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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Troubador" data-source="post: 3499237" data-attributes="member: 109211">When I was just starting out in photography I remember a letter sent in to a photo magazine. This guy wanted to know the best place to buy used Nikon cameras because he wanted to 'wear one' (yes 'wear', not carry or use) on holiday and he didn't have the time to use one so much that it would acquire that worn used-by-a-seasoned-photographer's look. Now there was a guy who cared about 'alpha' status and the look that carrying an alpha camera gave him.Since birders and nature observers and optics enthusiasts are human its likely that among our ranks will be examples of every attitude towards our optics including like the one illustrated above.But I wouldn't want to lable all alpha-lovers as deluded not least because I am one.And the 911 stuck in traffic may not get to the destination any faster than the Camry but it will be a different experience. You can say this is not a practical difference but this argument carries no more weight than someone else's who says they love driving to work in their Porsche because they love the experience. Me? I drive a lowly Skoda and get stuck in traffic jams too but there are pleasures to be had like arriving at a crossroads about 5 miles from my house at the right speed to shift gears from 4th to 2nd as I turn left up a hill and accelerate smoothly up it and all without my passenger's head nodding forwards when slowing or backwards when accelerating. The point of this is that the same manoeuvre will be a different experience in a Porsche and the driver can derive a legitimate pleasure from this. I'm sure the Camry driver can too.When I bought my early Swaro EL 8.5x42 I loved the feel of its tubes and armour and the way my hand rested with my little finger on the bridge at the objectives, as I hiked across the hills of Scotland with no audience to pose for. And I love the feel and balance of my Zeiss SFs and the stunning field of view. But I also enjoy the feel and focusing speed of a Conquest and the fun of Terra or the precision of a Meopta or Kowa.There is pleasure in use, and as edj remarks, pleasure in ownership and all of this applies just as much to alphas as other bins and that is before we start arguing about optical performance.Maybe you don't consider such pleasures as 'practical differences' and if that is so then its a shame because you are missing something really nice.Lee</blockquote>

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