27 thoughts on “Equipment (Decisions).”

  3. Henry's avatar

    Good for you, Peter. I would have a very difficult time replacing the pleasure of enjoying the images from my M4 or my M9p. And i don’t need an I-watch (i rarely use my i-phone) or the plastic-created images from most of the latest digital cameras. I got off the consumeristic, latest gadget treadmill (well, this i-pad IS handy) and my aforementioned M rangefinders and a fifty-year-old 500cm still make my cup to run over! Bring on the granola for this aged hippy! As we all say and as you so beautifully do — discover, savor the joyous moment, and just photograph. Always best to you, whatever your choices.

  4. Karim D. Ghantous (@kdghantous)'s avatar

    Well, I like these guessing games. I cannot think of anything you need to buy – you have a Mamiya and, I think, two Leicas. And all the lenses you probably will want. I do like your minimalistic approach. So one of those is probably going to be sold, as Andy has suggested.

    It’s either the digital M or the Mamiya. The digital M because you are not fond of its rendering. The Mamiya because it isn’t as quick handling as the M3. I can see you owning an M7 (or MP, or M-A), but you’d want the viewfinder modified to 0.95x, just like the M3’s, but with squarer frame lines.

    And you’re probably going to replace the 50/1.4 ASPH with a Summicron of some type. Even the classic Summicron is sharper, AFAIK, than the f/1.4 ASPH.

          1. Peter | Prosophos's avatar

            By the way, my “friend”, you’ve quietly been through a carousel of equipment that, if grouped together, would make B&H look like an outhouse.

            “So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone…” (John 8:7. King James Version).

  7. greg g49's avatar

    Assuming I understand what just happened, I’ll offer this from Jane Hirshfield’s “Come, Thief” collection

    “The Cloudy Vase”

    Past time,
    I threw the flowers out,
    washed out
    the cloudy vase.

    How easily
    the old clearness
    leapt,
    like a practiced tiger,
    back inside it.

  8. Pi's avatar

    You must have a great contact to buy and sell these expensive cameras and lenses, either that or your losing money.

    1. Peter | Prosophos's avatar

      Of course I’m losing money each time I do this. But I like to experiment, and I realized a long time ago it makes more economic sense to buy and sell camera gear than it does to rent it for a few months.

      The other consideration is that I find some equipment (Leica specifically) quite expensive. There’s a part of me that finds owning it uncomfortable. I am still very much the guy who once wrote:

      “…photographs, for most of us, are iconographs. In other words, they are only symbols that collectively represent and remind us of our loved ones and our experiences. They don’t need to be sharp on a screen or technically perfect, they only need to be clear in our minds and emotionally meaningful.”

      (see: http://photographsbypeter.com/2013/03/08/the-picture-youll-never-see/ )

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