[Docrwm]

Abandon all hope ye who enter the Pentax realm!

LBA is not an addiction it's a way of life.

[sterretje]

Oh my God, I now see that you have a GH1. Good luck, I'm gonna pray for you.

PS
How is that DA23 in your signature ?

[djc737]

I say the only way to beat it it to come up with a budget, with some fudge room if a steal or something really rare comes along, and have a plan of which lenses you are going to buy in what order.

Apply some logic to your lens selection. For example with what you said above. You feel like you want something in the 50-70 range. Do the research, which is a major fun part. Is what you're looking for the DA* 55? What price is it and how soon would that fit your budget? Does it replace another lens that you could sell to make up a piece of the difference?

Coming up with the strategy for what you're going to buy, and when, and how you can adapt your budget when the mystical whatever lens comes along at a steal can be quite a bit of fun.

I've sold two lenses that many on the forums would consider heresy. The DA 15 ltd, and the FA* 300/4.5. I found other lenses were far more likely to go into the bag than these two, and so these two got sold here on the forums to supplement the purchase of my FA* 300/2.8.

Where LBA comes off the hook is when you start buying lenses you wont use: But that A 28/2.8 in the paper is only $60! I must go buy it NOW! If you had no plans to buy an A 28, just because it's a deal doesn't mean it's a good selection for you. Find what you're looking for, plot it out, and nobody needs the Zeiss makro. <yawn>

Clinton,
Thanks for the methodology. I am generally very pleased with my current lineup. It is when I am doing something and the set I have just does not cut it. I was at my Daughters over the holidays and used the FA 31 to great effect but the 77 was too tight for more intimate shots. I still wanted the activity to show and the 31 gave too much and the 77 too little. I know I can crop but having shot slides for most of my life, I have this thing for getting it as right as possible at the time of the shot. Did not want to use the 50 macro as focus hunting makes me crazy. So, as you note, it would either be a really good MF lens or a better AF lens in the 85mm (35mm equiv) range. Now I know I am not too far over the line and it does make sense that I am looking for a specific something. Now let's apply that methodology.... Dave

[Wormtographer]

I was officialy cured of LBA about 6 months ago. Then I followed this link, and now I'm back to the drawing board (Warning: donot click on the included hyperlink--I offer it only for the sake of completeness. Don't do it).

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/lens-clubs/80029-leica-lens-club.html

-W

[djc737]

Oh my God, I now see that you have a GH1. Good luck, I'm gonna pray for you.

PS
How is that DA23 in your signature ?

Thanks for picking that up. For some strange reason, I always refer to it as a 23 not a 21. I have a bit of dyslexia and once something gets entered into my head incorrect, I just can't straighten it out. Who knows, maybe I really wanted a 23mm instead. Have to see what is available. ;-) Dave

[dgaies]

.

I spent all of 2008 and most of 2009 in the grips of a real LBA bug. Once I acquired everything I really wanted (and went on a couple huge house-cleaning sales in the process - the results of over-buying , ) I settled down on my current Pentax and Nikon kits and have been very happy.

However... I have to say that that LBA period of time was incredibly fun in it's own way. There's something to be said for wanting something very bad, for the thrill of the search, for that incredible feeling when a lens is finally "out for delivery", or when it arrives in it's box on your doorstep...

I say: enjoy your LBA. Indulge it, within reason. It's all part of the hobby.


.

I'm with Jay on this one. Same story for me, just need to shift it about two years from 2008-2009 to 2010-2011

It can be a lot of fun, and somewhat profitable if done correctly, so I'd say as long as you remain in control of your LBA, there's no harm in embracing it at the same time

[eddie1960]

I know the feeling. Bought a lens that I absolutely don't need about 2 weeks ago; just could not leave it for the price Opened the door to a new K-mount kit

But ...

Be glad you did not buy a MILC. Imagine, no longer limited to M42 or K mount; just some simple adapters to get the registration distance right. A whole new perspective to LBA; Konica, Contax, Olympus, Minolta, Pentax, Nikon, Canon, whatever lenses, side by side in your bag.

Oh yeah, all those possibilities .... I can't wait to use my old Minolta MD lenses and donated Olympus OM lenses And shopping for unknown glass

Leitax has kits to convert Leica R, OM Zeiss to K mount so no need for MILC to feed the addiction (the leica R alone could bankrupt a small country to assemble the kit ) somewhere in the range of 50 different R lenses

[regor]

You made some very good observations. I think it's the pleasure to carry a small camera+lens combo that drives my LBA for primes more than anything else. I could buy a Nikon + 3 quality zoom and be done with (12-24, 24-105, 100-300). Sometimes I think this is what I should do, but I am not sure that this is the solution for me. I enjoy the primes too much.

[jpzk]

I've lusted over a few very expensive items as of late, but my head suddenly (and surpisingly) told me to hold off ... what a bummer !

Apart from LBA, which would have set me back at least $4999.00 for a Sigma 500mm f4.5, came the "need" for a compact buddy for my K5 ... !
which would have carried me over to the CBA (camera body addiction) Dark Side instead. Foolish!

After much, much consideration, I've decided to listen to the ol'brain and put everything on hold until way after Holiday Season ... what am I saying? This won't cure the LBA/CBA though... just putting in back a little. this is hopeless ---

Anyway, I've had taken a good look at the lenses which I didn't use very often and took the plunge to the Marketplace and sold a couple, one being returned for what seems to be a user's lack of knowledge on a particular lens - - nonetheless, minus two lenses now and one to go.

I have now reduced the "gear" to the essentials, or rather what I think is "essential". I still have lenses which aren't used that much but there is a great hesitation about which one(s) to further dispose. This will likely happen soon.
LBA is not simply about acquiring lenses, it is also about keeping some which you'll hardly use and you keep because there are "priceless" ... hopeless ---

My final take: get GOOD glass only for your needs and join into the "Single in ... (month) ..." thread: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/mini-challenges-games-photo-stories/16701...er-2011-a.html
I have yet to join in but this is probably the most efficient way to see what you can do with one single lens for a whole month!
Stupid of me to recommend something which I haven't even tried but it does make a lot of sense.
You may also want to browse this one as well: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/photographic-technique/162100-pursuit-gea...damentals.html

I won't say "Good Luck with LBA" because I suppose one has to experience it before realizing that it is a futile exercice "at the end of the day".

Boy ! this post doesn't make much sense but I'll leave it there for you to decide.

Cheers.

JP

[wizofoz]

Wrong, this would just be additional lenses to fuel LBA. It's the massive number of good inexpensive manual focus primes that sets off many people. you know, oh well it's only $10(20-30-40-50...)
like getting that first taste of smack for free from the dealer it sucks you in slowly and before you know it you have 20 lenses and a craving that won't go away

Amen Brother

[MegaPower]

But that A 28/2.8 in the paper is only $60! I must go buy it NOW! <yawn>

I already have the A28, but I want a 40 now even tho I KNOW I am NOT using it.

I was looking for a FA43/Viogtlander40, while looking the two lenses. I know I would find a M40 under $100 and I will take it.
Then the FA43/Viogtlander will both kick in and I would take them all.

[Canada_Rockies]

I have reduced my LBA, and reduced my CBA as well by being old, retired, tired, retarded and broke. My latest lens acquisition was a trade. It cost me the outbound shipping. If I sit back and look logically, I have everything I will ever need to photograph anything I want to photograph. Now about that 500/4.5 I saw in the marketplace the other day ...

[magkelly]

Can't help you except maybe to suggest a 12 step program? Other than the AF 55-300 I have almost no lens lust left in me. I'm not even lusting after more Takumars anymore because I can't hardly see well enough now to use them. At the rate my eyes are going I'm not too sure they wouldn't be total waste on me even if I did find more. I'm about to sell the ones I have, all my manual lenses just to be practical, and that's not me joking about it.

[creampuff]

I only need two more lenses to be completely cured of LBA.

[rvannatta]

What always gets me is that I can't find exactly what I want, so I starty buying around it. One thing that has helped is that periodically, I make a strategic decision which helps greatly in keeping the total number of lenses down to what will fit in a room.

For example some years ago, I looked back on my long term experience with non-brand lenses. Usually cheaper to buy, terrible to sell, some good, some really not so good. I decided there were enough pentax brand lenses on the market that I didn't need to deal with brand X types no matter how touted they were. A strategic decision. I sold all my brand X lenses and reset the search pattern on ebay to pentax brand only. I've been able to keep my word to myself, and its saved big bucks.
Not that there aren't some good ones out there---but I don't look---a real success story.

Next I recognized that the older 'pre pentax-A' lenses would likely become less desireable a decade ago----At the time the Pentax A and Pentax M lenses were selling for almost the same price. I adopted a rule "Pentax-A" or newer even though I was using an K-2 at that time. Turned out to be a good investment decision when the crippled K mount became the only game in town, but the good part was it further limited the total number of lenses that I might own----a good thing.

lately, I've taken the pentax-A lenses---I did have almost a whole set of primes off my 'allowed to own list'. I had to admit to myself that regardless of how good they were, I wasn't using them.---not when I also had auto focus equilvalents..... So I am getting rid of the manual focus models---not beause they are bad, but another step in narrowing the list of options that may cause the spread of LBA. I think I have sold 8 pentax-A lenses--- all perfectly good, but I wasn't using them and have 2 or 3 more to go. Next, I"ve sworn off of low end zooms. I've got some DA* zooms so why would I buy those that are F 5/6 something.---- Shorten the list some more--not because they are bad, but the more things I refuse to consider, the better off I'll be.

Thus by striking the list progressively over time, I really now have it down to just autofocus primes. While some of those are spendy, the list is pretty short, which
will save money in the long run....