more and shop less!
But I did fall and got the MMF-2 adapter so all my 4/3 lenses work wonderfully on the PL.
;)
 
I have now stopped buying and selling so much and am concentrating on getting the best lenses for my systems that i can get. It helps working in a camera shop as i get to play with the toys which get's it out my system. I have just come back from a week away with the G3 and hand on heart the quality of images are superb so that's going nowhere!!
 
I'm getting married in November

November is an odd month for a marriage. You have to be an Australian! :)

My very best wishes!

Finding a camera that you enjoy (love?) can be an enjoyable process in itself.

If one can find a camera which works and lenses which are not decentered badly...

The question is, once you've found one (or two, or three...), do you keep going and maybe find something even better, or take stock and enjoy what you have? And what causes you to fall out of love? Do your requirements change, do you get bored, does a camera become "less good"? Demand will continue to drive technology fowards, you just need to decide if that new technology is really what you wanted.

In my case I sold my Nikon D90, because I had not used it for a too long time after buying a Canon S90. Had I known that all lenses I would buy for the new system were bad, I would not have switched because that killed most of my joy I initially had with my µ4/3 gear. It took about half a year until I found back some joy with my µ4/3 gear again.


My last order (the GF3 with the 14mm and the 20mm) was due to the joy I feel with being in nature with a tiny camera like the Canon S90 or my Canon G12. I also wanted to restrict myself to just one or two small primes. The GF3 with those two lenses should have combined both. It seemed to be a good addition to my current gear. But unfortunately both lenses were bad copies and have been at the service for more than two weeks now and will be there for some weeks due to spare parts which cannot be delivered at the moment.

I am rather sure that I might finally get a working camera with two working lenses, but I have also to admit, that I have already lost interest again. The necessity to send each native µ4/3 to the service, where it stays for weeks (and sometimes for months, as it happened to me), has undermined my trust into µ4/3 nearly completely. At the moment I don't want to invest further into that system and would prefer not to buy the GF3 and the lenses. At least the shop knows about my problems and has let me test the GF3 and the lenses, such that I don't own it.

I am very interested in the technical side of photography, but although I can get rather excited about new gear, I feel more and more fear that I could get a bad copy which would finally spoil all joy (eventually even with photography). It has just happened too often: five bad µ4/3 lenses, a bad sensor of a Leica D-LUX 5, and when I tried the Nikon D5100 this spring, I got an 85mm macro with some defects of the coating, a decentered 35mm and a slightly decentered (but still useful) 60mm macro. When I had the Nikon D90, I got a bad copy of the 18-200mm, which could not produce a single sharp picture. After seeing problems I test very carefully to exclude that it's me causing the problems and until now the service has acknowledged all problems.

Taking photographs with a gear, which one does not trust very much and with which one has lost most of ones joy, is not the most comfortable thing on earth. However, I doubt that buying new gear or changing the system would change anything. I might just end up with finding the same problems again and again and again...
 
Still shooting with my Sony A200 (now 3.5 years old) and LX3 (now 2 years old). I feel no need to upgrade either despite all the new arrivals since. Of course, I like to look at the specs for the A77 etc and when I get to see one in a shop I will take the opportunity to play with it. But will it help me take better pictures? No. I've never printed anything bigger than 18"x12" and for that 10MP is plenty; for on screen display 10MP is already too much. The only significant advantage is that they can shoot clean at 3200-6400 which my A200 can't approach but is that really worth the expenditure? Not to me. And of course my NEX-5 lets me shoot up to 3200 at a quality good enough for me.

Like Andy I prefer to spend the money I can afford on lenses but even there my needs are simple. For my DSLR I have four lenses in total - one of which probably takes 90% of my shots. I would like two more to compete my lineup - then I would stop. Same with the NEX - four lenses and I'm done.

This is not to say that if I won the lottery I wouldn't spend some of it on gear but I wouldn't really need it and it wouldn't make me a better photographer.
 
The main question I have to ask myself is 'Do I really need this camera' (or whatever) the answer is 99% no but more often or not the temptation is too much.
At present I'm in love with my NEX 5 and its articulated LCD and the new 16mm lens which of course means that the other two cams are wondering what they'd done to upset me.
Like a few others I hunger after the new Fuji X10 because it reminds me of a Voigtlander rangefinder I had many years ago, so I just hope its not all its hyped up to be!
 
I am a Dichotomy. On one hand I like cameras. I like to hold them, like to stroke them, like to feel them, I just like them. While on the other I seldom buy cameras and would be happier to be able to take images with only my eyes. If I leave my camera on the shelf it takes no images. If I carry a Holga around with me I can get a good image. The more equipment I carry the fewer images I take. For me there seems to be a formula, with very few exceptions, one camera one lens equals my best photography. The camera lens combination will change depending on what I intend to shoot.

Now as to “I have invested in a new camera” what a crock this is . If I invested in the stock markets at same rates as people invested in cameras I would still be working and not retired. Tell your better half what you like, but camera equipment is a business expenses or an entertainment cost depending oh how you use it. On the other hand Buying a Leica 0-Serie at 1.9 million is speculation not an investment. If you want to invest in cameras buy shares in Canon et al.

If you want to get the best bang for your photographic buck the things what will help you the most are easy to under stand but harder to put into practice because the require time and commitment. Take picture, take courses, take pictures, read books on photography, take pictures, go to inspirational seminars, take pictures, study art, take pictures, get your work critiqued, take pictures. Oh did I mention take pictures?

In the end I know that a new camera, no mater how attractive I find them, will not help me take better pictures.
 
When do you reach for which?

"I am really Happy with my Oly E-PL1 and XZ-1"

"I just need to shoot more and shop less!"

I'm definitely in the "need to shoot more and shop less" boat as well. As one who is "really happy with [your] Oly E-pl1 and xz-1" I'm wondering if you can articulate when you reach for each. I'm trying to decide between the epl2, the xz-1, and maybe a nex. I understand how one might decide between a smaller camera and a dslr on any given day, but how do you decide between the Oly's?
 
"I am really Happy with my Oly E-PL1 and XZ-1"

"I just need to shoot more and shop less!"

I'm definitely in the "need to shoot more and shop less" boat as well. As one who is "really happy with [your] Oly E-pl1 and xz-1" I'm wondering if you can articulate when you reach for each. I'm trying to decide between the epl2, the xz-1, and maybe a nex. I understand how one might decide between a smaller camera and a dslr on any given day, but how do you decide between the Oly's?

My decision which to carry is pretty straight forward.
1-Do I need my more reach?
2-Can I carry a larger and heavier kit today?
If yes to both then the E-PL1 goes with.
If the answer to #1 is no then I ask;
3-Will I need a fast lens or be shooting in very low light?
4-can I afford the time to process RAW images
If yes to both the XZ-1 gets the nod. I only use RAW with the XZ since the jpeg engine is sub-optimal.
That of the E-PL1 is superb. They are simply the best OOC jpegs I have seen!
If no to both questions then the E-PL1 may go with the 17mm.
This combo is only marginally larger but a bit heavier than the XZ-1
If carrying the most versatile kit in the smallest package matters most the XZ-1 wins hands down.
But again I HAVE to shoot RAW to get the IQ I want at anything over base ISO.
So that option comes at a price.
One that I, more often that not, am willing to pay.

As to your last statement; is this an either or question? PEN or XZ or NEX?
 
Either/Or...

@Lily, Thanks for that detailed response. It is very helpful. And yes, given my constraints, and my desire to keep my dslr for the few things that only it can do, the question of which compact is an either/or decision for me now as I can only afford one.

As to your last statement; is this an either or question? PEN or XZ or NEX?[/QUOTE]
 
@Lily, Thanks for that detailed response. It is very helpful. And yes, given my constraints, and my desire to keep my dslr for the few things that only it can do, the question of which compact is an either/or decision for me now as I can only afford one.

As to your last statement; is this an either or question? PEN or XZ or NEX?
[/QUOTE]

In that case, I might suggest the XZ-1, Samsung EX-1/TL500 or a Fuji X10.
You don't need to build up a new collection of lenses and they're smaller, Lighter and have quieter shutters.
It is hard to find lenses for m4/3 that are as comparably fast as well.
 
Back
Top