Support our Sponsors, they keep FADU free:   AG Photographic   The Imaging Warehouse   Process Supplies   RH Designs   Second-hand Darkroom Supplies  

Notices

Go Back   Film and Darkroom User > General discussions > Photography in general

  ***   Click here for the FADU 2015/2014 Yearbooks   ***

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 10th June 2022, 07:58 AM
GoodOldNorm's Avatar
GoodOldNorm GoodOldNorm is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Lincolnshire UK
Posts: 1,227
Default How gullible are photographers?

In the past have been seduced by magazine advertising, YouTube videos and blogs promoting all things to do with photography. Not any more I have become very sceptical about the claims by people promoting the latest photographic products. Is there really any need to keep spending money on the latest equipment? Will having the latest gadgets and equipment improve your photography? I believe practice is the most important part of self improvement, use what you have until you have worked out if your equipment is the limiting factor or if it is human error that is restricting the goals you are trying to achieve. Do you ever regret buying too much stuff and what is the worst and best thing you have ever purchased?
__________________
"Tea is surely the king of all drinks. It helps against the cold, it helps against the heat,against discomfort and sickness, against weariness and weakness". Heinrich Harrer.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 10th June 2022, 08:49 AM
B&W Neil's Avatar
B&W Neil B&W Neil is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: West Cornwall
Posts: 4,264
Default

The latest and desirable photo items are always tempting to own but the best way to progess with your image making is to improve your 'seeing'. But having said that don't ask me about my gear purchases !

Neil.
__________________
"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance." Aristotle

Neil Souch
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 10th June 2022, 09:12 AM
Reginald S's Avatar
Reginald S Reginald S is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Mar 2022
Location: Germany
Posts: 327
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by GoodOldNorm View Post
Do you ever regret buying too much stuff ?
Nope :-)
But I mostly always buy needed or really wanted things instead of promoted things.
For advertisement it's not easy to reach me because I read no magazines anymore, and I quitted TV lurking and its brain smearing long time ago.

To me stuff which has to be promoted must have some weakness or uglyness .
By the way, the "latest model" bought by myself is probably out of stock since 50 decades which make it naturally hard to promote stuff to me :-)


"" what is the worst and best thing you have ever purchased? ""

The worst thing has been an enlarger bought for one ebay-Euro.

First I had to invest good 200.- in transporter leasing.
Next the promised tools for completely cannibalizing the machine haven't been there.
As a result I was not able to bring the complete 840Kg out of a cellar to the transporter - I only rescued the 30x40cm enlarging head (lets say 75 Kg) with 8x 1000 Watts Xenon burners, the 40Kg shutter and the 5 to 10 Kg negative carrier, further more than 100Kg metal being formed to a 120cm vacuum groundplate, 50 Kg of cooling fan, and a huge and external control cabinet.
The remaining metal probably ended in a chinese melting pot.


The best thing?
Yeah, probably my 13x18cm Mentor Field Camera, bought 30 years ago, followed by my 12x16" camera which lives since nearly 7 years with me.

Without having any idea how to use a GF camera, after some tries the Mentor lived a poor life in my cabinet for two decades.
After being sick of photographing 15 years ago, she came back in my mind, and then she fulminantely brought me back to photography because of the new possibilities and the new challenges of this category.
Thank you, babe!

With a 30x40cm camera and after 4 decades I finally arrived to MY photography - so concerning photography both cameras could be described as the best things I ever purchased.

Last edited by Reginald S; 10th June 2022 at 09:25 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 10th June 2022, 12:14 PM
vincent's Avatar
vincent vincent is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Co. Kildare Ireland
Posts: 876
Default

Photography is very like Hi-Fi in so much that no matter what gear you have there will always be articles about the next great piece that you must purchase.
__________________
Cheers

Vincent - Not afraid of the dark
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 10th June 2022, 01:03 PM
MartyNL's Avatar
MartyNL MartyNL is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: based in The Netherlands
Posts: 3,342
Default

I regret buying my very first 35mm camera and lenses new. It was a Canon Eos 620 with 2 Canon lenses, a 35-70mm zoom, a 100-300mm zoom and a Canon speedlite 300EZ flash gun.

I still have it all, mainly out of sentiment and it can all be had today for probably a tenth of what I paid new.

Lesson learned!
I've never bought new since and I never will again.
__________________
MartyNL

“Reaching a creative state of mind thru positive action
is considered preferable to waiting for inspiration.”
- Minor White, 1950
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 10th June 2022, 01:13 PM
MartyNL's Avatar
MartyNL MartyNL is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: based in The Netherlands
Posts: 3,342
Default

In the meantime, I've had many bargains, especially at current prices but I can't bring myself to part with any of them!

My family of Durst L1200 enlargers are probably my fondest additions.
__________________
MartyNL

“Reaching a creative state of mind thru positive action
is considered preferable to waiting for inspiration.”
- Minor White, 1950
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 10th June 2022, 11:10 PM
John King John King is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: County Durham
Posts: 3,319
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by vincent View Post
Photography is very like Hi-Fi in so much that no matter what gear you have there will always be articles about the next great piece that you must purchase.
That is very much so with the latest digital stuff. I use it but I am not totally happy about using it and will still take up a film camera out of preference if I want to do something meaningful. It makes it just too easy.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 12th June 2022, 08:43 PM
snusmumriken snusmumriken is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Oct 2021
Location: UK
Posts: 177
Default

I was seduced by the brochure for the Leica M6. It took me about 20 years to actually buy one, and I don't regret it for a moment, but it really was the brochure that won me over. Clever really: they hadn't managed to impress the camera world with the M5 (not enough auto features), so Leica made a virtue out of the situation and said they were 'Concentrating on the essentials'. That was actually what I wanted in a camera, but I had to wait until the second-hand price was within my reach. I don't think I have been captured by any other piece of advertising, ever.
__________________
Jonathan

http://www.allmyeye.co.uk
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 12th June 2022, 10:10 PM
John King John King is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: County Durham
Posts: 3,319
Default

I am at a stage where given time I can reasonably afford 'some' of the best kit. But thinking about it the cameras that gave me the most satisfaction and results that I appreciated was the now very simple and humble Pentax SV.
With a seperate clip on CDS meter, I owned it for several years when my family were young and it was all I needed. In fact that still is all I really need (plus a few lenses).
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 13th June 2022, 07:14 AM
Keith Haithwa Keith Haithwa is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 76
Default

The SV was my first SLR camera, bought new in Singapore in 1966 and I loved it until I was seduced by the laterst cameras with TTl metering etc, but what is sat on the shelf above my head? yup, another SV c/w clip-on lightmeter. I've had it serviced and it is now silky-smooth and without a doubt the quietest SLR I've ever owned.
Reply With Quote
Reply
Support our Sponsors, they keep FADU free:   AG Photographic   The Imaging Warehouse   Process Supplies   RH Designs   Second-hand Darkroom Supplies  

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Photographers Resource CambsIan Photography in general 1 28th April 2013 04:34 AM
Looking for photographers ymgandy Members Announcements 0 16th February 2012 02:20 PM
Interviews with Photographers TonyMiller Art and aesthetics 13 11th January 2011 02:52 PM
Photographers rights at an end? Trevor Crone Photography in general 22 1st March 2010 02:44 PM
Are photographers getting more boring? RH Designs Photography in general 4 20th July 2009 07:01 PM


All times are GMT. The time now is 12:40 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.