"All the gear and no idea!"

Eddzz!!

Eddzz!!

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,120
Name
Eddy
Edit My Images
Yes
That famous phrase... Know anyone like that? Without naming and shaming people, let's hear your stories! :D

(Not necessarily limited to photography, but any profession that utilises specialist equipment!)
 
Last edited:
When i was in Cuba on holiday there was a couple who had all the gear to go out Snorkeling telling us how much it all cost and what it did ect... we got to the sea where we were to swim out to the reef and he made it about 3 meters.. she didn't even put it on.. and again when we got to the lake in the gave they didn't even go near the water.
 
The list is endless :facepalm: Mainly "photographers" which have started up Facebook pages because they have amazing comments from friends and family, but that's another story all together and we all know some of them :rolleyes: I'm not saying I'm the next David Bailey or anything before any one starts:p

A mate of mine thought he'd give spray painting a try after seeing me at work and the amount of people that come to me to get custom jobs or repairs done. He spent thousands on top equipment like I buy for myself but his finishes come out like some sort of mutated sand paper.

I am trying to teach him though so hopefully one day he can help me out.
 
I think it's a case of people getting over-excitable when starting a new hobby.

If you have the disposable income available, then there isn't always the need to restrict yourself to a beginner version of the relevant equipment.

When I was eighteen (three years ago), I booked my motorbike test and purchased a Suzuki GSXR 600 before passing. I'd only ever had experience on mopeds before (apart from owning a car) and getting a 600cc sports bike was huge overkill. Did I have enough skill to get even an ounce of the bikes potential out? No. Did I enjoy every second of it despite this? Yes. It gave me a far bigger smile every time I rode it compared to the cheaper, less powerful alternatives I could have started with.

No one made any comments, but I would not have cared if they did. If you're enjoying yourself, so what?

I see the same thing at car track days. People think you are doing it to show off - but

I would never begrudge someone with less experience in a given field having better equipment that me.

Newbie with a 1DX and 500mm f4? Good on them! When they good bored of photography it'll end up on eBay or the forum at a discount price :D
 
Last edited:
See it virtually all the time, I'll even laugh about it with friends but it doesn't have any effect on my life so I don't really have to care all that much...far worse IMO are the people don't have all the gear but try and do stuff beyond a) what their kit can do and b) what their ability will often allow too
 
Guy next door to me was trying to sell his house. Didn't like the photo the estate agent took of his front, so he bought a Canon 5DMk3 and a 8-15mm lens. Then found that he had to take jpegs only and the small size meant they were no better than the originals. House never sold! Doesn't use the gear anymore, but won't listen to my "reasonable" offers!!!
 
I know a photographer (I wont name him :p), that had a few Facebook 'Likes' of some photos he had taken. To me, they were absolutely awful, and I declined to comment on them, even though I was absolutely itching to.

So, because of this success...he decided that if he purchased upgrades for all of his kit and a new, top of the line Mac for processing (as well as the latest full version of Photoshop), his shots would be 'even better'. I only know what purchases he made, as he felt the need to plaster it all over Facebook :rolleyes:

As Matt has said above, I didnt really care, and actually found it funny/had pity for him. The photos that he posted after all the purchasing looked exactly the same as before, but he was happy I guess :D
 
A friend of mine does this with clay pigeon shooting.
He is constantly buying new shotguns, his latest one cost £18K.
And he bought a new Landrover for the 100 yards or so off road

His scores? Less than half of mine:)
And he will never improve, he just doesn't listen to advice and doesn't understand the basic principle after about 5 years of practice.

But, as he points out, he can afford it.
 
I was only really looking for examples of what you lot have experienced :p For example, girl I know that has been doing photography for about as long as I have, but has a serious case of GAS (gear acquisition syndrome). She started with a Canon 7D (I had a 450D and was immensely jealous). I don't think she's ever really grasped the auto-focus system, because rarely does she have a photo that's in focus. She also never gets her exposures right, but that's a different story. The funny thing is, whenever a lens or camera is put up for sale locally i.e. on Facebook, she snaps it up. A few weeks ago a Sigma 120-400 and a Canon 1D MK II went up for sale. Within 15 minutes she'd bought them. A few nights later I saw her attempting to use her new combination in a tiny nightclub. She was literally stood at the side of the club, pressing herself against the wall trying to get a shot. It was quite comical :p
 
Aside from photography I am also involved in discos/DJ services, I remember a booking a couple of years ago where we were booked to provide a mobile disco for one of the local student unions in their court yard, when we got there there was a another disco setting up to provide the music in the main bar...now we had all professional grade top quality gear as you'd expect from someone charging to provide a service...sadly the guy inside was clearly one of students and had completely inappropriate kit of the job he was supposed to be doing using his iPod and MacBook playing one song on each as he had no mixer and just a couple of basic (really crap sound) speakers from maplins...honestly it was the worst example of Mobile DJ I've ever seen...the sound quality was so bad you could rarely actually tell the song he was playing
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top