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Three tips for curing G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome)

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Do you have an insatiable lust for the latest and greatest gear? If so, you probably have Gear Acquisition Syndrome, a made-up cheekily known as G.A.S. throughout the web.

While it’s fun to play and experiment with the newest gear that gets released month after month, the reality is it’s not the gear that will make you a better photography. It’s practice and knowledge, two things you can gain with even the cheapest of camera equipment.

If you’ve been bitten by the G.A.S. bug already though, don’t worry. Miguel Quiles and Jeff Rojas, known on YouTube as ‘These Guys’ have come together to share three tips to help cure G.A.S.[Read More…]

This Chart Puts 2015 Video Cameras Head To Head

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2015 was definitely a year of video for everyone, especially with Sony and Canon releasing the A7RII and 5D SR which made (semi)pro video available at a pretty low price point (assuming you consider 3K low).

If you think that 3k is too high, here is some perspective for you. The other side of the production continuum has cameras where 2-3 thousand dollars can be their daily rent fee. Of course there is a reason for that, and those cameras provide superior image quality (usually at low light), dynamic range and bit depth, as well as other non-quality related features.

To get your GAS going cinematographers Tom Fletcher and Gary Adcock compiled a list of all available production cameras for 2015. Starting with the Alexa 65 which shot parts of The Revenant  through the Sony F65 (shot Tomorrowland) and Red Epic Dragon (The Martian) all the way to the affordable Canon C300.

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Confessions of an ex gear addict: How buying cameras and lenses made me miserable and lose thousands

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I stated pretty innocently with my first camera, and then slowly but surely I became a camera and lens addict, throwing money out of the window. The result after all of these years is wasted money and all the stuff I got never made me happier besides the initial high. When others make mistakes one can either learn from them, or….not. Here’s my story, I’m not too proud of it but I am sure this will serve as a lesson for countless others. Here are my confessions of an ex-gear addict.

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Gear Does Matter, But Not How You Thought It Does

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The most popular (and worn out) “advice” given to aspiring photographers is probably “It doesn’t matter which camera you use”. But is that really true?

A while back photigy.com ran a little experiment, which involved the comparison of two images: one was shot with an iPhone, one with a Hasselblad. The results did in fact support the claim that gear doesn’t matter.

So we went ahead and created our own “on a budget” challenge, where we tried to realize a rather complex shoot just with a couple of Yongnuo flashes and an entry level DSLR with kit lens. Of course, it worked out pretty well and the final image is still one of our favorites.

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Photographer Shares 9 Pieces of Gear He Wished He’d Never Purchased

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Many people suffer from gear acquisition syndrome (GAS), regardless of occupation or hobbies.  It’s part of living in the materialistic Western World.  The problem with photographers is, however, that we often feel justified in our purchases because we’re “making money” with our new toys, rather than simply allowing them to collect dust in the garage.

But, how many of you GAS-sufferers actually put to good use every piece of gear you buy? Allen Murabayashi of PhotoShelter wrote a great piece where he fessed up to having made ridiculous purchases that were never put to proper use.

In his nine-item list, Allen included a variety of items, from lighting to lenses to card readers, that were purchased while he had GAS.  Some seem like no-brainers, while others surprised me a bit.

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19 Signs You Are Treating Your Photography as a Hobby and Not a Business

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Often, the most difficult thing I see for individuals in our industry is making that scary leap from being an amateur photographer to a legitimate professional. When you do make that leap it is quite visible as your actions become very different than those who treat their business more casually. Below is a list of behaviors I have noticed over the years from those who treat their business more like a hobby.

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You Don’t Need To Buy A New Camera To Be A Better Photographer

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Let’s face it, with how rapidly camera manufacturers are improving digital technology and releasing new and improved cameras, it’s hard not to get caught up in gear acquisition syndrome. At some point, you may have even caught yourself saying, “If I just had (fill in any piece of equipment here), my photography would be so much better.” I’ll be the first to admit the thought has ran through my mind at least a couple times. That’s exactly why this poignant video from filmmaker, Simon Cade, hits home so much.

If you were to take a look inside Cade’s gear bag, you’d find the same CanonT3i and Canon Elph 300 that he’s been using since the beginning of 2013. Yet, despite shooting with older and (what could be considered) entry-level gear, upgrading to a new DSLR isn’t even on Cade’s radar. And, the logic he uses to battle the nagging desire to spend tons of money on new gear and gadgets seems to be pretty flawless.

“My theory is that the people who don’t prioritise equipment & technical things end up being successful enough that they shoot on high end gear just because they can. It’s definitely not the equipment itself that makes them great / successful.”[Read More…]

Clever Ad Nails Photography Gear Expectations vs Reality

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Be it Gear Acquisition Syndrome or simply the misbelief that excellent gear equals excellent photos; I bet that many photographers will relate to this video during some point of their hobby or career.

The ad, titled ‘Camera Accessories – Do something smart with stupid purchases’, will touch a nerve for those who have had high hopes and expectations of their new gear, only to discover that an expensive lens won’t automatically get your photos published in National Geographic.

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In My Bag Lets You Search Gear By Photographers (Or Photographers By Gear)

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We have said it time and again, the gear in your bag will not make you a better photographer. But admit it, it is always intriguing to peek in the toolbox of awesome photographers.

Online magazine In My Bag give you just this, the ability to look for photographers you like and peek in their bags.

The idea is to narrow down your interests and do a drill down to a photographer (or photographers) you like. You get a bit of information about them, their social media info, short philosophy and some of their best imagery and, for the real GAS inflicted photographers, peek at their bag.

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