Photography is an expensive hobby

henryf4

henryf4

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Henry
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How do you all afford your equipment, is it an addiction, do you get nagged by your other half?

I bought a used 5D last week and tomorrow I am purchasing my first L lens with a fellow poster here. My wife almost flipped out when I told her that by tomorrow I would have spent nearly 1.5k in two weeks. :help:
 
Well Henry I guess it is a kind of addiction!! Just got to know when (to try) stop!!!
 
i hide things that way i can say i have had it ages.....

Welcome to the club it's all payout from here unless you sell some of your work..
 
The biggest problem I am having is that I NEED everything now.
It is a fantastic hobby to get into though. I am loving it.
 
When I take pics of my wife's family, I get it wrong everytime ... "well, if i had a decent flash/lens/tripod etc, the shots would be better" .. works every time lol
 
I work hard, I don't drink or smoke or have any other expensive hobbies...

As long as I have money to spend doing "family things"...then my OH seems happy for me to spend what I do on my kit....

I am always honest, could nt not tell her if I bought something....something wrong in your relationship I think if you have to hide your purchases....

:)
 
Photography is an expensive hobby Ohhhh yes

we are our own worse enemies, here we are in the middle of a recession house prices falling, car prices falling, photographic prices rising, we seem to be buying more and more and finding money for our kit, while there is such a demand prices will keep rising, if we all stopped buying prices would fall.
simplessssss
 
This year I have spent about 10k on gear.

My OH knows about the majority of it. I'm starting to bring money into the house with it now, so she's reasonably happy.

However, I am the world's worst for upgrading when I don't need to, buying stuff on impulse, then selling it a few weeks later!!!!!!
 
I justify my costs based on her clothes / shoe shopping costs.
The annoying this is that her costs have yet to equal the cost of an L lens but give it time :D
 
Yep, I agree.

I now look on my kit in terms of either improvement i.e, can I do things I could not previously and do they matter? and also ROI, return on investment. Can I make any money out of having this kit?

I'm lucky that my other half will shamelessly indulge me but I am actually very, very prudent and although I have spent a lot of money I have not wasted much money. Almost all of my buying decisions have been sound. I would say the notable exception is the highlite background which I have not used in months and has been dragged home before now and beaten into getting it back in the bag! But on a day that I need it?......it will justify it's existance once more!
 
i'm only 14 :D
i use my pocket money :D
somehow i have a D300s and a Bigma
Since March 2008, I've spent £2750

Oscar ;)
 
I think it is easier to describe purchases in items she will understand, rather than pounds and pence.

"it only cost the same as a pair of shoes"
"it was cheaper than you handbag"
It was about 2 dresses"

And seeing as shoes, dresses and handbags all have a variety of prices, your covered.

ust don't let her see the receipt, otherwise she may spend £500 on a pair of shoes...........
 
yeah but us girlies KNOW how much those boots and handbags cost...........there IS no escape :)
 
There's far more expensive hobbies around. I used to know a guy who had about £30k worth of Hi-Fi kit !

But I usually work on the assumption that it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission :)
 
My OH is pretty good, she'll let me spent what I want as long as the family and bills are all paid for
 
Shop window, all those cameras and bodies. "Look dear at that lens, only 950 notes, think what we could buy ,washing machines, fridges, cookers. 950 quid for a lump of plastic and glass, you must be joking.
 
I just asked my OH how much she thought I spent in the last year on photography. She though £2K. I said "no way - only about £1K". Then I added it up. A 40d, a 10-22, a 70-200 F4 IS, CS4 (student edition) and a digital photography course (I did sell a 400d, kit lens and a LowePro Trekker rucksack). Whoops! Maybe we are just fooling ouselves.
 
Must admit it has taken a long time to build up to what I have now, trading up little by little and when my OH decided to take up Photography too (sometimes I wonder if that was a good idea) I gave her my 20D with a new 18-200mm IS lens and replaced it with the 50D. Not bad.

But it isnt until you add it all up for the insurance that it all comes home, 2 laptops, 3 camera kits and its well over £11000.
 
My first lens after spending £xk on a D3 I told her someone gave me lol The lens I am getting off Chris from TP tomorrow, she knows I have paid for it. I did explain that it is a £420 lens and its costing me £230.
She was ok with that.

My next issue is how do I tell her I am buying a 2k Nikon lens ;)
 
BirderOzzie said:
i'm only 14 :D
i use my pocket money :D
somehow i have a D300s and a Bigma
Since March 2008, I've spent £2750

Oscar ;)
Click to expand...

Clearly the pocket money rate is a lot higher than when I was your age!
 
hashcake said:
I justify my costs based on her clothes / shoe shopping costs.
The annoying this is that her costs have yet to equal the cost of an L lens but give it time :D
Click to expand...

Brilliant:clap: I have the same problem-especially having bought 2 L's this year!!!
 
Took up photography to keep me occupied in retirement, need a job to keep up with photography, up to about £1.5k in a short space of time, still got my eye on other bits.
 
A thought.. does digital photography encourage people to spend more?

I used to be quite happy with my Nikon 35mm film SLR and a couple of kit lenses..

Since I went digital last year, I'm on my second semi-pro DSLR, 4 lenses (including 3 L's), and I want to replace my 50mm f/1.4 with a 50mm f1.2 L :nono:

I wonder if satisfaction of getting pro-quality instant results, and not having to spend out on film has something to do with it?

A.
 
Jusy make sure it's there idea:suspect: and your into a winner, ho, just make sure its some where hot:D

So you can test out your new lens:cool:


Del ;)
 
My girlfriend is also a photographer but has it sussed. I buy the L lenses and all the studio stuff :bonk:.
She spends her money on clothes, shoes and bags. She does however model plenty for me and is gorgeous so i dont mind a bit :love:

 
Deano said:
My girlfriend is also a photographer but has it sussed. I buy the L lenses and all the studio stuff :bonk:.
Click to expand...



We buy the L lenses and carry the 8Kg+ camera bag around only to find that the L lens we want to use is on her camera
 
Just do what i did when justifying the Mustang GT to the (new, improved) girlfriend - it's a mid-life crisis-thing: it's either the car or drugs and hookers...your call...

She loves the car now...
 
I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't do drugs, I don't gamble, I don't have a mistress and only the one wife. That, and I've spent a good 24 years working my rear-end off saving whatever I can to afford the life quality that I can provide for my family.

But this doesn't get me off the hook! Hence, I've just come home from Tiffany & Co., having bought a couple of necklaces . . . yesterday I had to spend more £ at Montblanc, and the day before that it was another draining of my cash at LV! My OH and daughter are over the moon; what they don't know, and have on need to know until I buy it, is that I am eyeing a Hasselblad H3D II :p
 
for me its my only real expense , I did moto cross for 10 years and that wasnt cheap, then took up golf again not cheap , then it was my koi more expensive then photography,
 
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