Personal gear review

Here is my take on what I think the topic is about!
Just before Xmas I decided I wanted to go FF, so flashed the plastic and bought a Nikon Z6 kit, from Grays of Westminster with quite a big discount and just after Xmas PXed some Panasonic lenses including a battery grip and the nice man from Parcel Force knocked on my door with a box of Nikkor lenses(2) my reason for doing this was in my old age I need all the help I can get with cropping and correcting verticals!
 
my reason for doing this was in my old age I need all the help I can get with cropping and correcting verticals!

In my old age, I'm just getting lazy. I still enjoy photography but have problems finding the time and even more problems finding the motivation. I also get frustrated at the sheer amount of stuff that I have and have to pare down periodically.
 
Well, I'm retired now, and I do have both time and inclination. I try to keep myself busy with various activities. I regularly go out for bike rides that last anywhere from 1-6 hours. I love photography, but at times I have found myself too focused on gear. I just need to keep reminding myself that because something is different doesn't mean it is better. I've been thinking that I might satisfy my occasional gear lust with short term rentals. Not for the purpose of evaluating for potential purchase, but just to satisfy my curiosity.
 
... Not for the purpose of evaluating for potential purchase, but just to satisfy my curiosity.
That’s a good point. I enjoy having a camera in front of me that I’ve never used before. Being able to spend time with it and learn how it works is fun for me. There are several new cameras I would like to check out like this, even though I know I would get tired of them in a few weeks or months.

Sometimes it is possible to satisfy this curiosity for a lot less money by waiting a decade or two before buying the camera I’m interested in! I had a lot of fun with an old Nikon 2/3” sensor camera that way. I’m still tempted to pick up an Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom and use it for a week or two, just for the fun of it.
 
This time around I’m planning on doing more pre and less post processing, spending more time getting things right in the moments before I take the photo rather than in the days afterwards.

Interesting. I derive a great deal of enjoyment in post processing... not with Lightroom, but with tools like Pixelmator and Snapseed on my iPad. I like to try to improve the look of a photo, even if it wasn't too bad to begin with. Then again, that may be a “feature” of not being able to get out and about much anymore.
 
I just need to keep reminding myself that because something is different doesn't mean it is better.
Also, even when something is better, it may not be so much better that you need it. Take the X-T2 and X-T3 as an example. The X-T3 is not better enough than the X-T2 to justify the price difference for what you can get a X-T2 with battery grip for.




Interesting. I derive a great deal of enjoyment in post processing... not with Lightroom, but with tools like Pixelmator and Snapseed on my iPad. I like to try to improve the look of a photo, even if it wasn't too bad to begin with. Then again, that may be a “feature” of not being able to get out and about much anymore.
I also enjoy post processing. It's always been a fun part of the process. Back in my urbex days we had the tradition of going home and sitting back with a nice drink of choice while editing. Then posting a fave or two to social media for the everyone who went to see. That has carried over to anything I shoot.
 
50-140. Which naturally started tugging at my little gear lust heart strings for another one. Must remember how heavy it is.....repeat.....
Aw its not that bad. You'll be used to it in no time. HAhahaha.(y), Seriously all I had to do is back slide into FF Nikon land again and I have decided it really isn't that bad. I enjoy the 16-55 and the 50-140 now that I suffered a D810 and 70-200 2.8 for a couple months. I sold the D810 for what I had in it and was never so happy. I hope I didn't hurt that guys arm snatching the money out of his hand so fast.:D
 
There has been nice discussion in this thread about fluidity of gear and this and that. :)

I was for a long time in for the mentality that camera gear is a (depreciating) asset so that if you pay X money for a body it is not entirely X dollars wasted.

It's a suitably romantic and naive way to view the subject! :D

Into the future purchases and things, I'll think way more about resale value than I have done this far. I coughed up these guidelines based on my experiences.

Buying new, consider 50 % of the value lost.
Buying preowned, consider 25 % of the value lost.

Hardly any of my cameras or lenses have lost 50 % when I have bought them new, but then again I haven't held on to anything longer than a couple of years max. In case you buy something that you really like and you keep shooting it for years to come, perhaps the depreciation won't be as stingy either.
 
It's like a merry go round with me. I have lots of fun while on the ride but once the ride stops there's nothing to show for it but an empty wallet and a few image/memory keepers. I have just bundled up a load of Panasonic gear to send off to MPB. I still have plenty to play with, GX9 and a good set of primes. Also a GM5 with a couple of tiny zooms for travelling (not that the GX9 is a large camera). Then there's the Fuji XT1s x2 and a Fuji XH1 along with several primes and a couple of zooms. I still need to slim down my gear and stop trying to buy perfection which doesn't exist.

Now that I am retired I have plenty of time on my hands but find fiddling with old clocks a very rewarding hobby. It is so satisfying when you strip one down and have it working once put back together. I no longer have bits left over like I once did and wondered why the darn thing wouldn't work :).... Maybe I need a macro lens to document my work flow ;)
 
I'm thinking about paring down my four Fuji cameras to only two. We'll have to see how the the X-T4 turns out. But that's my general formula these days. For every new camera that comes in, at least two must head out.
Not quite there yet but I plan to put some stuff for sale to defer the cost of the X100v. Probably the Xe3 and the 27, the combination the X100 will replace. What I mainly get out of the swap is a faster lens, a tilt screen, and WR. I also plan to play with a few toys before I retire and settle into “Turleyesque” sensibilities.
 
Not quite there yet but I plan to put some stuff for sale to defer the cost of the X100v. Probably the Xe3 and the 27, the combination the X100 will replace. What I mainly get out of the swap is a faster lens, a tilt screen, and WR. I also plan to play with a few toys before I retire and settle into “Turleyesque” sensibilities.
I could see the X100v replacing the X-E3 and 27mm as a jacket pocket option. I do have to admit, it does look interesting. But I just got down to one system so....
 
Not quite there yet but I plan to put some stuff for sale to defer the cost of the X100v. Probably the Xe3 and the 27, the combination the X100 will replace. What I mainly get out of the swap is a faster lens, a tilt screen, and WR. I also plan to play with a few toys before I retire and settle into “Turleyesque” sensibilities.
I just noticed this. I'm not sure my wife would describe me as sensible. I have cut my photo gear down to about as low as I can go, but my frequent swapping to try different things has had her rolling her eyes more than once.
 
I was all set to roll on with a simplified kit. 1 body and few lenses. I was there, happy. But all it took was AF not being exactly where I needed it. Combined with a little paranoia from years of always having two identical bodies so I would have a backup which required no thought to switch over to. And here I am with a pair of X-t2's plus battery grips. Also contemplating adding zooms into the mix for doing certain events, as well as portraits.

With that said. I am also in the camp of those giving serious consideration to the x100V. It ticks all the boxes for my walk around/personal camera. Leaving the X-T2 kit for working type shoots. Which would also serve to extend it's lifespan. As well give me back a simplified kit for personal stuff and a rangefinder.
 
I was all set to roll on with a simplified kit. 1 body and few lenses. I was there, happy. But all it took was AF not being exactly where I needed it. Combined with a little paranoia from years of always having two identical bodies so I would have a backup which required no thought to switch over to. And here I am with a pair of X-t2's plus battery grips. Also contemplating adding zooms into the mix for doing certain events, as well as portraits.

With that said. I am also in the camp of those giving serious consideration to the x100V. It ticks all the boxes for my walk around/personal camera. Leaving the X-T2 kit for working type shoots. Which would also serve to extend it's lifespan. As well give me back a simplified kit for personal stuff and a rangefinder.
Personally "work" and "one body" don't go together. I learned my lesson at a wedding I was second shooting. The primaries flash started acting up and he had figured "small wedding, I'll go light". Sadly he was Canon and I was Nikon, so I couldn't let him borrow one of mine.
 
I could see the X100v replacing the X-E3 and 27mm as a jacket pocket option. I do have to admit, it does look interesting. But I just got down to one system so....

What you write is true. But I'll bet the shooting experience is different between the X-E3 and X100V. I'd be tempted to keep both. The X-E3 would still give you the option of other focal lengths if you ever need them.
 
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