I shoot with Canon but that's for 2 reasons: I inherited an old FTb from my dad with a bunch of gorgeous lenses and built on that with a couple more lenses and an A1 body. And 2, when my sister went to work in the UK, we swopped digital cameras: she got the sweet little Sony W110 (with which I'd sold plenty of images believe it or not...) and I got her Canon 350D (what I'd have probably chosen anyway if I'd have bought at the time...)
Now that I'm thinking of starting to get the gear I need, or want, I'm starting to go bonkers.
First is the decision which
brand to 'buy into'. All my Canon film stuff is redundant on the new digital bodies - the lenses (FD) just don't fit the EOS mount. Adapters are available but just give average quality. So no. If they were Nikon, they'd all fit and I'd have 4 great primes albeit manual focus. but I don't.
So option one: stick with Canon and buy lenses and bodies to add to what I already have.
Option 2: ditch what I have (since it's really very little and I'm hardly 'tied' to Canon) and go with another system. Nikon's nice. But I'm really in LOVE with the Sony a850 and the Zeiss glass ('glass' is slang for 'lenses' by the by) which I've been either dreaming about or having sleepless nights thinking about this. I'm not kidding. My girlfriend is not happy about this either... ("Why aren't you fantasizing about me, not your cameras!?!")
(Mmmnnnnnnn.....)
And what about all the other makes?!? Temptation is all around.
But then comes an even more telling though
t: why does all this stuff matter so much?
Why can't we just use what we have? Why do we need our gear to validate whatever we do (whatever it is you do)?
Actually, i think it's the more simple notion that's the most painful to resolve: gear is important and makes a difference to how you work and how well you can do what you're trying to do. When I shoot with film, I enjoy the process. But then it costs a small fortune having it developed and scanned. Digital gives you safety in numbers and you develop yourself. Also, maybe it's just me, but I get far more reliable results with digital. Cause it's easier.
So, really, it's an economic question as much as anything else. Were will I get the most result out of the least expenditure, in the long run? And hence the frustration: having to choose from amongst a half dozen equally attractive options. What happens: you get stuck.
I suppose just these questions keep the web afloat with blogs and forums and discussion groups made solely to rant and rave.
Well, with this contribution, I've added to the fire.
I feel a lot better now.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to dream about my a850 with that 85mm....
Labels: Essays and Ideas
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