John Kasaian
20-May-2011, 09:17
I was thinking about LF gear and how to avoid needlessly spending money on stuff. Society places a huge demand on "instant gratification" and that comes with a pricetag I really can't afford and besides, few things are instant in the realm of LF (other than perhaps Polaroid film and digital printers) so I was trying to come up with some way to catagorize my LF "durable goods" and "capital investments" in a way to objectively forecast future expenses and inventory (since the space to store bulky stuff entails the expense of space unable to be used for other purposes.)
So I've come up with ARRA and after taking stock of the LF gear I have(or don't have) in my kit I've assigned each item to one of the following catagories:
A---Acquire. Something I don't have---do I really need it?
R---Replace. Is there a practical life span for this item? When will I need to replace it? Is it something I wish to upgrade to something better?
R---Repair. It is often wasteful to replace something which can be repaired or recalibrated. Am I capable of repairing it myself? Is there a shop that can economically make the repairs?
A---Abandon. Do I no longer use or need this item? Is it better sold off or given away to someone who can use it?
The value of this in making decisions is debatable, but at least it is some place to start when considering a new purchase. Is every new product that hits the market going to make a viable difference in my photography? Likely no, but obviously everyone's objective will differ and sometimes we get caught up in the hype, creating false desires and foolishly spending money which can be better used elsewhere.
Mercy, this is a boring post!:o But perhaps it will help someone confused about acquiring and managing their LF gear.
So I've come up with ARRA and after taking stock of the LF gear I have(or don't have) in my kit I've assigned each item to one of the following catagories:
A---Acquire. Something I don't have---do I really need it?
R---Replace. Is there a practical life span for this item? When will I need to replace it? Is it something I wish to upgrade to something better?
R---Repair. It is often wasteful to replace something which can be repaired or recalibrated. Am I capable of repairing it myself? Is there a shop that can economically make the repairs?
A---Abandon. Do I no longer use or need this item? Is it better sold off or given away to someone who can use it?
The value of this in making decisions is debatable, but at least it is some place to start when considering a new purchase. Is every new product that hits the market going to make a viable difference in my photography? Likely no, but obviously everyone's objective will differ and sometimes we get caught up in the hype, creating false desires and foolishly spending money which can be better used elsewhere.
Mercy, this is a boring post!:o But perhaps it will help someone confused about acquiring and managing their LF gear.