Honesty. Isn't It Refreshing?

Forum review of [X] camera:

Title: MY ENDGAME CAMERA!! By George*

Review begins: "This is it!! This is the camera I have always wanted and it will be the last camera I will ever buy!!"

Review might have continued, but doesn't: ...Because I just got it after weeks/months of focused and intense gear longing/pining/desire and I just unboxed it and it's brand new and I'm still enthusiastic about it. I've been working hard for days/ weeks now talking myself into it in order to justify the mostly unnecessary expense!! I.e., still on the pink cloud of NTS (new toy syndrome). I've got the latest shiniest bauble and few other people have it and everyone envies me. Besides, my wife is frustrated and borderline annoyed with me for slinging so much ready dosh into the crapper and I kinda need to broadcast my happiness so she'll think "at least he's happy" and back down.

Actual but unspoken conclusion: In three years I'll be tired of it and bored anew, and at that time there will be new shiny new toys enticing me across the far-flung domains of internet camerababble. Ardent influencers will be joyously proclaiming some new product's virtues just as they are my new toy's virtues today, slighting if not overlooking altogether its inevitable weaknesses because they got blessed by the manufacturer with a pre-release sample and they know which side of their bread the butter's on. So suddenly I'll start being hyperaware of the weaknesses of my by-then-old last-gen camera that I will claim only emerged after months or years of use when, actually, said weaknesses were listed right there in early non-ambassador reviews. And I shall duly begin talking myself into needing that as-yet unspecified newer camera at that time, as the cycle repeats.

Isn't honesty refreshing?

Mission
Spoilsport Ed.'s fingerwagging admonition: Work is what cures GAS. Nota bene. Print this page and clip this out and tape it to your monitor (Bruce Bordner cautions: but not on your monitor at work, or people will walk past very fast!):

 

Work cures GAS

 

I got this from the late Mark L. Power, one of my teachers and a wise man. It was late one night and we were working in the darkroom at the old Corcoran School of Art, since dismantled and dispersed; I might have been helping him set the colorpack for some of his pictures while he was printing in the school's color darkroom (he was red-green colorblind, and mostly worked in B&W but occasionally printed color). There had to be some reason he was working at school; his B&W darkroom was back at his Virginia farm. I mentioned that certain students seemed to be complaining a lot. He told me he had noticed over the years that when students get restless and bored and start to complain, it's because they're not working. They don't have a project. He said that as soon as they get a project and it takes off and they're energized by it and excited by pictures, the complaints come to a screeching halt. They only focus their attention on the shortcomings of their tools when they're not using them enough.

So if someone you know is ever feeling bored with his or her camera, you know what their real mission should be. The solution is work, not new gear.

Mike

*George, as you might remember, is a made-up person. I try never to ridicule real persons. The internet has a long memory, and nobody needs negative energy.

P.S. Johnston's Corollary: You should only take people seriously when they declare a camera to be their "endgame" camera and the last one they'll ever buy if two conditions pertain: 1.) it's already been superseded by a newer iteration, and 2.) they've already had it for long enough for all the NTS to wear off.

Original contents copyright 2024 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below or on the title of this post.)

Featured Comments from:

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Comments

[darlene]

My life seems to be a non-stop whirlwind of activity, which probably explains why I've never waved the white flag of surrender to boredom. (Well, maybe once, but that’s a different topic). Once I find something I like (and trust me when I say I’m as picky as a food critic in a five-star restaurant), I latch onto it like a cat in a catnip factory. But truthfully, I tend to linger longer than I should.

I'm still shooting the same stuff I did back in the '80s: vintage Hasselblad Vs, an ancient Sinar Norma, alongside newer digital gear like the 907x and X100V. Busy bees like me are wired for perpetual contentment, so I have been told. But I get what you are saying. I'm all about finding sweet deals from the “Georges” of the camera world. Bless their hearts (and wallets).

[Bruce Bordner]

Another note: don't tape that on your monitor at work. People walk past very quickly.

[Ken]

"People can honestly declare a camera to be ... the last one they'll ever buy if ... 1.) it's already been superseded by a newer iteration, and 2.) they've already had it for 2–3 years and all the NTS has worn off."

Check. Check. But as much as I enjoy using my DSLR and could live with it as my last camera, I am in my late 50s and I hope to outlast it.

[Ah, yes, that's the other good reason to get a new camera. I've actually outlasted a few cameras, too; my Konica-Minolta 7D got fevers and spasms in its electronics, or I probably would have used it a lot longer than I did. It also sometimes told me there was no lens attached when they was indeed a lens attached! And it waited to tell me until I pushed the shutter release at the exact perfect moment for a moving subject. The problem could be cured in 3 to 5 minutes, but by then the train/horse/kid/car/bird/dog/cloud/boat was usually long gone. That's enough to require replacement, if it can't be fixed. A camera should always go when you press the go button. --Mike]

[Mike Chisholm]

Interesting: does the verb "to slight" something or (more usually) someone have a different meaning in US English? I've never seen it used that way (i.e. to mean "to underplay", or something like that).

Mike

[David Brown]

Advice from a professional photographer friend: Always buy the previous model. It will do, be much cheaper, and you're gonna buy something else in 2 to 3 years, anyway.

[Yoshi Carroll]

My current camera is an X-T2 and Johnston's Corollary perfectly applies. Though I intend to be taking photographs for another 40 years, which is well beyond its life expectancy, so I hope it isn't my "endgame" camera.

Lenses are a whole different story. A week long rental usually satisfies my lens GAS, but that new Fuji 23mm is something special.

[hugh crawford]

Well that how I felt when I bought my Hasselblad in 1979.
I can’t say that anything was an improvement since.

[Albert Smith]

I own about a dozen "last camera that I'd ever need/buy", but I have an partner in my quest to actually not buy any more models... the Fujifilm corporation.

Thanks to their inability to produce enough cameras to meet demand (see the X100V followed by the X100IV), I have stuck with my statement that the X-T3 will be my last camera model for years now. I actually went out and get this, took pictures with it this week and it killed the impossible to get X100 variant because it exists. Thanks, Fujifilm!

[Speed]

Can you imagine how far underwater the automobile industry would be if car owners kept their shiny new hot rod until it was uneconomical to maintain in operating condition?

[Moose]

""People can honestly declare a camera to be ... the last one they'll ever buy if ..."

They are dead. \;~)>

And really, what's wrong with upgrading gear as the tech changes? I've been through about 8 primary camera changes since my first DSLR. A total something like 30 digital cameras, including compacts, P&Ss, etc. that I've used with some seriousness.

My experience has been one of continuing improvement of the technical quality of the image files and of a vast improvement in what may be accomplished with the cameras.

I just got the money for three bodies and a lens that moved on. I loved the two GX9s for appearance and ergonomics, but the OM-1 just does more, better, photographically.

I have taken so many, many wonderful photos that I could not have dreamed of with my film gear. It's been over 20 years of enjoyment, accomplishment, sheer magic. Why would I not want to have done this?

[But that's the LAST 20 years. The NEXT 20 years might not be much like that.... —Mike]

[Moose]

While I'm at it, what about SAS, Software Acquisition Syndrome?

The progress there has been close to magic, as well. Sure, I know folks who refuse to get on subscriptions bandwagons, nursing along ancient PS or using the free stuff.

Let's just see . . .

The 19th photo with my first digicam, 1.9MP Canon, JPEG only.

New post processing

100%

100%

[Alan]

I don't think this is really me.

I've had my Sony A7 since they came out, in fact I ordered it before they hit the shops so it's 10 years old now. I have no real desire to change it for anything else and I'll be upset when if fails and I have to.

[JoeB]

I like the juxtaposition of this column directly above the SL3 announcement. On the other hand, GAS never sleeps.

[Kirk]

I respectfully disagree that "work cures G.A.S."

In my most productive years as a commercial photographer I bought, sold and traded lots and lots of gear. All while working more hours than most people can imagine. Many of my friends who are photographers fell into one of two camps. Staunch fiscal monks who bought one set of gear and used it for years. The other were interested in whatever new technology was dropped into the market. By the time we hit the digital realm I'd worked with all the major brands of cameras and worked with four different medium format systems. All were fun. All had their drawbacks but it took some time and experimentation to see where they failed. As one of my video production friends often says, "I just keep pushing the gear until it breaks. Then I know where the limits are." Same with me and gear.

How can you know how good something can be until you've at least test driven it?

Did the "gear churn" bankrupt me or burn me out? Hmmm. Well, I'm sixty-eight, forty years into the profession and still having a blast shooting for myself and for a nice group of clients. I'm financially comfortable and could retire at the drop of a hat with no real impact to my lifestyle.

If a new camera makes your work better, makes you happier and having it doesn't imperil anyone what's the cost of buying new gear? We think nothing of buying new and expensive computers when ours become obsolete or unable to be updated with the latest OS. Why not the same tolerance extended to cameras and lenses?

People don't just go on vacation once and say, "There! I've seen Wally World. Now I can go home and save pennies in a big jar." Nope, if they had fun on this year's (more expensive than a new camera) vacation they start saving up for next year's vacation. And really, isn't a new camera like a vacation for the hobbyist? Sure helped keep a lot of my friends sane during the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021....

[Moose]

"[But that's the LAST 20 years. The NEXT 20 years might not be much like that.... —Mike]"

Or might be a lot like the last, or might be different in any of several ways. Best bet? Different in ways that neither of us can imagine at the moment.

That's the way of the future, we simply can't know. To me, the only sensible way to live is then to do what feels right, what I enjoy, etc. in the moment.

Obviously, feels right must include finances, relationships and so on. But need not follow what amounts to any one else's moral code.

For example, I won't be buying an SL3, not because it's ridiculously expensive, or any of the other reasons people give, but simply because I don't want one; it doesn't fit my photographic interests.

OTOH, I bought a second OMS OM-1 because, the way I work, two identical bodies makes my life easier, more fun. I won't be buying the Mk II, because it adds nothing of value to me.

Remove the GAS = good, GAS = bad dichotomy, things become simpler, and, to me, more enjoyable.

[Kye Wood]

Is it just me, or doesn't anyone else care about amassing stuff they don't need?

If I need a lens or camera, expensive or not, it gets procured. It's needed, so, yeah.

But if I got everything I simply wanted, my god, where would I put it all?

Travel light. Travel far.

[Sea]

The last camera I bought was a Canon 1DS Mark lll in 2008. It’s upstairs with the last lens I bought, a Canon 35mm F/1.4 L. I’m 52, and I don’t know when the bell will toll for me, but I do know one thing: there’s life after gas

[Caleb Courteau]

I've noticed that, for me, there is nearly always a "point of sufficiency" that can be reached for any given material good. I was deeply interested in wrist watches for awhile, and bought and sold about a dozen, until I found two that had the right size, weight, style, and legibility. Once I'd acquired those two I kind of automatically stopped thinking about wristwatches. It wasn't a conscious decision.

I went through a similar cycle with cameras. My first serious digital camera was a Nikon D80. It was a lovely thing, but I was losing shots indoors because of its lack of high ISO performance. I switched to a Pentax K-5 II. High ISO performance was adequate but the autofocus was lacking. Switched to an Olympus OMD-EM10 Mk 2 and it fixed both issues. I've half-heartedly eyed the new OM-1 but I can't say it's pulled at my heart or my wallet. There's no new photos that I'd be taking if I bought it.

This is my long winded way of saying that capability trumps novelty, for me. I know that for others a novel new camera inspires them to shoot, and that's ok.