too many cameras [Archive] - Rangefinderforum.com

FrankS

04-08-2006, 06:40

laptoprob

04-08-2006, 06:49

No Frank, one can only have too few hands and eyes...

danielnorton

04-08-2006, 06:53

harry01562

04-08-2006, 07:03

Unless one is a collector, it is easy to have too many cameras. I, for one, will admit now that I have too many. That really means too many to get use out of the ones that I would like to be shooting with, because there are too many choices. I own multiple Contax, Leica, and Canon's, all of which I enjoy shooting. I also own 5 TLR, including a Rollei 2.8f and 3.5e Xenotar, plus Speed/Crown Graphic, Busch 2x3 and Mamiya Press, all with 120 backs. That's in addition to a Arax/Kiev 645 that I like.

That's a lot of choice, before the RF's really get into the picture. Then there are 3... 3? Contax IIIa's, and a IIa, an M3 and IIIa and IIIf. And in the Canon's I shoot 2 7s's, and own a 7 and 7sZ, plus a P, VI-T/L, IVSB2, IIB, III, IIf + several others that don't get any time except shelf. That's when it gets ridiculous. Then there is a really pretty little Zorki 1, smooth as the IIIa, and a couple of Kiev's. And some others that don't see much daylight, at all.

This could almost get depressing, without a sense of humor. It's also not even considering lenses... which I own in fairly large numbers. And then there are the Canon SLR's, almost every model from the original Canonflex (all models) through the T-90. I'm thinking of others as I write. Frank has a point. I admit I'm a gearhead, and a sort-of collector, but I do like to use this stuff.

Simple answers? Needlepoint? Basketweaving?

Harry

Andrew Sowerby

04-08-2006, 07:07

Definitely. I often get bouts of G.A.S. but I find that 90% of the time I feel better about not giving in than buying another camera (maybe has to do with Protestant upbringing?).

One can never have too many rolls of film in the freezer, however. That's totally different! :)

c.poulton

04-08-2006, 07:14

I have a great system in place that automatically stops me aquiring too many cameras - its called a wife. ;)

rover

04-08-2006, 07:18

Unless one is a collector....

Harry

I have been much happier since I have given in to this fact. :D

FrankS

04-08-2006, 07:33

Thanks for the replies so far. I was worried after posting that I may be coming across as elitist, as though FSU cameras were beneath me. Let me state that this is not the case. When using FSU cameras, they are not the weakest link in the chain, that would be my photographic skills. One of the things I love about this hobby, is that you never arrive anywhere, it is a constant journey of learning and growing.

GeneW

04-08-2006, 07:40

dostacos

04-08-2006, 07:41

While one can never have too many 50mm lenses (IMO), one can have too many cameras. Some just sit and hardly ever or never get used. Some have film loaded of some long-forgotten type. In order to simplify this aspect of my life, I've recently sold off my FSU cameras, 2 Kievs and a Fed. Why shoot with a Kiev if I have a Contax (and another on the way) or a Fed, if I can choose from several Leica cameras? Why bother owning these expensive cameras and shoot with the FSU cameras? A couple of years ago I did a similar purge on fixed lens rangefinder cameras in favour of interchangeable lens rangefinders, though I still have a few of those because they may be smaller or offer auto-exposure modes.

Can one have too many cameras?
well I don't think so....

then again I both shoot and collect, the day #2 son moves out his room becomes my office and a nice big display case holding my Pentax collection, the KIEV boat anchors, etc. :D

FrankS

04-08-2006, 07:50

The fixed-lens RF and scale-focusing cameras I still have:
Konica Hexar AF
Rollei 35 TE
Minolta A5 (sticky shutter needs CLA)
Kodak Retinette 1a
Kodak Retina IIa
Agfa Optima 1035
Zeiss baby Ikonta
Akarette
Minolta A2 (sticky shutter needs CLA)

Still lots to play with.

harmsr

04-08-2006, 08:43

Gid

04-08-2006, 08:54

Frank,

I'm glad you have so many cameras - it makes my meagre 6 look decidedly modest. I am going to save your post so that I can show my better half how frugal I am :)

I think the answer is to own a camera shop. That way you get to buy, sell, trade, look at, polish, fondle, shoot test rolls ............... sounds like a tough job, but hey, someone's got to do it.

Gid

FrankS

04-08-2006, 09:05

And I'm glad to read that you bought your first Leica.

I'm not whining: boo hoo I have too many cameras, I'm looking at my cameras and saying, why bother with these when I have those. I'll get rid of these.

I'm down to 7 interchangeable lens RF cameras: 2 Contax mount, 1 LTM, and 4 M mount.

The SLR cameras are another story. In today's market, you have to basically give them away, so those I may as well keep, even though I barely use them anymore since getting hooked on RF cameras.

BrianShaw

04-08-2006, 09:09

Frank,

I think you actually can have too many cameras or whatever the item is. Some here may think that I'm crazy by saying that.

My personal view on that is the more a person concentrates on perfecting the use of one or two items, the more likely he is to succeed in that endevour.

Best,

Ray

I've been biting my tongue... but now that Ray said it... I'll say "I agree". But it depends on the individual's goal.

I don't have a problem with collecting... I have many collections, but I don't personally collect cameras. If that's what one want to do with their time/money, I say "go right ahead". Collecting has it's place; Shooting with cameras has it's place... it's just that some people seem to confuse the two aspects of photography and think that they are the same. Having more cameras doesn't necessarily make one a better photographer. But having more cameras, as in a collection with a theme, can very well make a photographer a more knowledgable photo-historian. And it also gives that person the tools for experimentation and future growth/failure... all of which are important in their own ways.

In the end Frank, you must answer the question for yourself. Nobody here can answer it for you. But here's my opinion: you can only have too many cameras if having too many is interfering with your life/photographic goals. If you're happy, it's okay; if you're not happy, you might have too many... or just the wrong cameras!

SolaresLarrave

04-08-2006, 09:15

Three Leicas, two Nikons, one Canonet, two medium-format cameras and a baby Yashica.

That's just right to me... because there was one time when I really had too many cameras.

So, yes Frank, one can have too many. Now... is that really bad? I though it'd only cause a storage problem.

physiognomy

04-08-2006, 09:17

Frank et al,

I too have thought about this question from time to time... especially when I dump out one of my bags when looking for something & see how much camera stuff I really have. Nothing compared to some I know, but I do have more well loved cameras than I regularly use. This thread gave me a laugh because only just an hour ago I found my FED 5B (with 1/2 exposed film) in the bottom of my messenger bag... It wasn't exactly lost, just temporarily forgotten about! I must admit that I have been pretty busy with school lately and haven't played with my cameras as much as I would like...

Harry's quote fits well with me "I admit I'm a gearhead, and a sort-of collector, but I do like to use this stuff." ... I guess that's what it comes down to... how you feel about your posessions & what they mean to you. I'm fairly new to photography & RF's in particular, but I enjoy all the gear I have & wouldn't part with most of it - including the five russian 50mm's I own!

Peter

enochRoot

04-08-2006, 09:32

i go back and forth. i too have collections, and cameras are normally not one of them. from time to time though, i have amassed a decent number of cameras (not in line w/ some of you guys, but 3 or 4 of the same format). in theory there is nothing wrong with it, but in *practice* (for me at least)...you can own too many. for some reason, i get attached to a camera, and will only shoot with that. so anything passed 1 camera per format is too many for me. just they way i am. invariably i grab the same camera every time i leave the house. if i didn't collect other things, i would probably be more open to keeping a lot of cameras around. but since i collect records (and to a degree...vintage audio), i try to remain strong...but it's a struggle. i'm just so attracted to fine mechanical engineering!

peter_n

04-08-2006, 09:52

The most cameras that I had prior to buying my first RF almost 3 years ago was three, all Nikon SLRs. I used them all and they all took the same lenses. When I joined RFF I had one camera body, a Leica M6TTL. Now I have five, two Leica M7s and the M6TTL, a Canonet QL-17 and a Bessa L, and I use them all and they all take (more or less) the same lenses except the Canonet which is selfish and doesn't share its lens. ;) I think I'm sticking with what I've got as I don't need any more. As far as I know I'm not a collector but I have bought and sold quite a number of lenses as I figure out what I want. I have not sold any of the bodies however and I don't intend to.

back alley

04-08-2006, 09:54

"...At the time I thought you might be crazy..."

you were not alone...;)
j/k

actually, i am not comfortable with the idea of being a collector.
i have no other collections and frankly i am too poor to invest and own them.

i have that great zi because of you guys. i have the 25zm because i sold off much of the canon collection. it was a scarey move for me as i had a fair amount of my 'camera identity' tied into that gear. it proved to be a good move as i use the 25 more than i was using some of that collection.
i also have the m3 because i traded off a bit of the canon gear too.

it's funny that i could own 3 canon p's and feel ok but having 3 different bodies now bothers me. there are times when it takes all my willpower not to put the p up for sale, especially now that i have agreed to buy that leica cl. 4 bodies...

i love the oly 35rc and have 2 of them. i never use them anymore and i feel kinda bad about it. and i always want to buy more. seeing them here for sale lately - it was all i could do not to buy them. kinda crazy...

too much gear makes me crazy.
i accumulate it, feel uncomfortable, sell it all and then start again...that's been my m.o.

my therapist thanks you all for this self revealing opportunity ;)

joe

FrankS

04-08-2006, 10:00

Thanks Joe.

That's really what this thread was about: looking at the gear we've got, thinking about and then articulating what and how we feel about it.

zuikologist

04-08-2006, 10:15

I edited down my collection after acquiring an M2 and IIIf, selling all my fixed-lens RF's and my FSU cam. But I found I missed them so have since picked up a QL17 GIII and Electro35. I prefer them to my Leicas as everyday carry-around cams. But I agree, too many cameras creates a juggling act. A fun one, though :D

Gene

Frank and Gene

I find I am going back to the fixed lens cameras, although I have picked up a few (too many) lenses for the Bessa recently. I do not have to worry too much about a Canonet or Oly SP and that's really the point of having a camera - using it. The recent HCB inspired contest has me thinking that I may just go to one or two fast, fixed lens cameras and purge everything else. But that would spoil some of the fun wouldn't it.........

back alley

04-08-2006, 10:41

Frank and Gene

I find I am going back to the fixed lens cameras, although I have picked up a few (too many) lenses for the Bessa recently. I do not have to worry too much about a Canonet or Oly SP and that's really the point of having a camera - using it. The recent HCB inspired contest has me thinking that I may just go to one or two fast, fixed lens cameras and purge everything else. But that would spoil some of the fun wouldn't it.........

why not, really?

my history shows i use a 35mm lens most of the time, so my oly 35rc with it's 42mm lens would likely be fine most of the time also. or a canonet with it's 40mm lens and i always wanted to try a minolta 7s2!

ErnestoJL

04-08-2006, 11:13

Most of my RF cameras have fixed lenses (of course 50 mm!), and the only two with Contax mount don´t have any lenses other than 50mm...
´feel I never needed anything else... so... what should I still keep all those SLRSs?

Ok, I know what for... but It makes me feel OK, and that´s it.

It´s irrelevant if you have what you want, but it´s important that you want what you have.

Ernesto

zuikologist

04-08-2006, 12:10

why not, really?

my history shows i use a 35mm lens most of the time, so my oly 35rc with it's 42mm lens would likely be fine most of the time also. or a canonet with it's 40mm lens and i always wanted to try a minolta 7s2!

My thoughts also. 35 - 40mm seems about the right focal length for most general shooting and fixed lens rf's seem to have closer focusing distances than most of the lenses I have. A Yashica 35CC awaits when 35mm/low light is needed.

PetarDima

04-08-2006, 12:39

While one can never have too many 50mm lenses (IMO), one can have too many cameras. Some just sit and hardly ever or never get used. Some have film loaded of some long-forgotten type. In order to simplify this aspect of my life, I've recently sold off my FSU cameras, 2 Kievs and a Fed. Why shoot with a Kiev if I have a Contax (and another on the way) or a Fed, if I can choose from several Leica cameras? Why bother owning these expensive cameras and shoot with the FSU cameras? A couple of years ago I did a similar purge on fixed lens rangefinder cameras in favour of interchangeable lens rangefinders, though I still have a few of those because they may be smaller or offer auto-exposure modes.

Can one have too many cameras?

Yes, if one have enuff money...I have one Kiev 4-one week ago, Zorki 4 arrived(because I thought- something's wrong with Kiev camera, but camera is OK, I am wrong) and I have zero rezults in shooting...I allready wrote about low-light shooting, it's my main theme- but I know that ( yes, I will be photo-begginer for a long period)I can't know which camera is best for me... When that day came, I will stop with daydreaming about Bessa(R3M+50mm,f:2 looks fine).Regads!

Honu-Hugger

04-08-2006, 12:40

back alley

04-08-2006, 12:49

More than twenty Alpa bodies and around twenty Contaxes -- I definitely feel as though it is too many. Last week I started the slow process of weeding through this stuff and selling first the duplicate bodies and lenses, then I'll move to making the more difficult decisions of letting others go. I'd like to get down to around six cameras and the lenses I'll really use as opposed to collecting.

wow! lots of gear but that would be so hard to edit down.
did you see yourself as a collector and now no more?
i struggled with the decision to break up my small canon collection and i can't imagine how hard this is for you.
or maybe i'm just projecting?

joe

raid

04-08-2006, 12:50

I am not a collector, but I have accumulated a large number of 35mm cameras and lenses over the past twenty years. I actually have used and am using all cameras. I wouldn't know where to start ...

SLR Systems:
Nikon FE, FE2, F2, Nikkormat, FM
Canon T-90 (2), F1N (2), F1n
Rolleiflex SL35 (3), SL2000F Motor
Zeiss Contarex, Contaflex
and many many excellent lenses for the systems above ranging from 7.5mm to 500mm.

Rangefinder Systems:
Leica M3, CL, Standard,
Canon P, IVsb
with many lenses (from 25mm to 135mm).

Then I have the folding cameras in 35mm and medium format, plus a Linhof 4x5 camera plus medium format SLR and TLR cameras.

My wife is patient ... :-)

hiwatt

04-08-2006, 12:59

Can one have too many cameras?

Can one have too many wristwatches?

The only difference I see, is that it takes me some months to get used to a different camera; and by getting used to it I mean to the point where the camera doesn't get in the way between me and the picture.

There must be something in the XY chromosome that's responsible for GAS... :D

John Camp

04-08-2006, 13:01

I think it's possible -- and in the North American/Western European cultures, even likely -- to have too much of everything, but maybe not to have too much of one thing. If you have twenty cameras, that's okay; but if you have 20 cameras, 20 guns, 20 knives, five cars, four Ipods, three cell phones, and seven days-of-the-week $500 fountain pens, then you're not a collector, you're just an accumulator of expensive crap. The idea is to get rid of the crap and keep the essential stuff. So, I don't think you had too many cameras, as long as you also don't have a tide of crap floating around your neck. Maybe the way to look at those cameras is not that you have too many, but that you've been **storing value** to be cashed in at some point for other cameras. Or other essential stuff. 8-)

JC

Wayne R. Scott

04-08-2006, 13:01

I periodically make up several lists of cameras. Some of the list titles are Sell, Keep, CLA, CLA and Sell, and Buy. It seems like the Buy list is always on top. I really should send several to good homes where they will be used like they should be.

The one annoying thing about having several cameras is forgetting what film is in them. Try exposing a roll of 100 ASA slide film with a yellow filter thinking it is T-max 100 in the camera some time and see if you like the results. I don't.

Actually, the more I shoot medium format and large format film the less enchanted I am with 35mm. I think I will have a great spring purge sale in mid-April.

Wayne

raid

04-08-2006, 13:52

I like my cameras too much to sell them, unless I have multiple copies or I find a better looking or more interesting or .... one.

John

04-08-2006, 14:38

If you appreciate your cameras and are taking good care of them, I don't think you can have too many. Who knows how many cameras have been manufactured? Is it 100 per person? Is it 1000 per person? The dump is full of the junk ones and the unappreciated ones. If you take good care of them chances are someone somewhere will appreciate them too. :)

Rich Silfver

04-08-2006, 14:59

I have about 30 cameras that I simply hardly ever use anymore.
Many of them are fixed rangefinder cameras in excellent condition and works great.

I did a quick estimate some time ago and figured that I have about 2,000 dollars tied up in cameras that I never use. I am in the near future thinking about selling all of them and putting the money towards a Leica MP.

The cameras that I will never sell are: Leica M3, Leica III (F) and Hasselblad 500C/M

Nick R.

04-08-2006, 15:55

I haven't been able to sell any camera gear lately, which really bugs me because my motto has always been: "bulls and bears make money; pigs make nothing". That saying has kept me from hoarding stuff in the past but now I'm hooked. I'm going to a camera show tomorrow. I'll bring some gear and see if I can swap it for other gear.

Brian Sweeney

04-08-2006, 15:56

I bought 36 rolls of Kodak B&W C41 film today.

That would be enough film to load each of my interchangeable lens RF's. Once.

ChrisPlatt

04-08-2006, 15:58

Like many here I too find myself quite conflicted about this.

I believe my photography would improve if I limited myself
to using just my Contax T and Fuji GS645 cameras.

Yet still I keep all the Pentax gear, and I am forever searching
for the "perfect" 35mm RF camera...

"Excelsior, you fathead!"
-Chris-

ch1

04-08-2006, 16:31

I think so, I go through periods (just recently in fact) of accumulation, then realize I am not using some of my old stuff enough, and sometimes some of the new stuff and find it's time to purge.. My only problem is I hate getting rid of anything so sometimes the purging takes a while :D

It's funny you should mention the never having too many 50's thing. I guess it was your post I read several months ago when I first joined the forum. At the time I thought you might be crazy ;) I now own 4 50's and want more :angel:

daniel,

As fellow NYC'er, we should shoot together sometime.

As to Frank S's posulations....

I agree that one could get too many cameras for the time at hand such as needing to do a the "purge" that you suggest.

But I have an alternative for you to consider. Get a weekend place upstate as I have! More space to put more cameras!

Then, when that space runs out - you will be older and wiser, and realize you need a place in AZ (or FL if you like humidity) for eventual retirement. By chance, this place will also be one wherein you can store more cameras!!

Now as to 50's - I keep thinking of Gene W's (?) comment about "walnuts" rattling around in his pockets! I now have three Nikkor 5.0cm's, the Sonnar 5.0 for the Contax and I just got a Kiev 4AM that has a 53mm Helios attached!!! :eek:

My walnuts are growing faster than my originals!!!!! :D

OOPS - forgot - I now have 4 Nikkor 5.0cm's!!!!!

egpj

04-08-2006, 17:22

I think that you can get too many cameras. I bring with me 2 MP bodies almost everywhere and that is really helpful because I can do the obvious stuff like use different film speeds and the like. But now I have a Leica threadmount and I want the MMMMM3333333! along with a collapsible 50 Summicron of the same era. It would be nice to have a 35 summicron version 4 as well. It just goes on and on really. The other day my boss told me I was get a bonus. I told him how much I needed for the M3 with collapsible 50. He was strangely silent.

tedwhite

04-08-2006, 17:48

When I discovered this forum, within two weeks I sold off two Maxxum 7000's, on Maxum 7, and eight Minolta lenses. Bought a GSN and lived with it for a time, then a Bessa R. Just having the GSN and no other camera reminded me of when I started out photographing forty years ago. I had one beat up Spotmatic SP and one 50/1.4 Super Takumar. I was completely happy. It never occurred to me to augment what I had, and I photographed everything and anything with that simple kit. Three years later I added a Vivitar 135/2.8. A year later a 28/3.5 super tak. I recall telling a friend that these were all the lenses anyone ever needed, that they would deal with virtually any situation, and that one could make a living with just that kit (later I added another Spotmatic body so I wouldn't have to keep switching lenses).

I still feel that way - about the focal lengths, that is.

In the last year I have re-created that Pentax kit (same lenses). That takes care of SLR's (except I added a Bessalflex in M42 in case one of the spotties craps out).

In RF's, one: Bessa R with 35/.2.5 Color Skopar and a Gordy strap. No doubt someday I will get GAS and add another cv lens.

In MF, one: Rolleiflex E with 2.8 Xenotar.

In digital (The horror!) one: Pentax ist DS with 18-55 (plus it takes all my fine and ancient Super Takumar lenses with the addition of a $12 adapter).

I am content with what I've got.

raid

04-08-2006, 17:53

There is a major difference between how many cameras you "need" and how many cameras you "want to own and use". I have passed my need's limits many years ago, and it has become a non-stop exploration of new camera systems and lenses. I sold quite a few lenses and cameras in the past years, but I must have kept many more than I sold. I enjoy using the different cameras for different flavors.

Nick R.

04-08-2006, 17:54

. . . snip

Now as to 50's - I keep thinking of Gene W's (?) comment about "walnuts" rattling around in his pockets! I now have three Nikkor 5.0cm's, the Sonnar 5.0 for the Contax and I just got a Kiev 4AM that has a 53mm Helios attached!!! :eek:

My walnuts are growing faster than my originals!!!!! :D

OOPS - forgot - I now have 4 Nikkor 5.0cm's!!!!!

That was mine, George. I said that I carried so many lenses in my pockets I looked like a sack of walnuts.

simonankor

04-08-2006, 17:55

This reminds me of a time when I worked in a bookstore. The guy I was working with always said "Anyone who says you can't have too many books has obviously never had too many books."

The same applies for cameras.

And yes, I have too many :P

ch1

04-08-2006, 18:25

That was mine, George. I said that I carried so many lenses in my pockets I looked like a sack of walnuts.

Nick,

My most humble apologies ....

err. to Gene W. that is for confusing him rather than you with a bag of walnuts!! :D

back alley

04-08-2006, 18:43

The cameras are cheaper to maintain than the wife

amen brother...:)

BrianShaw

04-08-2006, 18:56

The cameras are cheaper to maintain than the wife

Who was it that used to say "Take my wife, please"? That's how I feel right now... my wife just figured out that the box in today's mail was a new camera part (ground glass for 4x5 camera) that I bought without mentioning to her. She's REALLY p!ssed off. I can't convince her that I really, really needed it.

TAKE MY WIFE, PLEASE!

back alley

04-08-2006, 18:59

henny youngman...a very wise man...

Honu-Hugger

04-08-2006, 19:11

wow! lots of gear but that would be so hard to edit down.
did you see yourself as a collector and now no more?
i struggled with the decision to break up my small canon collection and i can't imagine how hard this is for you.
or maybe i'm just projecting?

joe
Joe,
That's the funny thing; I never saw myself as a collector. When my wife and friends began to laugh when I said that, well...that's when I had to take another look at my habit :). And yes, it is rather difficult to decide what to sell and then to act. The "what if" games can drive me crazy, especially with stuff that is hard to replace. But I'm committed to following through.

BrianShaw

04-08-2006, 19:11

Yup... that's right. Henny was a smart guy! Somehow I confused him with Shecky Greene.

Maybe I'll keep my wife. It looks like things might just work out. She's trying to put the kids to bed early tonight... and she has a weird grin on her face. I suppose I should find out what that's all about before giving up on her. Wish me luck!

Fedzilla_Bob

04-08-2006, 19:13

hopefully the glass plate is in tact. >:)

SDK

04-08-2006, 19:34

my wife just figured out that the box in today's mail was a new camera part (ground glass for 4x5 camera) that I bought without mentioning to her. She's REALLY p!ssed off.

Happens with us poofters too. My husband-equivalent (still not married even though we could now here in Boston) and I had the most awful row in January, when he found out how much I spent on gear in the past two years. He finally forgave me, on the condition I have to spend no more money on photo hardware. It's OK if I trade or sell to get new gear but not to just buy it. He can be quite adamant about economy. Ironically that's why I could afford the stuff.

As to the subject of never having to many 50's, that's a problem I don't have. Until the Zeiss 50mm/2 ZM lens came out, I had not owned a 50mm since my old Nikon 50mm/1.8 died 17. years ago. I confess I have a 24-28mm jones, and have had all sorts of Nikkors, the Hexanon KM etc. in the past. I have now settled down with the Zeiss 25mm/2.8 and 28mm/2.8 ZMs, the Leica 28mm/2, the Nikkor 28mm/2.8 AIs, 24mm/2.8AF. The problem transcends formats of course: Bronica RF645 45mm/4, and for 4x5" a spanking new Schneider Super-Symmar 80mm/4.5 Aspherical. I even have a 159mm/11 Extreme Wide Angle Raptar for the 8x10" camera I inherited from my grandfather, but at least I did not buy that one. You can never have to many good wideangles, but perhaps I do :rolleyes: .

FrankS

04-08-2006, 19:56

As to the subject of never having to many 50's, that's a problem I don't have. You can never have to many good wideangles.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Different strokes for different folks.

(I'm the "you can never have too many 50's," guy.)

DougK

04-08-2006, 20:59

Yes, I think so.

I can make a logical argument for having a medium format outfit, a 35mm SLR outfit, a rangefinder, a point-and-shoot, and maybe a digital camera but I have far more gear in each category than I ever use (thirty-five-ish cameras right now). It can't help my photography to dither around trying to decide which camera to shoot on a given day.

While I'm not trying to justify continuing to own what I don't use, I acquired a lot of gear trying to find cameras that fit the way I like to shoot. I've also moved from the telephoto junkie I once was to someone who's happy with just a 24-28, a 35, or a 50. That little discovery parked a lot of my gear on the "idle" shelf.

I really should start posting this stuff for sale.

wlewisiii

04-08-2006, 21:07

There is a major difference between how many cameras you "need" and how many cameras you "want to own and use".

This is, I think, more of the key to it all than anything. I am quite happy with the bodies I currently own, though I still want several more lenses. But that is _want_. Not _need_. I do not need anything beyond what I currently own. I can not think of a single circumstance that I can not shoot acceptably with the cameras that I own. Yes, there are many circumstances where other lenses would be useful; that is so minor, overall, that I have a hard time speaking to it.

HTH,

William

Kin Lau

04-09-2006, 07:21

I'm in denial... it's best I don't even think about it :D

BrianShaw

04-09-2006, 10:48

henny youngman...a very wise man...

I got into an argument... well, more of a "spirited" discussion... with my wife this morning on this topic. Yes, she still loves me... even though she's caught me twice searching eBay. Found this interesting stuff on the web:

Henny Youngman's "Take my wife please!"

Same joke, but done by other comics -

Rodney Dangerfield - "Please take my wife!"
Joan Rivers - "Take my husband please!"
Jerry Seinfeld - "I wish someone would take my wife!"
Carrot Top - "Call 1-800-Tak-Wife"
Jay Leno - "Please, nobody take my wife!"
David Letterman - "Would somebody please tell me what a wife is!"
David Attell - "Give me some Nightowl please. My wife's an insomniac!"
Ellen DeGeneres - "Take my companion please!"
Steven Wright - "You can only marry a wife."
Mel Tillis (I know he's not a comic, but he could be) - "Take Take my my wife wife please please please please please please!"
Arnold Swartzeneggar (I know he's not a comic, but he could be) -
"Please allowsed me to squeezed dat bottoms of yours please!"
Elizabeth Taylors' husbands - "My wife took me for everything I had."
Jessica Simpson's husband (I know he's not a comic, but he could be) -
"Take my wife please. She can't do anything. She can't cook, clean or do laundry! What good is she?"
Jim Bakker (I know he's not a comic, but he could be) - "Lord, take my wife please!"
Ray Charles (I know he's not a comic, but he could be) - "Do you see my wife over there? Take her please!"
Polygamist comic husband in Utah - "Take my wives please!"
Gallagher - "Please knock some sense into my wife with this Sledge-a-matic!"
Allan King - "I had a wife. Someone took her for a ride!"
Buster Keaton - " !"
The Three Stooges - "What are you? Some kind of wise gal or something? Please take us!"

wierdcollector

04-09-2006, 11:19

Let's just say I have a few more than I'll ever comfortably be able to use, but a few less than I'd like. At this point I'm debating selling off all those project cameras I always was sure I'd have time for, spare lenses, folders and box cameras, and any with electonic shutters or af capabilities. Manual cameras have always been my forte, so the others are just looking like more stuff these days rather than users. Maybe put all the 126, 110, 620 and toy cams in a few boxes and take them to the Salvation Army thrift store. It would sure be different to only have a couple shelves with cameras instead of the horde I've ended up with. As the old saying goes, *Beware the man with only one gun, he knows how to use it".
Maybe just a blue spell but at a certain point I'm losing interest. Even the border guard near my home teases me by saying "At 1000 cameras we have a prize for you, another camera". Just what I need these days. (I also have 350+ rolls of film in the freezer but bought 40 more rolls of 400 and 800 yesterday because at $1.25/roll they were too cheap to pass up.)