[bossa]

Depends if you're trolling the Marketplace for a F/1.2 or not. :-)

..err.. funny you should mention that.

[rbefly]

"Signs You Might Be Obsessed With Photography"
How about...you have 3 camera bags of different sizes, and they're all FULL?
Now, I could say that I don't have one bag big enough to hold everything, and that would be true and a handy excuse.
But the fact is, one is my "Fast Lens" bag, with a K10D body. Mostly M primes, f/2.0 and f/2.8 and a fast fifty.
One is my "Zoom" bag with two AF zooms and a couple of primes, K-7 body.
Last, my "Film" bag, mostly MF primes and an Me Super with winder.
Each bag has its own flash, remote cord, hoods/filters, extra SD cards (digital), spare batteries, etc.
Am I sick or just highly organized?
Ron

[bossa]

I'd have to say both.. But in nice way.

[fccwpe]

Yeah...... I have only one bag for my gear (see signature for list) and it all fits. It weighs over 50 lbs and I have to lean so far forward when I shoulder it that all I can see is the ground. The problem is.... I carry it everywhere "just in case."

[PentaxMom Felua]

I am obsessed.
So obsessed, it brings tears to my eyes when I know it is allright, it is good.
Obsessed, yes, to get the colour right with all my stuff, Pentax and otherwise, of the origin of the Vrijenbergersprengebeek (little rivulet, though not so little right now).
I started to hike monday, repeated tuesday, continued wednesday, got just back again and it is thursday).
Dragged with me Oly e-p3, Samsung nx200, Pentax Q and Pentax K-5.
I am obsessed.
Obsessed with nuances, with colour, with atmosphere, with shapes, with lines, with water.
I forced all my gear to translate what I saw. And feel. I love my countryside. I want to visualise it. But it is so elusive. So small scale within such urbanisation. I remember from and through my grandparents, but I am here today.
Today and yesterday and the day before that day and always with equivalent of about 80-100mm ff.
And will be tomorrow.
I am enslaved. To my country and gear. Tomorrow I again shall hike and take pictures, 10 kilometers at least.

And boy am I hungry when I get back.

[RioRico]

I have:

SMC-A 50/1.7
SMC-A 50/1.4
XR Rikenon 50/1.7
Sigma 50/1.4.

Do I qualify?

You're off to a slow start. I have 50 Fifties. One member here had (until recently) more Fifties than I have total lenses, well over 200. Of mine, 5 are duplicates and will go the the selling block when they're worth selling (M50/2s and Cintar 50/3.5s are about worthless now) but the other 45 all have their uses.

Some seeming-duplicates are actually different enough to keep: My Meyer Oreston 50/1.8 has its aperture pin glued down for use on my K20D, while its twin Pentacon Electric 50/1.8 has the pin free for use on M42 cameras; and the big black M42 CZJ Tessar 50/2.8 (5 iris blades) is quite unlike the little alum Exakta-mount version (12 blades).
____________________________________

What are signs of obsession?

* Building spreadsheets tracking inventory, and projecting various suitable lens kits, and calculating various photographic mathematical functions.
* Seeing like a camera: Wherever physical eyes are pointed, VF frames magically appear in the mind's eye, for various focal lengths and aspects.
* Setting-up a DIGITAL CAMERA section on a Google News homepage.
* Knowing what different developer chemicals taste like on one's fingers.
* Ignoring all editorial content in photog magazines; read only the ads.
* Owning the complete set of F/64 SCHOOL collectable baseball cards.
* When you see photo shoots of naked people, you look at the camera.

[blackcloudbrew]

Hmmm...after reading through the last few posts, I'd have to say:

spreadsheet - check
3 bags full of gear - check
filters - one for each 30.5, 41, 49, 52, 55, 58, 62, 67, 72, 77 and ... I need an 88 or something now for my new 6x7 lenses.
and I'm sure there are a few more things to go - check - about.

[jon404]

When you start using your digital camera as a monochrome previewer for your Pentax 645N...

[magkelly]

I've pretty much given up TV, movies and listening to music at night to have the time to watch photography videos. I take a camera to the library, to the mall, even to the grocery store sometimes, and when I do actually go to the library 90% of what I do is check out photography books for use as self imposed homework. I shoot for an hour or more every day even if it's just shooting random things in the house to work on my focusing skills. I also spend at least half an hour working on props an stuff, sometimes more, unless I'm too sick to move in which case I'm still probably reading and FYI, I usually have a camera next to me in bed. Again, I'm always practicing the MF skills.

If it wasn't very likely that I'd drop the camera in the john? Likely I'd sit there practicing my focus while I was going to the bathroom. I'm that freaking obsessed with practicing. If I am not doing that I'm looking at photos trying to dissect what lights were used if any. I wasn't up to much today. I'm still dragging around and my stomach hurts. Can't hardly eat right now, but I still spent a half an hour photographing a lens cap, a stained glass lamp bottom, a plastic tin of lip balm, a bottle of Tylenol and a battery just to practice my focusing with both digital cameras the K-x and my Oly.

Tomorrow after Walmart I am going to drag the girls over here for a shoot and dinner at Mickey D's. I really need to practice with a few live people. I haven't shot anyone in a few weeks because of being ill and I'm feeling like I'm being beyond lazy even though I've been sick. I'm going to snag the roommate and the former roommate for a shoot this weekend too I think. Anything just to keep my skill set up till I do my next photo gig which unfortunately isn't until January. I've got a maternity shoot then but Dec has been a bit dry so far and I thought it would be busy actually because of Christmas cards and all. I've got my half et all of the rent paid from last month's work but my bank account is not looking too great. I'm just not banking the money I thought I'd be this month....

Even sick though 75% of any free time I have is all about my photography. If I am not studying I'm usually on here typing about it. I do take a break once in a while when my brain gets fried. Usually I play a video game or chat on my doll boards or actually play with my dolls but mostly it's, work, work, study, study, and photography is what I'm thinking about all the time. Sick or not I spent 20 hours last week just working and learning about photography. It never stops for me. The long apprenticeship might be technically over but I'm still in school in a manner of speaking. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't have something photography related going on. If I am conscious I'm probably working on it...

[neil]

Sounds like you are obsessed with photography GEAR. Nothing wrong with that, but there is a difference between gear and actual photography.

[Sagitta]

Only 10 lenses and two cameras? Is that all? It appears that you are on the road to obsession but you know you will have arrived when you have at least 3 50mm MF lenses and are looking at two more.

Well shoot. I have 5.

I have an excuse! They came with the cameras that had the other lenses I was after... uh.. attached to... um. Them?

*eyes his half dozen old MF bodies that piggybacked with lenses he was after suspiciously*

[LaurenOE]

Obsessed?

When your home insurance does not go far enough to cover the losses of your camera gear, and when you *do* get the extra coverage, you have to jump through hurdles to prove you are *not* a pro.

That's obsessed.

[crewl1]

When you buy furniture with the express purpose of using it to store cameras and lenses?

[mrNewt]

Kids ... they have a K5 and a Q and they think are obsessed ... cute