Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS) - are you afflicted?

JMoochie · Dec 13, 2020

Rob J said:
A lot of us suffer from this condition to some degree. Over the last year I turned from my former life as an active musician back to my first love of photography. When the pandemic ended live music it also ended my band performance days as well. Musicians especially, suffer from gas and I am now actively in the process of "grs" (gear reduction syndrome) now with my excess of music gear. . I can no longer justify keeping multiple guitars, pedals etc. just for the sake of owning them.

Thank you Rob. You gave me a great conscience-reliever.

A few years ago I had to sell my clarinets and all related gear because of nerve damage impacting the precision of my fingers - the equivalent to a COVID-induced band performance shutdown, but more permanent.

So, to revive my old hobby, photography, to replace my "can't do anymore" hobby, instrumentalist, I need to do something with the funds from the sale of my instruments, right?

You've made the purchase of my future Nikon much simpler. Thank you.

Rob J · Dec 13, 2020

Jerry Mucci said:
Rob J said:

A lot of us suffer from this condition to some degree. Over the last year I turned from my former life as an active musician back to my first love of photography. When the pandemic ended live music it also ended my band performance days as well. Musicians especially, suffer from gas and I am now actively in the process of "grs" (gear reduction syndrome) now with my excess of music gear. . I can no longer justify keeping multiple guitars, pedals etc. just for the sake of owning them.

Click to expand...

Thank you Rob. You gave me a great conscience-reliever.

A few years ago I had to sell my clarinets and all related gear because of nerve damage impacting the precision of my fingers - the equivalent to a COVID-induced band performance shutdown, but more permanent.

So, to revive my old hobby, photography, to replace my "can't do anymore" hobby, instrumentalist, I need to do something with the funds from the sale of my instruments, right?

You've made the purchase of my future Nikon much simpler. Thank you.

As the old saying goes - "when one door closes, another one opens". Enjoy that new Nikon when you get it and put the same love that you had for playing music into photography. The rewards will be equally fulfilling if you put your heart into it.

KAAMBIC · Dec 13, 2020

I might have you beat. Over the last nine years i have owned over 20 cameras, i've lost count a bit. A Sony A33 and A77II, Pentax K5IIs, K30 and K3, Canon 70D and M50, Olympus EM1 and EM1-II, Panasonic GX7 twice, GX8, GX850, G9, Nikon D7000 3 times, D300 twice, D700 twice, D800, and just yesterday ordered a Fuji XT30. Still have the EM1-II and a D300.

But i don't look at it as a bad thing, i usually buy used, usually sell my old gear and dont lose too much cash on it, and along the way i have learned boatloads of info on the systems and cameras. You talk to some people and all they know is ONE system, they know a lot about that system but know very little about others.

I like having experience across the board, i've learned about far more bodies than just ones i have owned, lenses too. My wife may feel slightly different but to be honest, john doe spends more cash going to the bar 52 saturdays a year than i do a year on gear.

I have had a lot of fun along the way, i have learned what suits me best from system to individual body to lens, and i have tons of nice photos to share with f/f. And most importantly to me, i have been able to pass on my photo bug to my girl. I wouldn't change a thing.

--
"You taught me hate, I'll teach you fear" -

JasonTheBirder · Dec 13, 2020

KAAMBIC said:
I might have you beat. Over the last nine years i have owned over 20 cameras, i've lost count a bit. A Sony A33 and A77II, Pentax K5IIs, K30 and K3, Canon 70D and M50, Olympus EM1 and EM1-II, Panasonic GX7 twice, GX8, GX850, G9, Nikon D7000 3 times, D300 twice, D700 twice, D800, and just yesterday ordered a Fuji XT30. Still have the EM1-II and a D300.

But i don't look at it as a bad thing, i usually buy used, usually sell my old gear and dont lose too much cash on it, and along the way i have learned boatloads of info on the systems and cameras. You talk to some people and all they know is ONE system, they know a lot about that system but know very little about others.

I think this is a pretty good point. While there are a few bad experiences, if you build up a bit of a reputation selling stuff you can get pretty decent prices on gear making upgrade prices not too bad.

Now I'm off to buy some lenses....hahahaha

MyReality · Dec 13, 2020

Agree. It is a substitute for something else(maybe an unbalanced mind). Find out what that something else is, acquire it and you won't have G.A.S. anymore.

Hoarding is an extreme example of G.A.S.

CMCM · Dec 13, 2020

Papa48 said:
My cameras and software are completely engaging my skill level, and bringing satisfying results. At 72 I don't think anything else would justify the additional cost. It's a good place to be.

I agree! At 71 I finally have the time to really indulge in photography for fun and in a way I could never do before. No guilt about buying anything! And you're quite right....it's a good place to be.

Phil A Martin · Dec 13, 2020

justmeMN said:
Poor people don't have that problem.

Exactly

fferreres · Dec 13, 2020

HRC2016 said:
GAS is a mental health issue.

Money is best spent on treatment, not gear.

It depends where you live. In the USA a session may cost you $300 an hour with a good therapist. And to rid of GAS you may need 20 to 50 hours, given that IF you can pay that shrink, you can also still buy a lot more gear. But you can't sell your sessions in ebay at 70% of the cost, so when the time comes, you'd have wish you'd spend more on gear, and less on shrinks.

George 68 · Dec 14, 2020

My Les Paul cost £2k, my Jaguar less than £1k, Line 6 HX effects £400 and my Marshall half-stack less than £1k. Versatile and with a back-up guitar for about £4.5k.

The equivalent camera setup to me would be a Nikon D850, D500 plus the holy trinity at about £10K.

Cameras are very expensive compared to other boys toys.

Hunter_C · Dec 14, 2020

I'm a student without any $$$, so......it pretty much solves the problem for me

Phil A Martin · Dec 14, 2020

Hunter_C said:
I'm a student without any $$$, so......it pretty much solves the problem for me

This is actually quite a problem. Back in the analogue days there was a much more even playing field. A student or gifted amateur could use the same film, paper and processes as the best professionals and produce images with equal technical merit. Even if it meant coaxing images out of an old beat up hassleblad held together with tape and attaching a high quality lens to a bargain basement enlarger but sadly this us no longer the case. Older equipment, even in mint condition, can rarely challenge the latest iterations of the kit, at least in terms of ultimate technical quality. The only hope is that the content and quality of image construction, will allow clients to see through the technical limitations.

Hunter_C said:
--
"You must strive to find your own voice, 'cause the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all." —— Dead Poets Society

Bobo Hodls · Dec 14, 2020

After 20 years of upgrading cameras to the next best thing, I've come to realize the thing chased for all those years had arrived already! The only thing needed is time and mojo.

But then another interest was recently resurrected, I bought an electric guitar. And Luthier tools to refine it, and electronic devices to record it, pedal effects, and. . .

I though I was done.

john isaacs · Dec 14, 2020

Rob J said:
A lot of us suffer from this condition to some degree. Over the last year I turned from my former life as an active musician back to my first love of photography. When the pandemic ended live music it also ended my band performance days as well. Musicians especially, suffer from gas and I am now actively in the process of "grs" (gear reduction syndrome) now with my excess of music gear. . I can no longer justify keeping multiple guitars, pedals etc. just for the sake of owning them.

With photography, this nasty condition has once again reared it's ugly head. I have been through several (too many) cameras and lenses and misc. photo gear over the last few years, looking for just that right combination of camera and lenses. This new photo "gas" has not been nearly as bad as it was with music gear, but still...

In a way, it's a good factor that photo gear is quite expensive overall because without having unlimited funds for such things, the costs alone helps keep things from going too far overboard.

I'm now at a place where I think that I have found my chosen camera and only want to own two to three lenses at most at any given time. Of course, I've thought that way before so who knows how long I'll stay happy with what I currently own but I'm trying to be content with where I am now. Excessive gear will not make anybody a better photographer just as excessive music gear never made me a better musician.

Who else suffers from this affliction and how do you handle it?

I ran across this article that sheds some insight into the "disease" and how to combat it. It's worth a read.

https://digital-photography-school.com/eight-ways-get-rid-gas-gear-acquisition-syndrome/

Point 1: The pandemic will be over eventually, live music will begin again. It seems unreasonable to sell your music gear now unless you are giving up. Even so, it might be better to wait until later when demand for gear resumes.

Point 2: GAS is the nature of any hobby. For some, it is one of the pleasurable aspects. And if you had GAS with one hobby, you are likely a GASEOUS person and will have GAS with other hobbies as well. Admit it, embrace it, or not.

Point 3: If you want to avoid GAS, then stay away from the Internet and camera stores; it will only aggravate your condition with ads and review articles. Just go out and use what you have bought and ignore/avoid outside influences.

stevie wonder · Dec 14, 2020

Rob J · Dec 14, 2020

john isaacs said:
Point 1: The pandemic will be over eventually, live music will begin again. It seems unreasonable to sell your music gear now unless you are giving up. Even so, it might be better to wait until later when demand for gear resumes.

Point 2: GAS is the nature of any hobby. For some, it is one of the pleasurable aspects. And if you had GAS with one hobby, you are likely a GASEOUS person and will have GAS with other hobbies as well. Admit it, embrace it, or not.

Point 3: If you want to avoid GAS, then stay away from the Internet and camera stores; it will only aggravate your condition with ads and review articles. Just go out and use what you have bought and ignore/avoid outside influences.

Point 1: You are correct about live music eventually returning. While the pandemic had significant influence over me backing off on my music endeavors, there are other factors in play as well. I have a progressive hand disease that is affecting my ability to play for extended periods. Even if the pandemic had not happened, my live playing days have been numbered. I'm no spring chicken and playing as a gigging musician has been becoming increasingly difficult in my old age. I have no plan to get rid of ALL of my music gear. Just excess stuff that should go to someone who will use it. As long as I can get my hands to work, I'll always play to some extent so I'll always have one or two guitars and amps around.

Point 2: I recognize that GAS is the nature of any hobby and if my initial post sounded like I was complaining about it, that's not what I really meant to portray although I can see how it probably came across that way. It was because of GAS that I was able to discover and enjoy which gear worked for me and which did not.

Point 3: THIS my friend, is an excellent point. As a musician I frequented several guitar/music based forums (still do). Such places are filled with enablers.

Thanks for you insightful response.

Rob J · Dec 14, 2020

Hunter_C said:
I'm a student without any $$$, so......it pretty much solves the problem for me

I've been there!

In my college days I often didn't have two coins to rub together. I never had money for any hobby that required expensive toys until I was in my fifties. I'm in my seventies now and thanks to a wife that taught me to put money into savings in our early years, I am at a point in life where I can afford a few luxuries in retirement. Now, I won't be buying any BMWs or anything like that, but I can manage a camera and a few lenses now and then.

Autonerd · Dec 14, 2020

Rob J said:
Who else suffers from this affliction and how do you handle it?

I do, and this is why it's nice to be a film photographer. I avoid the overhyped cameras and zero in on the bargains. Most recent: Minolta Maxxum 5 with kit lens for $16 shipped, Sears (Ricoh) KS Auto for $15 shipped, Pentax P30T for $13 shipped (thanks to a coupon from eBay). And you don't want to know how little I paid for my Nikkor AF 50/1.4, which fits nicely on my Sony with a $13 adaptor.

Aaron

Wingsfan · Dec 14, 2020

I no longer have gas..

I have a very simple system, if I like something, I buy it.

Not too worried about what everyone else does, it's their money, not mine.

Michael Firstlight · Dec 14, 2020

Not GAS per se, though I tend to buy the best I can afford for what I want to do. When I was young I was terribly limited by sub-standard gear or lack of appropriate gear or facilities. So as long as what I buy removes limits, or makes what I do faster and easier, then it's not GAS. GAS, I think, is acquiring stuff that you don't productively use (a form of hoarding maybe?). I use everything I buy or I sell it off. I guess one reaches a good place when having too much stuff feels like a burden rather than an asset which is where I am now in my 60's.

But you didn't address the 'other' form of GAS: Re-GAS. Ever since adding film and darkroom back into my practice years ago I've had Re-GAS - which is re-acquiring gear that is now in limited supply or prohibitively expensive due to shrinking stock. Now I feel it was good that I did that as I could no longer afford or even find some of the gear that I I re-acquired, and I plan to make productive use of it for years to come.

I've also re-acquired a few classic cameras - both digital and film, for my collection - mint editions for pennies on the dollar. For that I can offer no defense whatsoever.

MFL

barbara j · Dec 14, 2020

GAS cured! Just bought a house.

Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS) - are you afflicted?

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