Affording gear

Martyn... said:
Our mortgage is under £80 a month :D
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Thankfully ours is paid off in 12 months time :clap: and how I look forward to being able to stash that chunk of cash away each month for better holidays and perhaps a brand new camera. The majority of my kit is actually second hand and with good fortune, have never made a duff purchase.

Di
 
The thing is pro gear (including software) is aimed at people who rely on the kit to do their jobs, hobbyists don't really need pro gear...

Having said that I used the proceeds from selling some images to fund my L glass.
 
Here's my secret...

  • Work hard at getting a decent eductation culminating in a degree.
  • Get a job that pays reasonably well for doing something I enjoy.
  • Spend 33 years working at said job.
  • Get early retirement / redundancy with a final salary pension and 2 year's salary lump sum.
  • Be very glad I never had kids.
 
I work hard at a job I enjoy and earn a fair amount of overtime. I have no kids, I don't drink or smoke and I cycle to work.

I'm aware of my limitations and know that I'm not even close to needing a new body etc. Funny enough I actually think that I'll spend more money on travel to places in order to use the kit than buying it in the first place:thinking:
 
i buy when i can.

my student loan pays for essentials - my wages pays for my horse and my car.


i honestly dont know how i run a horse and car. i get no help from the folks (and will never ask!) but i work my ass off so any spare goes on photography gear :)
 
ronnus said:
Probably been asked before, but how do all the hobbyists out there afford top-quality gear?

I think its accepted that photography is a wallet-draining hobby, and that pro gear costs serious cash which can hopefully be recouped via business, but the idea of me, with my camera skills (and wages heheh) running around with a D3/1D and a bag of fast pro lenses is insane.

I've recently totted up my expenditure on camera gear that I've bought and sold, and was fairly shocked to find it over £2K. I appreciate that this isn't even the price of a pro body, but it's a lot to me :eek:

So come on, how do you afford it, hobbyists? You know who you are! :D
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I buy bit by bit. Just like u said after u counted all n u were shocked to find that it costs a lot. And saving up from the money I get make me appreciate it more. :D
 
onomatopoeia said:
Here's what I do:

Don't smoke.
Drink very little, maybe five units / week.
Only eat out or get a takeaway a couple of times a month
Buy my raw meat, fish and non-perishable food in bulk at Costco (very cheap compares to Tesco / ASDA etc) and freeze it, only using the supermarket for perishables, dairy etc. Don't buy ready meals.
Don't routinely go on holiday every year.
Have buttered toast for breakfast and make porridge in the microwave at work for lunch (rather than spending a couple of quid a day on a sandwich / pasty - very easy to spend fifty quid a month just on lunches)
Don't pay into a pension, because that's just a big bet that I'll live to retirement.
Don't have life insurance, accident / sickness / unemployment insurance, credit card payment protection insurance, mobile phone insurance. The only insurances I have are buildings, contents and motor.
Do some of the work on my cars myself.
Do as much decorating and other household maintenance myself as I can, within the limits of not being qualified to self-certify under part P or gas safe registered.
Keep the same car for a long time - current one was bought in 2004, still no intention of changing it.
Mortgage on base+0.24% lifetime tracker.
My sofa cost £300 from some mail order place in Wales a decade ago, my other sitting room chairs were my parents' old ones (20+ years) that they were going to chuck out.
and so on ...

With the camera stuff I keep my eye out for bargains on new and buy a lot of things second hand.
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Have you ever thought of becoming a Financial Advisor to help those with bad debt? Think they earn plently and could probably afford Pro Gear:lol:
 
I don't smoke, drink very little and don't take expensive foreign holidays. I bought a fair bit of gear in 2009 when there was a lot of overtime going at work. I'm now lusting after a 70/200 f2.8L but that's got to wait for a while until I've saved up some more.
 
CT said:
It's a question of priorities. I see peoples jaws drop when they ask about the price of some my kit, and they usually protest they could never afford it, while many of them take foreign holdays twce a year which cost a lot more. :shrug:

Being an old fart with no mortgage helps a lot too. :D
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Being a young fart with out a mortgage also helps :D
 
I drink too much
I smoke too much
Have a guitar hobby too
2 Cars
Mortgage
Loans
Wife
3 Kids
Baby on the way
3 Dogs
4 Cats

All the above leave me pretty much wiped out for 'luxury' photography purchases however I get a modest bonus each year which I use for an 'annual' treat.
 
KIPAX said:
Same theme all the way up.. all second hand.. all wheeling and dealing and all looking for bargains... My last bargain was a peli 1560 case with deviders.. cost about 260 quid new.. i got in new condition for 70 quid off ebay...
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I remember you buying that, you were cock a hoop, like a dog with two tails! :lol:
 
1 - Some saving
2 - Christmas presents
3 - knowing some trade people and getting GREAT second hand deals.

Still i've only got 1 camera and two lenses.

Before that I've been using an Olympus OM1 that I recovered from a bits box for over 10 years before that, So in the last 25 years ive had: Hanimex compact, Olympus AF10 (I think) compact, Damaged OM1 (self repair), Yashica 124G (missing lenses replaced with those from an old Rolleiflex by myself), Jessops 1.3m digi compact, and finally a Nikon D90.

Grand total on hardware not including the D90 is about £75!

Nick
 
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I buy through my employer at times, paying them back over 1, 2 or 3 months so I get gear that I want and ultimately need to do my job because said employer won't provide gear.

More importantly though, I buy used, saving a lot over new prices. High-end kit is way more affordable that way and has allowed me to buy 12k of kit (when it was new) for roughly half that.... simples!!!

Anyway, I have about £30,000 worth of fishing gear that I never paid a penny for so I don't feel so bad spending money in my other passion :)
 
I think alot of people buy a little at a time, and after a while it all mounts up before you know it you have a few grands worth, i was lucky and sold our house when the prices were high and bought when they dropped, so had a nice lump sum left and wife said if you don't buy that lens you want now we will never afford it, before she finished the sentance the lens was ordered :lol:.
Now trying to save hard for a 7D and 100-400L and that will be me sorted i think, until the next new goodie comes out :bang:
 
I only recently got my first DLSR, but I got it by saving up and buying used.
I don't drink or smoke and I work a very low paid job, but I am still able to put a little aside each month the buy what I want.
I sold on a stack of Xbox and PS3 games that I was no longer playing and clawed back £150 that was just sat gathering dust.
I've now got a starter package I'm happy with and I'm going to buy a telephoto lens from Kerso this week to cover all the uses that I want from my camera. This will be my last purchase for a while though as I can't justify any more expenditure with my redundancy looming.
 
my dslr was a present from my girlfriend, as were the used minolta 50mm and 70-210. i used jessops vouchers to buy my budget jessops flash and my bag was a jessops on-line price match collected in store.

it's not pro spec kit but i'm only starting out.

ps. my girlfriends great :)
 
In the past i spent 27k modding a car over 3 years, next i bought a fast car which didnt need modded at all and spent 15k moding that in 2 years. Im much better now and have only spent 14k on photography in 4 years so its getting much better but i must admit i frequent the Skyline GTR forum again in hunt for another Skyline but that can wait until i get another 500f4 Nikon lens.

I kick myself for spending once i look back but its good at the time and keeps me out of trouble.I dont smoke, dont drink and no other bad habbits.....:thumbs:
 
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18yrs of hard graft building my business up. It's now reward time.

Kev.
 
I know there's one or two people down the local pub that seem to sell alot of camera gear for extremely cheap, no warranty or packaging and it's been used but getting a 7D for £400 is great :lol:

:D
 
It's just the same as my other hobby - Carp fishing - a very cash hungry hobby if you want the best gear.

For those not 'in the know' carp or any specimen fishing you fish with 3 rods....all on electronic bite indicators

a very good rod £350
a very good reel £600
a very good Bite indicator £115

times that by 3 per rod ?? and that's just for starters...before your other stuff...i have my carp gear insured for 7.5k...I have 'very good stuff' not 'the best'....ive fished since i was 12,I'm 43 now and have built my tackle up over the years, as I'm doing with my 'tog' gear....that's half the fun of it for me !
 
I work as a security guard atm while studying for something better, so a low income job, luckily my better half is at uni so i used her student loans to buy my 50D, 24-105mm L and a 430EX II (amongst other small items) and when she gets another one in april ill be getting a 70-200mm f4 L IS and a canon 10-22mm, shes lovely really :) but if it wasnt for her it would be down to good old fashioned saving im afraid :( for me if i was to save for say the 24-105mm then it would probably take me the best part of a year in saving due to my low income... guess i shoulda done better in school instead of assuming that joining the forces would set me up for life... how wrong i was :(

Doesnt help that i just love spending money anyway though i suppose :D

Si
 
I can't really afford most things I HAVE. But since the bank pays no interest, I may as well lock my money up in this form of savings gear account, and try to sell my work (the 'interest'). Not drinking or smoking helps a lot. Car is a big money sucker - I just felt that really heavily this year, but without one most things I do would be impossible.
 
Worked a day job and ran a freelance business for first 20 years after leaving University. Bought a house at 21 and resisted the urge to "trade up" - bought another house as rental property instead. "Retired" from the day job 2 days before my 40th birthday, both houses bought and paid for, rental property and freelance pays plenty to live on with a few hours a week work, giving me time to enjoy my hobbies. In fairness, compared to some hobbies, photography isn't that expensive - try sailing, power-boating or anything to do with horses!
 
I sell my body to the highest bidder....its call work lol

It started with my day job paying for my hobby, which is SLOW. Then I saved up and plunged £3k into a 5Dii and 24-70L...from then on the hobby pretty much pays for itself.
 
Not drink, to be able to afford photo gear? christ... I'd rather shoot canon ;)

all my equipment works to make me a living...I buy second hand and smart, there's plenty of other costs to doing business that need taking care of as well.... as the hundreds of pounds worth of hard drives sitting on my desk and offsite will confirm :P
 
AdamK said:
I sold a Golf GTI to buy my D7000 :bang:
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As long as it wasn't a mk1 or mk2 it's not worth beating yourself up about, it wasn't a mk1 or mk2 was it?

ChrisJ_SLH said:
Steady mate...
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lol, think he was laughing at the joke post on page two :D


For me, it was more of a case of I needed pro kit as I had people wanting me to do weddings for them so took a loan out and bought the basic pro kit, now the money I am making as part of that business pays my loan back and saves for more kit after costs etc.

Salary from my job goes on normal bills etc.
 
mastertrinity said:
I know there's one or two people down the local pub that seem to sell alot of camera gear for extremely cheap, no warranty or packaging and it's been used but getting a 7D for £400 is great :lol:

:D
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Wow a 7d for £400? I don't mind if there's no warranty then! :D
 
BigRuss said:
It's just the same as my other hobby - Carp fishing - a very cash hungry hobby if you want the best gear.

For those not 'in the know' carp or any specimen fishing you fish with 3 rods....all on electronic bite indicators

a very good rod £350
a very good reel £600
a very good Bite indicator £115

times that by 3 per rod ?? and that's just for starters...before your other stuff...i have my carp gear insured for 7.5k...I have 'very good stuff' not 'the best'....ive fished since i was 12,I'm 43 now and have built my tackle up over the years, as I'm doing with my 'tog' gear....that's half the fun of it for me !
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I can relate to this :thumbs:

Probably more frustrating than photography in some ways :bang:

Something I've let slip since moving to Socotland (phew) but please let's not talk about the cost of fishing prime beats on the Tay :gag:
 
artyman said:
. I used to race sailing dinghies, with all the travelling to championships, accomodation, new sails etc etc, photography doesn't seem as expensive, or perhaps my gear aspirations aren't high enough :lol:
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thanks for the reminder... my sailing club membership is due this month, and the boat insurance, and the deposit for the worlds....... shucks!
 
dinners said:
I can relate to this :thumbs:

Probably more frustrating than photography in some ways :bang:

Something I've let slip since moving to Socotland (phew) but please let's not talk about the cost of fishing prime beats on the Tay :gag:
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Not much good carp fishing in Scotland is there lol they do like the slightly warmer climes ...but do know what you're saying about the Salmon fishing up there..WOW...now there IS an expensive hobby :eek::thumbs:
 
BigRuss said:
Not much good carp fishing in Scotland is there lol they do like the slightly warmer climes ...but do know what you're saying about the Salmon fishing up there..WOW...now there IS an expensive hobby :eek::thumbs:
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Most hobbies are never ending. Once I have my shimano Stella to fish those tunas, I need a boat, then I need a better rod, a better fish finder device, wow..this will never end :D
 
Tony Stark said:
Most hobbies are never ending. Once I have my shimano Stella to fish those tunas, I need a boat, then I need a better rod, a better fish finder device, wow..this will never end :D
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Lol...this is true, every time,my better half says 'you've always got to have the best haven't you ?'......errr yeah ! :cuckoo: :thumbs:
 
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