NB23 Posted July 6, 2011 Share #1 Posted July 6, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) The more you shoot, the less the gear is important. I've been looking at my gear lately: My Nikon DSLRs look like they've been through a fire. And I am a UV filter advocate: a quick glance at the filters on all my lenses will easily scare a gear fondler away. The scratches are insane! They look as if they were sandblasted... And I love it! And my M8 + 21 lux (my main wedding kit) look like a genuine POS. Especially the lens: Brassed (silvered?) on all sides and the hood is warped. Nice! And the more I print in the darkroom, intimately with my negatives, the less I care if my BP MP or M6 BP Millennium are scratched and abused as if my kid used them in replacement of his Tonka trucks. Of course, I am being pointless. But I have to add that even the gear is pointless, after all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 6, 2011 Posted July 6, 2011 Hi NB23, Take a look here Reality-check. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
azzo Posted July 6, 2011 Share #2 Posted July 6, 2011 At the very end, you did indeed get pointless! ... IMO. ... and I'm asking myself, ''why is he saying, the gear is pointless?!'' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NB23 Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted July 6, 2011 Too much gear talk, too little gear use. Too much lusting for gear, too little efficient gear usage... Nothing is more inspiring then an abused camera that's been the object of so many masterpieces. Winogrand's camera, among others, comes to mind Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
azzo Posted July 6, 2011 Share #4 Posted July 6, 2011 Too much gear talk, too little gear use. Too much lusting for gear, too little efficient gear usage... .... If this up here is the case, then I can see what you mean. .. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted July 6, 2011 Share #5 Posted July 6, 2011 Nothing is more inspiring then an abused camera ... Not sure I'd agree on this one. My camera certainly aren't immaculate and are clearly used, but they are certainly not abused - as working tools I look after them and certainly don't want them failing whilst in use due to inadequate care. Filters I do rather see as disposables (sadly they do get marked and scratched and they certainly do save the front element). IMHO cameras and lenses are for use, not abuse. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eon Posted July 6, 2011 Share #6 Posted July 6, 2011 You have a valid point in that less gear fixation might mean more gear use. However i don't agree on the way you use your gear. I say, use with care. Abused gear are repulsive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmldds Posted July 6, 2011 Share #7 Posted July 6, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I work very hard to pay for my equipment; therefore, I take very good care of them because I respect my time as well as the work and time a team of skillful craftmen put into the fabrication. This goes with everything I own, not just photo stuff! You need to reevaluate... Tri:) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NB23 Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share #8 Posted July 6, 2011 Yes, the word abuse might be strong. But in some cases it applies. Per example, I love my old D2H. It's a dinosaur. My retoucher hates the files. I get criticized by about everyone I know for even owning and using the Damn thing as a main camera for weddings... But I come up with great images. Probably simply has to do with the Dare to using it. And, surprise, ever since we've changed to a pair of D700 I've been using my D2H even more but in a quite different way. I'm now using it while lying in the sand, I've jumped into the sea with it, partially dipped it in the water with waves hitting it. Ever since I absolutely don't care about it anymore it has become an even better camera. I somehow want to use it until it heats up and explodes in my hands (but that is only a Fantasy). Same goes for my Leicas. Darn it feels good to use those things! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubes Posted July 6, 2011 Share #9 Posted July 6, 2011 (mental note: don't buy used gear from NB23 ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NB23 Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share #10 Posted July 6, 2011 (mental note: don't buy used gear from NB23 ) NB23 sells only what he doesn't use. The rest goes to the Grave with him! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmas Posted July 6, 2011 Share #11 Posted July 6, 2011 NB23 sells only what he doesn't use. The rest goes to the Grave with him! Hi NB23 I assume poetic liscence as Garry did not get to take his... Leica M4 Garry Winogrand One of my M2 has pressure plate wera but not as bad as Garry's. Noel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenPatterson Posted July 7, 2011 Share #12 Posted July 7, 2011 Too much gear talk, too little gear use. Too much lusting for gear, too little efficient gear usage... Nothing is more inspiring then an abused camera that's been the object of so many masterpieces. Winogrand's camera, among others, comes to mind Well, this is after all a Leica forum, not just a photography forum. Novices come here who own zero Leica equipment, but want to read what those of us who do think of "our gear". Amateurs and enthusiasts come with limited experience, looking for tips on how to get the most out of their "gear" and what might be possible with "new gear". Still others, such as yourself, are apparently professionals who push their existing "gear" to the limits and view Leica strictly as a means to an end. All viewpoints have the potential to offer useful information. Nobody should have to apologize for lusting after the next lens or camera body, or wanting to keep their gear looking as nice as possible. It isn't all about the image, it's about the Leica image and that includes the entire process from "purchasing gear" to "publishing". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted July 7, 2011 Share #13 Posted July 7, 2011 I can learn something about my equipment on this forum, and it's nice to hear opinions about lenses I think I might like, or advice about what I might be doing wrong with my gear. Then again, it's a nice place to hang out at times. Sure, I'd like to be taking more photos. Would I read a forum talking about how pictures were taken? Not even remotely. The Brian Brake exhibition is on here at the moment. Wonderful images from my youth, rather poorly presented in my view. But great pictures. In a glass display case sit Brake's two Leicas, one silver chrome (looking remarkably good) and the other once black, with brass showing through all over it. Neither looks abused, and you get the sense that if you pulled them out of the case, they'd work perfectly. But if you look at where he took his pictures, it's no surprise they show signs of use and wear. Abuse? I doubt it. I like to look after my gear, and I do mourn the scratches and knocks, and if I can repair them sensibly, I will. But good honest signs of use do lend character. Nikon ran a series of ads in the early 1970s, with pictures of famous people's cameras - Ken Russell's Nikormat, Chris Bonnington's Nikon F etc. They were all worn and used, in a nice way. I hate abuse and lack of care of equipment, but I guess fondling it, keeping it in a box and never using it for what it's intended is worse. Cheers John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NB23 Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share #14 Posted July 7, 2011 What's nice about BP Leicas is that even fondlers, while watching TV, can end up giving it a nice abused look like if the camera went to war and back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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