lars_bergquist Posted December 3, 2011 Share #1 Posted December 3, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Here I sit while a westerly storm passes across central Sweden. It is ten minutes past 5 p.m., it is pitch dark and rain is pelting down. So ... ... it was a dark and stormy night ... ... and I was leafing through Leica's new M 'system book' with all the bodies (bodies ...) and lenses and accessories in it. And suddenly it struck me with awesome power: There was not one item in it that I did not own and did want, need or desire. My Gear Acquisition Syndrome was gone! All of a sudden, there is a big empty space in my life. I feel deeply disoriented. I know, or suspect, the cause of this strange condition. Just a couple of weeks ago I received my new Super-Elmar-M 1:3.4/21mm ASPH, with the finder. So I have all the M glass I want – and some accessories I do not want. But the Super-Elmar seems to be a great lens. The pictures it takes are gorgeous. Unfortunately, the weather has been execrable, plus some rhinitis (drippy nose, to you anglophones). So I have been limited to indoor picture taking. Still, the book contains some very fine photography from Venice, by Alex Maioli. So when the external drip ceases, I will go out with the new baby and take some serious pictures in Stockholm, 'the Venice of the North'. Hope that helps me to adjust to my strange new condition. The slightly disoriented old man from the Super-Angular Age Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 3, 2011 Posted December 3, 2011 Hi lars_bergquist, Take a look here Horror: GAS gone!. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
k_g_wolf ✝ Posted December 3, 2011 Share #2 Posted December 3, 2011 Please stay cool and don´t worry, LARS. PHOTOKINA is just around the corner. The gear you my want in Sept. is now being produced and almost ready for shipment into your direction. best wishes GEORG Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
likalar Posted December 3, 2011 Share #3 Posted December 3, 2011 So when the nose returns to normal, bundle up after downing a bowl of hot cereal, slip that camera strap over your neck and take a long walk. Make a few photographs with your new lens. Post one or two here on the forum. GAS will return soon enough (You do have the Leica heated gloves, I'm sure). Larry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayewing Posted December 3, 2011 Share #4 Posted December 3, 2011 I am sure that there are many variants on GAS. I used to suffer from LBA (lens buying addiction) with my Pentax DSLR setup. Once I had a set of Pentax Limited lenses my LBA went into remission and I thought I was cured. However once the urge to buy more Pentax lenses receded I started to think how much I missed my old Leica M2 and this led to the purchase of a second hand M8.2 which rekindled my enthusiasm for Leica. It was quickly exchanged for a new M9 and of course the need for a set of Leica lenses. Buying second hand lenses led to an interest in the Visoflex system - not terribly practical but really lovely gear! GAS is incurable. Who wants to be cured anyway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted December 3, 2011 Share #5 Posted December 3, 2011 ...GAS is incurable... As is JAS* swimbo says. Hard to pretend it's just a whim on her part... *Jewels Acquisition Syndrom Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted December 3, 2011 Share #6 Posted December 3, 2011 There was not one item in it that I did not own and did want, need or desire. My Gear Acquisition Syndrome was gone! All of a sudden, there is a big empty space in my life. I feel deeply disoriented. Dr. Pico recommends that you fill that void with fine wine, good food and a couple excellent books followed by 8 hours of sleep. Edit: And a couple hickory logs on the fire. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanJW Posted December 3, 2011 Share #7 Posted December 3, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Dear Lars, You are simply in a temporary remission. Don't worry about it. I have been having similar feelings since I got my 35 Summilux FLE in September. My cure for the void left by having everything Leica I need is to obsess with having a Sony Nex-7 as a backup. They are not yet available, so I went and got a M adapter so that as soon as a Nex-7 arrives I can put Leica lenses on it. I am sure I will find fault in something going forward, so my remission, like yours, will be temporary. After all, Photokina is less than a year away, and I have already put aside some funds for a M10. Have you thought about a new printer? Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clook Posted December 3, 2011 Share #8 Posted December 3, 2011 How disappointing Lars. When I started reading this post I thought it was the latest offering from Henning Mankell! You really do need to get out and start using that lens...soon! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenPatterson Posted December 3, 2011 Share #9 Posted December 3, 2011 Leica GAS, just like Malaria, is seldom completely eradicated. A relapse can occur at the least expected moment. While the most common transmission method is to be "bitten" by the latest product announcement, one cannot rule out the possibility of long dormancy with regard to this disease. Because of the propensity for Leica gear to jump from host to host, and the viral spread of the world wide web, it is possible for victims to be infected with the need to acquire hard to find and rare examples of Leica items from the far corners of the globe. Most patients experience one or more of the following symptoms: Euphoria, Joy, Fever, Pride, Cold Sweats, Draining Bank Accounts. Dr. Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted December 3, 2011 Share #10 Posted December 3, 2011 Lars, what a wonderful confession! When I get tempted I simply draw from my store cupboard those Leica gems which lurk within, unused for a long time. I convince myself that they are still all as lovely and useful as on the day I bought them. According to weather or inclination, I deliberately take one for a ride. It is so liberating and adds to my conviction that they were all wise purchases and deserve their share of my time today. How can the latest usurpers possibly take their place? Oh, and a message from my lovely 21mm Elmarit Asph f/2.8. "Don't even consider that slow newcomer; it isn't a patch on me at f/2.8"! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted December 3, 2011 Share #11 Posted December 3, 2011 I cannot wait to hit 75 and have no more GAS. Just hope my bank accounts survive til I hit that magic number! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulOD Posted December 3, 2011 Share #12 Posted December 3, 2011 I have hit 75 and my GAS has decreased significantly. However..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
giordano Posted December 3, 2011 Share #13 Posted December 3, 2011 Lars, loss of GAS is a sign you're past your mid-life crisis and entering the serene productive years of middle age! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studio58 Posted December 3, 2011 Share #14 Posted December 3, 2011 While there are various theories on the best approach for treating Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS), current medical research has found that it may be counter productive and even potentially life threatening to attempt to cure the condition. The latest findings have led medicos to suggest that the condition is best left untreated, and in some (rare) cases, a spontaneous clearing can occur (victims move on to become audiophiles,trainspotters, chess players or Star wars fans). The no risk approach recommended by experts is to purchase the latest M series body (film or digital), and the fastest lens available Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
haroldp Posted December 3, 2011 Share #15 Posted December 3, 2011 While there are various theories on the best approach for treating Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS), current medical research has found that it may be counter productive and even potentially life threatening to attempt to cure the condition.The latest findings have led medicos to suggest that the condition is best left untreated, and in some (rare) cases, a spontaneous clearing can occur (victims move on to become audiophiles,trainspotters, chess players or Star wars fans). The no risk approach recommended by experts is to purchase the latest M series body (film or digital), and the fastest lens available I suffer from Audiophilia Nervosa ( the nagging fear that the sound can be improved, or even worse that someone else may already have done so ). While my audio gear has been stable, I spend my time away from photoshop in tracing and matching tubes (valves to speakers of olde englishe ) and trying to decide if a variant of slightly different sound is actually better. Lets not even start about wires. Come to think of it, vintage (1960's tungsols, and telefunkens, amperx etc.) tubes resemble old leica lenses at the right viewing angle and enough scotch. If none of the other suggestions work, try driving a Ferrari. Regards ... H Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted December 3, 2011 Share #16 Posted December 3, 2011 G.A.S. does not go. It merely sleeps. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwolf Posted December 4, 2011 Share #17 Posted December 4, 2011 I definitely relate to this. A few months after getting my M9 and three lenses, I went into my local camera store and it hit me: for the first time I could remember, in all these decades of photography, I simply did not desire anything. It was such an odd but liberating feeling. Occasionally I'll ponder an X100 or some other newfangled smallish AF thing, but I've never been more content with my gear. Let's direct all that surplus GAS energy into producing better work. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted December 4, 2011 Share #18 Posted December 4, 2011 I suffer from Audiophilia Nervosa ( the nagging fear that the sound can be improved, or even worse that someone else may already have done so ). While my audio gear has been stable, I spend my time away from photoshop in tracing and matching tubes (valves to speakers of olde englishe ) and trying to decide if a variant of slightly different sound is actually better. Lets not even start about wires. Come to think of it, vintage (1960's tungsols, and telefunkens, amperx etc.) tubes resemble old leica lenses at the right viewing angle and enough scotch. If none of the other suggestions work, try driving a Ferrari. Regards ... H Been there and done that too! Even constructed a special acoustically superior sound room. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesk8752 Posted December 4, 2011 Share #19 Posted December 4, 2011 My Leica GAS comes and goes - right now I am in remission, after purchasing a very nice M4-2 and Summicron 50 to fill a gap my collection. However, I'm finding that SMAS (single malt acquisition syndrome) has taken hold again after a period of dormancy. My SM library currently stands at 35 bottles... In any event it's a nice winter pastime! Regards, Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
digbyhp Posted December 4, 2011 Share #20 Posted December 4, 2011 I'm in the middle of a bad bout of the GAS. Awaiting delivery of 2 lenses, eye on another one, trying to get one of my M7's controls changed over to MP-style. and already I'm starting to think about a III of some kind. And to think I started out thinking an M7 and a 35 'cron is all I'd ever want. Begone foul temptress ! Out damned spot ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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