JD750 Loc: SoCal

I see a lot of what I call herd mentality. People craving the latest best equipment and everybody rushing this way and that way as new cameras are introduced. Perhaps its a result of marketing.

I guess it's good for manufacturers when people to buy the latest gear.

Quite honestly I could afford the latest gear but given what I shoot, I don't see how that will improve my photography. I know some people will gain from the latest greatest features, and that is good, but I'm not one of them. So I'll just sit back and enjoy the show.

Quixdraw Loc: x

User ID

“Z9 Stuffshirts” is the hottest ticket on photography’s Great White Way, despite the threadbare scripting and the toadally predictable casting. Enjoy the show !

Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida

celebrate what you have and you'll be a lot happier.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

I have found after 3-4 generations there has been enough progress to make a difference in camera bodies.
Not better as far as creative/composition skills but allowing those ideas to be interpreted or created that was not possible before.
Example better high ISO or now the amazing AF capabilities that allow for less worry about focus and more concentration on other aspects.
I agree there are many here who fall for marketing and buy the latest camera ASAP to brag even though most have no clue how to use the camera they bought 3 generations ago let alone the latest one they got.
They are the collectors not photographers.

rdgreenwood Loc: Kennett Square, Pennsylvania

I couldn't agree more. I taught a course earlier this week at a renowned public garden, and I was astounded by the number of photographers who were shooting with new Nikon mirrorless cameras. These folks, many of them new to photography, were using the latest and most high-end gear. I shoot with a D800E and have decided to stick with it because it gives me the images I want.

I really do urge photographers, especially new photographers, to go easy on GAS and work on the basics of composition and subject choice before seeking to have the newest, most impressive gear in hand. Just sayin'...

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

Here we go again

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

As I posted before in a lengthy comparison post I will condense it here. Most modern DSLR cameras are capable of doing more than the average photographer. Most hobbiest photographers have not mastered all the features the camera they own to a high level. A large percentage have not mastered the systems of the ir cameras that they use. I'm a gem utter and a 3 years hobby photographer. I am using a D5oo. It is more capable than I am. I'm no slouch and being a perfectionist handicapped person have learned and practiced much. The D5oo is still capable of more than I am. Yes the new camera's have 20 more frames per second and the tracking af is a dream come true. But I will get what from that? A couple hundred extra good pics a year? Maybe. They would be the most expensive photos I've ever taken. Lol. I love the new stuff. I just don't need it. Maybe someday when it is 3 or 5 years old and cost a third of what it cost now maybe but I still won't benefit that much. Love em great for people who make a living with them. Great for folks who have mastered the equipment they own. Great for people who just want them but most don't need them and won't benefit much from them. My opinion and we all know what that is and what it is worth. Lol. Glad this is the condensed version huh. Lol

niteman3d Loc: South Central Pennsylvania, USA

Moo! Where do I sign up for the next stampede? I've learned one precious lesson after being alive so long... it's a lot cheaper to be last in line (usually), so used and refurb make it possible for me to live in a time warp and I just tell myself that my 'new' D7100 is the hottest thing going right now. I treat current offerings like visions of the future. Getting $1500 cameras that have hardly been used for $500 makes me smile. I have 'past herd' mentality. I buy what used to be the latest and greatest and don't seem to notice the difference. DW calls me a cheap old ba$tard... I prefer the term frugal.

Bill_de Loc: US

On the flip side there is the school of thought that feels if you buy it right you will only have to buy it once.

It's just human nature. The same thing goes on with new cars, new audio equipment, etc.

Too many people are too concerned with what other people have. It is not necessarily a bad thing. It may even open our eyes if we let it.

A few years back my neighbor, and friend, was ribbing me about what I spent on a new D4s. It was and is the most expensive camera body I ever bought. When he finished I pointed to the $250,000 motor home that was sitting at the back end of his driveway. I asked him who gets the most use out of what they purchased.

His answer ... Let's go get a cup of coffee.

IMHO people who buy things to impress people are crazy. Also crazy are those that think others buy things to impress them.

---

wide2tele Loc: Australia

Started a similar thread before I saw this one.

In 1996 I bought the Nikon F5. We now had fast autofocus and great metering. Thought we were done.

Then digital came along. We went from 640x480 pixel type cameras to something like my Nikon D200 with 10 megapixels and pretty much all the F5 features. Thought we were done.

Apparently we were not and the last 15 years are a complete mystery to me. I really struggle to understand the great photographic suffering I am apparently going through.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

So many people are caught up in "The latest & greatest, gee-whiz-bang stuff".
Many simply have to have the "best".
Many of them think it will give them "better" pictures.
In some instances, it may.
But define better.....
or best.

srt101fan

I would like to know what percentage of the UHH community actually even considers spending $5,000 on a camera.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

srt101fan I did... Still loving it!

Want 10,000K followers on IG? Then the latest and greatest high end offering is indeed germane...
I did a lot of makeup gigs for a Wedding Shooter who was represented by a "Photographer Agency" in our market. They actually told him that he need to move up to a D4 from his then D700 for them to continue referring high end clients to him. Yep this actually happened. Not fiction, but brutal reality.

In the immortal words of Robert Zimmerman... "It's either fortune of fame, you much choose one or the other though neither are to be what they claim..." Sometimes fame comes with a high price tag.

Besides I found it a lot easier to get Hot "Agency Chicks" to do testing gigs when I had a $7K camera... lol
Yes I'm still shooting that Nikon D3x *(it's 13 years old and still going strong)* and paid for itself long ago.

And you DJ750? Or is that JD750? You shooting a camera that actually paid for itself many times over?
Just a thought... like the fox said, "sour grapes"

Aesop Fable: "The Fox and the Grapes" where the grapes hangs from a vine, just out of the fox' s reach.
So all you "Foxes" out there suck it in... If you can't run with the big dogs stay on the porch.

Or do you really care? Remember, "The things you own may in fact end up owning you"
a.k.a. "Identity Investment" The social animal believes that their self-worth is found in the things they own, really?

btw, I have clients... no need to impress anymore only to furnish up "Deliverables" now.
Back to testing my kit... Have a great day all! Cheers!