CResQ Loc: Cobble Hill, BC

Will I EVER learn the lesson??? Once the item is in the cart things just sort of go all black, when I come around I am looking at a confirmation email of my order ....... How did I get here again! Hello my name is Mark, I have GAS ..... real bad, I need help ..... hmmm actually belay that ..... I'm having WAY too much fun I shall just embrace my addiction. My latest hit, the Sigma 150-500 My 1st non Canon lens.

plessner Loc: North Dakota

I love mine---you'll get over it and love yours!

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

And the Google ad below says "Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM $11,499.00 - 1 seller."

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

One would think that the success of off-brand digital P&S cameras might give the major brands the idea that it really is possible for other manufacturers to produce other levels of photographic equipment at reasonable prices and that the tendency of the "Big Duo" to charge outrageous prices for their products is the beginning of the end for the mysterious cloud of over-priced luxury items.

olcoach Loc: Oregon

I am so sorry to hear of your illness. I'm afraid there is no known cure. Those of us that suffer from the affliction just cope with it and hope our significant others don't find out that we have it, Good luck!

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

So THAT is why my wife left me?!

olcoach Loc: Oregon

NEVER let them know but you can try to explain that you are just plain sick and it's not your fault. Of course the problem than becomes divorces can be so expensive you can't really feed your addiction. Damn, it's an ugly situation.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Makes no difference to me any more; she's the one who left me on Christmas Day.

Cameoblue Loc: British Columbia Canada

I think your illness has spread to Blind Bay BC. Just today I purchased a Manfrotto tripod 055X Pro-B and a Manfrotto monopod 680B AND an Epson Atrisan 1430 printer. Sad thing is all I really wanted was a Canon superwide angle lens but I could not justify the cost (yet). CResQ if you find a cure please let me know. Keep us advised as to how you like your new toy eh.

:thumbup:

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Does anyone here REALLY want a cure for G.A.S. or would you rather learn to live with it?

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

The thing with G.A.S. - after a while you end up with a bunch of stuff you rarely use. Not that the stuff is bad or unusable. You just can't find the time to use it all as much as you imagined you would!

BigD Loc: The LEFT Coast

Yea the last night Baseball game I shot for a magazine I used a Canon 1DX and a 400 f/2.8L IS II as did all the other pro's who shoot similar setups. We all just felt so stupid when the guy with that off brand P&S showed up. :roll:

johnske Loc: Townsville

Perhaps the lens snobs should read this >> http://www.adorama.com/alc/0011928/article/Product-Review-Sigma-150-500mm-f56-63-lens

(I had previously read a similar article by a PJ covering a basketball game but couldn't find it in a quick search)

Bamboo Loc: South Carolina

I must have the same affliction because I find myself buying stuff I would never dream of before there was ebay and Amazon. It's just to easy.

BigD Loc: The LEFT Coast

Lens snobbery huh? First off this guy is shooting Football in broad daylight which is child s play overcast or not. He was setting f/8 at ISO 500 which is nothing, you could use a kit lens just as well. If you take that same lens to a NIGHT game where you only have the stadium lights your gonna be a "fan in the stands". I have buddies that have the Nikon 200-400 f/4.0 which is a beautiful lens with the coolest lens hood on the planet that makes me sooo jealous. But when the lights go low that lens goes away and the f/2.8 big boys come out.

Its not snobbery its just a tool. Yea its a darn expensive tool but a tool none the less. I have a friend who is a machinist and he bought a CNC mill that cost over a hundred grand. Nobody has ever accused him of having "machine snobbery" they just say wow and move on. If you have people that are paying you for a shot of that soccer player that just did this or that, or that baseball player that did that whatever last night and is hot as hell they don't give one good damn what your technical problems are THEY WANT PICTURES. They don't care that the light is crap, that the backgrounds are cluttered, that the new FIFA rules won't let you anywhere but behind some advertising signs in the end zones THEY WANT PICTURES. And they don't pay for images of soccer players with blurry feet or a ball players big home run hit with a blurry bat, they want them tack sharp, full frame, and absolutely stunning ALWAYS. So to have the ability to do that under "normal" conditions you eventually end up with cameras that have great low light high ISO performance and can shoot fast as hell (oh yea just learn to time it right that's a good one too). They also buy lenses that can get those images in those conditions and the cost is the cost. They don't like it but as they say "you gotta pay to play" so they pay for them. And I'll tell you what, once you have shot with a top of the line body and lens one thing becomes absolutely clear YOUR PICTURES.

Another little thing you all might consider is that someone that has been taking pictures for a living for several decades just might, maybe, sorta, kinda, have some tiny idea what they are doing. I seldom question the cost of my Doctors X-ray machine I simply expect it to work and work well, as do Editors. Oh and by the way most Photo Journalists these days are not Photographers they are Writers that are forced to take pics because their publications are too cheap to pay a real shooter to cover an event. One can make a very good paycheck selling real photos to PJ's who had not a clue why their pictures were all green and blurry. And as a side note I happen to own two Sigma lenses including their newest 120-300 f/2.8 OS and it rocks but when I need more length out comes that 400mm because its the right tool for that task not because I want to impress some guy that owns a DSLR in the stands. Trust me he doesn't have to haul that thing back to his car after the event, they ain't so cool then. Bottom line is if you don't need such a lens great, your wallet will be heavier for sure. But if you do "need" one than nothing else will do period. So don't just automatically assume that a guy with an expensive lens or camera is a snob or a fool he just might be a Photographer using a photographic instrument for a specific job.