Photography intersects with economics and sociology

Kitchen macros 4, originally uploaded by mick y.

Fannying around on flickr, and thinking about expensive cameras, I searched for D2X tags. This camera will cost more than $4000. This photo is ok, and so is the "Rust" one below. Get that, I said they're OK.

So why pay all that? I can understand that a professional would need the camera almost as a badge - it's something which says loud and clear: "I do this for a living. Take me seriously". But an amateur needs a lot of skill to justify spending what amounts to a couple of months' wages for a lot of people.