I don't care what gear you use...

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<p>Related: I'd love to know what percentage of SLRs never get shifted into Manual mode during their entire lifespan.</p>

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<p> My FM2n has never been out of manual mode.</p>

<p>Sorry I've been away so haven't been able to reply to this thread since starting it. To clarify, I'm not saying gear doesn't matter. I'm not saying go out with a phone cam or a point and shoot and expect great results. I was referring more to gear taking priority from a photographer's viewpoint. An example was obsessing over minor differences in sharpness. What this does, in my opinion, is put you on the road to mediocrity. If you spend more time discussing lenses than using them, perhaps the priorities are wrong. What I was saying is: use the gear that works for you, but really USE it. And using it means using the six inches behind the camera more than anything else.</p>

I'll drink to that. I don't know who wouldn't, really.

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<p>I'd love to know what percentage of SLRs never get shifted into Manual mode during their entire lifespan.</p>

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<p>Most of my cameras are permanently in manual mode. The only mode they have.</p>

<p>John Bellenis - well put, especially your second and third paras. Thats exactly what I was trying to say albeit less elegantly than you.</p>

<p>I don't think Turner cared much about that he got only a couple of brushes and a few tubes of color left. He was still painting. :-)</p>

<p>Before forgetting about your gear, know it.<br>

It helps making the pictures you want to take - or you are able to take.</p>

<p>I find this funny. I do enjoy talking about my gear just because when it comes to my LF cam im a bit of a nerd! I think it is a bit naive to dismiss any technical considerations as many great works from photographers use the technical aspects of photography as the conceptual framework of there projects. Think Bernd and Hilla Becher, Micheal Wesley ect</p>

<p>Please read the original post a bit more carefully (and the recent clarification post). I am not dismissing technical considerations, or forgetting about gear. In fact, the original post said <em>Of course the tool matters...</em></p>

<p>A sharman is someone who can perceive what others cannot. Give a sharman a camera and he's likely to achieve awesome results. "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder"- some people are only interested in tits and bums, others appreciate mastibating green bugs. Technology is twofold, firstly its the <strong>hardware</strong> you use and secondly its the <strong>knowhow</strong>. For example, a hammer is hardware, but hammering involves knowhow. Many older photographers, including me have experienced a steep learning curve in photography, going from film to digital and from mechanical calculators to laptops and photoshop. Give me a good camera and I'll do my very best to really learn how to use it.</p>

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<p>A sharman is someone who can perceive what others cannot.</p>

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<p>Shaman.</p>

<p>If I cared about technics and gears than probobly would have missed my best images. :-) it's not like you have a right camera at the right place with you all the time but you take an image anyway.</p>

<p>Whoops! A Shaman is someone who can perceive what others cannot. Well done Steve for spotting my deliberate mistake. Hope we get to meet in that other dimension!</p>

<p>In essence, I agree with your thesis. Novice photographers, especially, make the mistake thinking that gear plays a bigger role than it does in successful picture making. </p>

<p>Generally, I find cameras a necessary annoyance. Compared to my eye, they are crude, clumsy devices. I want to spend my time making pictures, not debating features or futures or, the pnet favorite, IQ. I want to explore ideas and express feelings. As much as I enjoy a well made gadget as much as the next guy, at the end of the day I want to create images but others are fee to enjoy the various aspects of this hobby as they find enjoyable. I disagree with your ascertain that "and you should too". The hobby is too broad to lump everyone into the "photographer"group.</p>

<p>However, even when I'm in my most creative space, the reality is at some point, unless I pull out a brush and tubes of paint, I'm going to need one of these little annoying light tight boxes. It doesn't matter if you are creating art, doing a commercial assignment or making family snapshot. At some point you need the box! The last I checked there were over 40,000 or so different types of cameras out there both new and vintage. And the newer ones! Have you seen the manuals on some of these? As thick as a phone book and quite complex. So whats a person to do? How does one decide and choose from this staggering ocean of equipment, accessories and technologies. You can't try everything so you talk to others that have. You talk to others that shoot similar types of subjects and situations and find out what they use. You ask for help. This sharing of information is the bread and butter of the equipment fourms and it serves a real need. Many of these discussions don't interest me so I stay out of them...and you should too!</p>

<p>Gear chat is a great social equalizer,too. I doesn't matter if you've been a photographer for 60 days or 60 years. I doesn't matter if your photography skills are world class or novice level. Gear chat allows folks from both extremes, and all those in between, to come together and share a common bond . Although all have different primary interests, the photographer, the camera tech, the camera enthusiast, the camera/lens collector and casual observer can all communicate on the same plane. It helps create a sense of community.</p>