I’ve been experimenting with carrying just a 24mm f2.5. With my A7Rii and its 40 Mpixel resolution, I can post process crop 2-4x. With Topaz Photo AI the ISO is no longer a concern. With Lightroom’s focus blur, the difference between 2.5 and 1.4 isn’t really an issue. The downside is I’m usually looking at a 24mm field and have to remember to compose for cropping. Also lose the compression of a longer lens so I do have a 100-400 f5.6. So far it’s working OK but there definitely is a creativity difference with different focal lengths, so if this experiment fails, I’ll revisit carrying a small zoom again. Oh, and I have about 30 film and older digital cameras in my retired collection. So GAS never goes away :-)
It is harder than I thought. Turns out the 24 mm field of view speaks to me, and I have to force myself to remember that I wanted to zoom in when I post process. So I have virtual copies with 2x and 4 x, along with the full field. I'm learning though, that what you see through the viewfinder really influences the way you compose in the moment, more so than the way you can crop in afterwards. It's been an interesting experiment and it's not done yet.
My dad photography teacher long ago in college taught that we make a better intuitive crop in the camera than on the enlarger or computer now. I don’t adhere to it all the time but most of the time I think he was right.
I can really identify with this. My digital system is Nikon mirrorless but I really want the F mount 28mm 1.4. No matter that I never shoot 28mm at a wider aperture than F4, I still want it. To be fair, some of the more expensive primes do have better color/contrast/pop than their cheaper f1.8/f2 stable mates, but being as they’re usually much heavier in addition to being much more expensive I’m not sure the trade off is worth it.
We ALL have stories of getting bad GAS. My 5DMKIII is getting on in life, and Canon, no longer services it, so my need for a new body will be legitimate. I cannot help but look at all of the new gear out there thinking that I don't use but a (small) fraction of all of the bells and whistles that my 5D has right now, why would I need even more B&W's (see what I did there?)? Give me bracketing, let me change my auto-focus occasionally, perhaps one or two other things, and I'll be happy. I don't really need what they are pushing, ATM. However, there's this Voigtlander tilt-shift that have had my eye on...
After experiencing the "R cameras" I'd probably get a 5Dm4 or 5Ds. Alternatively you can get the original R pretty cheap, it's a nice camera I owned one for a while, the adapter works great with EF lenses but I found I liked shooting my 5Ds and 5DsR more so that's what I am shooting with now and have been since 2016.
The GAS pain is REAL. My management of it is helped by a very limited budget and a rule that I can only have one camera per style/format. One 6x7, one 6x6, etc. (Which, granted) is still A LOT. Also, pretty much just one lens per camera (for the most part) except for my main manual focus 35mm
Film is SO expensive now (especially with processing and scanning if you don't do your own). I shoot much less of it as shooting color with process/scan (good lab) can easily justify a digital Leica very quickly. I do shoot BW film more since I just soup it at home. I have come up with my favorite way to match film and digital FINALLY after decades of messing around with it. I'll do a write up if anyone is interested. In fact it's so close in look that I really can shoot digital only now and be fairly happy... except I still like a lot of my film cameras in use.
Would be very interested in that. I like the look of film, but have never had the patience for the wet work. I will not live long enough to exhaust all the possibilities of the digital darkroom! (and, God willing, I have a few decades left)
I recently switched from Nikon to Fujifilm. I had a pretty complete system that revolved around my D850. In keeping with owning the minimum amount of gear, I completed the sale of my 4x5 system last year and have begun selling the Nikon gear. I've been very disappointed by prices that the Nikon F-mount lenses fetch. These are still very sharp in comparison to the Z-mount lenses, but that's the market. The process is a lot more painful than I had hoped.
Bruce, that's the exact same path I took. After 45 years with Nikon and 5 with Hasselblad digital, I sold everything and went with the Fujifilm GFX 100. Love that GFX system!
Enjoyed reading this well-put together insight into the effects of GAS. As I read this, my eye kept looking to the shelf next to me, stocked with 7-8 MFT lenses, all excellent in their own right, most of them barely used. Most of them duplicated in the range of one excellent zoom that rarely leaves the body it's mounted to. Now I know why the used equipment dealers are starting to look very attractive!
Ok, I’ll grant you that for what genres you shoot, GAS is unnecessary, however if one wants to branch out, shoot real estate, WL, sports, etc. having the right gear is essential.
I took your newsletter about simplifying and trimming some weight to heart and succumbed to a minor GAS attack. I like street photography and believe Cartier Bresson was on to something when he chose a small unobtrusive camera with a wide angle lens. I got a Canon R8 with a 28, f/2.8 R lens. It’s a pancake lens and weighs nothing just like the camera. The R8 has the same sensor as my R6ll. No the lens doesn’t have a red stripe around it. But I have no complaints.
I’ve been experimenting with carrying just a 24mm f2.5. With my A7Rii and its 40 Mpixel resolution, I can post process crop 2-4x. With Topaz Photo AI the ISO is no longer a concern. With Lightroom’s focus blur, the difference between 2.5 and 1.4 isn’t really an issue. The downside is I’m usually looking at a 24mm field and have to remember to compose for cropping. Also lose the compression of a longer lens so I do have a 100-400 f5.6. So far it’s working OK but there definitely is a creativity difference with different focal lengths, so if this experiment fails, I’ll revisit carrying a small zoom again. Oh, and I have about 30 film and older digital cameras in my retired collection. So GAS never goes away :-)
Personally I'd find that impossible... I just cannot throw away my glorious pixels or film real estate. ;-)
It is harder than I thought. Turns out the 24 mm field of view speaks to me, and I have to force myself to remember that I wanted to zoom in when I post process. So I have virtual copies with 2x and 4 x, along with the full field. I'm learning though, that what you see through the viewfinder really influences the way you compose in the moment, more so than the way you can crop in afterwards. It's been an interesting experiment and it's not done yet.
Maybe the Leica Q3 is the camera you're destined for ;-)
My dad photography teacher long ago in college taught that we make a better intuitive crop in the camera than on the enlarger or computer now. I don’t adhere to it all the time but most of the time I think he was right.
I can really identify with this. My digital system is Nikon mirrorless but I really want the F mount 28mm 1.4. No matter that I never shoot 28mm at a wider aperture than F4, I still want it. To be fair, some of the more expensive primes do have better color/contrast/pop than their cheaper f1.8/f2 stable mates, but being as they’re usually much heavier in addition to being much more expensive I’m not sure the trade off is worth it.
I am familiar with that lens... one of the classic best of Nikon (along with the 135 DC f/2))
We ALL have stories of getting bad GAS. My 5DMKIII is getting on in life, and Canon, no longer services it, so my need for a new body will be legitimate. I cannot help but look at all of the new gear out there thinking that I don't use but a (small) fraction of all of the bells and whistles that my 5D has right now, why would I need even more B&W's (see what I did there?)? Give me bracketing, let me change my auto-focus occasionally, perhaps one or two other things, and I'll be happy. I don't really need what they are pushing, ATM. However, there's this Voigtlander tilt-shift that have had my eye on...
After experiencing the "R cameras" I'd probably get a 5Dm4 or 5Ds. Alternatively you can get the original R pretty cheap, it's a nice camera I owned one for a while, the adapter works great with EF lenses but I found I liked shooting my 5Ds and 5DsR more so that's what I am shooting with now and have been since 2016.
I was thinking about a MKIV, or maybe look for a used MKIII.
The GAS pain is REAL. My management of it is helped by a very limited budget and a rule that I can only have one camera per style/format. One 6x7, one 6x6, etc. (Which, granted) is still A LOT. Also, pretty much just one lens per camera (for the most part) except for my main manual focus 35mm
Film is SO expensive now (especially with processing and scanning if you don't do your own). I shoot much less of it as shooting color with process/scan (good lab) can easily justify a digital Leica very quickly. I do shoot BW film more since I just soup it at home. I have come up with my favorite way to match film and digital FINALLY after decades of messing around with it. I'll do a write up if anyone is interested. In fact it's so close in look that I really can shoot digital only now and be fairly happy... except I still like a lot of my film cameras in use.
Would be very interested in that. I like the look of film, but have never had the patience for the wet work. I will not live long enough to exhaust all the possibilities of the digital darkroom! (and, God willing, I have a few decades left)
I recently switched from Nikon to Fujifilm. I had a pretty complete system that revolved around my D850. In keeping with owning the minimum amount of gear, I completed the sale of my 4x5 system last year and have begun selling the Nikon gear. I've been very disappointed by prices that the Nikon F-mount lenses fetch. These are still very sharp in comparison to the Z-mount lenses, but that's the market. The process is a lot more painful than I had hoped.
Bruce, that's the exact same path I took. After 45 years with Nikon and 5 with Hasselblad digital, I sold everything and went with the Fujifilm GFX 100. Love that GFX system!
Enjoyed reading this well-put together insight into the effects of GAS. As I read this, my eye kept looking to the shelf next to me, stocked with 7-8 MFT lenses, all excellent in their own right, most of them barely used. Most of them duplicated in the range of one excellent zoom that rarely leaves the body it's mounted to. Now I know why the used equipment dealers are starting to look very attractive!
Ok, I’ll grant you that for what genres you shoot, GAS is unnecessary, however if one wants to branch out, shoot real estate, WL, sports, etc. having the right gear is essential.
I took your newsletter about simplifying and trimming some weight to heart and succumbed to a minor GAS attack. I like street photography and believe Cartier Bresson was on to something when he chose a small unobtrusive camera with a wide angle lens. I got a Canon R8 with a 28, f/2.8 R lens. It’s a pancake lens and weighs nothing just like the camera. The R8 has the same sensor as my R6ll. No the lens doesn’t have a red stripe around it. But I have no complaints.