Damn this is an expensive hobby

[Rob13]

In any other area, I would baulk at the cost of stuff, but it pays to have quality.

Since buying the 40D last November I have acquired:

Canon 70-300 for motorsport (Highly recommend this lens for the price as it does a good job and is fast focusing)

Nifty 50mm 1.8 - Dont really use this that much to be honest and find it stays in the bag quite a bit.

Sigma 10-20mm - Only just bought this recently from John185k but it looks to be a good lens, but I need to experiment more with it.

Canon 15-85mm - Just bought one of these to replace the standard 17-85mm so waiting on it to be delivered. I'm expecting a fair improvement over the 17-85! I'll sell the 17-85 to part fund this one.

Also in bag - Redsnapper tripod, 480EXII, Lowepro Slingshot 200, cards, stofen & filters.

An expensive do!

[nick_bbb]

...and you haven't even bought any L lenses yet

[flat-planedCrank]

'Tis an expensive business indeed. Sometime I wonder if I should get a cheaper hobby - like powerboat racing or round-the-world yachting

nick_bbb said:

...and you haven't even bought any L lenses yet

Finally took this leap recently....blimey



Cheers.

[MonkeyHanger]

Rob13 said:

In any other area, I would baulk at the cost of stuff, but it pays to have quality.

Since buying the 40D last November I have acquired:

Canon 70-300 for motorsport (Highly recommend this lens for the price as it does a good job and is fast focusing)

Nifty 50mm 1.8 - Dont really use this that much to be honest and find it stays in the bag quite a bit.

Sigma 10-20mm - Only just bought this recently from John185k but it looks to be a good lens, but I need to experiment more with it.

Canon 15-85mm - Just bought one of these to replace the standard 17-85mm so waiting on it to be delivered. I'm expecting a fair improvement over the 17-85! I'll sell the 17-85 to part fund this one.

Also in bag - Redsnapper tripod, 480EXII, Lowepro Slingshot 200, cards, stofen & filters.

An expensive do!

Come back to this post in a couple of years and tell us your new definition of expensive after you've been through 3 or 4 camera bodies, a few more lenses, more memory cards, a bigger bag etc etc

[pernod]

I remember having a conversation along these lines with my old boss...

Turned out he collected wine; my definition of expensive changed in a hurry! At least my lenses last more than 10 glasses!!!

[Simpo Two]

But you can't take photos with a bank statement...

[dibbly dobbler]

Simpo Two said:

But you can't take photos with a bank statement...

You can't live in a camera though Simpo

[LongQ]

You could consider buying a sea going boat instead. The budget for doing anything with it would provide perspective.

[Rob13]

Quinny said:

nick_bbb said:

...and you haven't even bought any L lenses yet

Plus you'll be needing a battery grip, Oh and a nice Manfrotto tripod, may as well get a mono-pod whilst you're at it...Oh and a X1.4 or x2.0 extender......Then you'll need a bigger bag......

And doesn't that 50D or 7D look like the bees knees

I forgot to add that I do already have a grip, and the Redsnapper is a very good tripod!

As far as L Lenses go, I was very very tempted to go for the 24-105 but felt it was too long at the wide end on a crop, and the 17-40L is alleged to have similar optical quality to the 15-85mm.

I always said I'd have no reason to go FF but the more lenses I buy, the more I think I'll probably end up going down the 5D route!

[RobDickinson]

Friend has gone from a 400D->40D->5D2 and 50/1.4, 24-105, 17-40, 70-200, 2 flashes etc in about 2 years...

Dont want to add up my kit, still no 'L' lenses either!

[...Mole...]

I seem to be on the budget side of photography, Nikon D200, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6,Nikon 28mm f/2.8, cheap tripod, couple of batteries, Filter Holder + Filters and a memory card. It does all i need as i only ever use wide angle and im not really going to improve on the hardware unless i spend rediculous amounts of money i dont have.

I have gone down the route of buying loads of stuff before but realised i never used it and sold all the lenses and stuff i never used earlier this year.

[Rob13]

...Mole... said:

I seem to be on the budget side of photography, Nikon D200, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6,Nikon 28mm f/2.8, cheap tripod, couple of batteries, Filter Holder + Filters and a memory card. It does all i need as i only ever use wide angle and im not really going to improve on the hardware unless i spend rediculous amounts of money i dont have.

I have gone down the route of buying loads of stuff before but realised i never used it and sold all the lenses and stuff i never used earlier this year.

Your work shows its possible to get excellent results from lesser kit. At the end of the day, its the person operating it which matters most.

[Adz The Rat]

Im still using a Nikon D40 and a couple of cheap lenses and looking to upgrade now to a D90, damm its an expensive hobby!!

[rob200sx]

It's also when it comes to insuring it (I've got seperate insurance for all my gear) that you realise over the years just how much you've spent.


Naturally this figure is considerably lower if the mrs asks

[Rob13]

I've already stopped mentioning to the missus when I'm buying a new lens. I've just bought that 15-85 and plan to sell the 17-85 without her knowing I've even done it!

[onomatopoeia]

Rob13 said:

An expensive do!

You should try owning a Sony with all the lovely Zeiss AF lenses you can get for them. Gulp.

[clonmult]

...Mole... said:

I seem to be on the budget side of photography, Nikon D200, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6,Nikon 28mm f/2.8, cheap tripod, couple of batteries, Filter Holder + Filters and a memory card. It does all i need as i only ever use wide angle and im not really going to improve on the hardware unless i spend rediculous amounts of money i dont have.

I have gone down the route of buying loads of stuff before but realised i never used it and sold all the lenses and stuff i never used earlier this year.

Up until a few weeks back, I was in a similar position - Sony Alpha 200, 17-70, Sigma 70-300, couple of filters, rucksack ......

But then I saw about some of the cheaper Canons and the HD video recording. Got me to thinking "mmmmm, HD video on the camera would look sooooo good". Then thought of having to start from scratch again with the lenses. Then saw rumours of the next model range from Sony offering AVCHD recording, and my wallet may well get killed off .....

[M-J-B]

M4FFU said:

£1000 for a few uses a year doesn't make much sense!

Makes perfect sense when you see the results

[Lambochick]

Was quite happy using a 40D with the kit lens (17-85) and a nifty fifty but then went through a mad phase.

In the first 4 months of this year I bought:

Canon 5D MkII
24-70L f/2.8
70-200L IS f/2.8
100-400L IS f/4.5-5.6
100L IS f/2.8 macro
580 EX II Speedlight

I'm still getting letters from the bank manager.

[LongQ]

M-J-B said:

M4FFU said:

£1000 for a few uses a year doesn't make much sense!

Makes perfect sense when you see the results

Yes, up to a point.

The problem I have with renting for very occasional use is that one may simply not get the best out of the combination due to lack of familiarity. In fact if you read around the comments of some of the blogging Pro's and consider their words there may be very little chance of getting the best out of the kit.

Consider comments here from Canon 7D owners about needing to work with the body and lenses to get the expected results. (I use the 7D as a purely generic recent example - any body from any manufacturer when moving up the model ranges will present new challenges that will require complete familiarity if one is to gain the benefits associated with the cost.)

Likewise the best photos posted here are unlikely to be the result of someone using unfamilair kit on a weekend hire basis, tempting as that may be.

It's not just the kit - the PP skills and settings required start to be an ever more important part of the 'package' as one moves through the quality ranges.

Still, at least the rate of depreciation is probably no worse than owning car.