is this a good way to invest 5k?

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lawless23456

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lawrence
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hi all

to cut a long story short i've come into a bit of money which my partner and i have agreed that i can have 5k of it to invest in photography equipment, heres what i've come up with so far. i need help choosing a zoom lens, a flash kit preferably 3 head and need a backdrop and support:

nikon d300 - £979.00
nikon mb-d10 - £239.00
nikon sb800 speedlight - £239.00
nikon nifty fifty - £79.00
sigma 10-20mm - £289.00
sigma 150mm macro - £423.99

2248.99

nikon f5 - £300.00
apple imac - £1389.00

flash kit - suggestions
backdrop - suggestions
zoom lens - suggestions

please can we have no comments about how much better canon would be etc etc thanks

lawless
 
I think I'd spend the dosh on two fast zooms, say something like a 24-70 and a 70-200 rather than a series of cheap primes. I'm a Canon man me but I'm sure Nikon will have something very good.
 
I was going to say that your list starts with the wrong letters but then you said to refrain from such things...........so................ I will have a go at you choosing Sigma instead. The main thing that would draw me to Nikon (apart from the D3) is the lovely Nikkor lenses.

Mac - good.

Flash - 2nd hand Gemini or similar
Backdrop - Lastolite paper rolls


HTH

:thumbs:
 
Don't forget that you'll need the software for you Mac and if you're talking photodhop, it ain't cheap.
 
Not a bad way to spend your money at all. You can pick up the battery grip from microglobe for £169 though.
 
When you think about it, it's terrifying how far £5 grand doesn't go - if you know what I mean.
 
Badger UK said:
PhotoShop is better than Aperture thinks me.
Click to expand...

Well it does more on the editing side, by far. But surely it doesn't beat Aperture on mass processing?? I can work through hundreds of images at an amazing speed.

And I just use Elements for the little editing I do - although I find that is even less since Aperture 2 :)
 
Badger UK said:
I think I'd spend the dosh on two fast zooms, say something like a 24-70 and a 70-200 rather than a series of cheap primes. I'm a Canon man me but I'm sure Nikon will have something very good.
Click to expand...


:agree:
 
Yeah i bought most of that but got a 24-70 and 70-200 f2.8 instead.

I wouldnt bother with the f5 personally-but would just stump up for a d3 instead well almost lol
 
Oli R C said:
Well it does more on the editing side, by far. But surely it doesn't beat Aperture on mass processing?? I can work through hundreds of images at an amazing speed.

And I just use Elements for the little editing I do - although I find that is even less since Aperture 1.5 :)
Click to expand...
Yes, you are right about the mass processing. I use Zoom Browser for that and it's a little clunky. Mind you, I hardly ever batch process and usually do them one at a time.
 
Badger UK said:
Yes, you are right about the mass processing. I use Zoom Browser for that and it's a little clunky. Mind you, I hardly ever batch process and usually do them one at a time.
Click to expand...

Don't mean batch though.

And I meant Aperture 2 btw:)
 
lawless23456 said:
nikon nifty fifty - £79.00
sigma 10-20mm - £289.00
sigma 150mm macro - £423.99
Click to expand...

All good choices - what about a decent walk about lens? Is there a Nikon equivalent to the Canon 24-70 2.8?

I've also got a 300mm prime which gets used a lot for wildlife, so you may want to think about that too.

In general terms, I think you're under-buying glass. With that disposable income, I'd spend as much as I could on decent lenses and hire studio time as and when. YMMV.
 
thanks for your help guys, i already have a multi license of photoshop so shouldnt be a problem, yeah 5k doesnt seem to go all that far these days but im thankful for the oppurunity to have the money to spend. the reason im refraining from blowing the whole lot of a d3 is that i dont feel i would do such a wonderful camera justice so will go for a semi pro body instead. prices provided are rough i can probably find things cheaper etc etc nikon do a 18-70mm for £175 and do 300mm prime f2.8 for £2789 or an f4 version for just a touch under £800


thanks
 
I did write out a whole list of stuff, but accidentally got rid of it :eek:

So, in my opinion, I'd get the D300 and either the Nikon 18-70 or the Sigma 24-70, and then decide from there - see if I wanted to go wider, closer, faster, etc etc.
Better than spending all the money you have and finding out that you got a lens that you don't use that ate up a huge chunk of your budget.
 
d3 £2700
24-70 and 70-200 f2.8 sigmas about what £700
sb800 £200 if u look around
studio lights around £800 if you shoparound
flashmeter £200
backdrop£200

But as you said you dont think youd do it justice
 
Lawless, your frivolous spending spree is having a bad effect on me! having read this post i've drafted a wish list with warehouse express... comes in just shy of 2k. It would be 2.5 if i included the fisheye i've always wanted. Must not take advantage of their buy now pay later offer...

Someone talk me out of it. Please!!!!
 
Chewy said:
Lawless, your frivolous spending spree is having a bad effect on me! having read this post i've drafted a wish list with warehouse express... comes in just shy of 2k. It would be 2.5 if i included the fisheye i've always wanted. Must not take advantage of their buy now pay later offer...

Someone talk me out of it. Please!!!!
Click to expand...

Stop - Don't do it, you will regret it

oh well i tried - enjoy your new toys :lol:
 
Badger UK said:
When you think about it, it's terrifying how far £5 grand doesn't go - if you know what I mean.
Click to expand...

Ain`t that the truth...........:'(
 
always spend wisely on the glass. never skimp there.

it is probably the single most important thing to remember when investing in photography. a body can be changed but good glass is invaluable.
 
I would buy a 2nd hand Mac G5 rather than the iMac. They're quite cheap now, you can easily upgrade (slide in a bigger HD if required, bigger/better/2nd monitor), and I find it more than upto the job opening RAW files en mass and playing about with 200Mb files in PS CS3.
 
what do you like to shoot lawless?
 
not a nikon person but

Product Stock Status Quantity Price SubTotal
Nikon D300 Digital SLR - Body Only £979.00 £979.00
Nikon SB800 Speedlight £239.00 £239.00
Nikon MB-D10 Battery Grip for D300 £239.00 £239.00
Nikon 85mm f1.8 D AF Lens £249.00 £249.00
Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 G AF-S ED Lens £999.00 £999.00
Nikon 50mm f1.4 D AF Lens £189.00 £189.00
Elinchrom D-Lite 2 Two Head Kit £399.00 £399.00
Lastolite 2.72x11m Paper Roll - Super White £46.99 £46.99
Interfit Background Support System - 2.4x2.5m £69.99 £69.99
Nikon 12-24mm f4 G AF-S IF-ED DX Lens £579.00 £579.00


Delivery*: £7.95


Total: £3,996.93

those are warehouse express prices, but i am sure you will get it a bit cheaper than that.
you do only have a 2 head light kit with that, but you have the sb800 as well if required.

if you buy from HK or Kerso or someone similar, im sure you could get the £400 quid off for the imac.
youcould consider 2nd hand, in which case you will obviously get a lot more for your money:thumbs:

no idea on actually how good those lenses are, but guessed bout the same as there canon equivelents. i also stuck to nikon for the lenses as opposed to sigma etc, as it would be what i would do given the money.
 
If you like portraits, perhaps a 24-70 f/2.8 or something. Other people would have a better idea than me.

D300 is a good choice, you won't go wrong there. I'd say bin the iMac though. Not just because I'm a PC user, but because I believe you'd get far better value/perfomance with a PC. Also, some of your prices are a little high, the battery grip and SB-800 for example. You could probably save at least £100 there buying them cheaper (Kerso is would be a good start).
 
Even if you're a Mac fanboy, you don't need to spend that much on a new machine for photography. I'd like to get my G5 working, but I manage just fine with a G4 running the latest version of LightRoom and PhotoShop CS2.

Of course that software is also available for PCs, and PCs can be had a lot cheaper...

*starts war*
 
i am assuming, (most likely wrong) mrs lawless has said, you can have the £5k but your not spending anything else on it for a long time. so just after buying the best he can get witht the money.

at least that would be how my missus would put it anyway
 
What lenses you get depends on what you want to photograph.

Also, why did you quote a mac. Dont get me wrong macs are great. But you can get a very good laptop for a lot less now , For example, just last week I bouhgt a gaming laptop from dell (actually from a friend who has dell business account) for £565 that has a Dual core processor (2.1ghz) 3 gig ram, 250gig HDD and a dedicated graphics card, and its on windows XP. that would free up £800 of your budget which could get you a better lens


If you are going to use photoshop as your editor why get a mac
 
hope you dont mind, just having a bit of fun spending your money for you

Nikon D300 Camera Body (12.3 Megapixel) £969.99
AF Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D ED Lens £498.99
18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC MACRO Lens £230.99
Sigma 24-60mm f/2.8 EX DG Lens £189.99 (depends which would me more
use to you)
Nikon SB-800 Speedlight i-TTL Shoe-Mount Flash £195.99

All above from onestopshop

Dell Laptop £600

Total = 2685.95 (with both of the wide zoom lenses)

add a couple of hundred for a good tripod and head

gives you £2000 for your lighting set up (there I wouldnt have a clue)

** disclaimer, I know little about the above lenses, was just looking at the range and aperature on the web to choose them **
 
I know I'm a newbie here... but a laptop? for photo work? where what you see on the SCREEN is VERY important.
 
well mine is 17" screen. and technology has made massive leaps lately so the old problem with TFT screens isnt really a problem. (also have a heuy calabrator just in case)


for me a laptop was ideal solution, means I can have a look at what i have taken on a decent size screen any where i am.

(I have a quad core pc at home if i need even more oomph)

although it is fair to say, not every body like lappies, and for the same kind of price you can get a mosnter pc built. I was just trying to make a point with regards to the Mac.
 
If you like shooting landscape and portrait then these lenses are a must: -

Nikon 14-24 f2.8
Nikon 24-70 f.8, and
Nikon 70-200VR

If anything, don't go shy on spending on your lens, the Sigma 10-20 is fine for the money but it is no where near the IQ of the Nikon 12-24 f4, but the 14-24 is a whole different world.

Now, this may eat into your budget a lot, but I'd say better get the basics right and build on it than just get a whole lot of "OK" stuff.
 
that would be correcto mundo my friend! alot of mixed views here can see im going to have to rethink my options a bit and as someone said tripod is needed and will also be bying a bag of some description

also to all those suggesting a laptop i already have a macbook and would really like a static computer

fletch5 said:
i am assuming, (most likely wrong) mrs lawless has said, you can have the £5k but your not spending anything else on it for a long time. so just after buying the best he can get witht the money.

at least that would be how my missus would put it anyway
Click to expand...
 
If you already have a macbook (and it is fine for what you do with it) what about getting an external monitor for it? That way you will have the best of both worlds and more money to spend on camera gear...

FWIW I'm also in the "buy fewer good lenses, rather than more average lenses" camp, although if the Nikon 50 is like the Canon one that may be worth getting if you have some moeny left over.

Also why are you going for the SB800 over the SB600? That could be another place to save more money to spend on the glass...
 
It's very difficult to invest in photographic equipment, chewy was nearer the mark, you're going on a spending spree. As long as you don't think you'll be able to sell it all later for more than you bought it for go on and spend spend spend, and have fun :clap:
 
As Cuickurbarla said investing is difficult in photography. The best you can hope to do is get the best value kit you can.

IMO value of kit relates to how long you can use the kit for without needing to upgrade. On this basis the order I use is Lenses, Accessories (non body specific), Body and last Body Specific accessories.

So in order:

Lenses is where you should put the majority of your cash, with £5k to spend I would suggest the top Nikon Zooms 24-70 f2.8 and the 70-200 f2.8 VR (try Kerso for pricing - both should be just under 1K each), add in the Sigma 10-20 (you can leave out if you don't do landscapes) and you'll have a very nice set of general purpose lenses.

Non Body Specific Accessories - base them round your interests but include a £100 or so for a decent bag

If you are landscape focused I'd also get a tripod (manfrotto 055 or 190 + head) some Lee ND Grads Filters (the dogs danglies) and a nice CPL and a couple of full NDs in various strengths (10x will give some very nice results with water). I'd get the filters in 82mm size plus step up rings for all the lenses you bought as that way you should keep vignetting away.

If you are Wildlife or Sports focused I'd add a monopod, a tripod (same as above) and 2x convertor, plus perhaps a remote release for wildlife.

If you are into People I'd add a SB800, and perhaps a studio lighting kit (Lencarta do some very good value kits <£400 IIRC that are apparently very good quality).

Once you've got you lenses and long term accessessories then look at what you have left and get the best body you can. IMO a D200 S/H represents very good value at £450; you could get 2 for the price you pay for the D300).

Personally I'd ignore a grip unless you really find you need the vertical grip or get a D200 and desperately need longer shooting times between batteries. A grip left fitted to the camera will mean that you are then slightly limited on the bags that you can choose.

On the computer side I'd either get something PC based to meet your needs or try and blag the mac as an additional "family" treat and outside your £5k. The only reason is that PCs go out of date faster than Cameras!!

Of course if I suddenly came in to 5K would I follow my own advice? I don't honestly know (perhaps you could give me 5K to let me find out :D)

Lastly with £5k of kit I'd be thinking about insurance (check out photoguard)
 
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