Never Going Out of Style

Digital cameras seem to go out of style in record time. There is a constant marketing push to buy the latest, and we consume this marketing like crazy! Consider all the photography web sites, blogs and YouTube channels that we like to look at.  Most of these (dare I say all?) will tell you two things,

1. It is not the gear, it is the photographer
and
2. You do not need the latest camera to take a great image.

But these same sites will review the latest camera and list all of the "improvements" that have been made. Many of these are fantastic and we consume their material and enjoy doing it. We mockingly complain of having G.A.S (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and many, even myself, will argue that we enjoy acquiring gear. 

I am beginning to think that we cannot have it both ways. If we are truly interested in photography, and wish to develop our skill set, should we not spend more time on our photography and less time on our gear? With film this is easy as any film camera you get is not likely to be replaced with a newer model. But with digital we can always be convinced of the improvements that the newer model will give us.

Is my Nikon D300 which shoots 12MP not the same great camera that I bought in 2009? Since I have purchased my Nikon D800 with 36MP I have only printed large prints a handful of times, and my D300 would have been just as capable of handling them.

So I have jumped off the digital gear train. The last camera I purchased was a second hand Leica ME. Its 18MP sensor is not as "advanced" as the new M240 sensor but its quality is just as impressive as the day it was first released. Perhaps it is time to keep shooting our digital cameras until their useful life is expired and then go out and purchase a used camera as a replacement? Perhaps it is time to spend the money that we would have put towards the newest incarnation of our camera and spend it on a trip to enjoy the old camera.

Cameras can go in and out of style but good photography is timeless. I will stop chasing the latest digital camera and try to capture better pictures. Except for film cameras....I can't stop buying them.....that addiction I have been unable to shake off!