Magpie Syndrome Again

[Godfrey]

The problem with debits cards, if they are stolen and used, you lose your money. With credit cards, you refuse the charge. I always pay off the credit cards at the end of the month.

My bank (CHASE) refunds unauthorized or fraudulent charges to the debit card. Not only does their customer protection service statement say this, but they've done it two times for me when my card was scammed.

 

[Bill Caulfeild-Browne]

The suspense is killing me, Godfrey!

What IS in those boxes?

Bill

 

[Godfrey]

I'm enjoying the anticipation too, Bill. (-:

It's too much fun to keep it going just that little bit longer for when the last item has arrived and I can tell y'all with a photo.

So far, though, I'm more than pleased with what's coming out of the boxes. The condition is better than either the photos or the auction listing suggested!

 

[Tim]

The trick to defeating the "Magpie Syndrome" is procrastination. :lecture:

I'm good at that, and I use it with my gear, usually if I have wanted it a long time I find I do have an intention to use it and get the most from it.

Only problem can be is often we've moved on with anything Digicam. Maybe we should lust after lenses and put any old camera behind it.

 

[fotografz]

I'm good at that, and I use it with my gear, usually if I have wanted it a long time I find I do have an intention to use it and get the most from it.

Only problem can be is often we've moved on with anything Digicam. Maybe we should lust after lenses and put any old camera behind it.

Hallelujah to that brother!

I've been deeply investigating all the possible replacements for my 3 year old Sony A900 wedding cameras (a list which is mind-boggling) ... and nothing just jumps out as being worth it. I've downloaded higher ISO shots from all kinds of different new cameras and they are just degrees of being crummy ... one perhaps less crummy than another, but still crummy looking. At lower ISOs they aren't any better than what I have.

On the other hand either better lenses, or lighting can make a huge difference.

I can say that the hype from the manufacturers, and those who buy into that hype, is deafening ... a Siren's song with the volume set to maximum. It takes a hefty set of bull-$hyt filters to sift through it all. The first tactic being to diss and milline anything that's even a few months older :wtf: Everything is so yesterday the minute you get it. It is such a weird mind-game.

The other good thing about being a cynical procrastinator is you have the money when a rare deal comes up ... a year later the "Gotta Have" digital do-dad drops $1,000 ... and then you really see if it was a "Gotta Have" in the face of the next thing to mull over and procrastinate about. :ROTFL:

BTW, I spent most of my budget this year on lighting, not cameras. Even then, I waited for the inevitable deal, like a free head with a Profoto 600B ... for a $800+ savings ... Procrastination and patience is a good combo. :thumbs: That one purchase visibly impacted my work more than the past 5 camera upgrades combined.

-Marc

 

[Ben Rubinstein]

Hallelujah to that brother!


I can say that the hype from the manufacturers, and those who buy into that hype, is deafening ... a Siren's song with the volume set to maximum. It takes a hefty set of bull-$hyt filters to sift through it all. The first tactic being to diss and milline anything that's even a few months older :wtf: Everything is so yesterday the minute you get it. It is such a weird mind-game.

-Marc

Yup can certainly see that. It's the reason why the prices of these cameras are in free fall. The reasons why I and my friends in the Canon camp are all saving up for a 5D3 are various. One thing in common though is that they are reasons a pro would understand but a upgrade frenzied enthusiast would miss, oh and we are looking for replacements to cameras much loved but now used to death. For most of us it's the dual card in a small FF body that can take our lenses. That's it. In all cases we are buying with the assumption that the camera will be shot, beat up, dropped and still go on shooting for another 6+ years at a minimum. We're buying so that we can stop looking at new stuff for at least that amount of time. To be honest all my Nikon friends are sticking with their D700's. They don't need or want any more.

There are certain cameras that although far from the prices of the flagship models, are sheer workhorses. Those are the cameras which will be kept and will do the job, whatever it is. Canon 5Dc, Nikon D700, Sony A900, all cameras you keep and shoot till they die. I personally think the 5D3 will be the canon workhorse of the next generation, Nikon and Sony have yet to step up to the plate with their offerings methinks(or at least until they make a mRAW option for the D800). To be frank if Nikon is still making the D700 that's still the one.

In the meantime most have the previous generation and will still be shooting them for a while in the knowledge that their present cameras are more than sufficient and that for all the new gizmo's, very few make a difference to real live shooting so why, especially in todays economic situation, upgrade? Was explaining this to a friend this morning who was wondering why the new cameras pricing are dropping like a brick. Easy answer. Most people have cameras that are more than sufficient to a level that the economic or even 'oooh' factor for upgrading is just not there any more.

Sorry for taking it a bit OT Godfrey but heck we have to do something till you show us what you've bought and stop driving us mad with curiosity!

 

[Shashin]

On the other hand either better lenses, or lighting can make a huge difference.

I would go one step further and say the photographer and his/her skills make the largest impact on how the image looks, dwarfing the impact of the gear and technology. The gear needs to be good and solve more problems than it creates, but I am not going to rely on scene selection exposure modes and face detection to do my work.

Although, those art filters are pretty neat...

 

[Shashin]

It's the reason why the prices of these cameras are in free fall.

Where???

 

[Ben Rubinstein]

You seen the prices of the 5D3 recently? Being sold for $2500 at the moment. D800 some $500 cheaper than when it was released.

 

[Shashin]

You seen the prices of the 5D3 recently? Being sold for $2500 at the moment. D800 some $500 cheaper than when it was released.

Right now, the D800 has a $200 rebate, at least at places like B&H, less than 10% off. It is also the holiday season where it is not surprising a year-old camera would have a sales price. The current B&H price for the 5DIII is $25 shy of $3K. Also a $200 rebate. I am not seeing any great shift in prices.

 

[Ben Rubinstein]

Compared to release price. In the UK the D800 has dropped $1100 since release. In the US you can find the 5D3 with a US warranty for $2500. That's $1000 less than release. The drop in the UK has been even more drastic. The 5D2 held its release price for well over a year and I remember the D700 being the same. These cameras are dropping by the week almost.

 

[Shashin]

Well, it does not seem to be happening in the states. One retailer with the 5DIII at $2500 is not a trend--it could be a scam through. I checked prices in Japan and they do not seem to be falling. I understand UK prices are high in relation to the US. Perhaps it is just that market. Competition to gray/grey market imports?

 

[weinschela]

The worst part of my syndrome is that I sell things and then I immediately regret doing so, after which I pine away for a long time before I buy again what I had sold. The last was a Tri-Elmar 28-35-50 that I just reacquired. I thought for a time that I had actually bought back the exact lens I sold, but that was not the case. Next time it won't surprise me. My wife is luckily very tolerant.

 

[jonoslack]

Compared to release price. In the UK the D800 has dropped $1100 since release. In the US you can find the 5D3 with a US warranty for $2500. That's $1000 less than release. The drop in the UK has been even more drastic. The 5D2 held its release price for well over a year and I remember the D700 being the same. These cameras are dropping by the week almost.

Hi There Ben - I like your assessment - and I quite agree about pricing in the UK - the 5D3 and D800 are dropping almost weekly (quietly!).

I was talking to my tame (very big) dealer - possibly the biggest web based dealer in the UK - one of the Assistants told me that most of the pro's who'd bought D800s had bought them back again - not because there was anything wrong with them, but because they didn't need all that stuff . . . and they didn't want all that extra processing time. As you say, for most real life purposes the D700/A900/5DII are enough. . . . . although I suspect the D600 will replace the D700 in many Nikon pro's bags.

But this is (it seems to me) a fairly recent trend - perhaps 20mp with decent 3200/6400 ISO is a kind of sweet spot - I guess it may go up again, but not until there is a generation of much faster computers to deal with the much bigger files.

All the best

 

[Godfrey]

... Sorry for taking it a bit OT Godfrey but heck we have to do something till you show us what you've bought and stop driving us mad with curiosity!

LOL! No problem at all.

My re-addiction to 6x6 film has been building up again for a while and when I saw this camera being offered for sale, I just could no longer resist.

The camera and strap were one item (including an original leather soft case), the back another, the (aftermarket) lens hood a third (sheesh, $165 for a used Hassy hood, $25 for an aftermarket, and they're all but identical...), and the late model Acute Matte ground glass back a fourth item.

An orange filter, a longer neckstrap, and an Arca Swiss dedicated camera plate are on the way. I haven't decided what viewfinder I want for the GG back yet, probably a 45 prism.

I'm really jazzed, although this might be anticlimactic for some of you. The Hassy SWC was my 'unobtainium object of camera lust' for 35 years until 2001, when a friend loaned me his for a year. I returned his camera and traded my Leica M kit for a 903SWC in 2002, which I had until 2004. I sold it in 2004 because I needed to move forward with my digital work, and that meant DSLRs and lenses and all that stuff, but I've missed the SWC a lot.

Getting back into 6x6 film work, I knew that I'd want a 'wide at some point. This late 1978 appeared and was exactly what I wanted ... the Syncro-Compur shutter's DoF indicator mechanism is much nicer to use than the later Prontor CF DoF markings.

I got lucky and found a same-year, pristine back. The camera is in better shape than the photos implied, and I paid a very reasonable price for it (hint: less than the X2 for everything...).

Now to load it and make some SWCpix.
And KILL the Magpie! ]

Onwards!

 

[Vivek]

The SWC needs a digital back.

 

[Godfrey]

The SWC needs a digital back.

Sure. Send your credit card number to fund it and I'll be happy to oblige to make you feel better about it. ];-)

Seriously, though: I'd enjoy having a digital back for the SWC in addition to the film backs. Of course, the right digital back doesn't exist yet ... there are no digital backs available with a 6x6cm sensor format, far as I'm aware. And then there's the issue of how well the 38mm Biogon will work with such a back.

I'm happy enough with shooting film in 6x6 format, and it's delightful to have a Superwide again. Other options for it will likely arise in the future.

 

[Vivek]

Unfortunately, Godfrey, I do not have a credit card. My debit card is far more secure than yours.

I have the bigger brother of the SWC Biogon. 9x10 with that is a delight. Difficult to find a digi back for it though.

Enjoy!

(In case anyone is wondering, 9x10 is a not a result of dyslexia. 9x12 isn't possible with mine.)

 

[jonoslack]

Hi There . . . . . I agree with Vivek - that beautiful camera needs a digital back (aren't they cheap as chips now everyone has a D800?)
Certainly it was worth waiting for.
With reference to the thread . . . a small examination of my kit shows me that I haven't bought a camera since August - which is something of a record (just don't ask me about lenses!).

 

[Godfrey]

Hi There . . . . . I agree with Vivek - that beautiful camera needs a digital back (aren't they cheap as chips now everyone has a D800?)
Certainly it was worth waiting for.
With reference to the thread . . . a small examination of my kit shows me that I haven't bought a camera since August - which is something of a record (just don't ask me about lenses!).

Well, I don't know what you consider to be "cheap as chips" but the prices I see for used Hasselblad v-system compatible digital backs in completed auctions on Ebay tend to run $4,000 up to $11,000, even for 16Mpixel models. That's far more than what I paid for the SWC kit in toto so far.

I think a decent medium format film scanner (the upcoming PlusTek OpticFilm 120 or a Nikon Coolscan unit) at about $2000 is much more sensible for my projected needs and desires.

Regards your abstinence, good luck keeping that up. ;-)

I have acquired way too much gear now, to the point where buying anything more camera-wise is an embarrassment. I plan to chip away about 1/3 of what I currently have next year and not buy anything new that I haven't already determined as important. (The aforementioned film scanner is one of those possibles.) It's at least a plan ... =8^-