Are photography enthusiasts an aggressive complaining bunch?

[jaomul]

There is more and better choices of cameras, lenses,lighting and all other types of photography kit available now at price points less than a few years ago. Every time I look at an article on Dpreview and many other sites the comments almost always end up in "canon should have done this" "nikon should have done that" etc. A lot of complaining.

It often gets to the point of insults between different posters, sometimes amusingly and I do think sometimes a little out of hand. A lot of aggresion albeit keyboard warrior stuff

What do you think, is this a minority from the hobby? Is it similar in other hobbies? I do not really follow anything else hobby wise on the internet so maybe the knitting forums are the same

 

[Overread]

It's totally normal.

It's also a property of the internet that people complain more than the compliment and thus you hear a lot more complaints from most people that in reality would form a smaller part of most conversations.

Also the whole "Canon/Nikon/whoever should have done this" thing is totally normal because when you hear that a competitor to the brand you use is doing something you want; sure you want your brand to do it too. It's very normal because most people do not have the finances to change systems wholesale nor to build two totally different brand systems up. Indeed many who do make a huge brand change tend to be those who already have what they consider to be a totally complete system in one brand and thus no further room to invest into that brand save on purchses that would be very short term or just curiosities.

 

[sashbar]

I think we need to separate photography enthusiasts and gear lovers.

I remember being a schoolboy, probably 11 or 12 years, I saved some little money on my school meals and bought a light meter. I did not need it, it was of no use at all, because I did not even have a camera.

But it looked extremely cool, hard black plastic with a leather holder, it had some buttons and a dial with numbers. I still remember it. It was the coolest gadget I could find for the money. And it could measure light. Just possessing such a thing, holding it in your hands, pressing the button and watching it measuring the light felt good. Holding it was very comforting, soothing and reassuring. But only for a short time, because the light meter was useless.

There is a lot of gear heads that remind me of myself at 11 or 12. They buy stuff, love it, read about it, compare it, add accessories, photograph things, but the images are not as precious for them as their gear. They usually say they are "more interested in the technical side of photography". In fact they are interested in possessing gear. Or to be more precise, whey need the feeling of possessing gear.

Since gear does not bring them real satisfaction in the shape of images, this feeling does not last long, and they need to buy more gear, upgrade, change brands etc. to get this feeling of progression. You buy a new camera, you feel that your photography is progressing. If you have switched to FF, you have made a jump! Each time you change brands, you make a jump! It is a new life! How satisfying, isn't' it?

I think buying gear has great therapeutic effect. We need some confirmation that we are progressing in one field or another. If nothing changes, if we are not getting better at anything, we worry. Even if we do not realise it, we worry. Buying a new gear is a quick and effective fix. But it has a short term effect.

So these people will always look for something newer, better, bigger, shinier, faster etc. they will compare numbers, features, specs, study graphs and think about ways to progress further. It has very little or even nothing to do with photography. For most of those guys it is just the wrong hobby. It is not even a hobby, it is just a fix.

Have you noticed that there are very, very few female gear heads? That is because they have lots of their little fixes. They can go and buy a pair of shoes, a new dress, a new perfume. Or, as they say, a new scent. They can go and get a new haircut, a new colour, only to stare at themselves in the mirror for two days and go back to have another. After all they have kids.

It does not work with men. We need gear. Not just some boxes with buttons and stuff, but some gear with impressive numbers and specs and features and a price tag. A new camera (a watch, a gun, an amplifier, a laptop, a bike, a motorbike, a car, a yacht, a football club) and a shot of vodka (tequila, bourbon, brandy, rum, Abstinthe, whiskey, moonshine) and the man is happy. He is a 12 y.o. again.

So do not judge these guys, life universally sucks, and even if everything looks super hunky-dory, all of a sudden you find yourself looking for a fix. You start browsing Dpreview.

 

[Usul]

It's the same situations in every hobby and not just a hobby. People like to argue no matter what they are talking about. I used to play paintball and GAS is very common among players there is vast amount of forums and articels where people talk about guns, hoppers, tanks, barrels etc and they argue and insult each other. My wife spends time on sewing fromus and it's the same story there. And have ever tried to ask in internet about choosing a vacuum cleaner for instance ? I bet there are people who discuss them too.

 

[waday]

You should see the discussions on cell phones--specifically the discussions involving Apple vs. every other competitor. It'll make you never want to buy a cell phone again.

 

[mmaria]

"Are photography enthusiasts an aggressive complaining bunch?"
YES

Have you noticed that there are very, very few female gear heads? That is because they have lots of their little fixes. They can go and buy a pair of shoes, a new dress, a new perfume. Or, as they say, a new scent. They can go and get a new haircut, a new colour, only to stare at themselves in the mirror for two days and go back to have another. After all they have kids.

ok.. I have an urge to argue with you on this... but I'll pass.

 

[The_Traveler]

I think we need to separate photography enthusiasts and gear lovers.
................................
................................
There is a lot of gear heads that remind me of myself at 11 or 12. They buy stuff, love it, read about it, compare it, add accessories, photograph things, but the images are not as precious for them as their gear. They usually say they are "more interested in the technical side of photography". In fact they are interested in possessing gear. Or to be more precise, whey need the feeling of possessing gear.

Since gear does not bring them real satisfaction in the shape of images, this feeling does not last long, and they need to buy more gear, upgrade, change brands etc. to get this feeling of progression. You buy a new camera, you feel that your photography is progressing. If you have switched to FF, you have made a jump! Each time you change brands, you make a jump! It is a new life! How satisfying, isn't' it?

I think buying gear has great therapeutic effect. We need some confirmation that we are progressing in one field or another. If nothing changes, if we are not getting better at anything, we worry. Even if we do not realise it, we worry. Buying a new gear is a quick and effective fix. But it has a short term effect.

Sashbar is so totally, absolutely right in his answer.

Especially '..... gear does not bring them real satisfaction in the shape of images... '
Making good original pictures is very damn hard - and should get harder for each 'artist' as they discard the opportunity to retake pictures they have taken before.
I like gear but, for me, gear is totally ancillary to making pictures.

And, to be really honest, I don't think much of people who know everything about gear and technical issues but care very little about making art.

 

[waday]

ok.. I have an urge to argue with you on this... but I'll pass.

I will totally support you on this, @mmaria!

It's actually an incredibly sexist and demeaning statement.

 

[mmaria]

ok.. I have an urge to argue with you on this... but I'll pass.

I will totally support you on this, @mmaria!

It's actually an incredibly sexist and demeaning statement.

I'm really not reacting on every thing that is said about women, but this is really something!!

 

[Overread]

Artists/Gearheads - united in being argumentative

 

[astroNikon]

Most people have no clue on how to engineer anything.
They think a feature is just a 5 minute "fix" and don't understand any of the complexities. Thus they complain away wondering why their $200 camera doesn't perform the same as the $6,000 one their friend has.

It's never gonna stop ...

 

[The_Traveler]

ok.. I have an urge to argue with you on this... but I'll pass.

I will totally support you on this, @mmaria!

It's actually an incredibly sexist and demeaning statement.

I'm really not reacting on every thing that is said about women, but this is really something!!

It would be interesting and educating if you would go through the post and separate what is true gender differences from what is sexist rant.

 

[Designer]

What do you think, is this a minority from the hobby? Is it similar in other hobbies? I do not really follow anything else hobby wise on the internet so maybe the knitting forums are the same

Firearm forums are a lot more polite.

Political forums are a lot nastier than here. Way way WAY nastier.

I don't know anything about knitting forums, but I can't imagine that there is anything to argue about.

To the point that our hobbyists argue about gear indicates what role they think gear has in photographic success.

 

[limr]

"True gender differences"? Or socialized gender stereotypes?

 

[sm4him]

ok.. I have an urge to argue with you on this... but I'll pass.

I will totally support you on this, @mmaria!

It's actually an incredibly sexist and demeaning statement.

I'm really not reacting on every thing that is said about women, but this is really something!!

It would be interesting and educating if you would go through the post and separate what is true gender differences from what is sexist rant.

Yes, but it wouldn't be worth the time and effort. Those who understand just how sexist and demeaning and absurd those statements were don't NEED a line-item explanation, and those who DO need it 'splained to them, wouldn't get it anyway.

Best to not waste my time on comments like that. I mean after all, I can use the time to stare at myself in the mirror for awhile.