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Second Camera GAS Attack


jonoslack

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Hi There

Like many of us, my M is definitely my first camera, but there are times when a zoom lens and AF is just what's needed.

 

I was happily using my µ43 equipment until the Sony A7r came along . . . . . . and then things went badly downhill. I've written a little article about my experiences, if it gives you a smile, or even a grimace of recognition, then it was worth writing:

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy - I don't think it counts as educational!

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Jono, yes it doesn't apply to me, but it was still a nice read. On a computer screen I would not be able to tell which image was made with which camera.

 

I'm very happy your grand-daughter is doing so well. Modern medicine is amazing.

 

Ps. The cure to GAS is, it seems to me, the same as the key to a happy marriage - be happy with what you have and remember why you got it in the first place :D

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Jono, yes it doesn't apply to me, but it was still a nice read. On a computer screen I would not be able to tell which image was made with which camera.

 

I'm very happy your grand-daughter is doing so well. Modern medicine is amazing.

 

Ps. The cure to GAS is, it seems to me, the same as the key to a happy marriage - be happy with what you have and remember why you got it in the first place :D

 

Hi there

If you enjoyed reading it, then I'm pleased, it was my only intention. Certainly I'm not trying to persuade anyone of anything!

 

Modern medicine is, indeed, amazing, and every time I see that smiley little face I'm reminded of the dedication of the hospital. The NHS doesn't get a bad press around here!

 

I think you're right about the cure to GAS, and it is exactly how I look at my marriage. I think a good marriage and a manageable dose of GAS is not too awful!

 

All the best

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I conquered GAS by sheer willpower and force of personality. I told myself I didn't need any other camera than the M, and sold nearly all my others - I just have a Ricoh GRD4 and a pinhole camera left. My wife is very pleased.

 

To help me avoid a relapse, I just buy lenses now. And I had a good time buying old lenses online at the Westlicht auction last Saturday. But lenses don't count as GAS, do they? Do they? Please reassure me.

Edited by LocalHero1953
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..............Modern medicine is, indeed, amazing, and every time I see that smiley little face I'm reminded of the dedication of the hospital. The NHS doesn't get a bad press around here!.........All the best

 

I certainly agree with you there Jono. My first grandson was born similarly very premature in 2008 and owes his life to to expertise and dedication of the all the staff involved with his care.

 

Thanks for the article too, we've most of us been there.....:).

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The story about the cameras was pretty boring. Not the fault of the author at all, but simply that all this digital camera talk has become kind of tedious lately as it's just the same old thing repeated over and over. There are plenty of fine tools to choose from, and all with a good fit for even the most discerning princess. And we've seem to somewhat hit a plateau already in respect to real world image quality needs. Yet the manufacturers keep grappling to find the perfect flavor of ice cream. No wonder it's a struggling industry.

 

But what was interesting was the story of the "thin, angry red jellybelly" named Scarlett Rose. It got me thinking of the state of health care in the world, and the politics of it all (and especially in the US, where it's unfortunately become such a volatile subject.) I'm glad to hear that she is doing so well now after those 73 days of such distress. And it's also a great story that the family wants to return something back to the NICU of Norfolk and Norwich NHS hospital as a form of their gratitude. That made my day.

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I don't think Jono is necessarily saying anything is "second best"

 

Why have a hierarchy at all then, using the word 'second' nowadays clearly implies a pyramid of cameras from pointy end to base. It is possible to use one camera more than another, it is possible to need a type of camera more than another, but not so long ago people simply had another camera that often did something a bit different to their other camera.

 

I'm pretty sure I know what Jono means (I do indeed have another camera, many in fact, but I call them other camera's (unless I get drawn into a debate and use the term 'second' mistakenly), not second camera's) but it's the mild insecurity that accompanies the term 'second' in modern camera buying that gets my goat. 'Backup', there's another term, traditionally meaning buying an identical copy, now it means any other camera that won't get used much, if at all.

 

'Second' and 'backup' aren't far apart in the overall paranoia that the camera industry encourages by the implication that you need a 1,2,3,4, (where 1 is your most expensive 'investment', and 4 is possibly an iPhone). Today in popular parlance it is almost exclusively based on outright image quality with no regard for the usefulness of any particular camera at any particular time. So nobody dare say they get better pictures from their AF m43 camera and not their M, it has to be described as a hierarchy, justifying perceived lower performance by saying something is 'second'. This turns around the common sense approach where nobody had to apologise over a 35mm image and justify it in a camera hierarchy, people simply knew it was a small camera being used for a reason rather than a big large format camera being used for a reason. Jumping out of time would a much older generation of Winogrand, HCB, etc have called their iPhone their fourth camera, I doubt it. They would still have a camera preference of course, but downplaying a good image and introducing negativity by already thinking of another camera as second, third, or fourth wouldn't have come into it (until they'd also been drawn into the paranoia of modern camera marketing)

 

Steve

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Quite.

 

I own different cameras for different purposes. Some fulfil an emotional need - Leica II and M2 - some practical - Ricoh GR. There is no hierarchy. They are a toolset. I use a hammer for nails and a screwdriver for screws. I can hammer in a screw with a hammer, but it is not the tool for the job.

 

Sent from another Galaxy

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'Backup', there's another term, traditionally meaning buying an identical copy, now it means any other camera that won't get used much, if at all.

 

This happened, at least for me, because of a switch to digital from film. I never had the need to carry a 'back-up' for reliability reasons in 40 years using film cameras. When my first digital Leica (could have been any brand) had to be sent to NJ for more than a month for 'maintenance', and later when it 'locked up' during a shoot, perspective and needs changed….and so did terminology.

 

Words from computer-land and camera-land have tended to merge. My camera only used to get 'locked up' when I put in in secure 'storage'….not data storage…I mean cabinet... speaking of which, I used to keep my 'files' in a cabinet, not in my camera.

 

Words evolve.

 

Jeff

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I'm suffering a bit of GAS at the moment and have some funds ready to spend. I am sort of considering a pre-ASPH 35 Summicron-M to pair with my 75 Summilux but at the moment the 40 Summicron is OK, and the idea of a WATE still floats around in the back of my head.

 

But I must say that I haven't found anything that I really want to buy :eek::eek::eek:

Jono, thanks for article which just further reinforces my thoughts.

 

So I'll just have to stick to all of the crappy Leica equipment I own and go out and take some photos.

I could perhaps spend the money on a photography holiday - now wouldn't that be a strange thing to do? :rolleyes:

Edited by MarkP
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