[Caver]

... the easiest way to become richer is to become content with what you have.

... and this apply not only for photography

[monochrome]

Way back at the very beginning of my Pentax digital odyssey Peter Zack PM'ed me, "Shoot with what you have, not with what you dream about."

I should have taken the advice then. Would have saved me lots of money and I'd be a better photographer now.

ButI can't go back and change the past - I can only shoot with what I have now.

[wtlwdwgn]

Nicely written thoughts on life as well as photography.

[Pioneer]

Well written interested-observer. Enjoy your morning.

It is not as warm here but I'll be off to the desert myself today. For me it will be an evening walk.

[Kerrowdown]

Using what I have...

Has that not always been the way, possible that's why I'm still using eight year old cameras with thirty year old lenses.

Or the other school of thought is... I'm too mean to buy new stuff.

[wildman]

Using what I have...

.....and the most important thing you "have" is your ability to see what's right in front of you whether it's a coffee cup or the Grand Canyon.
Gear is just a means to an end not the end it's self.

[TaoMaas]

Can we assume the OP is shooting an *istD with lenses from the film days? Or do you think he upgraded at some point?

[Pioneer]

Or maybe his Spottie?

[OrangeKx]

Man does this sum up my feelings about my gear. I was all fired up for the K-5IIs deal at the end of 2014, had the money to pay for it and was one mouse click away from getting the screaming deal with the battery grip and all and suddenly decided I didn't want a new camera for Christmas. I have a camera body with a low shutter count, I'm happy with my lens arsenal (even though it's not perfect), I have every bag combo I need, backpacks, etc. and I have all the little accessory items needed to make life easy. Despite needing a better (lighter) tripod, I just didn't feel like buying any more gear. Haven't spent a dime on camera gear for 6 months.

In addition to not feeling the need for a newer DSLR, I'm having a ball with my old film cameras (ME-Super & ZX-M) which live in the same backpack with their own manual lenses and accessories so I don't have to swap stuff around from my DSLR rig. It's like I have the perfect balance of bag organization and gear.

About the only camera that stirs the loins is a Ricoh GR, but not feeling the urge right now to buy one of those either.

It's good to know I'm not alone on this.

[RussV]

I know this is a bit of an old thread but I am very happy with the mint condition K10d I bought last year. I have collected 8 lenses over more decades than I want to mention and don't need any more. My kit does what I want to do.

[TaoMaas]

I know this is a bit of an old thread but I am very happy with the mint condition K10d I bought last year.

I love my K10D, too...and it's probably the biggest reason I've avoided upgrading. Okay...I bought a K-01, but I viewed that as a stop-gap measure to give me video capabilities (since I paid for it by selling my video camera), as well as a megapixel increase until Pentax released a camera more suitable to me. Most of my lenses are FF lenses. I have 3 APS-C lenses and the other 25-30 are FF. That's why the new FF Pentax interests me. It may allow me to combine my K10D and K01 into one camera, make my wide angle lenses wide angle again, give me more than enough firepower to survive the next decade or so of camera innovations, and help me in my professional life. In my personal photography...eh, I could care less whether someone wants to judge me on if I shoot Pentax vs Canikon. It's the images that count. But in my professional life, we just bought a Canon 5D MkIII for video. My co-worker is a Canon guy, but doesn't know what he's doing. Nothing would thrill my heart more than to be able to buy a FF Pentax with great video abilities and use all my FF lenses and gear to kick the ASS of our uber-expensive Canon and let everyone else try to compete using the cheap kit lenses we bought with our 5D. Is that mean?

[RussV]

Most of my lenses are FF lenses.

When first going to APS-C I regretted my FF wide angles were no longer very wide but it actually worked in my favour as I started looking at subjects differently and have ended up with shots I probably wouldn't have taken before.

[TaoMaas]

When first going to APS-C I regretted my FF wide angles were no longer very wide but it actually worked in my favour as I started looking at subjects differently and have ended up with shots I probably wouldn't have taken before.

I hear ya. Lenses that I hadn't used all that much on film became favorites on APS-C because they now fit my eye better. Still...I think a FF camera will give me back the range of lenses I used to have, plus give me the added advantage of being able to use my APS-C cameras as high-quality teleconverters.

[mattb123]

Great sentiment! Even though I'm flirting with the idea of the FF (depending one several factors) I do agree with you. Sort of like the Nike "Just do it" slogan. Don't wait for that next bit of gear, take the shots today!

One of the reasons I'm considering the FF is that it would make a lot of my existing lenses behave differently, kind of bringing new life into old gear. Still not sure if I will go that route and for now my kit seems very complete and fills all the niches I need. I had a great weekend of photography last weekend with the lunar eclipse and some great light that just reinforced the fact that my gear doesn't limit my creativity or technique one bit.

[Dewman]

This is one of the most entertaining and spot-on posts I've read in quite some time! I'm quickly approaching 70 years old and I think my two K-50s and the multitude of lenses I have will serve me just fine until my final sunset!