[shuttertalk]

Fantastic insights, you two. I think I'm group 1 by desire, but group 2 by necessity!!

[Toad]

This is actually turning into a much more interesting thread than I anticipated.

Upgrading? I haven't gone to the effort of categorizing upgraders, because I think that most generalizations tend to be the result of flawed or self-serving thinking. That is not to say that there are not *truths* hiding in that thinking.

To be sure, there are simply people that love to upgrade. The photo forums are full of people that upgrade even to the very next model of a camera - i.e. moving from a Nikon D300 to the D300s. I think the allure here is to always have the latest and greatest - bragging rights if you will. There is no serious case to make that an incremental camera upgrade will fundamentally empower you to be a better photographer.

There are others who upgrade in order to fundamentally change the photo experience. In my case, for example, I moved from my Nikon DSLR to the m43 platform, and subsequently to the M9. My goal was to reduce the gear that I carry to the absolute minimum without having to compromise too much on IQ. As it turns out, the compromises for using the M9 (no autofocus, no real telephoto options, no zooms) are fairly severe. It would be very difficult to make the case that I have enhanced my photo capabilities by that upgrade - but the *experience* has changed.

The M9 has forced a discipline on me. By being forced to slow down and think about what I am doing, I think that I have become a better photographer as a result. Getting back to Zig's categories, that makes me philosophically closer to the Make Do and Mender - but I think that it would be a hard case to make that I am "making do" given the amount of cash that I spend on gear.

[matthew]

I'm not sure it's all that bright to "up the ante" in terms of megapixellage and expect consumers to follow up the Size Matters ladder quite as blindlly as once thought.

There are only 2 responses one can have to upgraditis, given(as Ade rightly says) that at some soon point the user will have to refit their pc and software...and this is not taking into account all the other hidden bits you find you need("Does sir require vertical shooting..?

Well, I have to be honest and say that the price of my D800 isn't $3k, which is what the sticker said, but rather will probably be double that. To bring myself back to what I had with the D700 I've added the grip and spare batteries, and could still use a couple more, and I needed a new 64GB card to capture as many photos as my 8GB card would hold. My computer needs a revamp, if not a complete replacement, and new software to draw the most out of the files. I'm in a good place with my lenses already, but I'm also making more use of my monopod and tripod, with the inevitable contemplation of better support and maybe a new bag to carry it all in as well.

But now that the camera is here, the rest of it can happen as funds permit. And given the arrival of Lightroom 4, the computer replacement was inevitable regardless of which camera I use.

… the only snapper who is perpetually happy is either the one who manages to comfortably afford and justify throwing all their spare cash at the issue..or the one who places themselves so outside "growth" that its rigours do not affect them: they spend £500 on a medium-format film camera and class optics for their real stuff, £500 on a P+S that more than copes with the web output you're now largely confined to(the dreams of being David Bailey look like being unfulfilled after all)...the peace of walking away from the playground.

I manage to fall into both categories. I have been on an upgrade path for DSLRs, replacing my E-1 with an E-3 with a D700 with a D800. (I still own the E-1.) I also swapped a Canon SX20 superzoom for the GH1+14-140 and moved from an Olympus 770SW waterproof to the Panasonic TS3. Perhaps in a couple of years I'll also replace my S100 with a similar model. And yes, I've been thinking about trading up from my Nikon F100 to an F5 for quite a while, and could do that later this year…

…what was my point? Oh, yes, I remember: my 135 Zeiss Ikon will never be replaced by a 'better' film rangefinder (I doubt any will ever exist, actually) and I won't ever upgrade my medium-format cameras. In fact, I suspect that an excellent scan from my GX680iii could still rival my D800 for detail and tonality. In that way I know that I already own some of the best cameras ever made, and while I might want different, I'm not chasing better.

I would say that it's a very small segment of the camera-buying populace that upgrades. Most seem to buy camera gear the way I buy home stereo equipment: read some reviews, look up the specs, try a few out, make the purchase, and then stop shopping. That 'stopping' part is the key. The 'upgrade' factor is simply post-purchase shopping, which can be an entertaining hobby, but is independent from photography.

[Fionna]

Hi
Following information posted we have just updated our computer to allow windows 7 64 bit to be installed so that we may update lightroom 3 to lightroom 4 so that we may upgrade to the D600. Because of this we are able to increase our RAM from 3Gb to 16 Gb. We also decided while we were at it to install an Intel 520 SSD 240 and to add one more HDD. Because of this we have put all our programs/applications (including lightroom) on the SSD, all of out photo files on one HDD and the rest of our files on the 2nd HDD.

My question is: As lightroom is on the SSD should lightroom's catalogue be on the SSD as well, so that the speed of the SSD can be utilised in the catalogue.

[Don Schaeffer]

Pop Photo used to be a great magazine. Now it's fixed on high end everything. I don't pay much attention anymore since I can't afford any of their suggestions including their exclusive focus on Photoshop. Maybe it's not for me since I'm no pro. But I use(I just upgraded) a Lenovo laptop.

[murdoch5229]

Here's a guide by Popular Photography on optimising your computer system for best performance for Photoshop.

http://www.popphoto.com/how-to/2012/04/s...ting-power

Most of it is old knowledge/common sense - beefy CPU, lots of RAM - but it has also been updated to include advice on Solid State Disks which are becoming more common. Their example is to use a 2 drive configuration - a SSD of at least 256 GB for running the apps and also as a high performance scratch disk, and a 2TB or greater SATA drive for storage (i.e. photos).

They also talk a bit on monitors/displays and calibration.

Anyone upgrade their rig recently? Anyone using SSDs as part of their machine?

Yes have upgraded to a 256 gig SSD, plus have A 1tb storage disc,both work wonderful, and the SSD is very fast.
murdoch5229

[Henry Jordan]

Really i get good guide by Popular Photography on optimising your computer system for best performance for Photoshop.Is a SSD more dependable than a computer computer disc based hard propel for storage. Or is it too shortly to tell.

The Equation game

[Barbara G.]

Welcome to each of the new members posting in this thread! We are glad to have you here on site with us! Feel free to share some of your experience with us via photos and conversation! :0)