CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

When a creative person like Steve Jobs says creating things is just connecting things, it seems so obvious. Just connect your credit card number with the payment method for your new camera.

azted Loc: Las Vegas, NV.

Staying abreast of new technology takes guts. Many people get to a point in life where they "give up" on learning. That is a shame and just a admittance of their frail humanity. Others keep trudging on, trying to keep up until their demise. Which is right is only up to the individual, not for others to decide. So far, as far as I am concerned, I'm going to keep on keeping on!

suntouched Loc: Sierra Vista AZ

Yes!

suntouched Loc: Sierra Vista AZ

It's easier to stay with what you know than moving on.
Me too.

User ID

Gaswise I do whatever happens at the intersection of my wants and my budget. Note the absence of needs. Needs are quite well covered by wants.

As to the naysayers and their questioning everyone’s actual needs, I see that as the faux wisdom of the uhh parrot flock. They think they look wise and caring, parroting each other.

On the job, as a photographer in the film era, I WANTED a so-called digital imaging workstation. After all the doubting and resistance was overcome I not only had my workstation but an entire digital publications facility was born, employing several artists and printer operators.

I didn’t actually NEED a digital imaging workstation during the film era. But I reeeeeeally WANTED one !!!

suntouched Loc: Sierra Vista AZ

Not all equipment is created equal!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Yes, yes, yes. G.A.S. is okay, because it's the prerogative of the person buying to have it.

That said, I think most people want to see purpose in their purchases, even if the purpose is to do a "feel good something" that is exciting.

A number of people on this forum are quite "well heeled," as my grandfather used to say. They can afford the finest shoes... and cameras. Others are on fixed incomes, and want their purchases to "matter." So where you come down on the side of "having G.A.S." might just be influenced by your income and assets.

I've had G.A.S. many times in my life. My take on it was influenced strongly by my parents. Mom grew up poor, Dad was well-to-do. She wanted it all, while he was analytical, and wanted to do it right. I got a mix of traits.

My parents wanted me to become a lawyer like my sister wanted to be, or a doctor like my uncle, or a pharmacist like two other uncles, or a company owner like my grandfather. I was showered with biographies of famous inventors, doctors, and creators. The creator-innovator-inventor types won out. But there was a problem. One of those pharmacist brothers of my Mom had given me a camera when I was five, and Dad gave me a toy darkroom set at ten (I still have much of it!).

At 12, I started to get serious about photography, reading books and magazines about it. It became an obsession. As my interest in photography grew, I got G.A.S. every time I went to the camera store. But my folks put a limit on my allowance, and there was a big gap between what I wanted and could afford. I had to get creative! I solved that by selling photos to friends, their parents, and the yearbook/newspaper advisor at my school. I made enough to buy a camera, lenses, flashes, filters, film, darkroom gear, books... And I made careful decisions about all of it. It was my money, and I could spend 80% on whatever I wanted. I only had to save 20% for college, by family rule.

That careful decision making has stood me well. I still have things from the 1970s that I use. I buy things that last, and that I know I will use. Like Mom, I had G.A.S. all the dang time. But like my Dad, I channeled the energy and intrigue of that G.A.S. into analyzing whether I really needed what I was looking at, asking whether there might be something better I could afford, strategically planning to buy what would create a SYSTEM that I would use most of, most of the time. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and the system is only as good as its weakest component, so...

I would read reviews, ask the guy who ran the local camera store about it, and know that what I bought was going to do what I wanted it to do. I have used those techniques for all the major purchases I've made at home and work. I've been disappointed, but not often. My bosses at the photo lab were quite happy with my capital recommendations, always after initial skepticism. But the stuff just worked.

I have had photographic (and AV) G.A.S. for a long time, now. But I've been waiting patiently for some announcements to come this month. I know it's okay to have G.A.S., but not okay to squander money I could spend on vacations, family events, or my future needs. When I buy my next camera, it will be something that lasts another seven years or so, like my current one has.

I had computer G.A.S. for four years before I bought my M1 MacBook Air. I even waited nine months after it was available for dozens of reviewers to test it, and the operating system and applications to mature, before I knew for certain exactly how to equip it. It's been the best computer purchase I ever made. I already have G.A.S. for a better model, but won't go there for years.

Chances are, it will be a while before any camera announced this month actually makes it through the clogged supply chain and into the stores. And it might be a while before the firmware is baked well enough into the new body (i.e.; gets updated) for the purchase to be advantageous. So even though I'm ready, and I can, I won't buy — until what I need and want is available and working.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Don't let the photographer you were yesterday stop you from buying a new camera tomorrow.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

This is a great point. I think a lot of people phrase their questions in such a way that they get warped, or irrelevant, or sarcastic answers.

Like a consultative sales person, if I ask, "Tell me about your experiences with ______. What did it do for you? Would you have bought something else, in retrospect? Why does, or doesn't it, meet your needs or expectations? Do you feel good about it? Have you had any negative issues with it?", then I will get more useful answers.

That said, people in general are "innocently ignorant" about things they know nothing about. They may not ask the "right" questions, because they don't know "where the on ramp is" to the topic. I've been there, done that, myself, many times, and been misled.

Sometimes I read questions on UHH that are obvious examples of that innocent ignorance. Directly answering the question would obviously take the asker down the wrong path! Sometimes I redirect, and I'm thanked. Other times I redirect, and the OP gets upset with me (or someone else in the forum gets upset with me) for not answering the original question directly.

Frankly, those of us who hang out here a lot do it for fun. We are not paid. The advice is free. It may or may not be useful. Some of us *try* to help. Caveat Emptor!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Ten up!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

It has been said that few people know what car they want until they learn to drive. Few cooks know what kinds of knives, pots, and pans they like until they learn to cook. Few fishers know what rod, lures, or bait to use until they've done some fishing...

Converting a mirrorless camera to IR may yield better results than converting a dSLR. Mirrorless cameras generally focus using the sensor itself, not a separate system.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

An ounce of practice is worth more than 30 megapixels.

suntouched Loc: Sierra Vista AZ

It's the sarcasm that makes me crazy and adds nothing. Better just to move on. I appreciate all those willing on the forum to share their insight and knowledge and you all know who you are- you are one Burk. I have gotten very valuable information but I have learned to ask selective questions.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Or you can buy old... Film photographers do that, anyway.

Some of the best information about new gear is found on camera review sites, where experienced folks put new cameras and lenses through a series of standard tests and field evaluations and allow comparisons of results from one device to another. DPReview is my favorite site for that. I've followed their reviews since Phil Askey started the site back in 1998.

YouTube is full of camera reviewers. Some are extremely knowledgeable and others are a waste of time. It is usually obvious who is doing a great job. They have millions of subscribers and their reviews get lots of views (hits in Internet speak) in a short period of time.

A YouTube search for 'Nikon Z9 Review' yields tons of video reviews, many of which have 100,000 or more views.

I prefer review sites that buy their own equipment, or who at least tell you that the gear was ON LOAN to them from the manufacturer, and that they received no compensation for the review. (Yes, they can lie, but why would they? If found out, their channel would be dead.)