GAS is a horrible affliction. Believe me, I know. I’ve suffered with the malady for years. But I finally got over it, and phew … what a relief!
Constant thinking about what to use, what to get, and what’s best is gone and over. The result … no more indecision and a greater clarity of purpose, because I have determined what camera(s) to use for what purpose and what situation going forward. And with this there are no worries, just making pictures.
So what can you do to jump off the gear merry-go-round and end your own existential GAS crisis? I’ve wrote about this previously. Here’s what I said.
“Why not start by considering the subject matter you really would like to photograph. If you can’t think of anything perhaps it’s best to stop here and call it a day. Once you have determined what you really want to photograph, then take a look at the gear you own and make sure it works best for the subject matter that you really want to make pictures of. One thing to be careful about is not to get caught up in a romantic whim. It can lead to huge expenses and lots of incredible equipment that ends up gathering dust!
For architecture, a view cameras with movements is best. For landscapes where great detail and tonality is essential, then cameras that produce large negatives matter. Look, there are some people that do street photography with view cameras, but for the vast majority of folks we’re talking about 35mm. In this case, don’t become immobilized over the issue of rangefinders vs. single lens reflex cameras. If you do, you won’t ever make a picture! Actually, this problem can exist with most formats, e.g., rangefinder vs. SLR (even in medium format), center tilt vs. bottom tilt, and camera size vs. weight. I could go on. In the case of street work I can honestly tell you I have used both rangefinders and SLRs and it hasn’t made a bit of difference in how I worked or in the results I got!
Great, now you have figured out what subjects you like and the best camera to maximize the results. What about the lenses? Think about how you see things. Start out with a “normal” lens and take it from there until you determine you really need more than that one lens to accomplish what you like. With 35mm we are talking about a 50mm lens. For 6×6, an 80mm, for 6×7 a 90mm (Note these are approximations; Pentax make a 105 and a 90mm). For 4×5 a 150mm and 8×10 a 300mm. Keep it simple. The overwhelming majority of photographs I have made have been with a 50mm lens or near equivalent with other formats.
Nailing down all these time-consuming gear issues will clear your head and free you from self-inflicted paralysis. In short, it will make you happy and allow you to make the photographs you like!”
Please trust me on this. Define and de-GAS! Get off the gear merry-go-round now! Think about it. No more brochures on the night table to read before turning out the lights, or countless YouTube videos to watch, or the endless comparisons on the forums to study.
You’ll thank me … really!
Stay well,
Michael
GAS: I have it. But my C330 is not exposing entire rolls of film and the damn thing is heavy. Gonna get it serviced and sold. And I am not anchored anywhere. I am thinking Leica M, of which I have had a few before. But also of OM Solutions OM-3, digital, yes. As where do I develop film? My Pentax MX seems to work. ButI know that at any moment, the winding knob could pop off. No 35mm except the older and heavy ones, SLRS, and Leicas, of course, are that well built. I have two beautiful OM film cameras locked away in storage in Florida, but I am about 10,000 miles away. I do wonder if my glory days are past? What about that Rolleiflex GX 2.8, a favorite from yesteryear sold in Bangkok in ’91 when I needed cash. Well, there’s another in a shop, which also has an M6 cheap because somebody put a sparkling white iridescent cover on it. Should I just get that $1,650 M6 and a 35mm 2.5 Voigtlander Skopar and be done with it? Carrying film these days is a pain and asking for hand checks works sometimes but most but not all scanners (like two new ones in Riga, which I was told don’t use, and actually looked like psychedelic CAT scanners) because these would indeed fog film. Is the OM-3 the answer? But digital looks flat. And what is my true game these days, meaning what am I shooting? I am thinking don’t take the Pentax and film to Nepal, just take the $240 second hand Lumix with the 14mm. If I still had all the cameras that I had since about 1967, I wouldn’t be writing this. And, actually I am not a gear-a-holic. Not, at least, when it comes to lenses, at any rate. Standard and a little wider is OK.
By the way, since when have you seen a camera brochure these days, Micheal? I loved them back in the 80s. When you could get then in camera shops and in the Navy Exchange. And, Wow, the camera shops in Shinjuku! “Yodobashi Camera, Yodobashi Camera,” that jingle when going in. Need to go back there. Now lets se . . . . .. the Leica with leopard skin is 60,000 baht and a Skopar 35mm f2.5 is 13,500 baht. What is that in Myanmar chat?
Paul,
My recommendation is get one camera and one lens and be done with it for now. I think you can make a fine picture with whatever you have! If that doesn’t work then you can figure it out. Just remember with a 50mm lens a few steps back is like a 35 and a few steps forward is like a 90. All you need for now.
I loved those brochures … still have some of them packed away.
Best,
Michael