Is GAS The Same As Being A Collector?

Dale.

Dale.

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Dale.
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Found myself just browing used stuff this evening, there's something therapeutic about it for me. Anyhoo, I have a small collection of cameras, some film, some digital, the digital ones are more or less the ones I've owned since 2003. 8 cameras live on 2 shelves in our living room but 3 live in camera bags, a 5Div, an R7 and an R5mkii, those 3 being my 'in use' cameras.

It got me thinking though, I don't consider myself to have GAS, but I am looking at older, Canon DSLRs and they can be had for next to peanuts just now and that they might look good on a shelf.

So, does this make me a collector, or do I have GAS? Asking for a friend of course . ;)
 
My first question would be "What's the difference?"

My second question would be "and who cares, anyway?"

Film Cameras.jpg

:thinking: :exit:
 
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For years it was difficult for me to get out to take pictures very often so another part of the hobby was researching cheap film era lenses, buying and testing them out and comparing them to similar lenses and then using them in rotation when I could get out. Over the years I amassed Minolta Rokkor, Canon FD, Olympus Zuiko and Nikon lenses from 24 to 135mm and a few others including Takumar, Sigma, etc. I suppose I must have had about 40 or more but a lot were bought when you could get a nice lens for £15-£20 so the total cost wasn't a lot especially spread over years and it gave me a hobby when tied to home. I've sold a lot but still have about a dozen or so left.

I've never really thought of myself as a collector, it was and is just a hobby and if I or we can afford these things then why not?
 
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Nice 1D4 on a used site atm. :facepalm:
 
'Collecting' of any kind is a curious thing, irrespective of the age or use of what's being collected. At it's extreme, it may border on 'hoarding', which is a recognised malady.
 
Dale. said:
Asking for a friend of course . ;)
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droj said:
'Collecting' of any kind is a curious thing, irrespective of the age or use of what's being collected. At it's extreme, it may border on 'hoarding', which is a recognised malady.
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Maybe my friend has a 'malady' ........... I'll ask. ;)




woof woof said:
If it'll get you out and about taking pictures or even just get you taking pictures at home then why not?
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Stop it, not needing justification right now. :p:LOL:




droj said:
Down the rabbit hole you go, then!
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Another shelf it is then. (y)
 
gramps said:
That only works for YouTubers! ;)
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You think they should be put on a shelf? ;)

But collecting Vs hoarding Vs GAS. I've just ordered a new guitar - not expensive - despite having 12-14 electrics already. Partly it's GAS but also because it will suit the kinds of music I'm playing and because I don't have one with that pickup type yet. I've got some great rock guitars, one for metal, a few all-rounders, a couple for slide, one synth controller but nothing with P90s. It's part of a collection, some were made in the 70s 80s 90s 2000s and the most recent before this is about 3 years old - they all get used from time to time, and in another 10 or 20 years they will still sound just as good, still be fully useful and hopefully I'll be up to using them still.

That's a collection.

I think if I bought new & shiny, played it for a couple of months and then went looking for the next one, that would be GAS. If I filled the house with increasing numbers of guitars, that would be hoarding.
 
artyman said:
Psst wanna buy some amplifiers :D
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We could swap - yours for the ones I built. I try to keep backline out of the living space these days, but I still have 2 amps in the living room along with a bag containing leads and cables, a processor, power supplies, wireless connector and accessories. I can be ready for a gig at a minutes notice, depending on the band and whether I need to learn the music.
 
Being a collector is an excuse for GAS. Having GAS is an excuse for being a collector.
 
No, no, we buy these things purely because they are things of interest. If I buy a camera it's because they are of interest, somehow. And they must be interesting because I probably have over a hundred film cameras. And don't even get me started on Lambrettas. :p
 
Collectors can have GAS but sufferers of GAS aren't necessarily collectors.

I like buying old banger film era lenses, repairing (if I can) and shooting with them on digital bodies. I've accumulated a couple hundred lenses and have used every one of them at least once. I have a core group that I will never part with and use regularly and a few cases overflowing with stuff I will get around to selling eventually...

Not sure I'm a collector per se as none are pristine enough to be considered a collectable piece but I certainly do have a collection.
Hopefully that is as clear as mud...;)
 
RyanB said:
Collectors can have GAS but sufferers of GAS aren't necessarily collectors.

I like buying old banger film era lenses, repairing (if I can) and shooting with them on digital bodies. I've accumulated a couple hundred lenses and have used every one of them at least once. I have a core group that I will never part with and use regularly and a few cases overflowing with stuff I will get around to selling eventually...

Not sure I'm a collector per se as none are pristine enough to be considered a collectable piece but I certainly do have a collection.
Hopefully that is as clear as mud...;)
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“Like buying” equals GAS :p

And there’s nowt wrong with that
 
No, I collect some Nikon kit e.g Nikon F2 cameras. I will probably not use them but enjoy all the different variants and now there is I'm Back Film (digital insert for film) is here there is an option to reuse without needing film.
 
I only buy to use, & my 'collection' is very pared-down. If anything it's centred on Leica R lenses - which were made for the SLR line & are generally cheaper than the rangefinder versions (& focus closer). Some of them are Mandlers. The prize is their optical character. None of them are 'perfect'.

LeeRatters said:
I wonder at what quantity, it turns into a "collection"?
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Three - at least to start with? I don't think that it's about quantity, but about intent? Obsessiveness may be a driver, & you can obsess without actually buying. Displacement 'therapy' could be involved too. Shall we just say 'can of worms' ...?

Collecting generally lies within an allowable spectrum of (anti-) social behaviour. In so far as a collection can be shared, it can also have a mild social aspect .. think 'museum'. But I think that it's essentially private. And possibly a substitute for getting on with real life, depending on the perpetrator.

The mix is endless.
 
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droj said:
I only buy to use, & my 'collection' is very pared-down. If anything it's centred on Leica R lenses - which were made for the SLR line & are generally cheaper than the rangefinder versions (& focus closer). Some of them are Mandlers. The prize is their optical character. None of them are 'perfect'.


Three - at least to start with? I don't think that it's about quantity, but about intent? Obsessiveness may be a driver, & you can obsess without actually buying. Displacement 'therapy' could be involved too. Shall we just say 'can of worms' ...?

Collecting generally lies within an allowable spectrum of (anti-) social behaviour. In so far as a collection can be shared, it can also have a mild social aspect .. think 'museum'. But I think that it's essentially private. And possibly a substitute for getting on with real life, depending on the perpetrator.

The mix is endless.
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I was thinking after I posted.... Intent is a good subject.

I have a total of 8 "cameras" now. But I wouldn't say it's a collection...... Too varied (imo) to be a collection.

I thought along the lines of those old DVD things..... Someone could have 50 DVD's of different genres of movies that they like (which I guess could be classed as a collection in itself) but to me, I think having 50 DVD's of movies all directed by Spielberg is a collection. The same with CD's - having a bunch of CD's all by the same artist or all soundtracks is more of a "collection" because of the intent to look for and buy them.
 
I'm surprised that the world's leading authority on this subject hasn't shown up on this thread, where are you ? @trevorbray
 
I was very active in a camera club back in my younger days , on the committee of a camera club
Organised holidays away for members , Booked a minibus and big accommodations for up to 12.
Upgraded my gear as time moved on and budget allowed , Never got around to selling as time went by.
As a result I have lots of kit yes lots :oops: :$

I must be both.
 
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artyman said:
At long last today I got round to replacing the grill cloth on an amp, something I've been meaning to do for a year. Look forward to hearing the new guitar
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I need to do that on a Blues Junior. Where did you get the cloth from?
 
For that matter my AC30 could do with a new cloth, although I've not actually seen it for more than 10 years now (it's at the back of a cupboard).
 
artyman said:
I can't remember where I bought the cloth as it was that long ago, probably Amazon. I can understand the AC30 being left in a cupboard, as we get older we need lighter gear.
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TBH it's not a nice amp to play through at low volumes, and by the time it does start to sound and feel nice the front 3 rows are starting to get hearing loss. As a teenager I remember thinking how great it sounded playing with a band nearly flat out, and then coming off stage after and not being able to hear properly.

I've been using a Pignose G40V, which has a valve amp based on the Fender Bassman with much more gain through a 1x10 speaker, and although a little chunky, wasn't too bad. But the power stage developed a fault last year and I popped in a 5w valve head I built based on a fenderised Epi valve junior, and that's enough most of the time now.
 
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