Pushing Back Against the Gadget Acquisition Syndrome Noise.

…can you push back on noise?… Anyhoo. Mangled metaphor aside here we go.

As I have mentioned, camera nerd acquisitions have recently slowed considerably around these parts. Mainly because when looking at what is left out there I have:

• Tried it, been there and done that.
• Have tried something close enough to know better.
  • Like being pulled towards the gorgeous Nikon 35t, but I have had and moved on from a Contax T2. Very similar beasts that will lead to very similar outcomes.
• Not really interested.
  • For example, having a 4×5 that never sees the light of day an 8×10 does not interest me at all.

But that does not stop me from wanting stuff. For example, I need SE Camera to sell my Pentax 645D because I keep considering a trade-a-pa-looza plot to rescue it. Update. I stopped by today to look at the 645D and huzzah! They sold it. While I do not believe I would have ever traded for it again I am relieved because now I do not have to fight the urge to rescue it.

There are two cameras that tempt me.

• Pentax 645D and 75mm f/2.8.
• Fuji GFX 50R and 80mm f/1.7.

But I always end up in the same place. There are two cameras that I would rather have. One is expected. The other is not. Both in terms of camera and lens.

The first.

Sony A7RV and GM 50mm f/1.2.

Easy choice based on two events.

First: Bridal session.

In short, I used an older A7III with the GM 50mm and I could not tell the difference between the GM 50mm photos and those taken with the 645D/75mm by simply looking at them. I had to go to the EXIF data to confirm.

645D/75mm

GM 50mm

645D/75mm

GM 50mm

Here is another GM 50mm photo from that day.

Game over. Sold the 645D after that.

Second: Camera store visit.

The GFX 50S II and 80mm f/1.7 went on sale. It was, and still is, selling new for less than the lens and camera I had. So the price advantage at full price evaporated. While I prefer the 50R it is only available used and the S II’s price new could not be ignored. So I brought the A7RV I had upgraded to since trading the 645D towards it to the camera shop for a side by side comparison. I honestly thought the GFX experience would wow me and there might be a trade-a-pa-looza to follow. It was not close. Setting the larger sensor aside:

• The A7RV has more MP.
• The A7RV has better video specs.
• So many more Sony lenses exist.
  • Including lenses with no GFX equivalent like the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8.
• The AF performance difference was surprising honestly.
  • Yes. With contrast AF only I expected the Sony’s AF to be better, but the difference was dramatic side by side. For GFX to be my main system phase detect would be required and those GFX models cost too much to make a compelling argument to switch when added to the lens availability disparity. And even I must admit that my use case does not justify 100MP. If the GFX 50S II had phase detect AF at the same price it may have gone a different way. Sony has completely spoiled me AF wise.

That last one sealed the deal. It was clear that there was no way I could make this trade after comparing them side by side. And since every bullet above applies to the 50R that is a no go also.

But what of that other camera and lens I mentioned.

The SIGMA sd Quattro and Art 30mm f/1.4 Art.

This came to mind because I still wanted to take a trade swing at the 50R. Hey. Gadget acquisition syndrome does not go down easy. And if I were to still make a go at the 50R the sd Quattro and other gear would need to go. And that is a no. But this made no sense. Am I saying that I would not be willing to give up an APS-C camera to acquire a medium format camera? Yes. Yes, I am. For the why it comes down to this.

It is weird.

Medium format is downright boring compared to Foveon SIGMA.

• Stunning IQ that punched far above its weight class.
  • Great colors.
  • Fantastic black and white images.
• Fantastic lens.
• Sharp, sharp, and sharp.

And now for the weird.

• Infrared.
  • A removable hot mirror for Infrared any time you want it.

• Committed crop ratios.
  • My favorite is what I call fake X-Pan. 21:9 mode creates 21:9 RAW files. No access to the original 3:2 RAW file gives me a film vibe. You have to commit.
• Committed color profiles.
  • Choose B&W you get a RAW file in Lightroom with SIGMA’s B&W profile instead of a color RAW file. Can you convert it to color in Lightroom if I wanted to? Yes. But with all of my other cameras, the only way to retain B&W in Lightroom is JPEG and RAW files are in color. I really like that the SIGMA gives access to SIGMA’s take on B&W and the flexibility of RAW files. Again, you are forced to commit like film.

Exhibit A of what I mentioned above.

Downsides? Sure it has a few.

• Slooooow.
• AF ranges from meh to nearly unusable.
  • But rarely so bad that I need to switch over to MF.
• No video.
• Ergonomics only a mother could love.

But I do not care. Nope.

It is a fun camera that produces great results.

I heart this camera. And I am just putting this together now…

In my opinion neither the 50R nor the sd Quattro could be a main camera solution. But between the two I would and did go with the much less expensive APS-C having sd Quattro.

Welp. That is about it.

A crazy little camera from the minds of some trippy SIGMA engineers does it for me. It has silenced the Gadget Acquisition Syndrome Noise.

Happy capturing.

-ELW