Temporary GAS relief...

[Tipton]

I've had my A7R2 for two years now. When I bought it, it was a store display that had sat out (under glass) in the sun for a about a year, and it had about a 200 shutter count. Got it for a great price at the time. Since I shoot mostly outdoors, it's gotten it's share of dings and dust and general abuse. So last week I sat down and gave it a thorough cleaning. Wet sensor cleaning, wiped the body shell with a moist cloth, evf, display, opened all the fiddly covers and wiped them out with a q tip, blew out the battery compartment, replaced the battery cover and eyecup. It looks pretty much new now, except for one minor scratch on the front of the body.

I did this with the intent of putting it on ebay to help finance an A7Riv body. But now I don't feel the need. It's still a damn good camera, and I really haven't used it to it's full potential.

Try cleaning your gear if you feel the need to buy new stuff.

 

[WoodWorks]

So far, neither the A7RIII nor the A7RIV have tempted me to replace my A7RII. I’d lose access to the built-in apps, for one thing. And I’d have to buy all new batteries. And the dynamic range of the newer R models isn’t noticeably better (to my eye) than what I have now. The better AF performance would certainly be nice to have, but since most of what I shoot are landscapes, I can’t say that it’s enough to make open my wallet. But I bet a good cleaning wouldn’t do any harm. Yeah. I’ll get right on that.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I've always found that a good way to see how really dirty your gear is, is to take a good lens and photograph the gear with it. I know my camera can see things my eyes can't. Even after cleaning, or what I thought was a good cleaning, my cameras still have dust/dirt on them that my Micro-Nikkor can make look like it was just dragged thru the dirt.

 

[bdbits]

It is always tough to separate one's wants from needs. If I updated from my humble A7ii, particularly if I went with an R model, I would see some benefit from the sensor upgrade. There would be a slight DR improvement. As a mostly-manual shooter, AF does not affect me much, but some of the menu/button/customization improvements would be nice, and the new battery. I'll probably upgrade sometime, because as my wife reminds me, I am kind of a gadget guy, even if I don't want to admit it. It is helpful that the upper echelon is simply out of my budget for a hobby. With the steady stream of new bodies what I have is not worth as much as I would like, so selling the A7ii would help but still be quite a bit short for even say a used A7iii. Thought about picking up a used A7Rii as they are almost down to around $1k if you watch for them. It will be a good time to pick up something used as the A7Riv buyers sell of their 'old' gear.

Another GAS-abatement strategy that I have found helpful is upgrading my lenses. It has made a lot of difference, in my eyes anyway, and I find the pleasure of using them and the improved results have inspired me to trudge on and keep trying. And the glass will easily survive a body swap.

Not sure what if anything I am going to do yet.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I'm going to try using more of my lenses rather than get another Sony mount one. I may miss some shots as I'm not fast focusing at all but at least I'll try to use what I've got.

 

[sapoeijoek]

The title says "Temporary Gas Relief"....
I'm in the middle of recovering from GAS, but I don't know for how long .

 

[MWhite]

Temporary photographic GAS relief may reflect a general principle, e.g.,

When I clean up our cars for sale I have a similar experience to Tipton. (We don't trade very often, so this isn't frequent - 17 years on the last one.) They don't seem old or in need of sale after I have cleaned them. I find that I ask myself, "Why are we doing this? It is still good. We don't need another, newer car."

 

[bdbits]

But... but... but... I *want* a shiny new {thingie}. ?

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Temporary photographic GAS relief may reflect a general principle, e.g.,

When I clean up our cars for sale I have a similar experience to Tipton. (We don't trade very often, so this isn't frequent - 17 years on the last one.) They don't seem old or in need of sale after I have cleaned them. I find that I ask myself, "Why are we doing this? It is still good. We don't need another, newer car."

I will admit to being one who likes having a clean car. I'm probably one of the few who washes their own car on the lawn so it doesn't waste the water. I've convinced my wife that a clean car gets better mileage too since it offers less wind resistance, you know, from the dirt on the paint.
I don't know why I don't clean my cameras more often. I try to keep them clean as a matter of course, but, bring out the macro lens and they're dirty as heck.

 

[Richard Crowe]

I purchased a used NEX-6 on eBay with all intentions of getting it converted to full time infrared but, the camera I received was so roughly handled in the past that I could not see spending the money to convert it.
After I returned the camera, I started searching for an NEX-7 or A6000 camera to convert and finally decided, The heck with it.
I will put the purchase money along with the conversion price into buying a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 lens. So much for GAS relief

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I'm holding out for the new Tamron 17-28 lens myself.