Is It Possible to Own Too Many Lenses? One Photographer Investigates (VIDEO)

Here’s a helpful video for any photographer out there who suffers from GAS, aka “Gear Acquisition Syndrome.” In the below clip, photographer Michael Andrew, aka Michael the Maven, tries to answer that eternal question photographers face: how many lenses is too many?

“Hick’s Law states that as the number of options increases, the time it takes to choose between those options also increases. This is a problem that happens with Gear Acquiring Syndrome,” Andrew explains. “And as many of you know, I’m a big fan of efficiency. (The term) sandbagging, to me, is when a photographer starts to overprepare, he become less and less efficient. He starts bringing so much gear that he cannot possibly use all that gear in one shoot, but he brings it anyway and it slows him down. There has to be this balance between the amount of gear you bring and maximizing productivity.”

While Andrew's question might sound humorous at first – what photographer hasn’t, for instance, collected too many camera bags – it can be a real problem, not just on your pocketbook, but on your actual productivity as a photographer.

Check it out below and then share your thoughts about whether you think it’s really possible to own too many lenses. We’re still on the fence. :-)

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