Useless information

Do I really need to know the specs of every camera that is released? Of every lens? Do I even need to know that some camera was released? I have been using Canon cameras for about 10 years now, and I no longer even know what professional cameras Canon offers anymore. It’s useless to me. It will not make my photos better. Rather than reading up on this, I prefer to look at new editing techniques, processes, ways to improve, cool spots to visit, interesting compositions and similar.

Only time I look at this stuff now, is when I know need a new camera. When the shutter count is closing up to the camera limits, it’s time to have a look at something new. But other than that, why?

Gear envy

I know I had this. Seeing other photographers with pricey cameras, all the best gear, can make one feel envious. I felt the same before. But I don’t care anymore. There is a point, where what you have is good enough. The Canon 5D mark II, that I bought in 2012, is probably still good enough for most of what I do. And I still use it. Do I need a 30Mpix photo when doing photos at an event? Do I even need the 22Mpix the 5D mark II gives? It’s different for landscapes, but even there most of times you could get by.

Seeing all the new releases will only make you have more gear envy, that you don’t need at all. Focusing on what you have and how to get more from it, is much more rewarding in the end.

Diminishing returns

I think you all heard of the Law of diminishing returns. Here it would be, that there is a point where spending more on something, will get you almost nothing more. A good example would be tripods. Buying a 200 USD tripod, will give you a much better experience than a 40 USD tripod. It’s can easily be 5 times better. But how much better is a 1000 USD tripod than the 200 USD one? Maybe 2 times better? 1.5 times better? Maybe even less.

This goes hand in hand with gear envy and just useless information about all that is available. Do I need to know that if I spend double what I already did, I get something that is 5% better? No.

Pointless rumors

I hate rumors. And not just in camera news. They mean nothing. Do you know that Canon, Sony, Nikon and others will release new cameras? Of course they will. Will there be new versions of popular gear? Of course there will be. Will the new cameras be better? I do hope so. But do I need to know some random persons idea what they be? Not really. I seen rumor articles based on a single tweet from a new, never before used account. Really. News sites need content, and often they go with anything.

There has not been a big change in photography for a long time. I would count the switch to digital photography as one, but stuff like going mirror-less is just an evolution. You probably can predict every new camera that comes out just by looking at older releases. The changes are quite minor.

Minimalism

Over the last 1-2 years, I have been interested in scaling down. I got rid of a big pile of things. And I’m moving with this approach also to my digital life. I stopped using some social networks, unsubscribed from a lot of accounts on other sites, limited my visits to even more. And information on new cameras and gear just fits perfectly in a category I don’t need and can easily leave out.