I did not insinuate you were a pro, not at all. I don't even know you, other than you appear to be part of the GAS guilt committee that can make judgments on people saying they have some psychological problem (are you a clinical psychologist?) that those people need to acquire gear unnecessarily, being one those people who are on the committee also known as a snobs or jealous.

Well you did not say what brand camera you have but here is a link for Canon RF mount. The advantage is you have good fast glass, you can use it on your current mirrorless camera with auto exposure and manual focus assist via focus peaking. Medium format glass has to be pretty good and because you are shooting through the best part of the lens (like a crop sensor camera with a full frame lens in the 35mm world) I am sure there are other brands and mounts, you need to do a search

https://fotodioxpro.com/products/m645a-crf-p

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Ok, lets say you want to be a bird photographer or wildlife maybe not you, someone else. That is not a profession.
Many I mean many bird photographers have these lenses, those who can afford them.

Even you are insinuating right now if you are a paid pro that it is "different" It is ok for you to have a $16000 lens but if you are not a pro then you have GAS, you don't need such gear and that is part of your syndrome.

This guy runs a youtube channel he has such lenses he owns but he is not a pro and works for the Nature or Forest in Australia. Because he is not a paid pro, are we saying he has GAS?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z062VWHt

Yep, the committee might say that and you were kind of insinuating it with your paid pros being different.

I think most people in the GAS guilt committee are snobs or jealous. If you buy nice gear, they will say, it will not make you a better photographer, gear doesn't matter, use what you have, you have some psychological problem that causes you to buy gear you don't need. Who cares? If I want and can afford it who is the GAS guilt committee to tell me what I can and cannot buy. Or try to guilt me into not having nice gear.

They seem to want to bring people who buy nice gear to the level of crack addicts. I am just a little tired of it that all. I buy what I want and no GAS guilt committee is going to influence me. They might be able to use their Jedi mind tricks on the weak minded, but not me because I have a brain :)

Well I am going to sound like an On1 walking ad but ON1 photo raw raw editor does it. It is $99 or with promo code JIMNIX20 it is $79

It has batch options that can be performed on a folder then you have options like file name, folder name, date/time, sequence data, metadata (exif). Is a raw editor with layering capability all effects done in raw.

And most importantly has a trial verson so you can test it and make sure it is easy to use and does what you want it to do. Blows BatchPhotoPro out of the water :)

It also has Denoise AI Resize AI Portrait AI, Mask AI and all sorts of AI Stuff and can batch all that on your photos. Even Presets with AI. Full editor with batching options for pro photographers, will even run scripts. Runs as a plug in to lightroom and Photoshop, plug ins run in it like Topaz. All in one editor

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And that is great too but I think Topaz has been resting on it's laurels. Even with Photo AI how can it compete with an all in one package like On1? On1 has built into it from the makers of Genuine Fractals, Resize AI which goes head to head with Gigapixel. On1 has No Noise AI which goes head to head with Topaz Denoise AI, it has On1 Effects which work in raw and jpg which goes head to head with Topaz Adjust AI and most other raw editing programs do not have effect like these that work in raw. On1 also has portrait AI which goes head to head with Luminar Neo. On1 has HDR multi image merge and single image adjustment . It goes up against Aurora HDR which is now built into Neo. And On1 photo raw is a raw editor, and edits jpg converting jpg into it's own internal raw so the quality while not as good as raw is much better than anything we have seen in the past. This editor goes up against $300 raw editors.

On1 is $99 and with a coupon code JIMNIX20 you can get 20 percent off $79 and you get everything. Topaz Photo AI is $200 buck. Sorry no comparison here.

Don't get me wrong. I love Topaz, I have all their products including legacy which include PhotoFXLab, Fusion 2, Classic Studio, Studio 2 and all their latest plugins except video plugins and Photo AI.

I just think at there are better values out their like On1. Even Luminar Neo which I really like was $99 but now you have to add all it's expansions it is now over $300. On1 has all the expansions built in and you can get it for $79

You may think I am an ad for On1 but I have use a lot of software and to be able to do everything that everything else does, On1 is the best value (but it will not doe everything quite as well as very specialized programs. Like compare to Topaz Denoise Topaz has 4 window comparison of different algorithms which is very helpful and time saving no other product has that not even Topaz Photo AI and which is why I still use it for noise over anything else, but On1 is almost just as good, just not as convenient or as fast in the work flow, but very usable.

No one would argue either of your statements.

That is great, But what if you were going to start bird photography and you wanted a Sigma 150-600 or God forbid a 600 F4 at $16000 and you can afford it. The committee would be on you like flies on poop, That's not gonna make you a better photographer, gear does not matter, use what you have."

I can tell you from experience, gear does matter. You can ask a pro who shoot sports, or birds, gear does matter, if it didn't that piece of gear would not exist because no one would buy it. It is also a motivator. Are you going to spend $16000 on a lens to have it sit on a shelf so you can admire it, possibly put it on your coffee table for your guests to admire. Not likely.

If they had no experience at all? The one who read the manual.

Very nice Duke but where is some of that Iphone14 computational photography we have been hearing about. :)

Well I think it is a response to the G.A.S guilt committee. I go to some camera clubs, some meetup groups, online places like here and out comes the committee. Oh you have Gas, you buying another piece of gear? that isn't going to make you a better photographer.

First they are telling you you have a problem, a psychological problem, a syndrome (a group of symptoms which consistently occur together, or a condition characterized by a set of associated symptoms.) Trying to guilt me into not buying what I want. Like forced speech or spending your money for you like some political parties, they want to control how you spend your money. Or make me feel like I have a gambling problem and not putting food on the table or paying the bills. (I have no debt except the house I pay everything cash including vehicles) and they are up to their eyeballs in credit card debt telling me how to manage my money.

There is a meetup group call Beers and Cameras (gear) cost you $10 bucks to get in they drink and buy food and they spend more money that I would on a vintage Mamiya Sekor 55 1.4 for $36 on ebay. Many of those on the committee spend 20 buck a day on Starbucks, smoke cigs or pot, buy a new car every few years, or whatever hobby that makes them happy then make me feel guilty because I want some new camera gear.

When someone says to me, you have gas, I want to say, if I fart, will you run away from me and not come back... please?

Hey if it works for you great. If I had it, I would use it as a plug in to ON1 which I could in layers using it's masking options and blend it with the original to adjust the effect to the original image. Usually a work around.

The reason I would not get it is because I have Noise, Sharpen, and Adjust IA already, don't need to spend more money but Topaz Photo AI includes them all at a low price, so I can see how it is attractive to people.

The light has it's own softbox which is better than linen cloth the light is still bright in a dark situation. I use it mostly to light background or edge/hair light when the light is not in the persons face.

I like flash on people and macro subjects, and some sports.

Nothing wrong with natural light. I see some great portraiture from natural light but you have to learn how to see the light which is a skill in itself. Controlling the light with flash is easier.

So I have a different perspective. While everyone say, use what you got. I don't buy into it.

If you are a big company, do you send your workers out with a hammer? No you send them with a nail gun and compresser.
You may teach them with a hammer or you hand them over to a mentor that might teach them how to use a hammer, but eventually they get a nail gun. This makes them more efficient and faster.

So gear are tools. I have no problem buying whatever gear I need, want, and can afford.

Is this foolish? No. It is only foolish if you buy the gear/tool and do not use it. Or you buy the gear when you should have spent it on food for your family or the house payment. Buying gear I cannot afford is foolish .

If you are smart, you buy used and if you only use the gear once, then sell it before it becomes obsolete and worthless and don't lose a lot of money selling it, then again, I do not think this is foolish.

I have every piece of gear I could want, but not necessarily the latest and greatest. And if I am not using it, I force myself to use it by creating self imposed constraints. If I don't use it at all. I sell it. It the value has gone way down, then I keep it.

There is an old saying, the best camera is the one you have with you. So now I take my old worthless unused camera and lenses and pack them in the car and in the truck without worry if someone steals them because they are not worth much anyway, but it because the camera that is with me and they are better than the cell phone because of the lenses. I always look on craigslist for used gear and garage sales. I want a Canon 100mm 2.8 L macro with IS. But I have the non L version and the camera has Ibis. I will not spend the money for a new lens so it is unlikely I will be getting the L version. I find lenses hold their value longer and don't become obsolete as fast.

If I want new gear and can afford it. I buy it. But I mostly buy used gear and it is great. Sometimes that means I have to wait until the price comes down. That requires patience.

Do I have new gear? Yep, Canon R5 is the latest new gear. So gear up if you can afford it and if you are going to use it I say.

If you think new gear will make you a better photographer, no, but if it makes you get out there and take pictures, yes, that will make you a better photographer, whether it is new gear, used gear, or your old gear. Just make sure you use it.

What did you use it for, where did it help most? Was it a key light or did it just fill in shodows, and on what subject?