Often, the new camera gear is considered something that we choose to expand our possibilities as photographers. Rapid cameras, more megapixels, machine-learning danoizing, and stardier tripods all bring only benefits. But the situation is not so simple, because there is a lot of hidden in buying and reading about the new gear. I will tell you about four of them in this article, and it can help you rethink your next purchase.
New gear can’t do what you think it does
New equipment often claims to help do things more easily. Select AI theme available in many post-processing programs. Separating my general attitude against AI, AI the subject selection seems to be only a benefit. Instead of manually drawing a mask on your subject, AI can now do for you. Personally, I use a lot of subject masks for selective danoizing and sharping, so why not use some automatic tools?
But if you think carefully, the AI method does not work the same as drawing a mask by hand. With hand -made masks, you have total freedom of how you pull the mask. You can choose, for example, to mask the head of a bird or a few wings for selective sharp instead of the entire body of the bird, which may look slightly unnatural. Most AI tools will simply select the entire bird in this case and remove that more selective touch.
My point is that using the AI method, you remove the location of searching by hand. Even if the AI tool has more options such as mask feathers or selecting individual parts of the subject, it applies you ideas and suggests things that can never reach the gentle exploration of the hand drawing masks.
Does this mean that AI theme selection is a bad thing? Probably not. This can actually improve your photo editing experience. But at least, you should think carefully about the real difference between the manual method and the AI method as they are not the same, and the manual method may be better for many photos, even if it took longer.
New gear changes the location of possibilities
Most of the time, the new gear gives you more possibilities than the old gear. Generally, our culture promotes it as a good thing, but is it going to be really the case?
Not always. Sometimes, low options can encourage a more peaceful experience when you are taking photos. Maybe your old DSLR may have less focus modes than the latest mirrorless cameras, and thus there are fewer possibilities, but you can know them like behind your hand. And within the camera boundaries, you can be quite good in taking beautiful photos.
Even if you get a new camera and get acquainted with it as your old camera, the new features there can affect you with their appearance. A new autofocus mode can encourage you to take more action shots, and the burst mode can entice you to use it. It may be a good thing, but perhaps it’s not for you, because it reduces the time that you can spend on the type of photography that is already taking care of well with your current gear.
New features are not always a bad thing. But if your personality works better with less facilities, then nothing is wrong in it. Furthermore, there is no reason to think that new features will always help you in your photographic journey. They can simply take your attention away from more important things.
New gear may be automatic which should not be automated
The promise of new technology is that it saves time. But is it? And even if it does, is it always a good thing? Email can save me the time it takes to go to the mailbox, but now I get so much email that I have to spend extra time to think about it! And what if it is better for my health to be forced to walk in the mailbox?
For example, AI is going back to the subject of subject selection, I can ask the following: What is wrong with spending a little extra time to draw a mask? Of course, in this modern world where art is more about production than human expression, AI theme selection makes sense: you can process more photos faster and post them on Instagram, Yay! But what if I do not want to make photo processing more efficient?
You know, I have recently realized that it seems that the rote works are not as much as they seem. For example, drawing a mask is not really just just a mask. It is also sitting behind a (hope) beautiful photo and considering it. Therefore, in other words, working manually on something is not necessary that there is a bad thing. Many times it can be a quiet thing, and something that we should not avoid in the name of efficiency.
Yes, sometimes efficiency can be a good thing. I do not want to do my raw files by hand, of course, because this task is actually a rote task without any artistic value. But not all rotten tasks are really completely mechanical, and I think it’s a good idea to ask based on the case-by-case: Is it different to change a manual work with automatic?
This argument is not limited to software, either. It can be applied to many automation. For example, currently, I do much more of my macro photography with manual focus lenses. Therefore, if I have received an autofocus lens, will it not be good that it has the same optical properties? After all, autofocus lens can also be used in manual mode.
But, are they? My manual focus lens feels a very good, smooth and butter that is completely mechanical. Usually, this does not occur in autofocus lenses. In addition, I appreciate the slow and more intentional process that should be done with this lens, even for other subjects such as landscapes and pictures. The absence of an automation can be a good thing because working more slowly is often a good thing.
New gear re -prepared thought processes
As a human being, we do not have complete control over what we think. Yes, we can direct our thoughts, but our thoughts also flow without complete control. Just stop for a second and focus on an empty wall and you will understand a stream of different ideas that simply come and go.
This process is affected by the new stimuli that we are exposed, even if we like it. So it is so important to be careful about the experience you have, because such experiences will shape us beyond our complete control.
Thinking about gear and learning about gear is no exception. And when you often think of something, it will come to mind more easily, and thus affect your entire photographic journey. Just go back to any article that we have written about gear. Such articles get the most comments and ideas about gear flood because people think so many times about gear.
Over time, this amendment of your thoughts will make you maximize the gear. And, since the human mind only has a finite ability and a finite time to think, the simplicity and peace of going out with a reliable piece of photography and a reliable piece of gear will be narrowed and even crushed over time. With too much space for gear, your creative side will not have enough time to flourish.
Personally, I think these days the situation is quite serious about gear and how it is promoted. We are bombing with the new gear, and some like it is encouraged to use it until the next piece of gear comes together.
I think this kingdom rather than revolting. Although it may appear to encourage interest in photography, it also reduces the value of photography as a means of expression. Short -term economic interests do not necessarily create a healthy environment in a long time.
Therefore, you should be careful how gear affects your brain. Think and think about it, to give too much emphasis on gear, can be harmful.
conclusion
Despite what I said above, I do not think photographers should be completely unbalanced to gear, but a healthy relationship for it. If you have found a specific application that cannot be done firmly with your current devices, getting something new may be a good idea. And yes, you need some basic gear to do photography.
However, at the same time, the new gear also has the ability to distract us and even how we think and see the world, change it and obstruct our creative processes. Therefore, it is also not a bad idea of what kind of gear you buy and what kind of gear you read.
In addition, if you find yourself about gear, taking a serious break from the gear websites can be a good idea, and even on the whole internet. Instead, just go out with your existing camera and take some photos. Whether you have found a new camera or something that is ten years old, it is actually a better use of time than thinking about gear almost to take photos.
