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Hello

 

I was recently waiting for a plane and chatting with a violinist on

his way to Germany to play at a concert, when another guy came along

with a violin case. They were not travelling together and did not

know one another.

 

They immediately started talking about their respective violins and

the cases. Boy, did that sound familiar. Not a word about the

concerts or the music, but only the gear.

 

WHEW!!! I feel very sane.

 

Cheers

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On a slightly different tack, a recent TV programme on UK history featured a neolithic jadeite axe that (the archaeologists concluded) would have been far too expensive for actual use. Rather, such objects would probably have been prized as status symbols. According to another source (www.jerseyheritagetrust.org) "Some people believe that such axes were initially practical tools that repeatedly changed hands; were re-polished, re-used and only gradually became ceremonial." The programme did not speculate on whether these objects were fondled by their owners, or whether they were produced in limited numbers to commemorate royal weddings, bridge building, or successful mammoth hunts.
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Okay, let's make our coming out, everybody. Who is a fondler, a gear lover?

 

I AM! I love cameras. I think they're things of beauty, They are sensual marvels of

technology. I do have a passionate relationship with my bodies (pun intended.) They

have to appeal to both my eyes and my hands. So, I have several cameras, all giving

wonderful results (I am the lousy one in the relationship): Leica M, of course, but also

Olympus OM2n (the Leica M of SLRs), Nikon F3 (maybe my favorite of them all),

Nikkormat (swinging meter needle and all), Contax RX (what a sweetheart, this one!) I

also have two «beasts» in the form of a Nikon F5 and - I confess - a Nikon D1X, that I

love for their sheer weight and solidity, and with a level of technical sophistication

that's hard to beat.

 

Now, if I could just do them all justice as a photographer.

 

There. I've lifted it off my chest. Your turn.

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My dad is a banjo player. His favorite activity is to play his banjo and surf eBay, looking at and bidding on banjos.

 

That seems to be the one big difference between talking about musical instruments and cameras. One can play an instrument while talking about it online. That's hard to do with a camera, unless you want many pictures of your computer area (which I have).

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I'm into cycling and every outing with the local cycling club inevitably ends with conversations around our bikes. I still prefer my steel bikes for the ride and nostalgic senses. However, there are members with their exotic titanium bikes dressed up with all the lightweight components that comes to a featherly weight of around 17 pounds. Now once you get to that weight, lightening every additional ounce will cost you hundreds. How's that for paying for diminishing return -- literally speaking, the more you pay, the less you get.
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Richard

 

You see - we're all human after all! Thanks for the story.

 

All it takes is someone to start bad mouthing about wankers/fondlers, followed by all the lemmings repeating the same and we all end up with a guilt complex.

 

What's wrong with appreciating a finely made object? What someone does with their own money is their business, and just because I like using my cameras doesn't give me or anyone else the right to try and moralise over another person likeing just to look and touch.

 

I wonder if Leica would still be in business if it wasn't for such fans.

 

Regards

 

Bruno

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"I still prefer my steel bikes for the ride and nostalgic senses."

<p>

I agree, but there's nothing 'nostalgic' about a well-made Chrome-Moly steel frame. They have a liveliness and response that can't be matched by carbon fiber, aluminum or titanium. But a nicely welded, hardtail Cro-Mo bike looks pretty drab on the showroom floor next to a full suspension, epoxy-bonded mountain bike with a single-sided swingarm and disc brakes. Whether the buyer will actually make <i>use</i> of those features is irrelevant, I suppose.

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"I still prefer my steel bikes for the ride and nostalgic senses."

<p>

I agree, but there's nothing 'nostalgic' about a well-made Chrome-Moly steel frame. They have a liveliness and response that can't be matched by carbon fiber, aluminum or titanium. But a nicely welded, hardtail Cro-Mo bike looks pretty drab on the showroom floor next to a full suspension, epoxy-bonded mountain bike with a single-sided swingarm and disc brakes. Whether the buyer will actually make <i>use</i> of those features is irrelevant, I suppose.

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"I'm into biking as well. I find it costs about $1 for every gram lightened."

 

No way Steve. I'm referring to once you get your bike down to around 19 pounds, try lessening a few ounces more and see what kind of money you have to throw away. The weight lessening has to do with the cumulative weight of all parts. In other words, you have to swap ALL YOUR PARTS just to save a few ounces. For example Lance Armstrong's time-trail bike custom made by Trek weighs only 14 pounds and you can't buy it even if you have the dough.

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"I've seen a lot of fat bikers wearing expensive gear and riding super expensive European bikes. It would be cheaper if they lost some weight around their waists instead of buying more expensive bikes!"

 

Same descriptive applies to Leica owners. Money spent on all those Leica gears would serve us better if we use it instead on some photography 101 classes.

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