Hello my name's Fluoro and I'm an upgradaholic.

Fluoro

Fluoro

Well-known member
I've been clean for 93 days. That was when I received my BMCC. The temptation to sell it in order to buy the new 4K production cam from BMD or even the 5DIII with hack is strong but I just remind myself that I'm not getting the best out of my camera currently, the one I have right now in my hands, and it's up to me to change that. It's hard to ignore the little devil on my shoulder that whispers in my ear "pssst you'll shoot amazing stuff on the hacked 5DIII!". But I know that's just bulls*%t. I'll sell the BMCC buy the 5DIII and then spend months on forums trying to get it working at its peak instead of going out there shooting and getting myself to work at my peak with what I have. And just when I think I'm about to make my masterpiece some new must have camera will come along. Right now I have that little devil under control. I'm coming to forums for information when I needed and not just to daydream about my next camera purchase. I see people that seem to think "if I only I had xx camera I'd make beautiful films" I get it, I was there not so long ago. They get that camera after months of talking about it and then a month after they receive it it's for sale in the marketplace. More dreams dashed thanks to this horrible addiction. I've been there and all I can do now is take it a day at a time. Thanks.
 
The first step towards recovery is admitting you have a problem.







Says the guy who's owned ten cameras in the last 18 months.
 
Hi Fluoro.
My name is Gord.
I'm a Postaholic.

Welcome.
 
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Fluoro said:
I've been clean for 93 days. That was when I received my BMCC. The temptation to sell it in order to buy the new 4K production cam from BMD or even the 5DIII with hack is strong but I just remind myself that I'm not getting the best out of my camera currently, the one I have right now in my hands, and it's up to me to change that. It's hard to ignore the little devil on my shoulder that whispers in my ear "pssst you'll shoot amazing stuff on the hacked 5DIII!". But I know that's just bulls*%t. I'll sell the BMCC buy the 5DIII and then spend months on forums trying to get it working at its peak instead of going out there shooting and getting myself to work at my peak with what I have. And just when I think I'm about to make my masterpiece some new must have camera will come along. Right now I have that little devil under control. I'm coming to forums for information when I needed and not just to daydream about my next camera purchase. I see people that seem to think "if I only I had xx camera I'd make beautiful films" I get it, I was there not so long ago. They get that camera after months of talking about it and then a month after they receive it it's for sale in the marketplace. More dreams dashed thanks to this horrible addiction. I've been there and all I can do now is take it a day at a time. Thanks.
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Join the club my friend. It has costed people their homes, cars, marriages, jail time… We can set up an intervention time to oust the problem. But nothing seems to help.
 
Hi Fluoro!

The best footage you'll ever shoot will come from inside of you, not from the camera in your hand.

Dillon


Fluoro said:
I've been clean for 93 days. That was when I received my BMCC. The temptation to sell it in order to buy the new 4K production cam from BMD or even the 5DIII with hack is strong but I just remind myself that I'm not getting the best out of my camera currently, the one I have right now in my hands, and it's up to me to change that. It's hard to ignore the little devil on my shoulder that whispers in my ear "pssst you'll shoot amazing stuff on the hacked 5DIII!". But I know that's just bulls*%t. I'll sell the BMCC buy the 5DIII and then spend months on forums trying to get it working at its peak instead of going out there shooting and getting myself to work at my peak with what I have. And just when I think I'm about to make my masterpiece some new must have camera will come along. Right now I have that little devil under control. I'm coming to forums for information when I needed and not just to daydream about my next camera purchase. I see people that seem to think "if I only I had xx camera I'd make beautiful films" I get it, I was there not so long ago. They get that camera after months of talking about it and then a month after they receive it it's for sale in the marketplace. More dreams dashed thanks to this horrible addiction. I've been there and all I can do now is take it a day at a time. Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
I will offer a different opinion - and some hope: my friend, salvation is not far away. We are living in a time of very rapid technological change when it comes to camera technology. When that change crests, and we have arrived at "mature", the need to upgrade will greatly abate. Example: sound. Yes, there is still technological evolution - but not revolution. As a result, if you buy a very good microphone - or bought one in the last few years - you really don't have to upgrade; same for mixers - there are a number of very good mixers, some even quite affordable (MixPre-D) - if you buy a good mixer, you need not upgrade. Now, there will always be new models, but not compelling enough to change what is working for you today. That is simply not true of cameras today, though I believe we are close to that state. Give us 15-18 stops in DR, that can shoot in super-low light, multiple speed, redundancy built in, with a good choice of lenses, at an affordable price, and you're set - and we're not far away from that. Give it another 10 years or so, and see what happens. It will become "good enough" for 99% of the time, and the need to "upgrade" will fall off a cliff. It will become mature technology. We are not there today as yet - yes, we have amazing cameras at amazing prices - but still lacking in important ways... not for long. If you can hold on and not go bankrupt over the next 10 years, you'll be set. Meanwhile, shoot with what you have and before yo know it, the technology will have matured, as it has in most of the sound department (except for lavs).
 
Last thing you want to do is downgrade to a 5DIII and spend time fussing to get it to work right. The 4k BMPC would certainly be an upgrade though, and might be hard to resist once it's out. I might be in the same situation once I'm more confident about the kind of footage it produces.

You definitely aren't being inhibited by what you have now, enjoy it for what it is.
 
Gord.T said:
Hi Fluoro.
My name is Gord.
I'm a Postaholic.

Welcome.
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Hi Gord. It's hard to imagine you without some random posts here and there. I know you have to remain sober and if that means deleting a photo of a dog then so be it.
 
OldCorpse said:
I will offer a different opinion - and some hope: my friend, salvation is not far away. We are living in a time of very rapid technological change when it comes to camera technology. When that change crests, and we have arrived at "mature", the need to upgrade will greatly abate. Example: sound. Yes, there is still technological evolution - but not revolution. As a result, if you buy a very good microphone - or bought one in the last few years - you really don't have to upgrade; same for mixers - there are a number of very good mixers, some even quite affordable (MixPre-D) - if you buy a good mixer, you need not upgrade. Now, there will always be new models, but not compelling enough to change what is working for you today. That is simply not true of cameras today, though I believe we are close to that state. Give us 15-18 stops in DR, that can shoot in super-low light, multiple speed, redundancy built in, with a good choice of lenses, at an affordable price, and you're set - and we're not far away from that. Give it another 10 years or so, and see what happens. It will become "good enough" for 99% of the time, and the need to "upgrade" will fall off a cliff. It will become mature technology. We are not there today as yet - yes, we have amazing cameras at amazing prices - but still lacking in important ways... not for long. If you can hold on and not go bankrupt over the next 10 years, you'll be set. Meanwhile, shoot with what you have and before yo know it, the technology will have matured, as it has in most of the sound department (except for lavs).
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I agree with most of what you say but if you think once we meet this "mature" state for cameras then some people wont still struggle from upgrade addiction then you're wrong. I'm sure there was someone five years ago who said something along the lines of "Just give me 12 stops, RAW, Global Shutter and Good Colour Science for under 5K and I wont ever need to upgrade again!". I bet you that same person might not be satisfied with the Blackmagic Production Camera. Despite the mature state of audio I'm sure there are people who currently obsess over the slightest of slightest differences between microphones. I agree that 10 years from now it will much easier to resist upgrading but that doesn't mean that there aren't people who now upgrade not out of necessity but out of addiction to the process.

But hey this thread was just meant as a bit of fun. I understand everything you say and agree with this idea of "maturity". Personally my ideal camera is the C100 form factor with a better EVF and Blackmagic Cinema Camera like image. Oh and FS700 like frame rates. And global shutter. BAM! Perfection.
 
L1N3ARX said:
Last thing you want to do is downgrade to a 5DIII and spend time fussing to get it to work right. The 4k BMPC would certainly be an upgrade though, and might be hard to resist once it's out. I might be in the same situation once I'm more confident about the kind of footage it produces.

You definitely aren't being inhibited by what you have now, enjoy it for what it is.
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Yep. The BMC4K is attractive. But I see no real reason to upgrade over the BMCC I have. The bigger sensor would be helpful for getting wide though. Truth is that I'm not earning enough to justify upgrading as well. I need to make more money to justify upgrading. Because upgrading every six months is a sure way to throw money away if you aren't earning good money.

I'm not against upgrading per se. Sometimes it makes total sense. There are legit reasons for upgrading and not so legit reasons. I have fallen into the second camp a few times which is why I started this thread. More to kick myself in the butt before I sold my camera yet again. Honestly if I could go back two years I would tell myself to shoot with my GH2 for another couple of years and hire other cameras if the needs arose. In two years I've owned four cameras. In that time I've spent more time researching and obsessing over cameras than I have spent studying lighting techniques. In retrospect I should have shot on the GH2 for at least a year and a half improving skills before buying a second camera. So much time wasted obsessing over gear.

In the spirit of giving others a chance I bow out of this thread now. Thanks for listening. If anyone wants to share their upgrade addiction story please do so. It may help others.
 
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