equipment envy

[errol young]

<p>I get paid to photograph weddings, dance shows portraits etc.<br>

I use a D300 with a D70 as backup with the 18-85 and the 105 2.8 for most things.<br>

My brother-in-law's neighbour shoots some landscapes and some family pictures and buys the best cameras that he can. He now has a D700 with a number of lenses and is always exchanging them. He is retired and seems to have the cash.<br>

Last week he showed me the 85 1.4 and the 180 2.8 that he was going to sell back to the store for half price in order to get a third party lens that he read about.<br>

Then I tried to explain about white balance to him. I think he understood. <br>

I think that what I have is great for what I do but cannot help to drool a bit when I see his hardware.<br>

I do get to try out his stuff though. I found that the 85 at 1.8 did not seem practical for portraits because of the narrow DOF. I also like the reach of my 105 better.<br>

The 180 was beautiful. For what I do the 700 is not much of an improvement over the 300. I love my 300.<br>

Still, it is frustrating to see all that stuff in the hands of someone who barely understands it.</p>

[andy_k8]

<p>Don't feel bad. It's not what equipment you <strong>don't </strong>have, it's what you do with the equipment you <strong>do</strong> have.</p>

<p> </p>

[KyleE]

<p>Stay away from areas with heavy tourist traffic then. You will see a lot of things like this.</p>

<p>Maybe there was a purpose to this that I was not aware of and this person was actually a photographic master but I recently saw a tourist with a D700 around his neck and he had the Nikkor 18-200mm AF-S on it.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>People who can afford to buy good equipment and want to do so, do perform services for the great mass of us that have to be a little more cautious in our gear acquisition -- they are the reservoir of great, "like-new" equipment that allows a healthy and robust second-hand market (or maybe like luxury sedans, they are "pre-owned"?).</p>

<p>Well-paid professionals who only get a few short vacations are the foremost of the suppliers of the not-quite-the-latest-thing market, bless them. Many of these people work like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navvy">navvys</a>, may they be praised, deserve the pleasure of good stuff. Many of us also work hard, or not, but don't mind good, pre-owned gear for less money. ;)</p>

<p>Instead of envying the larger gear of the favored (cf. the Freudian concept of "lens envy"), look upon them as the Morlocks looked upon the Eloi. ;)</p>

[darryl-taylor]

I'm all for buying their gear when they get bored with it, but eating them may be a tad extreme

[ShunCheung]

<p>Errol, did you get a chance to compare the images he captures against yours?</p>

[kris-bochenek]

<p>Well guy I know asked me sometime ago whats the best camera to buy. After our conversation he went out and bought a D5000 three days later he got rid of it for D90 but just after a short weekend he got rid of that one as well and bought D300s with grip SB600 few lenses. He doesn't know how to use his gear well so uses point and shoot to take most of his shots. DLSR is just there to show off to his friends that know less then he does. What bothers me is that he misstreats his gear and it breaks my heart, lenses laying aroung in dust with no caps, body banged up, grrrrrrrr. Now he's thinking about getting D3 series. My first though it to adopt his unwanted gear even for little money. I know that it would have it good with me like all my stuff. Not that I dont use it- I do but I like to keep it clean and it's always in my nice padded Lowepro bag. I guess when people have money they don't care too much about things like that - easy come easy go. So to the point, don't envy his gear, you can envy his knowledge but even then if you are happy with what you have and know, it's all that matters.</p>

[lachaine]

<p>Your are well on your way to perfect pictures of grass in your backyard :-)</p>

 

[daverhaas]

<p>I love it when I go on vacation with my D40 and 18-200 and the person standing next to me at the attraction has a D700 - then we compare (chimp) each other's images .... A lot of the time they walk away mumbling something about luck or overpaying for their equipment.....</p>

<p>As EC once sang - "It's in the way that you use it...."</p>

[pge]

<p>Errol</p>

<p>I understand your point. However there is nothing wrong with owning a camera that is greater than your needs. I suspect that many or most D700`s find themselves in that position, owned by someone who doesn`t really need them. I know mine complains about that all the time. For me, photography is a hobby, not just the equipment but the craft, so I think I have a fair understanding of at least the technical aspects of things. My point is basically, unless your retired friend stole the money to buy the camera, good for him for enjoying his hobby. Its an amazing camera, and although he is not as skilled as you, I bet he has as much fun with it as you do.</p>

<p>ps. I am from Toronto also, sitting at bathurst and lakeshore right now.</p>

<p>David, if it was me and my d700 I wouldn`t start muttering until you were out of ear shot</p>

[mark liddell]

It's annoying but what can you do, most leicas are probably bought by dentists and collectors rather than photographers and I'm sure many high end slrs have never seen anything but P mode. Rich amateurs have better equipment than some pros due to their high disposable income and less need for a purchase to pay for itself - the 'Uncle Bob' at many weddings.

 

I've met a guy that owned leicas, hassys, contax etc. and in his 20 years in photography I don't think I've seen a single photograph by him that was anything at all to look at.

 

Relating to the 85mm f/1.8, you can use it stopped down a bit?

[mlg28]

<p>I love the idea that such people are doing the rest of us a great service! Please, folks, buy lots of D3s, D700s, Leicas, big glass, etc. I won't be envious. I'll be patient.</p>

[justine_k]

<p>I say don't worry about what other people have and their reasons for owning it.</p>

<p>That's how the phrase "keeping up with the Jones'" came about...and it never did anyone any good.</p>

[SCL]

<p>It's all about "Mine is better than yours because it's newer and cost more". Sad that so many people have fallen into this trap, when they should have been learning the technical skills to improve their craft. OTOH, as others stated, it does provide a robust market for good slightly used high end gear.</p>

[steve_levine]

<p>#11) Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's cameras.</p>

[JDMvW]

<blockquote>

<p>but eating them may be a tad extreme</p>

</blockquote>

<p>While I did mean it metaphorically, we did have a secretary once who answered the phone in the Anthropology Department with the words "Anthropophagy Department" (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropophagy">link</a>). We were never completely sure if she was having us on or not, but we very purposely did not correct her.</p>

<p>It's not so much the costlier only as it is the physical size, I suspect. Canon users have the additional spur to envy in it not only being big, but being cream colored as well. I am not entirely surprised that Justine would have a more rational perspective on this than some others here. :)</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>I imagine it can be even more frustrating for professional astronomers to see backyard amateurs with multi-thousand dollar gear and not a clue on how to use it, but everyone has to start somewhere, right? </p>

[kfoster70]

<p>People that buy things that they really dont need is what keeps our economy going.</p>

<p>I myself have always bought things that were of better quality than I needed for my purposes. I have cameras and lenses that are better than my photography skills require, but I like how well theyre made versus the lower consumer grade stuff. I also own all-clad cookware and wusthof cutlery, and Im no professional chef. Hell, I have an Epson 4880 for home printing.</p>

<p>But what does annoy me is when people never seem satisfied with their purchases. These people that constantly buy, then sell only to get something different, drive me crazy. Half the time they come back to the original purchase only to have to re-buy it again at full price. Their shortcomings always get blamed on the gear, even if its the best gear.</p>

<p>I buy good stuff because I like good quality and Im willing to pay for it. But once I make the purchase Im done.</p>

[mark_drutz]

<p>When I was a kid I was watching a western on TV and the old gunslinger said to the young gun, "There's always a faster gun". I've always kept that in mind. No matter who you are or what you have there's always someone who has more. Keeping up with the Jones' is a losing battle. It's fine to want more, but you'll never be happy unless you are happy with what you have.</p>

<p> </p>

[goldbergbarry]

<p>Another way to look at it is that these people pay for a lot of the R&D costs that Nikon and Canon puts into their cameras. In the long term view, they are driving down the cost. They also drive down the used market.</p>

[john_morris4]

<p>The 180 <em>is</em> beautiful, though, and easy to carry around. Fortunately, it's one of the most attainable excellent lenses -- I bought one used in like-new condition for about $500 a few months ago.</p>

[dan_south]

<blockquote>

<p>Still, it is frustrating to see all that stuff in the hands of someone who barely understands it.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>My advice: forget and focus on what YOU are doing and do it to the best of your abilities. Envying this guy could give you an ulcer, but it's not going to improve your photos.</p>

<p>Your D300 is a nice camera. I know lots of photographers who would envy YOU for having such nice gear.</p>

<p>Or you can think of if this way. There are people out there shooting 20+ megapixel cameras. This guy doesn't have one. There are people shooting landscapes with super-expensive 60 MP digital systems. This guy doesn't have that kind of gear either. There are people who are shooting on 8x10 inch sheets of film with cameras that require a great deal of expertise to operate. This guy doesn't have one.</p>

<p>In the end, it's the images that matter, not your brother-in-law's neighbor's gear fetish.</p>

 

[vince-p]

<p>You all can lecture at Erroll all you want but when you're standing there looking at this thing that speaks not only to your aesthetic desires and object lust, but to your deepest ambitions, to a part of you that is serious and dedicated, and you know that you can't afford it yet it means almost nothing to the guy who has it, it is idiotic to believe most people would not feel that cold slice of pissed-off envy and just easy-chair moralizing to tell him to get over it. Man has to feel the feeling as the shrinks say.<br>

Plus, on a larger stage: to live in this country (Canada, you're always exempt...), at this point in history, is to be defined by what you can afford. We made it that way so we can't lecture people about the varieties of pain the situation inflicts. The anger and envy really slows you down, no doubt, and I spend several days a week beating it back with a stick, but I know at the same time I don't want to hear any lectures about how I should just la-di-da-dah look at the bright side of life.<br>

Now Erroll I have a D40x and am lusting after a used D300 which I see nowadays I can get for $800 to $1000 that I don't have and won't for a good while ($1100 refurbished at Adorama).... so I say, why not let's hit the guy over the head, take his stuff, you can pass the D300 to me and keep the D700 and you can have the 85mm f/1.4 since that's such a great lens size for a full frame camera. I'll take the guy's wallet and shoes.What kinda car's he got?<br>

See? Now I feel better. No more of this 'why, just remember that you're the better man' stuff. it's dumb and fails to take into account both human nature and these fiery last days of capitalist-consumer culture.</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>errol, your wahmbulance is here.</p>

<p>j/k.:)</p>

[anders_andersson2]

<p>My experience is that, even as a completely unpaid hobby photographer, my pictures get better with more expensive equipment. I for long thought my own incompetence was the only big hurdle to make perfect pictures, but my D300 allows me to take better pictures than I did with my D50, and my expensive lenses usually give better pictures than the cheap ones.<br>

The fast way to improve picture quality is to buy more expensive equipment. It would be more satisfactory, more long term to instead improve my skills, but it also takes more time, and time is more expensive than money for many people.<br>

Personally, I try to balance it, and improve my skills as well. Luckily, I think it is fun so it is no waste of time. Besides it is much better for my wallet if I improve my brain rather than my gear.</p>