Why the "equipment" question?

[hotwork77]

I guess it takes all sorts to make up this world.

One thing is that many have never experienced film photography, or manual lenses, so to them, without greater knowledge or experience, digital and AF are the only things that exist in their scope of photographic equipment.

Funny thing is these clients don't know that the hobbyist (read gear heads) have the best and most up to date equipment compared to working professionals. So if the equipment is too good, too new and too many, it is actually a red flag sometimes.
:bsmilie:

I think it is a strange Singaporean behaviour. I have come across many situations Dream Merchant talked about earlier. When I use a lesser camera, a bunch of guys who seem to carry better equiped cameras with huge UWA lens looked "all powerful" and so full of pride and were eager to teach me a thing or two on street photography. When I whipped out my FF camera, the first question they asked is not about picture quality but how much I paid for it.

In the end, are we buying cameras to take snapshots or are we using it to compare our status? If it is the latter, then I think we are in the wrong boat.

 

[giantcanopy]

I think it is a strange Singaporean behaviour. I have come across many situations Dream Merchant talked about earlier. When I use a lesser camera, a bunch of guys who seem to carry better equiped cameras with huge UWA lens looked "all powerful" and so full of pride and were eager to teach me a thing or two on street photography. When I whipped out my FF camera, the first question they asked is not about picture quality but how much I paid for it.

In the end, are we buying cameras to take snapshots or are we using it to compare our status? If it is the latter, then I think we are in the wrong boat.

it is easier to compare what u have than what u do not have. personal pride gets bruised so easily.

one thing i find for sure is it ain't too easy to discuss composition and stuffs when u meet up with other folks/strangers on the go, unless everyone is the type who will go show u what they got on their lcd. otherwise an occassional meetup with a fellow photographer on the street would inherently veer into gear. ( unless u know them very well ) exchange CS nicks if applicable and follow up on shots taken from there lor. thats how we make new friends too

ryan

 

[lyanlex]

When Steve McCurry came to Singapore last year, i was amused that one of the audience ask him what camera he uses instead of finding out more from his wealth of experience.

Which is a fine example of whats happening these days. There's one school of people who are more concerned about the tech stuff and another, people who are more concerned about their art (photog).

hey! i was in there! yeah one guy did. and steve just said nikon and did not go to details. that's what i mean about work being a basis of your performance and not your equipment being a gauge of what you can or cannot do.

 

[ahbian]

This is maybe a variant of the debated (to death) - photographer or equipment that matters.

The person who assesses the ability of a photography by asking only about the equipment might be trying to show that he is knowledgeable, but sadly, it only shows that he's a noob.

 

[Atarandas]

hey! i was in there! yeah one guy did. and steve just said nikon and did not go to details. that's what i mean about work being a basis of your performance and not your equipment being a gauge of what you can or cannot do.

I think maybe , the audience is looking for an endorsement somesort, so at the top of his head , hes probably thinking , geez , this is a guru here that has hands on experience with alot of brands of cameras , lets ask him what he uses , and thats probably a sign that its a good piece of equipment .

I think this question is really a dive into the fundamental human behaviourial issues rather than a pure photography discussion. Humans likes to compare assets and congregates with people of similar assets. Thats the background of the issue.

Professional photographers needs to upkeep their gear to maintain professionalism and gives confidence to their customer. Its really not very convincing to someone who doesnt know you and your works , to see that you arent using the top of the range equipments to cover them.

Airline companies boast around the world on their fleet age , size and model. No one boasts about having the best pilots or youngest pilots rite ?

So for commercial purpose , I can appreciate why there is a stress on gear. Its not so much that people feel that its equipment over man , but rather , they expect you to be able to perform ( shoot pictures up to professional standards , able to navigate plane , take off and land safely). Hence , the only other thing left is service and gears.

From the perspective of photography as an interest and passion, gears will be of lesser importance. Unless you lack a specific equipment for you to do certain type of work.
The beauty of digital technology is that it has made photography so much cheaper to the average Joe, that its has led to a outburst of people taking up it up as a hobby. So you simply buy what you can afford and shoot away.

Nevertheless , being the imperfect human , theres a side of us thats always envy of the better things others have. Hence, the thought of ' it would be nice if I have that ...' ,constantly drives our emotions and intents.

 

[Dream Merchant]

it is easier to compare what u have than what u do not have. personal pride gets bruised so easily.

one thing i find for sure is it ain't too easy to discuss composition and stuffs when u meet up with other folks/strangers on the go, unless everyone is the type who will go show u what they got on their lcd. otherwise an occassional meetup with a fellow photographer on the street would inherently veer into gear. ( unless u know them very well ) exchange CS nicks if applicable and follow up on shots taken from there lor. thats how we make new friends too

ryan

Many a time, guys walking around with cameras seem to be in the least likely mood to socialize. I've noticed this countless times. One guy walks with cam, sees another guy with cam, stares hard at the other person's cam, walks away.

If the observed sees the observer and smiles (sometimes, it does happen), very often, the observer will just look another direction (usually with quite a sia lan expression) and walk away without returning the smile. :bsmilie:

 

[Dream Merchant]

Professional photographers needs to upkeep their gear to maintain professionalism and gives confidence to their customer. Its really quite not convincing to someone who doesnt know you and your works , to see that you arent using the top of the range equipments to cover them.

Contrary to popular misconception, most pros have only one thing at the top of their minds - ROI, and their main responsibility is to deliver results, not look flashy and dazzling. Thankfully, most clients realize and appreciate that.

 

[Atarandas]

Contrary to popular misconception, most pros have only one thing at the top of their minds - ROI, and their main responsibility is to deliver results, not look flashy and dazzling. Thankfully, most clients realize and appreciate that.

yup I agree , all business looks at ROI and results. Its pointless to have the best equipments and generate average results and commanding average fees.

But then again, the decision to upgrade will always be a real and relevant one for people in the business. And the rationale to upgrade will often be a tedious cost -benefit analysis .

For the average JOE , if its purely shooting for interest and as a hobby. As long the camera is working , there isnt really a need to upgrade unless the current equipment is limiting him to pursue further into his hobby.

Heh thats just some of my throughts :sweat:

 

[giantcanopy]

Many a time, guys walking around with cameras seem to be in the least likely mood to socialize. I've noticed this countless times. One guy walks with cam, sees another guy with cam, stares hard at the other person's cam, walks away.

If the observed sees the observer and smiles (sometimes, it does happen), very often, the observer will just look another direction (usually with quite a sia lan expression) and walk away without returning the smile. :bsmilie:

Actually the last time we met, i also asked you about how u go about shooting with ur setup. alamak i also in same group :bsmilie: heck it was a great experience

ryan

 

[Dream Merchant]

Actually the last time we met, i also asked you about how u go about shooting with ur setup. alamak i also in same group :bsmilie: heck it was a great experience

ryan

You should have seen the time I was 'P&Sing' a cavalcade of Japanese tourists in trishaws with my un-mounted Horsie! They actually stopped clicking for a moment and waved back enthusiastically! :bsmilie:

There was once i was outside ION with my LF, and a very pleasant young man came up to me and asked if that was an LF cam, but he was very pleasant, and I didn't really mind chatting and making a new friend even though I knew I was going to miss a clearer shot of the place on a crowded Sat afternoon.

 

[night86mare]

I think it is a strange Singaporean behaviour. I have come across many situations Dream Merchant talked about earlier. When I use a lesser camera, a bunch of guys who seem to carry better equiped cameras with huge UWA lens looked "all powerful" and so full of pride and were eager to teach me a thing or two on street photography. When I whipped out my FF camera, the first question they asked is not about picture quality but how much I paid for it.

In the end, are we buying cameras to take snapshots or are we using it to compare our status? If it is the latter, then I think we are in the wrong boat.

uwa lens to shoot street? :bigeyes::bigeyes:

 

[hazmee]

uwa lens to shoot street? :bigeyes::bigeyes:

Pro newbie la boss... ;p

 

[night86mare]

Pro newbie la boss... ;p

i mean, not that it can't be done, but it's just not common. have to see pictures. :dunno:

most of the good street photographers i see tend to use a more moderate focal length.

 

[hazmee]

i mean, not that it can't be done, but it's just not common. have to see pictures. :dunno:

most of the good street photographers i see tend to use a more moderate focal length.

I guess being uncommon is a good thing.

 

[night86mare]

I guess being uncommon is a good thing.

:bsmilie:

yeah, like all the kiddos playing with leicas and proclaiming that film is da best and digital is passe. :angel:

maybe it'll creep up on them someday that they're actually not that different, just that they didn't notice that many other people were doing the same thing.

 

[daredevil123]

:bsmilie:

yeah, like all the kiddos playing with leicas and proclaiming that film is da best and digital is passe. :angel:

maybe it'll creep up on them someday that they're actually not that different, just that they didn't notice that many other people were doing the same thing.

Cult man. It's a cult.

Just like mac.

 

[hazmee]

Just like mac.

Hey! ;p

 

[aloyyolaaloy]

uwa lens to shoot street? :bigeyes::bigeyes:

to those guys, its the wider the front element that counts. wider=more 'shiok' . its not like they are shooting street anyway.

 

[daredevil123]

to those guys, its the wider the front element that counts. wider=more 'shiok' . its not like they are shooting street anyway.

Ya, wider = more shiok.

Next time go shoot xmm I must use UWA, then for diffusing the flash, I will use a big big beauty dish.

LOL no one can be wider than me already.... :bsmilie:

 

[giantcanopy]

to those guys, its the wider the front element that counts. wider=more 'shiok' . its not like they are shooting street anyway.

The wider the lens, the more area they can capture, and so they can crop maybe 5 or 6 shots out of their uber high MP sensor in one shot. lots of folks love high MP for cropping ain't it so