Photographer or gear collector?

Do we sometimes get lost in the technical hype of cameras and lens and keep chasing our tails trying to get tack sharp pics by spending ever larger amounts of $$$ when it's really our technique thats in question?

How many great photograhers have their been that haven't had gear even close to the tech specs of what we have now?

1. Yes.
2. Most.

if you ask me, there's nothing wrong with collecting gear... whatever makes you happy.

ineedakamera wrote in post #8054144
if you ask me, there's nothing wrong with collecting gear... whatever makes you happy.

^^^ +1

If I want to have decent (but not the latest and greatest) gear but take great pictures, that's fine.

On the other hand, if I want to have the latest and greatest gear and only take mediocre pictures, that's fine too. It really doesn't affect anyone or anything but my pocket book.

Just my $0.02 CDN

The two don't rule eachother out... You can be an amazing gearhead and a super photographer with your amazing gear. You can also have the most basic / cheapo gear aver and make great images. You can also have a mindbogglingly expensive and finely balanced kit, yet only take images of focus charts

However, a crappy set can and will hold you back. I like to make sure the bottleneck is me (eyes, creativity), not my gear.

We have all sorts here afaik.

TweakMDS wrote in post #8054156
I like to make sure the bottleneck is me (eyes, creativity), not my gear.

I share this line of thinking. If my gear is high quality and working perfectly ~ then I can be assured it's my human error or lack of skill if the shots don't turn out well. I can then focus on bettering myself - and not blame my equipment.

I'm always accused of being a collector but I say I am just an avid user. Once you get past having most focal lengths covered and getting decent speed and finding very sharp lenses, I stumbled upon bokeh. Reason I have more than one 80mm lens - they give different "looks" to the image and depending on my mood and the subject, I might grab a different lens. Though I have a lot of lenses, if I find I am not using one, I will sell it.

"It's not what your gear can do, it's what it could do"

ineedakamera wrote in post #8054144
if you ask me, there's nothing wrong with collecting gear... whatever makes you happy.

I agree also. I lust after new gear all the time and spend copius amounts of money.

My point is I do think there is a fine line about getting caught up with 'having' to have the latest and greatest to get good pictures.

Theres a lot of bragging rights having the best gear and dare I say it.....snobbery.

Some people may seem to be collecting gear, but they are only buying what they need. For a few years, I was getting a new lens or accessory several times a year, but for the last year haven't bought anything except a nice tripod (which should be the last). I'm very happy with my setup and don't need to get anything in the foreseeable future.

You seem to be implying they are mutually exclusive, but I'm sure many people are both and other are neither (although I'd be surprised to find that last group here).

this is all about shiny metal objects for me. that and the excuse to go play outside. Who cares what the cost is? Ever meet a gun collector? an Art collector? a car collector?
Great photographers sometimes shoot with stuff we wouldn't buy on craigslist for a tenth of the price of a new one, yes. Sometimes I pull out lenses that cost more than the car they drove up in, yes. Who cares?

someone on here has a signature that reads "that was a delicious cake, you must have a really great set of pans", meaning it aint the pans, its the cook.

I can agree with the sentiment there, I just wonder if i could ever be happy with an easy bake oven ever again after having access to a full kitchen.

I say if someone wants to spend their hard earned dough on gear, cheers to them - it's way better to be a gear addict than to be a alcoholic or gambler and throw a ton of money away on those kinds of things.

I satisfy my urge to collect cool machinery by picking up used film gear. No way can I be buying L glass, but I got a Vivitar Series One 70-210 f/3.5 for $12; it is almost perfect, a beautiful lens. The MOST I've spent on any one piece of film gear is $100 for an EOS-1N body. The average for any one piece is around $40. If a piece gets bid out of range, I pass; the stuff is plentiful, and another lens or body will come around soon enough, often the next day. I've only been burned once, and it was my own fault; I bid and won a Vivitar 135mm f/3.5 that was a Topcon/Exacta mount, for $17 + $8 shipping. I didn't ask before I bid. I gave the guy good feedback; it wasn't his fault.

So I got a couple bags full of cool old lenses, and a couple FD bodies, and I'm happy. It's all less than half one L lens.

I think some are still missing my point.