Gear Acquisition Syndrome – always needing the next best camera or lens

Fascinating first hand story:

I used to be a real photography gear head, I bought and sold cameras right and left, I was left broke and miserable, here’s what you can learn from my ordeal

Source: Confessions of an ex-gear addict

When I stopped at a beach overlook recently, I was surprised at how many very expensive cameras and lenses I saw being carried along the trails. Then I saw a photo, shared on Facebook, of a crowd of people in Yosemite, with very expensive cameras, sometimes several of them, all taking the exact same photo of the annual Horsetail Falls orange-lit “fire fall”. The last time I was in Zion National Park, I saw a long line of tripods and expensive cameras and long lenses set up to take the same photo of the sunset. Same thing in Yellowstone – and worse, where individuals were carrying professional video gear, including RED cameras.

What struck me was just how much money so many people have (or had!) that they can afford to spend tens of thousands of $s on cameras and lenses. Sure, some are professional photographers, some are semi-pro (a hobby that sometimes makes money), then serious amateurs and then those who just buy really expensive gear.

The linked article is well worth reading – its a self confession by one photographer who suffered badly from Gear Acquisition Syndrome, buying and selling one or more cameras, lights, reflectors, after another, after another.

The greatest fear for camera makers is that at some point, a whole lot of people decide to downsize their camera and lens arsenal!

Samsung said to end 3D TV features, LG scaling back

Samsung reportedly has not placed orders for 3D glasses for 2016 (but that is from one vendor – perhaps they switched vendors).  LG itself says that 3D support will only be in their premium, high end TVs, cutting “the number of supporting TVs by half”.

Source: 3D is officially dead, future Samsung and LG TVs won’t even support it – Pocket-lint

Update: Feb 23, 2016: Philips says “3D is dead”.

Meanwhile, viewing of 3D movies in cinemas continues to be strong.

I recently watched some of my own 3D videos on my LG 3D TV and was reminded of how much I enjoy watching the richer imagery of good 3D.