Gear Acquisition Syndrome

QuickHitRecord

QuickHitRecord

Veteran
As defined by Wikipedia:

Gear Acquisition Syndrome (sometimes Guitar Acquisition Syndrome, both abbreviated to GAS) is a term used to describe an urge to acquire and accumulate lots of gear. This term commonly associated with:
  • Guitarists (tend to acquire guitars, guitar amplifiers, pedals, effects processors)
  • Keyboard / synth players (tend to acquire keyboards, synthesizers, samplers, effects units, etc)
  • Drummers (various drums, percussion, drumsticks)
  • Photographers (cameras and its parts - bodies, lens, mounts, filters, flash, etc.)
  • Bike accessories (racks, lights, fenders, etc.)
Click to expand...

They should probably add a line for video professionals as well.

It's easy enough to laugh about it, but we've probably all been there at one point or another. There's always that extra G&E piece that would make your life just a little easier, that lens that would make your shots a bit more "cinematic"; that light fixture that would give you that extra flexibility. Before you know it, you've forked over a couple thousand bucks on a whole bunch of stuff that will quite possibly gather dust on a shelf.

So, with NAB around the corner...

What methods do you use to talk yourself out of unnecessary purchases? What rules do you set for yourself?
 
That's easy: my wife! ;)

On a more serious note, I try to focus my attention on the types of jobs that make me the most money, and invest accordingly. With that said, once I have a piece of gear that works, I'm not very inclined to replace it with the next best thing.

So for me, it's cost benefit analysis. Also, ROI, and potential resale value. Lenses are always a great investment for me, even though I'm happy with my current set-up and wouldn't need anything else for my current gigs. Cinema quality lenses would not pay for themselves in my business model so my Nikkor primes are doing a great job! But what's funny is that I purchased a wireless follow focus and I thought I was just being extravagant with this purchase...turns out I use it all the time!
 
QuickHitRecord said:
What methods do you use to talk yourself out of unnecessary purchases? What rules do you set for yourself?
Click to expand...

Focusing on the job that needs doing, and making sure that the new thing will actually do the job, the whole job not 80% of the job.

For example I hold back on a gimbal becuase I cant afford wireless FF focus.. so if I buy a gimbal I will actually only have half a gimbal.. one you cant focus.. and, well, thats a bit pointless.

Also toys/tools,

For example I have not bought a A7s, jello, mini HDMI.. its not really a tool but it is too costly to be a toy. Even go-pros are creeping up to a point where one stops and thinks. In fact even the F5 I did not buy it mainly because I did not think it to be truely good for the price point - not even any audio pots!. Sony zoom lens 28-135 - fly by wire focus etc etc.

So dont buy something you want to upgrade before it even arrives.


S
 
For me, as a one man band, and fairly new to the video world, it's more of a juggling priorities. I still need a lot of the more basic stuff. So it tends to be decisions like "do I need a new tripod more than light kit/new lens/etc".
but it's eazy enough to go with things you want rather need anyway. I really want to upgrade my FS700 with a O7Q but I don' really need it for the jobs I'm getting at the moment. And things like sliders, lights and even boring things like bags would improve my productions more.
To me though, my filming is as much about art as making money. I don't need money in the bank, I'd rather produce things I'm happy with and live on noodles ;)
 
let the dust settle after a couple of years...with some of my cameras..more like a lot of years..

I have two FILM cameras 35mm and super 16mm that I ended up using a lot and making a lot with..

for digital I have red one mx, 5dm3&2, bmpcc...gh2..and t2I...they cover video side
 
Can I charge more money for it?

Once I own something, the question of resale value v. rental charge comes into play. What will bring me more income in a set time period (usually the next 12 months), the rental income from owning this device or the money I could make by selling it?
 
I have been struggling with GAS for the past 15 years. My wife is repulsed by my GAS. I try not release my GAS in front of her but I can't always help it. Sometimes she tolerates it, and other times she addresses it, which can be awkward for both of us. I'm also very self conscious about my GAS. I usually shop online because when I go to B&H with GAS I feel like people judge. I don't tell my clients about my GAS but I have a feeling they appreciate it.
 
A counterpoint to GAS is having the right tool for the job. I went through quite a few crappy Manfrotto video tripods and heads, and was never happy with any of them until the day I finally coughed up for a proper Sachtler tripod and head. ( life was never the same once I had the right tool in my hands )

I've had the same experience with audio microphones and recorders, where you have to weed your way through all the crap to eventually find something that does a good job.

I no longer trust anything I read from gear manufacturers, as I've been burned way too many times in the past, so running my own hands on tests has become my bottom line about what works or doesn't work for me.
 
I shoot feature films at the absolute lowest budget possible for the quality level needed. This syndrome kicks in before every feature. This time I've acquired a set of tungsten fresnels, a 3 axis gimbal, and LX100 to fly and an FS7 to shoot 4K. I could have accomplished the same thing with the previous FS700 but when you have GAS as I do, that's not an option. Lots of small purchases too like grip gear, filters, follow focus, etc. But shooting one feature every two years, i can't justify expensive gear so have to get the clones and other assorted Ebay junk. Not having to withstand day to day use, it generally gets the job done.
 
Here's the problem with GAS (which I also have a very severe case of) - it hits you worst when you are not working on a project. As soon as you start working on a project, you realise that all that gear you purchased before filming started, and which you thought would be super useful...? well, it's not - usually you realize you should have bought something different, or didn't need that piece of gear at all. I still have gear that I thought would be super useful and which I haven't actually used once, because when work started on a project, I just never could find any use for it. So my philosophy is to wait until I'm actually shooting, and I'm more and more looking at renting, then if I find myself renting something a lot, I might think about buying it. But the one thing I've learned not to overbuy is cameras - those things become obsolete so quickly, you can't keep up... so I just keep using my older camera, and if I find something lacking, then I might think about buying that "perfect" camera.
 
OldCorpse said:
Here's the problem with GAS (which I also have a very severe case of) - it hits you worst when you are not working on a project. As soon as you start working on a project, you realise that all that gear you purchased before filming started, and which you thought would be super useful...? well, it's not - usually you realize you should have bought something different, or didn't need that piece of gear at all. I still have gear that I thought would be super useful and which I haven't actually used once, because when work started on a project, I just never could find any use for it. So my philosophy is to wait until I'm actually shooting, and I'm more and more looking at renting, then if I find myself renting something a lot, I might think about buying it. But the one thing I've learned not to overbuy is cameras - those things become obsolete so quickly, you can't keep up... so I just keep using my older camera, and if I find something lacking, then I might think about buying that "perfect" camera.
Click to expand...

So much Truth! My downtime is terrible for purchases I think I will need and then don't.
 
A favorite saying I have heard is "Buy the best, and you only cry once!"

My Nikkor prime lenses I purchased in the 1980s and 1990s (24 f2; 35 1.4; 50 1.2; 85 1.4 etc.) are still creating amazing images for me, and in the meantime I have owned the following camera bodies: F3, F4, F5, D1, D1X, D2, D2X, D3, D800, and currently D810. I'm a professional photographer and video journalist, and always prefer to have up-to-date equipment for my assignments.

But that initial investment in quality lenses has far outlasted the ever-changing technology of the camera-bodies I have owned...

Jon in Chicago
 
I used to tell people that a man in the video business is like an alcoholic in the bartending business. We already loved browsing through Best Buy. Now we have business justification!

  1. Write down a description of your ideal camera, and save it. Whenever a new camera is announced, pull out your description and compare. It kind of takes the edge off.

  2. Try to remember past times of buyer's remorse. A new and shiny anything always looks enticing. The day after you buy it, it has lost a good chunk of that feeling: "Past reason hunted, and no sooner had Past reason hated."

  3. There is a certain glee in reveling in austerity. I don't mean that I'm better than others in that I enjoy having less. I mean selfishly, emotionally, personally, I relish minimalism. It takes some getting used to, like an adult drink. But articles like this give you a taste of it.
 
Last edited:
combatentropy said:
I used to tell people that a man in the video business is like an alcoholic in the bartending business. We already loved browsing through Best Buy. Now we have business justification!
Click to expand...

Totally. I have it, and that only feeds it. I try to be very rational and careful with purchases for business. There are certain things that I want, but I acknowledge that they aren't the smartest or most necessary choices from a business standpoint, so I budget for them the way I would buying any other luxury toys like a TV or a new stereo. I don't think there's anything wrong with sometimes buying gear as a play toy. Even if we make a living off of this, many of us are still gadget nerds at the end of the day.
 
Man, I was just reading my post earlier in the thread about how I could not justify cinema lenses. Fast-forward a few months, here I am with a set of CP.2s

GAS is crazy, right now! haha

I have been getting some more studio and scripted jobs lately and chose gear over profits. Crazy, right?! ;) With that said, I feel really good about it. Not saying it is not austentacious, because it totally is. And I am not a top-level DP or anything, so it feels weird to have this type of gear. That said, I am at a point where I can afford it and think I am prepared to grow into this equipment.

This is how I am justifying it:

I still do second shooting and low budget gigs on weekends where I would otherwise not be booked, so the FS700 w/ Nikkor AIS lenses are great for that. Record internally and call it a day!

FS700/O7Q w/ Nikkors or Zeiss' for when I book a higher-ticket wedding or middle of the road short, music video, etc.

F65 w/ Zeiss' for my own projects as well as for the higher end projects that I believe in and have potential to render products that I can leverage for future/better projects moving forward. Plus, I have free access to all the lighting and grip equipment I could possibly need so I am not stealing from other aspects of production just to put into camera department. Dang, I cant even write this without feeling like I am mostly just justifying it to myself...haha

Reading my previous post in this thread was pretty sobering, though.
 
if anyone wants to overcome this illness by donating their excess gear to less fortunate filmmakers, i am here to help. specifically, i need a sound devices 664 mixer, but i will also accept zeiss primes.
 
ugafan said:
if anyone wants to overcome this illness by donating their excess gear to less fortunate filmmakers, i am here to help. specifically, i need a sound devices 664 mixer, but i will also accept zeiss primes.
Click to expand...

Ha! Since you put it this way, it makes a lot of sense. Although, weren't you looking for a woman? Stay focused, ugafan!
:)
 
Last edited:
egproductions said:
I have been struggling with GAS for the past 15 years. My wife is repulsed by my GAS. I try not release my GAS in front of her but I can't always help it. Sometimes she tolerates it, and other times she addresses it, which can be awkward for both of us. I'm also very self conscious about my GAS. I usually shop online because when I go to B&H with GAS I feel like people judge. I don't tell my clients about my GAS but I have a feeling they appreciate it.
Click to expand...

Reading GAS in lower case "gas" makes that post hilarious!
 
I think I'm "cured".

I left my well-paid corporate video gig and struck out as a freelancer a few months ago. I'm enjoying the freedom but money is tighter. Now, I only buy something if it has been sorely needed on more than one shoot. I still look at posts about new gear, but I'm a lot less inclined to go to B&H.com afterwards -- without a steady paycheck, money just seems a lot more valuable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top