The story of how I stopped buying cameras and, conversely, started enjoying photography more.

Lately, it's a bit strange even to me, but
the number of times I think about wanting a new camera has decreased compared to before.

No, it's not zero.
It happens.

I still look at new products when they come out, and I watch reviews.
I see examples from overseas and think, 'Wow! This color is great,' or
'This bokeh is insane.'

But the flow of 'wanting it, researching it, comparing it, and then buying it before I know it'
has decreased.
This change would probably surprise my past self.

I used to think that if I stopped buying cameras,
photography would become boring.


New gear is exciting, isn't it?

It's fun before it arrives,and on the day it arrives, I spend the whole time just opening the box and adjusting settings.
Sometimes the peak is even before I go out to shoot.

I wonder what that is.Like a grade schooler before a field trip.

But lately, I feel like the nature of that excitement has changed.
Before, when thinking about going out to shoot, wasn't it mostly about gear?

Should I take this lens for the next shoot?
But maybe this one is lighter.
Wait, no, this one has better bokeh—the time spent thinking about things like that
was surprisingly long,
and before I knew it, it was evening.

I'd have days where I'd wonder, 'What did I even do today?'


Lately, it's the opposite.It starts with the scenery.
Like, 'Oh, this light is nice,' or
'I like this shadow.'
Just ordinary moments.
From there, I think about what I should use to capture it.

It's just a change in order,
but it was quite significant for me.

Also, at one point, I suddenly thought,
'Is there anything I'm truly struggling with using my current gear?'
I thought about it seriously, but surprisingly, nothing came to mind.
I can shoot landscapes. I can shoot portraits. I can shoot daily life. I can even shoot video.

So when I think, 'What's missing?'
It's just things like, 'I'd be happy if it were a little lighter,' or
'I wish the AF were a little faster.'
But those aren't reasons why I can't shoot.

When I realized this, I felt that I was no longer in a state of wanting things because I was lacking something.

Reading this far,
some might think, 'So, is it the right answer to stop wanting gear?'
But no, that's not it at all.
In fact, isn't the period when you want things

incredibly fun?
Watching reviews before bed, looking at comparison videos, checking out sample photos.

Even though I intended to go to sleep, for some reason, two hours later I'm still comparing lenses.
And then I look again the next day.

Even I don't know what I'm checking for,
but I'm looking again.
I did that a lot.


Or rather, I feel like back then, I spent as much time researching gearas I did taking photos.

When a new camera came out, I'd get restless. Buy it, shoot with it. Then I'd want something else, sell it. Buy it. Sell it again.
Looking back now,

I wonder where I was rushing to (laughs).


But if you ask me if that time was wasted,it was absolutely not.


Because I handled that much gear. Because I took that many detours.I feel like I've finally reached a point where I can think,
'Is this really necessary for me right now?'

So if there's someone out there who desperately wants new gear right now, I don't think that's a bad thing at all.

When you want something, you'll probably want it even if you try to stop yourself (laughs).
In that case, it's better to enjoy that phase itself.

Conversely, if there's someone who feels they don't want things as much as before,
it doesn't mean you're bored with photography;
perhaps you are in the middle of a transition where
what you want to capture has become more important
than what you use to capture it.

Also, I've been thinking lately that you get used to performance.

At first, you're impressed.
'The AF is so fast. The image quality is insane. It's so light.'
But six months later, it's just normal...

It's scary, isn't it, being human?
But things like, 'I want to shoot when I hold this camera,' or
'This lens has quirks, but I love it'—
those things tend to stick.

I still love FUJIFILM now, but
it's not because it has the best performance in the world.

It's the feel of the shutter, the feel of turning the dials.
It makes me want to take it out somewhere.

This isn't a reason to get better at photography,
but a reason to keep doing photography.

Lately, I think it's not that I stopped buying cameras;
I think the reasons I want to shoot have increased.

In the past, I needed gear to shoot.
But now, shadows while walking, morning light,
the window at home, my child's hands—
ordinary scenery has become a reason to stop and take a picture.

I don't buy cameras as much as I used to, but
strangely, photography is more fun than before.
I stop more often than before, I shoot ordinary things more than before,
and there are fewer days where I don't carry a camera.

So perhaps,
it's not that the cameras I want have decreased,
but that the reasons I want to shoot have increased.
I think that's all there is to it.