How Much, Honestly?

[Beaux Reflets]

Amateurs

I just got in from shooting an art installation (no, really).  It took a couple of hours and was done for a few quid and some favours.  I just totted up that the bag contains about 9 grands' worth of kit (including the laptop - I was shooting tethered).  I had a parcel waiting for me containing a £1,400 lens that a mate has lent me because mine needs a £6-700 repair which can't be done for the weekend.  My wedding bag is insured for £30K.

On the flip side....in Peru there were a bunch of keen nature photographers.  I was severely (and I mean SEVERELY) outgunned.  A couple of people had spent $1,000 each on rental charges.  Nikon shooters would have a backup of 70-200 + 1.7 converter on a D700.  Main lens would be a 200-400 or maybe the 600/4 on a pro body.  Canon shooters had their toys too.

One lady had literally no clue how to use her gear (I don't mean that in a nasty way - she freely admitted this and was grateful for any tips).  In the past year she has taken 350,000 shots and burned out 2 shutters.  Some of the pictures are awesome.  On her last photo trip she wrote off $10K worth of kit (dropped it in a river).  She's well off enough to be able to afford stuff like this and doesn't have anything she'd rather spend her money on.  So she chooses to buy Nikon kit I can't justify owning.

Did I get kit envy?  A little.  It's hard when you're struggling for shots on a 200 watching people pick stuff off with a 600 on a gimbal mount.
Did they get better shots than me?  Yep.  With wildlife you really can buy your way to better pictures.
Does it bother me?  Nope.  I spent the day shooting stuff that was really really hard no matter what kit you have and the small percentage of shots I landed kept me happy all day.  But then I was using about £4K worth of kit

It's not all about how much kit costs    horses for courses to a degree



About 350 quid and a handy little bridge it is too

[ABERS]

When I posed the original question I didn't mean "how much gear have you got?", but I meant how much does it cost on a day to day, week to week basis. I suppose however if you buy equipment regularly that will inflate those day to day, week to week figures.

Once you have got the equipment you need, or think you need, it works out a fairly affordable pastime.

I've got two Sony bodies, one converted to IR and four lenses one of which is rarely used, a Sony NEX which is nearly always with me, and which I find I use more and more and a tripod gathering dust and cobwebs somewhere in the garage.

I learnt my lesson from my past incarnation when I had every gadget and filter known to man, which like my tripod were bought after reading equipment reviews and quickly consigned to the back of the cupboard.

Just had a quick roll call and I think I have spent about £3,500 on equipment, and that includes a decent Epson 2400 printer. Spread over 4 years it doesn't sound too much and it allows me to do all I want to do. Which I suppose is what it's all about.

[greypoint]

I suppose, theoretically, with digital, if you buy something that will do all you want for a good while and print very little, the running costs can be almost zero. The trouble starts when you can't resist all those 'upgrades'...

[Jonathan]

It's not all about how much kit costs    horses for courses to a degree
About 350 quid and a handy little bridge it is too

Nice

Talking of horses for courses, I took 3 cameras to Peru.  Each with a different job.  Each of these pictures pretty much couldn't be taken by the other cameras.

[Alfonso_Frisk]

To get the thread back on track 
I reckon that now that I have a nice lens collection 2 cams, bags, pods etc, I spend on average around 70-100 notes a year.
Last year I did treat myself from my redundancy to a Bigma at 1200 quid but this years spend will only be on a card or two and a vari filter. Next year will be the same unless a cam dies or needs a repair.
RR
Alf

[Graham]

 Well. I've got the cameras I aspired to when I went digital 11 years ago. I have from 14mm to 200mm in 2.8 lenses with a 300mm 2.8 all of which I've justified with my gig work. (Sort of.)
Also have 50mm and 85mm both at 1.4  So I'm now find I "Need" a 35mm 1.4

This year Iv'e sold more gear than Iv'e bought and I appear to be going through a period of rationalisation based on usage rather than wantage.
So. (What was the question again?)... Oh yes, I rekon I can budget on £1,000  on a year on year basis.
                Now watch me go and blast that out of the water!
                                      Graham.

[Cathus]

These are just different priorities. Which one you chose is up to the individual. There is no right or wrong except on a personal level.

which was exactly my point, someone spends their cash on one thing someone else spends it on something else. I wouldn't criticise anyone for how they chose to spend their money or time.

Isn't it funny how whenever a photography thread talks about expensive equipment, people - who to be fair usually haven't got that equipment - have to mention that it's not about the gear  and how it doesn't make you a better photographer.

They are of course very wrong when it comes to my situation, has having all that gear made me a better photographer? bloody right it has.

anyway, I just got a new negative scanner delivered today, bought 2 second hand old film cameras on Ebay last night (£15 & £11) and am off to the loft to grab a whole bunch of files of negatives to have a digital play with. Before dipping back in time for a foray into film photography.

[Graham]

  Garry said.   "They are of course very wrong when it comes to my situation, has having all that gear made me a better photographer? bloody right it has."

        Same here. I think it's fair to say, at least on this site ( ), that we all know that it's  the photographer not the camera that makes or breaks the picture.
        Pre digital I would rekon on getting one good (to my eyes) picture every 6 gigs, and Im not exagerating. Now with the gear I have at my disposal I am happy to turn up at any venue confident that I can cope with pretty much anything, and that the only thing that will let me down is me.
        To get to this happy state of affairs I have had to pay whatever it cost. I started off down the second hand route as that was the only way I could afford it, but for what I wanted my gear to offer, I really needed those fast lenses.


  Handy helpfull hints based on my experience:-

                                                                          1)  Work hard and make the most of whatever opportunities come your way.
                                                                          2)  Marry someone who earns more than you and who has no expensive hobbies. (And is blind to all your faults.)
                                                                          3)  Don't have any children.

                            Foolproof I tell you...foolproof!          Graham.

[irv_b]

Graham points 2&3..................NOW YOU TELL ME!

[Cathus]

I find the secret is to have a wife who always goes out on a Thursday & arrange to have your deliveries then

[Alfonso_Frisk]

To get the thread back on track 
I reckon that now that I have a nice lens collection 2 cams, bags, pods etc, I spend on average around 70-100 notes a year.
Last year I did treat myself from my redundancy to a Bigma at 1200 quid but this years spend will only be on a card or two and a vari filter. Next year will be the same unless a cam dies or needs a repair.
RR
Alf

Whoops me tell porkies.
The leg iron has just reminded me that I also bought another monopod and a replacement grip for the D200 a couple of months ago
And heres me thinking she took no notice of my spending habits. 
RR
Alf

[Markulous]

I know a goodly few 'togs, both pros and dedicated amateurs, and I don't know anyone who's become a better photographer with better gear. Better images, yes without a doubt, but not better photographers (and I know a few who've the best gear and are just serial snappers). Personally, I've found my photography has declined somewhat with better gear as I've tended to get lazy and lean on the gear whereas before I'd have to really work to get the most from the subject. That's not to say I'm displeased with the results and I most definitely have a higher hit rate now, just that I got closer to that killer shot to which we all aspire!

[Cathus]

Markulous, well you know two now!


and as for getting lazy with better gear, don't judge others by your own standards , I find quite the opposite as I want to go out and push the gear and my skills and thereby become a better photographer.

[Oldboy]

I'd agree that, to a degree, you can 'buy' into wildlife but, TBH, whilst a big lens gets you closer so does a bit of fieldcraft!

Fieldcraft isn't much good if you are one side of a valley and the target is on the other. By the time you get over there it's gone. 

[Oldboy]

In some situations better gear helps you get the shot. Faster glass lets you focus quicker, which is a must for bird photography like Swifts and Swallows in flight. 

Love the second shot JR. 

Not sure about the panning on the third!