I’ve got GAS, and I'm proud of it! I’ll never stop buying cameras – or look for a cure for my chronic gear acquisition syndrome

When I was 15 my mother bought me an Olympus OM-10. In fact, it’s the very one you see in the photo on this page. From that moment, I was hooked. I went on to study photography, along with art and filmmaking, at college – followed by a career that has morphed around photography and visual effects.

I adore image making and everything that entails, including the gear. I think I have a slightly addictive personality, and I do love a collection. I’ve had many but the single most enduring has been cameras. For over three decades, I’ve been using, buying and selling, and collecting them – and I can’t see that ending any time soon.

This isn’t about keeping up to date for professional reasons either. I’ve been very lucky in that regard. I managed the photo studio at Games Workshop (GW) many years ago and at a very exciting time. When I joined everything was shot on film, using medium and large-format cameras to capture anything from product shots, to archiving artworks. I shot so many Polaroids in those days I could have used the money I spent to buy a house!.

Then digital hit. I remember getting our first camera for production use. It had 1.2 megapixels, and it was amazing. It took photos that went into print every month and transformed part of the workflow. Then we got a digital scan back for our 10 x 8in film camera. It took an age to capture a shot and you could see the pixels being rendered on the monitor one by one, very much like watching a page load in the dial-up days. What a time! Of course, technology advanced rapidly but I retained my love for film and still use to this day.

Work-wise, once I’d left GW, I was mostly using Canon cameras, until I got my first Fujifilm S1 Pro, an early DSLR that was a joy. It was based on a Nikon F60 body, shot 3.5 megapixel images (although it had an option to shoot 6MP but that had issues) and the colours were stunning.

From then on, I’ve bought and sold many many cameras, always trying to keep up to date, for the most part.

But that’s only half the story. Away from the paid work, film photography has always sparked my enthusiasm and I’ve kept shooting it, even at times where it looked like a dead format. I love the whole experience of shooting film, as well as the processing.

But the bug to try new gear remains just as strong when it comes to film but for different reasons. I’m not looking for the latest and greatest. There’s no raised megapixel count to keep up with. The cameras are old, some are tired, and they aren’t as convenient as digital. But there’s an undefinable allure, which I doubt will ever die.

I do let some go, although they are often replaced by options I’ve yet to try. The odd thing is that I use them all. They are rarely kept if they don’t get out shooting, and I think that’s the key for me.

If it inspires me to pick it up, load some film and get outdoors, then it will stay in the collection. I do have my workhorse cameras, which are in constant use. For 35mm film, this is my Nikon F2. It’s older than I am, but in much better shape! It works flawlessly and the range of glass available is huge. Nikon used the same mount for decades, albeit with a few changes. For medium format, my go-to is a Hasselblad 500C/M, of which I’ve had a handful over the years. Another near indestructible camera, that will most likely outlive me.

Other regulars are a Contax G1 and a Leica M4-P but they are out on loan at the moment. I am eyeing up a Leica M6 though, so that might make it into the fold soon.

There is a practical element to this. If I’m shooting film for a long day, then I like to have a second body with a different film stock loaded. I might take the OM10 or the Contax too, for those times where black and white makes more sense, or if the light suddenly fades and I need a more sensitive film.

I don’t shoot as much large format these days but I do have a Wista 45D, which I love.

It’s not much different for digital, although the reasons vary. I always have a Fujifilm X100V in my bag but I still have the original X100. It’s slower and a little less capable but that original Bayer sensor produces such gorgeous colors.

For the most part the camera I do most of my work with is a Sony A7R IV. Massive pixel count and a fairly sterile image, which is maybe not inspiring but it has buckets of room to play with. I’m not a fan of Sony menus but the ergonomics of the body are great, and it can be rigged up easily as a B cam for video work, which is mostly dominated by my Blackmagic Pyxis 6K. Now there’s a set of good menus!

On top of all of that are the oddities. I have a couple of Ricoh Theta cameras that I use for capturing HDRIs for 3D work, a DJI action cam and an Osmo Pocket 3, which is my go to for recording video when I’m out and about. A couple of Polaroid cameras and I’m debating a 16mm movie camera, although the immense cost of developing and scanning might mean I explore alternatives.

Basically, I don’t need any more cameras, or even half of the ones I have but there’s a romance to them, and they are exciting and I can’t imagine not wanting to try new (old) ones out and see if I gel with them. I have a Mamiya C330 which is looking at me funny, as I trawl auction sites looking for a decent Rollieflex.

It doesn’t stop there either. I’m currently in the middle of 3D printing an Infinidex panoramic camera, which I’m redesigning to make it suit my needs a bit better. Plus I’m keeping an eye on a very promising Kickstarter campaign for the BeerPan, with a magical looking 65x24 waist level viewfinder.

Now where’s my pot of coppers, labelled the ‘XPan fund’...