When Was The Last Time You Purchased A Camera?

I had a very nice gentleman from the UK, email me about upgrading from a Nikon D2H, to the new D2Hs. It had been only 4 months since he had his D2H, and when Nikon came out with an "improved" D2Hs, he was very angry and perturbed. However, he was also excited about getting the upgraded model and what it could offer him. He basically wanted me to make the decision for him, and I replied, While I would be more than happy to divert you from upgrading because I think it's a waste of money, you need to make that decision yourself. I asked him the same questions which are in this article.

{mosgoogle}About a week later he emailed and said he was sticking with the D2H, and might even DOWNGRADE to a Nikon D70, because of the questions I asked him. A few weeks after that, he informed me he did in fact purchase a D70. But here's the best part of the story. Since he had a few thousand dollars to spare, he realized all the accessories he needed for the camera. When he had the D2H (which he obviously couldn't afford), his accessories were none and far and few between. Realizing his newly-found fortune, he purchased a flash unit, a lighting system for his portrait work, a nice tripod, backpack for transporting his camera equipment, and a few portrait lenses.

This is how our purchases should be. They should work for us, not against us.

Are Other Areas In My Life Being Affected By My Purchases?

This is probably one of the most serious questions I will be asking you, and you should ask yourself. How are other areas in your life being affected by your upgrading purchases. Are you noticing you don't have the money to do other activities? Is your entire day more concerned with getting the latest technology offering by a camera manufacturer? Are you jealous of other friends and acquaintances because they have the latest toys? Are you correlating the quality of your photographic experience by what you own, versus what you produce? Are you noticing you have less time for your friends and family, and spend more time scouring the net for the latest gadget?

Let's pause for a moment so you can think about this.

If you are nodding your head to at least one of those questions to the above, upgrading is probably not the issue. The issue, is why you think you need to purchase something when all the signals are going in the opposite direction.