Some folks are more concerned with the gear than with what the
gear is intended for, and that?s okay. This is, for most of us,
primarily a hobby; it doesn?t involve any life or death decisions
(except when caught trying to sneak something new past the
domestic comptroller). For those who get warm and fuzzy feelings
cuddling with their Zuikos, caressing them and muttering stuff
like "My Precious-s-s-s-s," more power to them. Blessed are they,
for they shall be called gearheads.
Me, I do love the gear too, because I?m an unrepentant, confirmed
gadget freak. I definitely get pleasure out of handling it,
looking at it, playing with it. But I also use it. There?s not a
single piece that I leave home simply because I?m afraid it might
get banged up a bit.
See, I?ve got this 400/6.3 Zuiko that I?ve had for 20 years. It?s
covered with little scratches and scrapes from where I?ve braced
it against trees, fence posts, car doors, anything available to
steady both it and myself to take a shot. The glass is perfect,
the diaphragm snappy, the focus smooth as silk; the aperture ring
clicks solidly from stop to stop; the hood extends and retracts
perfectly; the filter threads are immaculate, but because of the
scratches, the gearheads would most likely sneer and call it
junky. Well, so much for them, and the horse they rode in on.
This is, considered in the context of its intended use, an EX+
lens.
There?s pretty much the same philosophical division among people
in the hi-fi hobby. I know some who constantly change equipment,
plugging in a new component every couple of months. Many of them
have dozens of test recordings. They continually check out their
system with sound level meters while they play their test
recordings, and, bless them, they are gearheads too. Except for a
new SACD player a few months ago, I haven?t changed much of
anything in my system in nearly 10 years. When the gearheads play
a recording, they?re listening to the gear. When I play one, I?m
listening to the music.
It?s the same philosophy that causes me not to test lenses; I just
take pictures. And I'm going out in just a couple of minutes and
do exactly that.
Walt
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