There’s nothing wrong with being a bit of a Gear Whore-us (nothing wrong with being an Instagrammus either). You might see some self-righteous photography bloggers or internet warriors spouting-off about how people with GAS – Gear Acquisition Syndrome – should stop thinking about gear and concentrate on taking better pictures.
Sure, you don’t need fancy gear to take interesting photos. But wanting to buy all the best gear and knowing how to take nice photos are not mutually exclusive – you can own an awful lot of gear and take wonderful images. If you want to buy lots of new cameras and lenses because it brings a little bit of sunshine into your life then so be it. Embrace being a Gear Whore-us? I love being one.
Don’t think you’re one? Here are some classic tell-tale signs:
1. You have more more than one 50mm lens
They say wise man invests money in good glass. Although one could argue that it would be wiser to invest your earnings in an ISA or perhaps a property, it certainly does make sense to buy a set of top-notch optics if you’re into burning your money on photography. However, that only really makes sense if you buy different focal lengths not if you end up buying a load of 50mm lenses.
Oh, but is a 50mm still a 50mm on a crop sensor body?
It doesn’t really need to be explained why a 28mm, 50mm and 85mm setup is more versatile than one that consists of three 50mm lenses. I once convinced myself that the only focal length I needed was a 50mm. What that essentially meant was that I ended up buying several of them. Leica and Zeiss, too.
2. You Search for Photos on Flickr by Product Names
9 out of 10 photographers look at gear porn
Perusing through photos online can be a great source of inspiration: you check out other photographers’ images, which gives you ideas on what you would like to create.
The Gear Whore-us might type in such keywords as “Leica 50mm Noctilux” and “Bokeh” to bring up a load of photos illustrating how the out-of-focus bits are rendered by the lens, which will inspire them to think of legal (and perhaps non-legal) ways of getting the funds to buy said lens.
3. Your Camera Is Your Jewellery
This article is shamelessly filled with screencaps of past DRTV videos
Not everyone wants to wear jewellery. I mean, it’s just a load of metal and glass after all. Why not wear some metal and glass around your neck that takes photos also?
The Gear Whore-us is proud to show off their prized possession in public, a display of their spending prowess and suggestive of some sort of intent to take photos. One might even choose to present it in a way as to catch the eye of a fellow photographer…
4. Gear Envy
Check me out
…to make them Pentax-green with envy. If it stirs up something inside of you as to cause a bout of uncontrolled gawping or salivating to an extent that is deemed socially unacceptable, you know you’re a Gear Whore-us.
5. You Find Any Excuse to Bring Your Gear
Why spend money on the gear if you’re just going to leave it at home? That’s why you’ll find any reason to take your gear out. And you quite literally bring everything out.
“So, who died?”
Somehow your concept of what is normal is warped. You’ll set up a GoPro and shoot with a macro ring flash to photograph the moment your firstborn comes into the world; you’ll take photos at funerals. Maybe.
6. You Find Any Excuse to Buy New Gear
Some have accidents in their pants when looking at gear
I used to use a holiday as an excuse to buy a new lens – that was the best bit about going on holiday. In the mind of a non-Gear Whore-us, rational thinking prevails, telling you that you don’t need to spend money on another lens when you can make do with what you’ve got. In the mind of a Gear Whore-us, the concept of making do with what you’ve got doesn’t exist.
7. You always ask yourself or someone else: do I need to upgrade
What you’re essentially looking to achieve is to get someone else to say ‘yes, I think you should buy it’ so that you can put the blame on someone else should you feel any regret after purchasing the product.
I.T. guys like to pretend their keyboard is a piano
8. Buyer’s Remorse
Mind you, every purchase made is swiftly followed with cold sweats and twitchy spinchteritis as you start to question whether you made the right choice and ponder what it would’ve been like if you purchased something else.
9. You Want a New Camera Quicker Than Sony Can Bring Out New Models
I want the Sony a7R III already
If you can out-pace the speed at which Sony releases new cameras with the speed at which you grow tired of your current camera and look to get a new one, then you’re the King Gear Whore-us.
10. You figure out how many pot noodles you can eat to save enough money
Some skimp on hair cuts too
Forget nutrition and roughage because you want a nice new camera or lens, which means cutting costs and compromising on some unecessary things in life, such as eating a well-balanced diet.