Mercguy
21st January 2021, 08:57 AM
This is simply venting. Please move on if you feel unnerved.
I have come to a precipiece.
My RZ hasn't been used for over 12 months, my 35mm bodies haven't been used for over 12 months, my little P&S hasn't been touched in god knows...
My D500 hasn't even been touched in seemingly forever.... it might be 9-10 months since I even put the batteries on charger.
Yet I have this stupid voice in my head telling me it is time to go and buy a Z-mount.
wtf?
I'm using a damn iPhone for images of unimportant objects around the house / vehicles etc and there is no need to be investing in gear - because what I have is already of a high quality standard.
My concern is that to offload anything F-mount means I will be selling 35mm bodies as well as DSLR and that is a LOT of gear.
pre-AI lenses, AI, AI-s, AF-D, AF-S and Gelded lenses.... covering the whole spectrum of my F-mount body inventory.
I'm aware that an F2 Photomic commands a decent price on stealbay, as do F4E's and F5's and m3 leicas, but dismantling a 50 year long sequence of Nikon gear for individual sale is something that brings more frustration and annoyance than revenue.
I've come to the realization that the modern disposable society and the 3 month long Digital Camera product cycle is more than just wasteful, it's flat-out stupid.
But who bothers to shoot E6 these days?...
what about polaroid 600 or SX film ? 40 bucks for 16 sheets? really?
The most I ever paid for velvia was 8.75 for a 36 frame roll.... Yes I can still buy at these prices and I have more than 80 rolls of 35mm and 50 rolls of 120.
I understand that the digital camera is a valuable commodity - in a very tiny niche of the world.
Most DSLR's are being used as video cameras these days so it seems. I never liked moving pictures on anything less than 35mm panavision anamorphic.
Digital 35mm cinema is fantastic. high frame rates and super crisp.... but full frame is giving way to the old school professional frame sizes of 4x5 and 6x6 6x7 etc...
it's like we are going full circle - the sensor size is almost as big as my RZ67 and the glass is even bigger.... and the weight... ugh.
There's nothing stopping me from dropping a leaf or phase one back on my RZ either.... but it's not cost-effective.
Look at the new Hasselblad offerings. it's almost an MF P&S!!! I mean that is some white-line sniffers budget going right down the gurgler in 18 months time when they release a new one with twice the resolution on the sensor and 10 gigaframes per second increase in frame rate....
My old man decided that it was time to retire to the earth late last year and it wasn't until December that I could head up to see family (border closure BS) and I was willed some important sentimental things (family heirloom stuff) and among these is a pocket watch (fob) which belonged to my GGG grandfather. Truly a masterpiece of analogue precision.
It runs to perfection and only loses time if the spring gets slack.
To me it's a reminder that certain things are 'timeless' and while we all crave apple watch functionality in our lives, you can't beat a purpose made timepiece, which will outlast the apple watch by hundreds of years.
So what about the film cameras? Am I being ignorant of evolution or am I now becoming 'a custodian' of photographic history? Do I keep the film cameras or offload everything to a worthy recipient?
I doubt anyone else in my extended family will appreciate the depth and breadth of this accumulation of mine. They were once tools to do a job, and they were expensive tools made with japanese precision.
I think I will just use the stuff until it gives out and gums up from lack of use. As for the D500.... I still love it, but it's languishing and depreciating and becoming wasteful, just like the idiots who upgrade their sony's every 6 months for the sake of it.
I am a victim of my own making. No sympathy sought here. Just a puzzle to solve.
I have come to a precipiece.
My RZ hasn't been used for over 12 months, my 35mm bodies haven't been used for over 12 months, my little P&S hasn't been touched in god knows...
My D500 hasn't even been touched in seemingly forever.... it might be 9-10 months since I even put the batteries on charger.
Yet I have this stupid voice in my head telling me it is time to go and buy a Z-mount.
wtf?
I'm using a damn iPhone for images of unimportant objects around the house / vehicles etc and there is no need to be investing in gear - because what I have is already of a high quality standard.
My concern is that to offload anything F-mount means I will be selling 35mm bodies as well as DSLR and that is a LOT of gear.
pre-AI lenses, AI, AI-s, AF-D, AF-S and Gelded lenses.... covering the whole spectrum of my F-mount body inventory.
I'm aware that an F2 Photomic commands a decent price on stealbay, as do F4E's and F5's and m3 leicas, but dismantling a 50 year long sequence of Nikon gear for individual sale is something that brings more frustration and annoyance than revenue.
I've come to the realization that the modern disposable society and the 3 month long Digital Camera product cycle is more than just wasteful, it's flat-out stupid.
But who bothers to shoot E6 these days?...
what about polaroid 600 or SX film ? 40 bucks for 16 sheets? really?
The most I ever paid for velvia was 8.75 for a 36 frame roll.... Yes I can still buy at these prices and I have more than 80 rolls of 35mm and 50 rolls of 120.
I understand that the digital camera is a valuable commodity - in a very tiny niche of the world.
Most DSLR's are being used as video cameras these days so it seems. I never liked moving pictures on anything less than 35mm panavision anamorphic.
Digital 35mm cinema is fantastic. high frame rates and super crisp.... but full frame is giving way to the old school professional frame sizes of 4x5 and 6x6 6x7 etc...
it's like we are going full circle - the sensor size is almost as big as my RZ67 and the glass is even bigger.... and the weight... ugh.
There's nothing stopping me from dropping a leaf or phase one back on my RZ either.... but it's not cost-effective.
Look at the new Hasselblad offerings. it's almost an MF P&S!!! I mean that is some white-line sniffers budget going right down the gurgler in 18 months time when they release a new one with twice the resolution on the sensor and 10 gigaframes per second increase in frame rate....
My old man decided that it was time to retire to the earth late last year and it wasn't until December that I could head up to see family (border closure BS) and I was willed some important sentimental things (family heirloom stuff) and among these is a pocket watch (fob) which belonged to my GGG grandfather. Truly a masterpiece of analogue precision.
It runs to perfection and only loses time if the spring gets slack.
To me it's a reminder that certain things are 'timeless' and while we all crave apple watch functionality in our lives, you can't beat a purpose made timepiece, which will outlast the apple watch by hundreds of years.
So what about the film cameras? Am I being ignorant of evolution or am I now becoming 'a custodian' of photographic history? Do I keep the film cameras or offload everything to a worthy recipient?
I doubt anyone else in my extended family will appreciate the depth and breadth of this accumulation of mine. They were once tools to do a job, and they were expensive tools made with japanese precision.
I think I will just use the stuff until it gives out and gums up from lack of use. As for the D500.... I still love it, but it's languishing and depreciating and becoming wasteful, just like the idiots who upgrade their sony's every 6 months for the sake of it.
I am a victim of my own making. No sympathy sought here. Just a puzzle to solve.