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Blogger Olivier Duong continues look at 'Gear Acquisition Syndrome'

Jul 11, 2013 at 16:44:29 GMT

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Florida-based photographer Olivier Duong has expanded his ongoing examination of so-called 'Gear Acquisition Syndrome' with a description of how he overcame his own personal addiction to buying photographic equipment. Categorizing G.A.S. as a 'habit', Duong identifies three components - trigger, routine, and reward.

Photo: Olivier Duong

Duong's trigger, he says, was 'forums and gear websites' (ahem...) which feature what he calls 'camera porn'. His routine, or reaction, was a feeling of 'unease', of feeling like 'I can't shoot anymore' without the particular camera or lens that caught his eye, and then, ultimately, the purchase of that item.

His reward, which will be familiar to many of us, was 'instant gratification'. Duong describes the feeling as 'FINALLY you can be a photographer. Finally [...] you're going to take great pictures'. Describing this as a 'an infernal cycle that costs time and money', he notes 'the euphoria does not last'.

In this, the second part of his examination of 'gear acquisition syndrome', Duong describes how he went about overcoming his addition by 'changing the routine, [but] keeping the trigger, and the reward'.

The Nikon Data Link System allowed users of the Nikon N90S/F90X to record shooting information and trigger exposures from a PDA (remember them?)

Duong describes this as a 'big, stupid buy' from the peak of his gear addiction. [Photo: Wikimedia Commons]

Many of us will be familiar with the inner dialogues which surround important decisions, especially purchase decisions. The devil on your shoulder telling you that you need something, you can afford it, and it will benefit you in some way. Duong calls this 'self talk' - in his words, the 'rationalization [of] the action of buying new gear'.

One of the most common convictions of the gear addict is that buying this or that new piece of kit will make them happier. Duong describes how he deals with this particularly damaging 'self talk' by focusing on his own life. Describing how 'when growing up, I didn’t have running water', Duong explains 'when a thought of a new camera comes, I shift the focus to my current gear, how much I love my trusty Ricoh GRD IV and my NEX 7 and not what [another] camera can do for me.'

Another common element of gear acquisition addiction is the belief that buying new equipment will improve your photography. Writing about how he went through cycles of buying more powerful cameras, and brighter lenses that he 'barely used', Duong describes his revelation that 'one of the keys to better photography is not to upgrade the camera but to upgrade your relationship with it'.

Ultimately, according to Duong, 'Getting more cameras didn’t make me [a better photographer], it simply provided me some more stuff to hide behind'.

For more insights into Olivier Duong's experiences, we'd highly recommended heading to his blog and reading the full article, as well as part one - extracts from which we've also featured on dpreview. It's one of the most honest and inspiring articles about the psychology of obsession that we've come across.

Click here to read the second of Olivier Duong's articles about Gear Addiction Syndrome,
'How I started breaking free from G.A.S'

OTHER NEWS GEAR-ACQUISITION-SYNDROME

Comments

Total comments: 50

I have this. I just bought (pre-ordered) both these cameras: http://www.squidoo.com/sony-rx100m-ii-and-sony-rx1r-price-and-review... yes, I have a problem.

0 upvotes

Henry had a gear that looked like:

Leica body
2 lenses
Strap
Carrying case
Film rolls

to catch "the decisive moment".

That's still the mark (although he did not shoot sports etc., so you are excused a bit). :-)

0 upvotes

Gear Lust should be celebrated, in all its forms.

Speaking for myself, I never believe it can make me a better photographer. I enjoy the interaction with new technology and enjoy seeing it improve (and sometimes go backwrads).

It's a great hobby and new gear is part of that hobby. I don't ever see it as way to improve my photos (though some features or improvements can make getting the results I want easier, no doubt about it). I can also clearly identify it being a want rather than a need.

I have to admit it does make me happier.

I don't neglect my old gear when getting new stuff; I enjoy them both for various reasons, which could include ergonomic, technical, GUI, general enjoyment in use, handling, etc.

I like my old gear as much as I enjoy the new. I love seeing what changes were made between generations. But then again I don't spend thousands on lenses, so my Gear Lust is kept in check by budget.

Gear Lust gives me a lot of pleasure that doesn't soon fade.

0 upvotes

If you think about it, there's no pleasure in lust itself. Envy, lust, greed, jealousy are upsetting emotional states only. The pleasure you're describing is derived from the constant comparisons you're doing between gear you have and new stuff you acquire. You don't acquire to be a "Better" photographer...you acquire to validate this-versus-that. It's one constant comparo between gear for various reasons, and in comparing and reaching conclusions you get happy.

In that sense, I don't think you have GAS in the sense that's the point of the article. You have GAS as in "Gear Analysis Syndrome". If most of your gear were stashed in a closet going unused and never interacted with and you were probing review sites for more gear then you have the acquisition component of the syndrome. I'd say that if this is your thing, you're a technician as much as an enthusiast photographer.

0 upvotes

I'd say you're spot-on in your analysis.

I like the technical side as much as the photography side. I use all my gear; I get no joy having it sit around doing nothing. Gear Analysis Syndrome sounds accurate though :)

I just love seeing what the manufacturers are capable of doing and the different approaches they take to achieving their goals. Then using the gear and getting to know it better in the real-world.

Plus we all know no camera is perfect; some are always better than others for a particular task. I like the differences and the choices we have today; we are so spoiled, in general.

0 upvotes

Few times have I seen something that is, at the same time, so true and so idiotic.

Some users naively think that by multiplying their equipment, somehow, their photography will magically improve. No questions there.

...But, also, I don't know of a single recognized photography artist who (1) photographs with a single camera and a single lens (2) uses today the same equipment he/she was using 5 years ago. In fact, I know of some amazing, hugely praised photographers that could be, themselves, the definition of GAS addicts...if I recognized that as addiction.

...That bit about "upgrading your relationship with your camera instead of upgrading your camera", then, sounds like something right out of a Barbara Sher book...Good grief...

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

2 upvotes

Like in any trade, good tools can help you with your art/trade, but it is never the only thing, equally important is being there when it happens (physically and mentally), knowing your tools (their restrictions, their strengths), and a bit of luck & inspiration!

The more tools the longer it takes to learn to get the most out of them! Some tools need to be used constantly, or you'll not get the best of them, as not everthing is alike. Not two monopods are exactly alike, not two 70-200 lenses.

And, indeed, few professionals use the same tools (cameras & lenses, in this case) today as they used five-ten years ago. Not that many use their first camera after such a span, but they might very well use the same tripod, maybe downgraded it to secondary uses!

1 upvote

That may be true about the age of the equipment, but not necessarily the "range" of the equipment. Most pro photographers specialize in a particular niche of photography, and their equipment is a reflection of the tools needed for the work. So while it's likely that a pro might upgrade his body or lenses to a more modern / improved version over time, it doesn't mean that he suddenly begins acquiring oddball lenses, mirrorless, compacts, different gear bags, etc, which is what GAS is about. A pro photographer that relies on the 17-85mm range for 75% of his work as a wedding shooter isn't going to suddenly lust for an 18-200 and 8-16mm zoom, or 10mm fisheye, or a different sensor body, or this or that just because he "might" encounter a situation someday that would call for that kind of gear. This is what amateurs, enthusiasts, and "general purpose" shooters do and what drives the market for more / better / different equipment constantly... aka "serial upgrading".

0 upvotes

Daido Moriyama
Recognized artist.
Used the same gear for years.
Now if you are talking about Pro Photography, as in wedding and product shots, that is another matter.

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 4 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

Leica users know very well the addictive.
I have the syndrome too.

0 upvotes

Slow newsday? I mean pointing to a interesting article/blog first time = cool. Pointing to it twice = boring.

Comment edited 9 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Thank you DPR for discussing this very important subject.

The truth can make some people uncomfortable... so be it.

0 upvotes

A good way to get rid of GAS is to learn to use your camera: I am not a professional and hence I spend less time behind my camera(s) than I would like. But the cameras I use most are like extensions to my limbs, I hardly have to think using them, I can concentrate on my subject. This has not come without practice. A new camera means a new learning curve - so I avoid it. My lens before last I bought was two years ago - a Voigtländer 20mm - it took me some time to get used to it, now I love it. This year I bought a 30mm for my µ4/3: I am slowly getting the hang of it. So if you pace yourself and get to know your gear, you can keep the GAS at bay.

0 upvotes

I'm not so sure you've kept the GAS at bay, the difference of your 20 vs 30 on µ4/3 is trivial, you could have bought just one and walked closer or farther from your subject. How exactly are you getting used to it? Aside from being *slightly* more telephoto what else are you getting used to?

Comment edited 13 seconds after posting

1 upvote

@ sfp:
one of the best responses ever.

0 upvotes

I suffer from Gear Acquisition Syndrome. You know how to beat it? Get married and then keep thinking of all the appliances and modifications you can get on your home for the money you're spending on gear.

2 upvotes

You didn't beat it. You just switched to Appliance Acquisition Syndrome :)

0 upvotes

I solved my GAS problem by moving to Costa Rica. Very difficult to find advanced gear. Difficult, unreliable, and VERY expensive to have anything shipped here from Amazon, etc.

Problem solved! :)

0 upvotes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
< User:GreyCat
Jump to: navigation, search

Gear Acquisition Syndrome (sometimes Guitar Acquisition Syndrome, both abbreviated to GAS) is a term used to describe an urge to acquire and accumulate lots of gear. This term commonly associated with:

Guitarists (tend to acquire guitars, guitar amplifiers, pedals, effects processors)
Keyboard / synth players (tend to acquire keyboards, synthesizers, samplers, effects units, etc)
Drummers (various drums, percussion, drumsticks)
Photographers (cameras and its parts - bodies, lens, mounts, filters, flash, etc.)
Bike accesories (racks, lights, fenders, etc.)

The term "GAS" was coined by Walter Becker in 1996 in his article G.A.S. in Guitar Player[1] as "Guitar Acquisition Syndrome". The term started to be frequently used by guitarists and spread out to other musicians who were familiar with similar tendencies. As it no longer concerns guitars only, GAS is now commonly backronym

1 upvote

I'd add anyone into tools used for home improvement, woodworking, etc could easily acquire G.A.S. I would know. Fine Homebuilding and Fine Woodworking are "porn" for guys like me.

1 upvote

GAS. "Gear" is everything I buy in a quantity beyond what is reasonable. Too many watches. GAS. Too many shoes. GAS. Too many socks. GAS. Even if you have the money. What this comes down to is consumption. TV teaches us to consume. This site teaches us to consume. Those of us that have the resources (money) have always and it seems will continue to consume. I tell my wife/girlfriend/friends/mother/sister I am helping the economy by buying more "gear". The more I spend the more some company sells. Perhaps GAS is a good thing. If taken to the point of a gamblers addiction not good. If you can afford it. If you are not taking food off the table. Enjoy yourself. We all know a new and cooler watch wont get us where we are going on time any more than our $65 Swatch.. but if you are a watch GAS'er you don't care. So it goes with human nature... Either embrace GAS or change... One question, will you used the saved money in a positive way? If so head over to KIVA they can use it.

0 upvotes

I have an entire closet full of jackets and coats, high-tech garments -- water / windproof, rated to all extremes, snow boots, polar balaclavas, etc. I spent a good amount of time in the REI store nearest to where I was for a long time.

I LIVE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

I'm not done, yet. I need the right NeoShell jacket to complete my arctic apparel collection.

GAS

0 upvotes

My very favourite thing I've ever read on DPR was a thread on the Pentax SLR forum, where someone said they'd given in to temptation and splurged on a load of expensive Limited prime lenses.

They proceeded to post lots of pictures taken with the kit lens at appropriate focal lengths, receiving lots of comments about what a good "investment" it was, and how the quality really shines through etc... Of course eventually they spilled the beans.

2 upvotes

Reely Grate! Even more dopes!!

Jim

0 upvotes

Next we'll have, " Can't be bothered to go and make some photographs, can't make up my mind what to take with me".

The joke is that one digital camera is only half a gnats knacker a way from the next one. The dopes continue to buy in the hope of 'getting better images' instead sticking to one camera and lens. And going out and using what's between their ears, called 'imagination' to make some images.

Jim

2 upvotes

"we'd highly recommended heading to his blog and reading the full article".
...Hmmmm..."Highly Recommended"...Where else have I see this expression?....

1 upvote

I may have gas, but thats an unrelated topic.

3 upvotes

Buying gear makes me happy, but I don't have G.A.S. But I did not buy the Nikon Data Link system for my N90s either. I know that my next upgrade for my Nikon camera will be a good one and make me very happy. I have the D200, I skipped the D300 and all the lower end cameras, I skipped the D700, I skipped the D600. I may purchase a D800 or I may wait until the next model, the reason, the camera I have right now works very well and the upgrade camera must have the features I want at the price that I want. This is how I know I don't have G.A.S, I know what cameras will not make me happy and I don't upgrade needlessly buying them. There are sometimes I do not take the D200 shooting, that is when I must use high ISO. The D800 or the following model will work well for that and I will be very happy.

1 upvote

If it's all about high-ISO, a $250 tripod is all you need for the D200. Shoot at ISO 100 all you want....

0 upvotes

The medical term for this is: IMSCOS

Imelda Marcos Shoe Collection Obsession Syndrome

2 upvotes

I must admit I don't think I've really suffered GAS that badly.

But it occurred to me recently that any upgrade should be justifiable in terms of one's own photography - if you can name 3 ways in which it'll allow you to do what you want better, then it's an understandable upgrade.

Note that this puts the photographer in the driving seat, not Canikon's marketroid department.

0 upvotes

Just 3? That's easy. Another one bites the GAS.

0 upvotes

..continued..

Photography is not only about taking nice pictures, it is a tool to control our environment through a process of aesthetic capture and absorption somewhat similar to food digestion. It has a direct effect on our brain, insofar that it sharpens it on a deep level that has nothing to do with USM. Of course anyone would want the maximum tools available, that is all very natural, and the plethora of camera models on the market only reflect the maximisation of chances that Nature thrives to accomplish for its great aesthetic project...of which we try to be the humble witnesses.
God bless you all and happy shootings ;-))

0 upvotes

You should continue your posts as replies to the first one, they look less awkward that way.

On second thought, maybe I'm wrong and that's not what makes them awkward.

Comment edited 19 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

108

You have GAS syndrome... bad.

The last person to realize it... will be you.

0 upvotes

I can recommend a good gastroenterologist for 108.

0 upvotes

..continued..

Because I love cameras, I love holding cameras, using cameras, I think they are wonderful tools. Tools, not toys. So to me it's all natural for an average human male to be fascinated by tools, this dating back to prehistoric days and later until today where survival on this planet meant and still means basic mastery of tools. And the more tools the better, cameras, screwdrivers, drilling machines, saws, axes, knives, cars, computers, boats, guns, rifles, etc..etc..So let us all forget for a while the cheap bar counter psychology intended to prove to our female partners that we are capable of sensitivity and assume happily what we are : tool fanatics eager to control/modify/reproduce our environment.

0 upvotes

Well, how lucky that in pre-historic times we did not have reviewing sites. Cause very GASy Neanderthals would just sit in their caves reading about their spears, ordering new ones and measuring who has the sharpest one. They would have never caught any mammoth and just die out.

4 upvotes

TOO FUNNY!!! LMAO

0 upvotes

Interesting but I'm a bit skeptical wrt the various explanations given by Olivier for his GAS syndrome. What I personally understand is that his so-called GAS cost him a lot of money. So if Olivier had unlimited amount of cash at his disposal, would he still write what he writes ? Now if I had an unlimited amount of euros to spend on gear, I would certainly not restraint myself and go and buy Nex 7 and 6, FF Nikon old and recent, Fuji XE1, Pro, and 100's something, Pentas Kxxxxx's, etc..etc..until my office room and basement would be full of them. And certainly not because I would entertain the nonsense that having lots of gear would make me a better photographer.

0 upvotes

If you have unlimited resources, just buy whole B&H building and move-in.

5 upvotes

It's not unique to cameras or even tech gear. Flip through your TV infomercial section to see exercise equipment and programs, jewelry, collectibles, cleaning products/equipment, cooking aids, time shares, the list is never ending. It is deep seated cultural materialistic desires routed in our love of self indulgence.

People try to feel better about themselves by purchasing rewards. Our spending patterns show a pretty direct correlation between unhappiness and "impulsive" purchases. At the extreme, people compensate for problems in their personal lives by acquiring things they enjoy in small bursts of time. This is exasperated by marketing that plagues on addictive personality traits and looks only at the moment of sale as the only value add to the company. The purchase itself is the enjoyment, not the product use.

The only real way to break this cycle is to find things you find rewarding by interaction with others or by accomplishments rather than purchases. The problem is mental.

3 upvotes

Try Hi-Fi. Audiophiles are the only ones who can compare with photographers when it comes to spending money on gear...

7 upvotes

Boy isn't that the truth. I had to sell my Ferraris just to keep up with the latest in tube electronics.

2 upvotes

MOSC..great post and you hit the nail on the head...Ive suffered the same in recent years and can see now what was pushing these moments of retail therapy ...

1 upvote

Spot on.

0 upvotes

Well done Oliver. Is this a paper for your degree?
You have identified the required constituent parts to get a 2:2
Invent a Mnemonic
Pick a subject that makes people worry
Wait for a recession and be concerned about spending less.
Top man.

0 upvotes

Shhh. Whatever you do, don't mention the new Ricoh Digital GR to Oliver. 16MP, new GR ENGINE V Image Processor, no optical low-pass filter, 4fps burst shooting ... don't mention any of that!

4 upvotes

By ManuelVilardeMacedo (11 hours ago)

Try Hi-Fi. Audiophiles are the only ones who can compare with photographers when it comes to spending money on gear...

Nope, golfers, motorists, motorcyclists, fishermen, watch collectors....the list is endless

1 upvote

damn shirker....you just listed all my hobbies

0 upvotes

Total comments: 50

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