The cameras, systems, lenses and GAS thread

Hardware
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@europlatus, great topic idea!

I am pretty much free of GAS at the moment, but I keep an eye on developments. Probably I will buy something if my Panasonic GX9 dies at some point, and if micro 4/3 is still around, it is most likely to be a micro 4/3 camera. But I follow the E-mount bodies and lenses with interest.

I came back to photography after a hiatus. I always loved taking photos, and since my uncle is a photojournalist (now retired), I always got to play around with top-of-the line equipment. He always gifted me something photo-related, like a Yashica rangefinder film camera I still have, a flash, a tripod…

After film cameras, I had “prosumer” compacts (think: Canon G series). I took a lot of photos and enjoyed it very much. Then, after I saved up after a summer job, I bought a DSLR with two kit zooms. After an initial honeymoon period, I kept leaving it at home, it was simply too heavy, like a half brick. My friends who were into photography took their compacts to hikes and took great photos, while I wasn’t doing either. Eventually I sold the camera and did not take photos for a long while.

Then, after about 10 years, I decided to try out mirrorless cameras. But I had no clue what I wanted: do I need IBIS? PDAF? What kind of lenses should I buy? So I decided to go cheap and tried out micro 4/3. It has been an interesting journey, mostly learning about myself besides photography: what kind of photos I enjoy taking, what kind of equipment I am willing to carry for on holidays and hikes.

The GX9 was not an outstanding camera even when it was released. It’s AF can be described as class-trailing (good for stills, bad for anything else), its resolution is 20Mp, it is not weather-sealed, its IBIS is . But I have learned to work around its limitations and have fun. I am currently eyeing the OM-3, but I will drive the GX9 for a few more years, or until it gives up the ghost, because it does what I need.

Strangely, my GAS is also curtailed by Darktable. Since it makes raw development so easy (in the outcome/effort ratio), I can get a lot out of my raw files if the composition and the focus are acceptable.

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22

I had a GAS flare-up earlier which passed without actually buying anything, and I was looking into L-mount in detail. I mostly agree with the article: as a value proposition, L-mount makes little sense for stills photographers. The same or similar lenses exist for E-mount, and Sony bodies are cheaper and have better AF, and the used options are great, eg something like the A7ii for 500 EUR.

My impression is that Panasonic’s L mount bodies are better for video: they have a lot of features only found in more expensive bodies. I don’t shoot much video so I cannot comment, but hybrid shooters, especially professionals, may find it good value.

That said, the manufacturers for camera bodies target very different markets. Besides Panasonic (“good value for video”), there is Leica (“if you need to ask the price, you cannot afford it”) and Sigma (“yes, we are weird”).

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23

It was a CBR954RR. Let’s see if I can find a photo of it…

Honda954-1920
Honda954-19201920×1440 452 KB

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24

The next camera I want to buy is the Ricoh GR IV when they release a 26.1mm version. That will be equivalent to the old Olympus Trip and will be my daily carry camera.

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25

I’d probably need two of them as well, one set for the nikon gear and one set for the fuji gear. That’s put some where around $600 USD, which is just a bit too much for me right now.

If my lowepro bag starts to fail, I’ll be all over it, but that bad is sturdy, and I’m at some point where I’m not even taking the bag out of the car, really, so there is no stress on it at all. I need to get in better shape so I can hike some places.

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26

I bought that nailer a couple of months ago for a trim project and it is excellent. I think my GAS habits are restrained to what I need but somehow I have a large arsenal of power tools.

I just bought the Laowa 60mm macro, an interesting lens that goes to 2x and is strictly manual focus. WRT cameras, I’d like a second body to carry because I hate changing lenses in the field. It’s probably be another crop sensor, either the Canon R7II if it supports flash with electronic shutter for macro otherwise an Olympus setup.

Beyond that, I’m pretty well set. Of course I said that long before I had all those power tools…

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27

The biggest thing that reduced my GAS was realising that I was buying kit as a proxy for the photography I wanted to be doing. I didn’t have the time to get out and shoot, but looking at gear sung of the possibilities of what I could do with the new equipment. When I realised that and that new kit doesn’t also buy the time and space to use it I became much more picky.

I started redirecting my energy away from reading reviews and towards processing my RAW backlog.

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28

Haha I feel that so much :-D.

Home improvement and shop projects are great at constructing a need for a specific tool. On the other hand that belt and spindle sander made sanding the christmas gifts much easier :-D.

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29

Oh, to keep it on the subject of photography, I used my well- used chop saw to cut the specific angles i needed to make the spectroscopes i used to measure my cameras’ spectral sensitivities. Tools is tools…

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30

That’s fair. I used my machinist’s rule to assess my camera’s focus bracketing performance and my dial calipers to measure my macro lens reproduction ratio.

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31

That’s great to hear you really like your OM-1. I was seriously thinking about getting one for a while, but I decided to get the OM-5 to keep things as small as possible, which is why I wanted to try M43 in the first place.
I think in many ways I would also be happy with an OM-1 as my more serious camera, but for my specific needs I’m currently thinking I want the extra DoF flexibility that full-frame provides, especially with zoom lenses. But I will definitely be keeping an eye on what OM System does next because their bodies have some serious advantages.

I fully agree. It’s an interesting journey, and a fun one too. Not only am I learning a lot about photography and how I like to shoot, but I’m also learning a lot about myself, what I enjoy doing and how I see the world. If there’s one thing about photography that I’ll be eternally grateful for, it’s that it has opened my eyes to so more more beauty that previously went unnoticed. I now see beauty everywhere, including in the smallest details and the most mundane of places. My eyes have become an extension of my camera, and I think it’s an invaluable “skill” to acquire. I’m currently trying to instill this in my kids, and so far so good. They both have a good eye for the interesting and beautiful.

They offer very good value for the money, but especially for videographers. I’m sure I’d be happy with an S5 or S1, but as a stills photographer, I think there are better options elsewhere for me. If OM System joined L mount, things could improve for stills photographers. But I doubt it would ever happen.

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32

I now have a slight case of GAS for a system where lenses have a manual aperture control ring. Yes, I know, I can control that via dials and knobs, but ergonomically I just find it so pleasing to turn that dial.

As a far as I am aware, only Fuji does this consistently on a lot of their lenses, including smaller primes. Other manufacturers do it on their premium lenses occasionally.

The only aspect of micro 4/3 I find constraining is adaptation of vintage lenses, because, wham, 2x the focal length, so a normal prime lens becomes a telephoto/portrait prime, and cheapo vintage lenses are not so good at (original) wide angles, so it is difficult to be at street focal lengths.

I may satisfy the craving with a TTARTISAN F1.4 23mm…

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33

I regularly suffer from GAS, mostly lens related…
At the moment I am contemplating getting a longer lens for my Nikon ZF, because I like to hike and would like to photograph some occasional birds or wildlife. Also I really liked the ability of the Fujifilm 70-300mm lens to “crop” in on landscapes. The longest lens i currently own is the 24-120 f4.
I just am not really sure what I should get… A Tamron 50-400mm seems to be a nice compromise between length, size and versatility.
Maybe you have some suggestions…?

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34

Haven’t really had GAS lately. I think what I do want is a better lens for my IR camera. I have one that might work but it’s a smaller filter thread size so I’d have to see if I can get an adapter for it.

35

I finally watched thisast night and LOL’d at the end. “All these are the same!” says the guy with like $30,000 worth of cameras in front of him. Seriously the A1 ii body is $7,000 USD. I guess maybe slightly less for him, no tariffs.

I still don’t understand how he doesn’t love the GR IIIx.

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36

Yes, I know what you mean. It’s an aspect of the Fuji system that I really like.
However, I was out this last weekend with my X-T5, and I was using a tripod, which is rare for me. I actually found the aperture ring on the XF16-80mm to be a pain when the camera was mounted on the tripod. It’s a fairly stiff aperture ring, but even if it were looser, I just found it ergonomically difficult on a tripod because you have to reach around and twist, with a risk of messing up your composition.

So I think I love aperture rings when I’m shooting handheld, but not so much when using the tripod.

With tripod shooting, I also really like the top dials of the X-T5. Just a quick twist of the ISO or shutter speed dials is a joy to use. Command dials aren’t terrible but not quite as enjoyable on a tripod.

I’m afraid I don’t have any suggestions for the Nikon system, but I can relate to what you want. All I can say is that for birds, you won’t really be happy until you have at least 800mm (FF or FF equivalent). You can get away with 400mm and 600mm in some situations, but they’ll never feel like enough reach with birds.

A 400mm will give 600mm in crop mode, so that’s a good versatile option for some wildlife and telephoto landscape shots.

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37

Yeah, he just seems to like big cameras I think.
He also just lives in that weird YouTube world where they are constantly buying, selling and being given cameras to try, and they are constantly doing the jig of either jumping on a new hype train or desperately trying to get off it so they can stand out from all the other YouTubers :slight_smile:

I do find it amusing that many of these guys are constantly telling us how gear doesn’t matter, yet they make their living from telling us all about gear.
“This camera is amazing, but you don’t need it” Ok, thanks for that. What a job they have!

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38

He’s said so many times “its not weather sealed” and I don’t know if that’s just a mental blocker or what. Its not really the kind of camera you put on a tripod and leave there, so its either in front of your face, or in your hand somewhere. If its not in front of you face… then put your hand in your pocket?? You’re not going swimming with it.

“Dear James, you’re awesome. Here is my address, please send all gear that doesn’t matter to me. Best, Mica” :joy:

I can’t figure out if I’ve just registered each camera as a separate interface and use each accordingly (sort of like I have my ergo keyboard and then my regularly laptop keyboard and i can type equally poorly on both) or if I am just not that picky… On the GFX I’ve been using the aperature ring, even though there is a setting on the lens that’d let me control it with the front scroll wheel, which is how I have it configured on my Nikon and GR IV. Or is it just that I’m working so slow that it doesn’t matter?

I guess you’re a lower tripod guy-- my tripod generally puts the camera at eye level so I don’t have to bend over so much, so the top dials and LCD I don’t really use. I either look thru the view finder or at the screen.

I have been thinking of switching one of the Fn buttons to cycle thru the self timer, as especially with the gfx, shutter times get longer pretty quickly, and I’m using a 2 sec self timer fairly often. Hmmm

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39

I wouldn’t say I’m a tripod guy at all, which is probably what the problem is. It doesn’t come naturally to me, and I end up contorting myself in weird positions. My tripod can reach eye level, but only with the centre column up, which is not usually recommended. But even then, I’ve found the aperture ring on my Xf16-80 to be quite stiff, and my tripod will move when I rotate it.

But one of my goals this year is to get better with a tripod. I’ve found that I rush compositions because I don’t want to relocate and readjust the tripod constantly. I also have decision paralysis with what’s good enough to warrant the tripod. When I’m shooting handheld, I’ll just take the photo anyway because it’s no hassle. And I can stand up, crouch down, lean over, etc. to try different framings. But with a tripod, I feel like the composition needs to be really strong to warrant getting it set up. I do use my phone first to get a rough framing but I still need to work on this.

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I have this friend in my photo club who just collects interesting cameras. He has an Epson R-D1, a Zeiss ZX1, a Sony RX1, Fujis, some medium format behemoths, all the Leicas. It’s genuinely a hobby to him, collecting, hunting. It’s such fun to nerd out with him about these devices.

Among the other regulars in the club, we have three Leica shooters, two Fuji, two Sony, and two point-and-shooters. It’s great! Some of them live and breathe photography day in and day out, some even do it as a job, to others, it’s a hobby, or even just a thing they do to take part in our weekly photo walks. There’s as much variety in photographers as there is in cameras.

Come to think if it, last year I found this fantastic book “Camera: A History of Photography from Daguerreotype to Digital” by Todd Gustavson. The book chronicles the wild variety of shapes and processes that analog cameras took over the years. Highly recommend if you’re interested in the gear.

Exploration of gear definitely is part of the hobby for some. As is post processing, and to some, even taking photos is interesting. I think it’s that cross section of different interests that makes the hobby and community so enjoyable.

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