I think I'm bored with mirrorless systems

I don't think mirrorless cameras are anywhere near mature yet. It seems a bit tiring having to upgrade to new features or wait for lenses to trickle. The full frame DSLR is basically digital film. It's already a mature system. FF/FX is a standard sensor size. No need having to compute focal lengths in your head or guess how the OOF areas will look.
 
I'd hate to know what our cameras think of us.

Canon 5D Mark II:

Work, work, work. That's all I ever do now. I used to be his one and only, went with him everywhere, I did! Up mountains, through beaches, in forests, musty laneways. The way he'd cradle me in his hands as the sun set over the water!

But since he got that little German tart, it's been her, her, her.

I've got MUCH bigger lenses than her, AND I can give him silky high ISO up to 3200, and 6400 at a pinch. But, noooo, it's always 'my Leica this,' and, 'my Leica that'.

Lavishs her with glistening new lenses, black kidskin leather cases, supple leather neck straps, and what do I get? A black nylon backpack and a clip-on Lowepro strap! That's what!

And now he's got me WORKING for a living. He tells me, '5D, I know I've been neglecting you, but I can always count on you when my pay depends on it.' Used, I feel. USED!!!

But at least I know that he NEEDS me to make a living. Can't say that about that little German bint. You can't even see through her lenses, only that obsolete parallax-ridden viewfinder.

One day when he's on a job, I'm just going to sit there silently and do nothing. Just to see what he does.

Let's see him shoot 1080p with 'Miss Nine' or 'Alice' or 'Celia' or whatever he calls her, eh? Oh, that's right, SHE CAN'T EVEN SHOOT VIDEO!!!"
 
I don't think mirrorless cameras are anywhere near mature yet. It seems a bit tiring having to upgrade to new features or wait for lenses to trickle.
I kind of feel the same. There are still several competing sensor formats, though thanks to the advances in the smartphones area, the whole mirrorless are pushed towards bigger sensors and improvements in ergonomics/features. 1" for pocketables and APS-C for MILC seem to be the new minimums. Yet with Sony being about to release its NEX-FF, the market will still be unstable for few years: will people buy into it? Will other manufacturers be eager to compete in that segment, or will they rather settle for APS-C?

If I were looking to get a new system camera, this whole situation would makes me a bit reluctant to invest in current MILCs. I bet this paradigm also reassures (but for how long?) those who've put big money in their DSLRs.
 
The more I read this thread, the more I realise that I, too, have been chasing the perfect camera (which, of course, doesnt actually exist, for any of us)... I keep thinking I have it, but then something else comes along, and although I may not buy it, I'll still lust after it, and wish I had it, and cast disparaging glances at my existing kit... and all for no good reason. I have some very very nice cameras. But, I do need to cut back... I have too many, and like others have mentioned, when I go out, its "what will I take, today" and "Oh gee, if I take that, what if I need this?" and after that, I take everything, and still only shoot with the latest favourite. Insanity. I'm not bored with mirrorless, I'm not even bored with photography... I've saturated myself with too much choice... and when theres too much choice, I freeze (and interpret that as boredom or lack of enthusiasm or something).

There is too much new gear. I'm not even going to read about it anymore.
 
The more I read this thread, the more I realise that I, too, have been chasing the perfect camera (which, of course, doesnt actually exist, for any of us)... I keep thinking I have it, but then something else comes along, and although I may not buy it, I'll still lust after it, and wish I had it, and cast disparaging glances at my existing kit... and all for no good reason. I have some very very nice cameras. But, I do need to cut back... I have too many, and like others have mentioned, when I go out, its "what will I take, today" and "Oh gee, if I take that, what if I need this?" and after that, I take everything, and still only shoot with the latest favourite. Insanity. I'm not bored with mirrorless, I'm not even bored with photography... I've saturated myself with too much choice... and when theres too much choice, I freeze (and interpret that as boredom or lack of enthusiasm or something).

There is too much new gear. I'm not even going to read about it anymore.

First of all Sue, I don't believe you're insane - I just want to be clear about that up front! Because you seem to call your approach to cameras "insanity". Well, if anyone here actually IS INSANE, even only insane in their approach to cameras, having more or fewer cameras isn't gonna cure that insanity! Because its only a symptom. The cure is getting to know yourself as a shooter and over time becoming comfortable with who you are as a shooter. And then you can play to your strengths. And, if you want to, you can work on your weaknesses. Or not. And choose your gear accordingly.

Many would call my approach insane - I own a few, almost several, cameras. But I tend to only take one at a time out with me, sometimes two, almost never more than that. I have a number of cameras because I enjoy each of them and each of them brings something different to the table. I went through a period where I'd go out shooting and I'd take EVRYTHING with me - this was when I had basically an m43 system and a bunch of lenses. And I'd almost never use more than one or, at most, two camera/lens combinations over the course of the day. THAT was stupid, if not quite insane, but I had to go through it to learn what I'M really like as a shooter. I shoot with one or two things. I don't worry about missing some particular type of shot if I don't have the right piece of gear with me - if I'm shooting with something else and I'm in the mindset for shooting with what I'm shooting with, I'm gonna miss that shot anyway, no matter how much capability I have in the bag. So now I own a fair amount of gear, all of it gets used (and if it doesn't over a long period of time it gets sold - I'm not sure I have any utility for my LX7 or GXR-28 now that I have a Nikon A that's smaller than the LX7 and more capable than the GXR-28, for example, so those may go), but only one or two bits of it get used on a given day. And I miss shots. I was gonna miss shots anyway - its OK, I try to spend more time thinking about the shots I'm getting than the one's I'm missing! I'm sitting at my desk right now with nary a camera in sight - I'm missing shots like CRAZY! Oh well, when I go out shooting, I'll get some then. And I'll miss some then too but I'll remember the ones I got because I'll have 'em to look at!

I don't agree that there's too much new gear or believe you when you say you're not gonna read about it any more! More gear means more choice in what to buy - this is good. Then we choose, then we USE what we CHOOSE - its only too much if we try to buy it all and use it all at once. And reading about it is how we learn about what's out there and how some pieces of gear jump into our consciousness and some never does.... If you covet EVERYTHING you read about, you just need to define what you really like for how you really shoot. Its not the gear's fault for being there!

-Ray
 
I don't think mirrorless cameras are anywhere near mature yet. It seems a bit tiring having to upgrade to new features or wait for lenses to trickle. The full frame DSLR is basically digital film. It's already a mature system. FF/FX is a standard sensor size. No need having to compute focal lengths in your head or guess how the OOF areas will look.

It all depends on your expectations. I personally don't expect any mirrorless system to be able to compete with SLRs anytime soon. For example, Canon EF lens mount is 26 years old and it has every lens you might need. Nikon F mount is older but is slightly behind Canon in terms of exotic glass available. Even Sony/Minolta shooters have access to a huge back-catalog of lenses.

The oldest mirrorless system is what, 5 years old? That said, right now every mirrorless system (except Pentax Q which is a joke) has all the lenses I personally need. Yes, even Nikon 1 and Sony NEX.
 
Canon 5D Mark II:

Work, work, work. That's all I ever do now. I used to be his one and only, went with him everywhere, I did! Up mountains, through beaches, in forests, musty laneways. The way he'd cradle me in his hands as the sun set over the water!

But since he got that little German tart, it's been her, her, her.

I've got MUCH bigger lenses than her, AND I can give him silky high ISO up to 3200, and 6400 at a pinch. But, noooo, it's always 'my Leica this,' and, 'my Leica that'.

Lavishs her with glistening new lenses, black kidskin leather cases, supple leather neck straps, and what do I get? A black nylon backpack and a clip-on Lowepro strap! That's what!

And now he's got me WORKING for a living. He tells me, '5D, I know I've been neglecting you, but I can always count on you when my pay depends on it.' Used, I feel. USED!!!

But at least I know that he NEEDS me to make a living. Can't say that about that little German bint. You can't even see through her lenses, only that obsolete parallax-ridden viewfinder.

One day when he's on a job, I'm just going to sit there silently and do nothing. Just to see what he does.

Let's see him shoot 1080p with 'Miss Nine' or 'Alice' or 'Celia' or whatever he calls her, eh? Oh, that's right, SHE CAN'T EVEN SHOOT VIDEO!!!"


I didn't realize that FF cameras talked so much, LOL, that must be why they are so big!
 
Such a timely thread to read! I'm not bored, but I have not been really using my two lovely Fujis for quite a few months. I will blame it on moving and having so much in boxes and not having a 'place to sit' and "post process", etc., so I've been relying on my iPhone 4, Snapseed and Flickrstacker...

I like being able to carry my camera (yes, it's really a phone) in my pants pocket and whip it out when I see something. I like the fact that I can prop it on a table and photograph without drawing attention to myself. For right now I'm enjoying this means of photography, however I know that the photos's image quality can't compare to my Fuji's.

So though I'm not "bored", I do find that I am "searching" for a means to an end that is a bit different. Of course I don't need another camera and I am sure I'll get back to using Lightroom and my serious compacts.... But every once in a while I feel like trying something new.

Confession: Bought the RX100 MKII, arrived yesterday and will go back on Monday. Doesn't feel "right" to me. My X10 feels much better and if I'm going small, I want to go smaller and slimmer. At least at this moment.;)
 
@ Ray... Good points. I don't think I was blaming the gear... I was blaming my own perceived need to have it... thats why I wont be reading about it (except in a passing way). The cameras I have are excellent (I still want the V1, anyway but thats about the viewfinder), and it is, as you say, a matter of working out whats right for how I shoot... which happens to be all over the place like a mad woman's breakfast.
 
I hear you Sue and also Ray. I've just sold off a perfectly good kit (GH2 and 5 lenses) to invest heavily in an X-E1 and 5 lenses. Did I need it - probably not. But I'm enjoying shooting every day in August and I'm trying to take photographs rather than snapshots.

I've met 2 of the lens buyers in person and conversed at length with one on eBay and I know I've passed on the excitement I had when the gear was new to me. I quite often buy second hand (eg the 35 and 60mm Fujis and the body/18-55 was a demo) and consider the financial loss an acceptable 'rental' fee for the pleasure I get.

Apart from the Fuji 10-24 when it appears I'm currently free of GAS for the foreseeable future. :D
 
For all those in search of new equipment and creative outlets to relieve boredom, I came across this today. rotorpixel.com/journey/2013/7/22/quadcopter-footage-of-surfers-in-santa-cruz
 
when I go out, its "what will I take, today" and "Oh gee, if I take that, what if I need this?" and after that, I take everything, and still only shoot with the latest favourite. Insanity. I'm not bored with mirrorless, I'm not even bored with photography... I've saturated myself with too much choice

^^^ This - in a nutshell!

I have a feeling that you're far from alone in this feeling.;) (or perhaps it IS just you and me?:eek:)
 
What you need is . . .

A nice superzoom. FZ200 maybe. 24-600 equivalent. You'll have everything you need with you.

Next, you take the neck strap, wrap it around your wrist twice and . . .

epoxy it!

Now you don't need to worry about what to take with you, and you can concentrate on photography!

Cheers, Jock
 
A nice superzoom. FZ200 maybe. 24-600 equivalent. You'll have everything you need with you.

Next, you take the neck strap, wrap it around your wrist twice and . . .

epoxy it!

Now you don't need to worry about what to take with you, and you can concentrate on photography!

Cheers, Jock

I'm seriously considering this option. Its not a bad one, for the things I do. (well... not so much on the glue)
 
Get one of those quadcopters and have some kind of automatic pilot program made so that it follows you around. Then you really won't have to worry about photography, as the camera will capture everything. Just recharge and upload each night, and be prepared for some restaurants to not let you in.
 
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