Changing systems is expensive. Do people really do this as much as it seems?

Matt.

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I'm looking at going mirrorless. Reading online and watching Youtube would have you believe that people change systems fairly easily. However, when checking costs of doing this even with a few lenses it seems prohibitively expensive. Is everyone in huge debt? or only have one or two basic lenses? or am I just too poor for this game? :D
 
I went from Canon FF to mirrorless, but some people seem to change systems more than their clothes.
Guessing their may be a fair level of debt going on in some cases.
Possibly bought on a CC and then sold, but the original sum not paid off completely
 
I never lose when changing systems, and If I'm going to I don't switch. I usually gain in fact. I buy lenses when there's a good sale on and sell them on for whatever they're going for on the local used market - this almost always means profit. I stick to 2-3 lenses no matter the system so it's pretty easy to move about, I don't like being tied in or restricted
 
I changed from Nikon to Sony mirrorless didn’t really see the cost as a big deal as jumping to Nikon mirrorless would have cost similar possibly even more expensive.

All told it didn’t cost what I thought it would I was lucky to jump ship just before the bottom completely dropped out of the Nikon DSLR equipment. I sold some of it and some of it was traded in. In some cases I got more as a trade in value than I had paid for the equipment initially as most of it was bought grey or used. For example I made £150 on one lens and just over £100 on another.

I have no idea what the actual cost to change everything over was in the end as I have done it over the last year but it was 4 bodies and about 12 lenses.

The cost is relative really. I would change again if something else better became available that was worth the hassle.
 
I do buy a lot of photo equipment (mainly lenses of which I have far too many) but most of the time I only buy used and then only if it's a really good price. I am happy to wait months for the right one to come up but when I do eventually get what I'm after I am safe in the knowledge I will (90% of the time) get back what I paid.

Therefore if I fancy a change it won't cost me a fortune. The only problem is that if it's a brand new system like mirrorless it could be a VERY long wait before something comes up at the price I want to pay. In the meantime I'm quite happy using what I have.
 
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I've just got shut of my Nikon gear - D750 and 4 full frame lenses. Tbh, I bought the lenses s/h and actually made a small profit on a couple of them. I also took advantage of Jessops recent trade-in bonus to get the Fuji gear I wanted. Waiting for trade in deals can seriously soften the hit.

I wanted/needed to switch to Fuji mirrorless firstly because I enjoy using the evf and secondly, most importantly, my back was no longer up to lugging the full frame gear about. The second point really made the change a necessity rather than a bout of GAS.
 
I am 70 and retired now so things have changed a bit, i have always worked been married and had the second income, never had kids, never went on expensive holidays used to do a lot of camping on cheap no facility sites, never moved house so the mortgage was paid off early, dont drink or eat out, its only in the last 10 years i have bought new cars.
Life up to now has been one long childhood so i needed my toys, still can't complain too much but i have to think a little now before i spend, i guess is changing gear expensive well that's relative to what disposable income you have.
 
It really does depend on 1. your disposable income and 2. do you mind losing a few £s to get what you now want ..
Rob.
 
You can also go 'last-gen' to save money. I bought an Xt-2 as it's on sale for 599.00 now. An Xt-3 would have cost me another 700.00. I actually got the Xt-2 and a lens in trade for my D750. The Xt-2 suits my needs - no real need for the latest model.
 
Is changing system going to get you a shot / shots that you cannot do with your current setup?

According to the guy on YouTube with big hair, Canon aren't planning on releasing a new pro-level mirrorless body until 2021. If this is true (methinks not) they might as well simply give their business to Sony and stick to photocopiers.
 
NB - I have no plans to sell off my Canon EF system. As long as I keep up a core workout regime so as to strengthen the back I will be good for a while yet.
 
My camera (Canon 80D) does everything I need it to. It's superb. Don't see any point whatsoever in going to mirror less. I'm 35 years old so it's not like I find the weight of a camera a problem.
 
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I grew up with film and had a Nikon slr for decades. When I went digital I was never really happy with the bulk and weight of my Canon dslr's and when mft came out I bought into that system and still have mft cameras and lenses but I also have a Sony A7 which was the camera that made me sell all my dslr stuff. Mirrorless cameras are more the size of my film kit but of course as film cameras are mostly empty boxes the mirrorless kit is heavier.

Regarding Joel's comment above about the 80D doing everything that may be true for many people but for me mirrorless arguably offers more accurate and more consistant focus with no micro adjust faff on and mirrorless brings goodies too such as being able to see the exposure and the depth of field and being able to manually focus very accuratrly with the magnified view.

I don't change systems often but I do think that mirrorless is such a step forward that anyone either using old style dslr kit or just getting into all this now should think about having a serious look at what is available and if the abilities and possibilities mirrorless kit brings are attractive for them.
 
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Just switched in March to Sony from Nikon and lost a load of money doing so and had to rationalise and lower the quality and no. Of lenses I have.

But I would do it again without hesitation, had I switched to the Z body it would have been a case of selling all anyway as the adapter is just a stop gap.
The improvements and light weight from mirrorless top any money lost.
 
I have done a bit of switching, but again if you purchase relatively smartly at the start you don't loose too much as has been said. Overall I had Canon, then got a fully Panasonic M4/3 set up then a few EOS M (M50 etc) with a few lens and then switch back to EOS R mirrorless which is present and unlikely to change. Maybe lost a little bit along the way, but overall it balances out. Especially if you buy gray (EOS R) you can't really go too far wrong. Items always go on my credit card, but are always cleared in full at the end of the month - if not feasible, then its straight on the 0% card til its paid off. I live within my means, but I utitlise the credit cards for the excellent tool they are, if used correctly.

I still have a few random bits of kit - Kodak mirrorless, a fair few bridge cameras (Sony RX10 etc) Sony RX1R, various Leica (X 113, X Vario, X1 and various V Lux and D Lux) but the "core" interchangeable system is just my good friend - the EOS R!
 
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I don't know how people lose so much. Buy when prices are down, sell when they're up. Otherwise don't switch yet, wait.
 
Some people do photography as a hobby, others buy and sell camera gear as a hobby.

There is certainly a difference between photographers and camera enthusiasts.

I cannot see anything other than a massive loss and huge expense my end to change systems. Luckily I am more than happy with what I have but the time will come when it will be old hat and there will be newer, later and greater stuff to buy that I might want.
 
There is certainly a difference between photographers and camera enthusiasts.
I think there are plenty of photographers who are also camera enthusiasts. The two aren't at all exclusive.
 
I haven't changed systems, just expanded the range of systems I have and use.
 
I bought into Fuji on a whim, but liked using it so much that my Canon gear hardly came out. Sure when I changed completely I lost some money on the bodies, but most of the lenses were of an age that the price I got them for used was less than they were when I traded them.

In most cases there is a cost, but generally you change systems for features & benefits. What those are worth is up to you to decide.
 
Buy used and for lenses at least you shouldn't be losing much (if any) money unless you invested in a dead system (Sony A mount for example) particularly if it's reasonably decent glass and not an average super zoom etc.

Bodies are always going to take a bit of a hit, but again I've you've bought used and looked after it it isn't likely to be a massive hit.
 
First person to let me handle and try there dslr was a canon user... So i went canon and have never felt the need to change....... it doesn't improve your photography...
 
its taken me years to get my relatively modest setup together although some of that stems from switching from dx to fx when the d750 came out. only got three lenses in my setup and am at a bit of a crossroads as to what way to go next. I know what lens i want (sigma 70-200 sport) but it just feels like an awful lot of money to spend on a lens that i know with the current dslr vs mirrorless thing going on i am going to take quite a hit on when i eventually sell it. I know eventually i will go mirrorless but currently have no clue which brand i will go with for it, sony are the best but i really don't like how their cameras feel and now all of the other big companies have come out to play it feels like its actually quite a good time to sit back and just wait for a couple of iterations to pass through as they all figure out their early issues. Slight sideways step to the OP sorry.
 
I have as much loyalty to camera manufactures as they have to me, I'm an old git first camera in 1957, in that time I have had cameras from most of them, if they made what I wanted/needed I would buy and they would take my money in exchange, my most recent change of system was from Nikon to Sony , because I developed a tremor and wanted to try a camera with IBIS and as I prefer full frame that meant Sony and for me that was a good move as the IBIS worked, now the situation is different with the Z6&7 being available I would probably stick with Nikon.
 
Jumping between SLR to SLR, no. I never jump between Canon/Nikon DSLR. My first camera was Canon and it stayed that way for over a decade.

I have jumped from Canon DSLR to Sony Mirrorless because if I had gone to Canon Mirrorless, I am changing the mount anyway, I won't be going adapted lenses forever.
 
I always take into account the fun I had with the gear i.e if you say spent £5,000 sold it for £3,000 did I get £2,000 of fun use out of it I always have so the money loss is rarely a loss to me .
Rob.
 
I always take into account the fun I had with the gear i.e if you say spent £5,000 sold it for £3,000 did I get £2,000 of fun use out of it I always have so the money loss is rarely a loss to me .
Rob.

That's a healthy way to look at it.

I mean I lost perhaps like £7k of value in the swap over but that is £7k over 10 years, if you spread it out, it's like £700 a year on a hobby, which isn't that outrageous.
 
I always take into account the fun I had with the gear i.e if you say spent £5,000 sold it for £3,000 did I get £2,000 of fun use out of it I always have so the money loss is rarely a loss to me .
Rob.

I was just going to post something along those lines. If enjoyment >= expenditure then imho it's all good. If I'd have paid just cash for my recent purchases instead of trading, I'd have spent about 2K. If I get 5 years out of it, even with zero resale, its 400 quid a year, or just over a pound a day. Not bad really for a hobby which gets you out in the fresh air, (and the rain and snow.) I wouldn't get a season ticket for a Premiership club for that money and get the same amount of fun. (As a Villa fan, it's a stone-cold certainty.) It's also not many meals at a decent restaurant.
 
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I don't know how people lose so much. Buy when prices are down, sell when they're up. Otherwise don't switch yet, wait.


if your ditching Nikon your going to loose money, there dslr stuff is worth next to nothing now, its at least half the price you would have got two years ago.

so you can't always buy low and sell high, especially if the prices don't stop dropping.

end of the day its inevitable, even if you upgrade body you will loose money, technology has a very short shelf life now days, bodys get 1 max before there worth half what they cost and then they just drop continuously.
 
Switching from dslr to ML is probably where most will feel the pinch when they go by what they originally paid rather than what it's worth at time of sale. I mean you've already lost value without even making a switch. I haven't actually used a dslr in about 4 years, and when I did first switch to ML I did lose a good chunk I guess. I was a bit eager to make a switch, was tired of Nikon at the time and was dying to try this whole mirrorless thingy - so I let the gear go for peanuts.

I've switched around a few times since though and not lost out, I've learned to curb the enthusiasm :D I sold that original Fuji gear for profit and got a massive saving on the M43 gear I bought using those funds. There was a double cash back off on at the time making a brand new G80 less than half price brand new - I had to jump on it. And when I sold that on to switch back to Fuji I made a tidy profit and got the X-H1 in a 20% off sale on CJ, I got the 16-55 2.8 on MPB when they had one of those random mass cut on specific lenses sales [there was £250 off the lens used but in like new con] and was able to sell it to buy 2 primes again, each one bought when there was 20%off. A lot of it is timing, and catching the right deals. I know I could sell my gear right now locally for decent profit in comparison to what I paid - I'd get a lot more than I'd ever be offered on here or trading in.
 
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I started with a Canon 1100D with kit lenses and moved upto my present gear, a 5D4, 7D2 plus 400mm DO MK2, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens and a 50mm f/1.4 lenses and a 1.4x iii extender. I am happy with the results I get from the Canon gear so I'll stay with it. A couple of fellow toggers have changed, one to Fuji and the other to Sony but I think it would be costly to get the equivalent lenses in say Nikon or Sony etc anyway.
 
Some people do seem to change systems regularly. I just add systems - no cheaper I'm sure!
Film wise I have two 5x4 models, 3-4 medium format & I dread to think how many 35mm (none in use currently)
In digital I still have my Pentax DSLR system, but have added mirrorless in 3 format sizes & a foveon system.
The two Sony systems are so far exclusively with adapted lenses, and just about everything is brought used.
 
It is now almost inevitable Canon and Nikon will make anyone serious go through this hell of changing to something newer if not different brand. I am trying to come with a strategy that will be most future proof, least disruptive both technically and financially. With Sony I can already look into used market for lenses, and just get brand new A7RIV; with Canon it's all new and mighty expensive. That 15-35 f/2.8 looks a bit overkill when I only need f/4. Perhaps it's a bit too early to 100% commit to Canon RF if finances are to be considered seriously.
My 2x5DIII will be due for upgrade soon so I will have to go with something sensible.
 
It is now almost inevitable Canon and Nikon will make anyone serious go through this hell of changing to something newer if not different brand. I am trying to come with a strategy that will be most future proof, least disruptive both technically and financially. With Sony I can already look into used market for lenses, and just get brand new A7RIV; with Canon it's all new and mighty expensive. That 15-35 f/2.8 looks a bit overkill when I only need f/4. Perhaps it's a bit too early to 100% commit to Canon RF if finances are to be considered seriously.
My 2x5DIII will be due for upgrade soon so I will have to go with something sensible.

I have the eos R and do not have any rf lenses, the ef lenses work flawlessly on the r, I have no plans to buy any rf lenses until they start showing up second hand or coming down in price.

The usability of the ef glass was why I went with the eos r rather than the sony mirrorless. It is a change in system, but with full compatibility.

T
 
I have the eos R and do not have any rf lenses, the ef lenses work flawlessly on the r, I have no plans to buy any rf lenses until they start showing up second hand or coming down in price.

The usability of the ef glass was why I went with the eos r rather than the sony mirrorless. It is a change in system, but with full compatibility.

T

You can, but then admittedly the EOS R is a beta test. The lack of dual cards alone is a no no to many including me. The rumored RS for next year will hopefully tick all the boxes.
As canon themselves put it - it is all about RF lenses in the new system. Sharper, more features, steeper price and all the rest. The pair of f/1.2s and that 28-70mm f/2 look incredible compared with anything sold by them before.
 
It is now almost inevitable Canon and Nikon will make anyone serious go through this hell of changing to something newer if not different brand. I am trying to come with a strategy that will be most future proof, least disruptive both technically and financially. With Sony I can already look into used market for lenses, and just get brand new A7RIV; with Canon it's all new and mighty expensive. That 15-35 f/2.8 looks a bit overkill when I only need f/4. Perhaps it's a bit too early to 100% commit to Canon RF if finances are to be considered seriously.
My 2x5DIII will be due for upgrade soon so I will have to go with something sensible.
The market moving to mirrorless was/is inevitable as you say, however I don't think you can 'blame' Canikon, they have to follow the market, and they've both thought about their existing customers by releasing adapters that actually work well.

My biggest gripe is the cost of new lenses. Prices over the last couple of years have gone bonkers, and neither Canon or Nikon have brought out, or hinted at bringing out (AFAIK) more budget lenses. Gone are small £100 nifty 50's in place of £500+ monsters for example. Nikon's old 85mm f1.8g was under £400 at launch I believe, and only just over this now, yet the new Z version is £800. I bought the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII for £1250 new uk yet you're looking at £2k for the latest F mount 70-200mm f2.8, and I would think the Z mount will likely be closer to £2500.

This for me is one of the reasons that swapping systems has become so expensive, used lenses have not gone up by the same proportion, and new lens prices have not just gone up with inflation. Yes the new lenses have new fangled coatings etc and are the height of technology, but so were the other lenses at the time.
 
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