GAS – what do we really need

Leica T 701With all this talk about the fantastic Fuji X-1T, the new unibody got to have it Leica T, and my absolute need for a carry anywhere has an optical viewfinder Fuji X100s lust; I now have a very bad case of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) .

For me some cameras are a must have. My large format Ebony and my medium format Hasselblad are not just cameras but objects I love owning and using, they bring a real pleasure to me in using them.

My Nikon digital SLR’s are working tools, real goto tools when I have to get the image. With macro gear, flash and lens ranging from 12mm to a fast 300mm f/2.8, there is no job I cannot do. Or feel I can tackle with confidence. But while the Nikon gear is very good it does not inspire me the way my Ebony, Hasselblad and Leica’s do.

This weekend I had the chance to overcome my GAS, with a very enjoyable family wedding in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Being a guest and not the photographer at a wedding for a change, it was nice to relax and enjoy. I wanted a camera to inspire me, that had great image quality but was small, light and would not get in the way.

It had to be the Leica M and I picked just two lens, a 35mm Summicron and a 50mm Summilux. Simple and light.

The professional photographers booked for the wedding all had Canon 5D’s an excellent choice for a wedding and a fantastic tool, they all came over to Ooh & Aahh over the Leica. The first photographer asked was it a Fuji then almost dropped his 5D when he saw the Red Dot.

My Leica’s always attract positive attention from other photographers yet are unnoticed by the general public.

Enjoying such a simple setup really makes me think do I need another camera, and if I did what do I want from it that my other cameras cannot do.

It would be a replacement for the Nikon V1, be a small grab and go camera when I don’t want to take a bigger camera with me, but in a number of ways that is what my current Leica already is. So do replace the Nikon V1 with a Fuji X100s or Leica T, or actual replace it and the Leica with a weather sealed Lecia M 240. The T is a budget Leica but can be a spare body to my current M8. I would have to add the EVF and adapter which would drive up the cost. The Fuji X100s does not seem to fit in here, it’s very like the Leica M, but has a fixed lens. It’s advantages are the viewfinder and it’s leaf shutter making daylight flash very simple.

So while this weekend has weakened my GAS it’s certainly not cured it.

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