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The question is: Do I have to spend a lot of money to get beautiful pictures? The answer is no as everybody already know perfectly. But why many of us cannot resist to the professional gear temptation?* That answer is less simple and far away from the usual assertion of getting more skillful, robust and durable camera gear. In the bottom of our mind (but without admitting it), we love to own pro stated photo equipment of any kind and camera manufacturers have understood that ever growing trend into the consumer market. We like to mimic the "pro" perception that has been developed during the past four or five last decades of the traditional and analog photography era. It seems that nobody escape this "Graal" attitude even among the newest generation that have never been present during this "golden" era of photography. So spending this huge amount of money for professional level camera gear is now a known fact that have spread all over the Web planet and can be seen for many other similar consumer toward product attractions including cars, electronics of all kind, computers, phones, etc. Are all these "pro" things really useful for us? We can debate it for hours, days, months and years but there is no definite answer. What is also symptomatic of this obvious trend is that the race for the best seems to never end because each manufacturers is renaming their products in reference with the previous ones but with updated improvements that you cannot ignore. We are seeing this high-level or high-status consumerist phenomena That is corrupting almost all the space occupied into the photographic Web articles, chronicles, reviews or blog posts. And most important it seems also never end or, at least, reduce in pace or in importance because people are asking for it and if you don't respond to this appeal, you fall in disgrace and indifference. Is there a remedy for the "pro" enthusiast consumerism? Simply put, No! I would like to say yes but it isn't realistic today to go back to the basic idealistic interest for photography as it was decades ago. What we can assert about the pro endemic attirance, it is its obvious always rising cost. Since a few years the price level for such supposed niche photo gear have skyrocketed meaning that many of us are beginning to reflect about the futility to maintain this peculiar materialist attraction. We won't try to launch an appeal to reason and ask people who are already determine to own pro photo equipment but we may say to the others that have a more realistic and practical approach about the gear they really need that, at the end, it will be for most of the time your pictures that will finally be seen and appreciated compared to the pile of "pro" ones that will not ever be finally show. * P.s. I confess that I'm the first one to fall in this "pro" tempted people category! Photos Daniel M: Fujifilm X-E3 / Fujinon XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS ; Canon ELPH 330