[k100d]

i lurk a lot in the other forum and found this:
worst LBA you have ever seen...: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

This is indeed my darkest hour and after years of experimenting the best glass around I see myself reduced to a unique inexpensive manual lens and no money at all... what the hell ahs happened to me? My heart is broken, my wallet is empty, I was left with nothing and my precious and most recent jewell- the Zeiss 100, is already leaving me... I don´t know what to say... just what the hell has happened to me? A person who never paid a Euro of interest never to any bank institution, now see himself forced to sell almost everything just to pay his debts.

I have palyed with some of the best glass around and do you know how much I have learned from them? Absolutely nothing! Because they were too much for my level and especially because I wouldn´t even keep them enough. Hell, there was always some excuse to justify the sale and finance a furhter purchase: too big, too small, not sharp enough, not contrasty enough, zoom, prime... you name it, I gave all the possible rasons and would fight for those reasons because I wanted to believe it so much I really thought they were true! How wrong I was! I reapeat agian, my happier time was with the lens was the one that came with the D40... how ironic is that?

[creampuff]

This case is so typical. Lots of people buy in to the fallacy that one needs to acquire more stuff in order to feel contented. In this case the person doled out a lot of money for a Zeiss 100mm f/2 (God knows why he did it, probably psyched into the allure of Zeiss lenses...) and now has to suffer the consequences of living beyond his means. I guess with easy access to credit nowadays, it is all too easy to succumb to temptation and overspend.
Some credit counselling is in order for this poor fellow.

Anyway I've always believed in the phrase below:
Better to love people and use things, than to use people and love things...

[JJJPhoto]

"Compulsive shopping disorder" (also known as "compulsive buying disorder") is a VERY real psychological disorder that can be just as addictive -- and as destructive -- as addiction to alcohol, drugs, or high-stakes gambling.

We Pentaxians joke about "LBA" but for some people this kind of behavior can spiral into a very REAL addiction. All it takes is the right kind of brain chemistry combined with a few bad decisions and the means to make the purchases.

It is far more complex than just financial irresponsibility or having a disorganized budget (or no budget at all). Compulsive buying disorder, like any true "addiction" consumes your life and hurts you and the people around you.

I had my own "indirect" experience with this disorder a few years ago when one of my wedding clients kept adding more and more services and purchases to her wedding photography coverage. I found out from one of the other wedding vendors that she was also spending a fortune on flowers, entertainment, wardrobe, church decorations, not one but TWO receptions, and the list goes on and on. At the same time she and her soon-to-be husband purchased a very nice house, two brand new cars, and who knows what else.

I insisted (as with all my clients) on payment in advance for the majority of my wedding coverage, but I later found out from two other vendors that the bride and groom in question ended up filing bankruptcy within 12 months of the wedding and several vendors never received full payment.

If you're interested in learning more about compulsive shopping disorder I highly recommend you go to your local library and get a copy of a book by Dr. April Benson called, "I Shop, Therefore I Am: Compulsive Buying and the Search for Self."

I'm not a doctor or a specialist in clinical disorders, but I found the book very interesting. If you're unfortunate enough to have the brain chemistry of someone who is vulnerable to CSD/CBD, it's basically a matter of your brain releasing excess chemicals that create pleasure when you anticipate buying something. Combined with other factors, you become addicted to that feeling and the anticipation of pleasure so you keep buying things. Your brain is making you feel good just before you buy and then you start feeling down after you've completed the purchase, so you keep buying more things to maintain your "high."

[Nesster]

There is also the boomeritis that feeds into this - we are conditioned that there is a BEST... that while 'good enough' does exist, we are all better than that and thus entitled to better than that. So it is with so much of the stuff we buy, we pile on the features because it is possible and someone somewhere invariably makes the point that if the product doesn't have the particular feature it is crap.

Ebay addiction is bad enough if you're looking to bottom feed for fun. I should know But connect that with this obsession with the 'best', throw in a generous dollop of internet group influence, and soon enough the whole hobby becomes a distortion: it goes from spicing up everyday life to taking a disproportinate amount of resources. We all at one point or another face this precipice... and most of us do manage to put it all back into proportion. I'm clearly not a pro photographer nor in the used equipment business: therefore this hobby must compete with all the other things in my life and remain in that perspective.

[jsherman999]

There is also the boomeritis that feeds into this - we are conditioned that there is a BEST... that while 'good enough' does exist, we are all better than that and thus entitled to better than that. So it is with so much of the stuff we buy, we pile on the features because it is possible and someone somewhere invariably makes the point that if the product doesn't have the particular feature it is crap.

Ebay addiction is bad enough if you're looking to bottom feed for fun. I should know But connect that with this obsession with the 'best', throw in a generous dollop of internet group influence, and soon enough the whole hobby becomes a distortion: it goes from spicing up everyday life to taking a disproportinate amount of resources. We all at one point or another face this precipice... and most of us do manage to put it all back into proportion. I'm clearly not a pro photographer nor in the used equipment business: therefore this hobby must compete with all the other things in my life and remain in that perspective.

To me, that's the biggest single influence - how many of us would even have LBA if it weren't for the forums? If they didn't exist, only very few of us would probably own more than, say, three lenses.

On the flip side, at least for me, the whole hobby would be only about 50% as enjoyable. Seeing others' photography, posting my own, reading about lenses... That's all part of the hobby for me.

To the OP in dpreview I suggested perusing the M-club thread - you can pretty much go crazy with some very good M glass and end up spending less than 1/2 of a Zeiss


.

[paolojackson]

To me, that's the biggest single influence - how many of us would even have LBA if it weren't for the forums? If they didn't exist, only very few of us would probably own more than, say, three lenses.

On the flip side, at least for me, the whole hobby would be only about 50% as enjoyable. Seeing others' photography, posting my own, reading about lenses... That's all part of the hobby for me.
.

Well said. I couldn't agree more.

[Nesster]

Yes, very well put indeed - I see the same thing going on in other enthusiast circles, we encourage each other and provide validation. Without the net, a photography club, say, would play a similar role, but not in this constant daily basis. And online we get that disinhibition thing going on as well.

In a way groups like ours hook into the same scarcity issue that ebay does. Pre bay, how many used lenses and cameras did you come across? You'd have to go out of your way and probably pay a lot more, or mail order from KEH. Or hunt yard sales. We're still conditioned to this sort of scarcity, so we see a good deal or rare lens, we get the urge to pounce. Emotionally it is very difficult to keep in mind that more than likely several more of the same thing will come up in the next months, some of them even better deals.

And the rush of a successful hunt, easily and rapidly repeatable, and with intermittent reinforcement (some you win, some you lose) there's the powerful driver to addiction.

We are making the transition to an internet culture of plenty, and our behavior will stabilize. I'm totally glad for groups like pentax forums.

[heatherslightbox]

A quote from a Sheryl Crowe came to mind when I read the DPReview post:
"It's not having what you want--It's wanting what you've got."

Many of you are aware of my own LBA struggles, so that post struck a nerve with me. While my LBA never got that bad, I can still identify with him and sympathize.

Heather

[stevebrot]

To me, that's the biggest single influence - how many of us would even have LBA if it weren't for the forums?

Very good point J. On the other hand, the forums provide the means to make well-informed, intelligent purchases. It is easy to pound the drums for the newest and best, but some of the best shots posted on this site were made using inexpensive and/or relatively unknown glass. Without those posts, many of us would be ignorant regarding the virtues of low budget alternatives.

That is one reason why the various "club" threads are so important.

So, I guess it cuts both ways. Yes, exposure to many options may trigger the desire to "own them all", but knowing that there are many solutions also allows people like myself to tailor a kit appropriate to my shooting style without breaking the bank.

Having said all that, I have to confess that I still would like to have a SMC Takumar 50/1.4. The reality is that I already have several very good 50mm options that produce excellent results...and without any additional exposure to radiation!

Steve

(LBA under control...have shifted my energy elsewhere...)

[Gooshin]

my name is Serge

and i'm a lens buying addict, no joke

[egordon99]

Unforuntately for that poster, the gear was more important than the pictures. He never posted ANY photos, but instead just talked about buying this lens and that lens, and even switched from Pentax to Nikon and back to Pentax. Hopefully his family will be able to eat dinner tonight (and into next month)

Sad sad sad.....

[ve2vfd]

Unforuntately for that poster, the gear was more important than the pictures.

I think thats really the saddest part...

Considering you can make pictures with nothing more than an empty box, a sheet of film and a pinhole, "the equipment you have" should be the least of our worries.

Showing off our nice toys is a cool "part of" the hobby, but should not be "the hobby".

Pat

[Gooshin]

I think thats really the saddest part...

Considering you can make pictures with nothing more than an empty box, a sheet of film and a pinhole, "the equipment you have" should be the least of our worries.

Showing off our nice toys is a cool "part of" the hobby, but should not be "the hobby".

Pat

sometimes its not even about showing off

i'm lucky that in addition to LBA i have a picture taking addiction, i love to get out there and shoot.

but for people who's heads are wired the way mine is, you always keep doing these calculations in your head and constantly compare things "would that shot have been better had i had this lens", "i probably could have had more shutter if i had a F1.4 prime instead of this 2.8 zoom" "my ex-girl friend had big boobs but this current one cooks really well"

you know?

it just gnaws at you, so you must go out and try them all!

like right now i came to the realization that i dont shoot that much below 2.8, do i really need lenses that are sub 2.8? the DA*50-135 would fill alot of empty space in my collection and allow me to get rid of like 5 lenses i currently own in that range

but then you DO get those rare times when you are glad that you had f1.4 or f1.8 or whatever

all of this is compounded by the fact that ones funds are limited

compounded even more when you start researching and finding out there are even MORE options

compounded AGAIn by the fact that you read reviews and what you end up reading are peoples personal opinions, and how much can you really draw from them?


its insane! AHHHHH

[ve2vfd]

Gooshin ... Options are fine, but I guess it's all a question of being content with what you have...

After all my computer is a 1.8ghz machine and works "ok", but I "could have" a 3ghz dual core machine. My car is an 8 year old Cavalier thats clean and gets me from point A to point B, but I "could have" a brand new Mustang instead....

Before buying anything expensive, I always ask myself "do I really need this"... and if the answer is no, then the second question is "do I need this money for somehting else". If no, then I'll consider buying the luxury item.

I guess it's all a question of self discipline.

Pat

[séamuis]

but I guess it's all a question of being content with what you have...

I guess it's all a question of self discipline

which one is it Pat!? don't confuse us, you will only make the problem worse.