Spending too much?

I know a few friends who spend over £700 a month renting [well, they call it PCP] Audi A5's or Beemer 3's. I figure most people who drive a £35,000 car never actually own it, and will never have enough money for that 'final payment/guaranteed future value..'. Seems everybody in Cheshire has to drive an X5 in order to keep up with the Joneses..

So, in comparison to their expenses, mine are far more staid. My purchases depreciate less, cost less. I drive an Astra now - cheap and cheerful, and gets stuck in just the same traffic jams..
 
DSLR is an expensive hobby. Yea, got a 7D now too! Had it for a good price so using both this weekend as wife is now interested in taking shots so she will try both. 500D bas 'body only' so bought a 18-55mm IS of a member here plus i have bought a 55-250mm IS, just waiting for that to arrive.

May end up keeping both cameras if wife is happy. If not, i will sell the 500D body.

Yea, tried a few cameras since i joined this forum but i am happy with Canon now. Awesome cameras, and IQ is superb.

Gues Briggsy will have to find another forum member to hound now!!
 
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Hmm, I got my DSLR in June and all in so far I have spent..

Oh good god, £1,986 it's coming out at, ever wish you never got the calculator out? :D That's for absolutely everything, filters etc included. Ouuuuch!


But do I regret it? Hell no :D
 
danbroad said:
I know a few friends who spend over £700 a month renting [well, they call it PCP] Audi A5's or Beemer 3's. I figure most people who drive a £35,000 car never actually own it, and will never have enough money for that 'final payment/guaranteed future value..'. Seems everybody in Cheshire has to drive an X5 in order to keep up with the Joneses..

So, in comparison to their expenses, mine are far more staid. My purchases depreciate less, cost less. I drive an Astra now - cheap and cheerful, and gets stuck in just the same traffic jams..
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Yup exactly, I have two cameras and a bike which are both worth more than my car :)

Obviously some people have a lot more disposable income than others, but often it's more about where your priorities lie. I rarely go to the pub and don't smoke, don't buy many clothes (and mostly from Tk Maxx:) ) so I have some cash that many others wouldn't for cameras and bikes.
 
For me it's just money. And as long as I make more of that and can afford to live as I wish I don't worry. There's far too many greater things to worry about in this world.

You should also take into account cost for wear. If you spend £2000 on camera gear, and you use it every day for a year, that comes out to about £5.50 / day. Not too bad.
 
Well, i was thinking of keeping both but had a play with them this morning and i really can't justify that. So, what i am thinking of doing is selling just the 500D body and keeping the 18-55mm IS for the 7D as that was bought without the kit lens. Not sure what i could ask for the 500D body?

The 7D is Fantasticantos!!! What a beast of a camera.
 
Sonriendo said:
If you managed to buy a 7d for 500 that's not expensive, that's a bargain :eek:
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Did i say i spent £500 on a 7D? No. My first keeper is the 500D which cost me £499 for the body and £50 for the kit lens. Got the 7D yesterday, 2nd hand.
 
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Koolpc said:
Do you ever worry that you have spent or are spending too much on a camera or a lens etc etc?
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I don't think anyone needs to 'worry' unless you are doing without to pay for the equipment and suffering for it. (But I would worry if I were borrowing to pay for it.)

There must be some equation that could compare equipment cost with the number of prints produced. Imagine - £X,000's of kit and 20,000 shots producing (say) 40 large prints. :eek:
 
what get's me is some amateurs (although admittedly small percentage on here) who seem to throw £100's and £1000's away buying the latest kit and when you look at shots posted/flickr accounts not actually being able to tell where the money has gone as they havent spent time learning how to get the best out of their kit.

Also, the number of amateurs who feel they need to cover the entire range between 18-200mm (at least) with f2.8 glass. I would imagine most people could cope and still get excellent shots with far less and develop their own style far more.
 
CyBeRkId2002 said:
what get's me is some amateurs (although admittedly small percentage on here) who seem to throw £100's and £1000's away buying the latest kit and when you look at shots posted/flickr accounts not actually being able to tell where the money has gone as they havent spent time learning how to get the best out of their kit.

Also, the number of amateurs who feel they need to cover the entire range between 18-200mm (at least) with f2.8 glass. I would imagine most people could cope and still get excellent shots with far less and develop their own style far more.
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not sure why it would get to you - if folks can afford it, and it makes them happy does it matter?
 
very true... fully appreciate it shouldn't get to me but for some reason it does.

Perhaps I need a break from the equipment seciton of this forums for a while :)
 
Koolpc said:
DSLR is an expensive hobby. Yea, got a 7D now too! Had it for a good price so using both this weekend as wife is now interested in taking shots so she will try both. 500D bas 'body only' so bought a 18-55mm IS of a member here plus i have bought a 55-250mm IS, just waiting for that to arrive.

May end up keeping both cameras if wife is happy. If not, i will sell the 500D body.

Yea, tried a few cameras since i joined this forum but i am happy with Canon now. Awesome cameras, and IQ is superb.

Gues Briggsy will have to find another forum member to hound now!!
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Lol who's cameras are they, yours or the wife's??! :LOL:

But I have to ask, why did you feel the need to buy the 7D when you had only just bought the 500D?? Time to settle and just get on with the art of photography!!
 
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odd jim said:
Lol who's cameras are they, yours or the wife's??! :LOL:

But I have to ask, why did you feel the need to buy the 7D when you had only just bought the 500D?? Time to settle and just get on with the art of photography!!
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Couldn't resist a bargain! Love the 500D but the 7D is amazing!
 
Yes and no. I like gadgets and I like to buy once rather than buy twice works out cheaper I think in the long run. Since september 09 when I got my 500D I was asked to shoot a freinds wedding (it was last weekend) have added to it in this order all new except the 450D
a small bag
580EX2
50mm 1.8
24-70mm 2.8L
70-200 2.8L IS
a bigger bag
manfrotto 055CX4pro
manfrotto 460MG head
manfrotto 680 mono pod and tilt RC head
500D battery grip
450D with a few extras off here
canon 10-22mm
a second 580EX2
canon 1.4 II TC
never mind all the extra batteries, memory cards, off camera flash stuff 2 canon 430EZ flashes.

I probalby would have bought all that kit as well at the time it is considered the better end of the scale especially the lenses and flash guns I would have taken a few years to buy it but with the wedding I wanted to say I was the limit and not the kit. I wouldn't have bought the 450D I would have got a 7D or 5dmk2 as an upgrade but funds were limited due to the rush buying kit and I wanted a backup for the wedding. I still can't resist looking in the traders section.
 
There are a lot of people who collect cameras, especially the older film rangefinders. A few years ago I sold several old Nikon cameras, one of which I had hardly used and was in mint condition. The guy who bought it insisted on knowing it was mint and had no intention of ever putting a film throught it.

I think there are many people who enjoy photography not only for the enjoyment of taking photographs but also the pleasure of owning a piece of fine optical equipment.

One of the delights of photography is the eclectic mix of people who get enjoyment from all aspects of it.

Long may it be so.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
How much would a 20-a-day smoking habit cost? I know which I'd rather spend my money on....
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Dont cost me all that about 40p (roll my own) I spend more on costa coffees during the day usually around 3 @ £2.75 a time :eek: :LOL:
 
I think I spend too much on the gadget side of photography than on the actual body & lens's itself... ie Nikon GP-1, wireless remote's etc :bang:
 
Koolpc said:
And you my friend, are an awesome Troll!! :D:wacky:
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Can't say i've ever been called that before but hey-ho, the majority of my 400 or so posts have been giving advice or posting pics..... the same can't be said about your spamming.
 
swordjo said:
Can't say i've ever been called that before but hey-ho, the majority of my 400 or so posts have been giving advice or posting pics..... the same can't be said about your spamming.
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Not in my threads mate. You just continue to be a Troll in them. Same old same old! :thinking:
 
Anyway, thinking of getting some filters now so is it a good idea to go for Cokin? I am interested in landscapes and buildings so is it possible to buy a kit for that? (More money!)
 
CyBeRkId2002 said:
what get's me is some amateurs (although admittedly small percentage on here) who seem to throw £100's and £1000's away buying the latest kit and when you look at shots posted/flickr accounts not actually being able to tell where the money has gone as they havent spent time learning how to get the best out of their kit.

Also, the number of amateurs who feel they need to cover the entire range between 18-200mm (at least) with f2.8 glass. I would imagine most people could cope and still get excellent shots with far less and develop their own style far more.
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Damm I haven't got the 18-28mm range covered yet :bang:

Now lets have a look at the Nikon equipment....
 
Koolpc said:
Not in my threads mate. You just continue to be a Troll in them. Same old same old! :thinking:
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Apart from all the advice i'd given you also.. but never mind. Why don't go and take a picture and post something useful up on the site?

I won't waste any more time in your threads giving advice (which i've done on most of them now, well not all 60 of them).
 
Koolpc said:
Not in my threads mate. You just continue to be a Troll in them. Same old same old! :thinking:
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swordjo said:
Apart from all the advice i'd given you also.. but never mind. Why don't go and take a picture and post something useful up on the site?

I won't waste any more time in your threads giving advice (which i've done on most of them now, well not all 60 of them).
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:nono: Now now children - lets play nice or a mod will be along and will prob close it down....
 
Used to have a chap at work who changed hobbies and its associated equipment with alarming regulalarity

Had some great bargains as did many others, so watch this space I reckon.
 
Yes, all the time, even when I could easily afford it - I think a lot of it is down to how much money you were brought up with and the value you place on it. Even if i won the lottery I couldn't spend 5k on a watch; I'd just see it as total waste and unnecessary.

Other people who were brought up with very little go the opposite way if they come into money and go mad.... like that eejit Glaswegian binman who won about 6 million years back; Micheal something or other...

:shrug:
 
So guys. any filter set woth buying for landscapes / buildings? Budget is low now after big spend. Any ideas would be great.
 
It's a hobby so I spend accordingly, I wanted a dslr for ages but wouldn't commit the cash. I am tight & want to feel sure I'll 'get value' from purchases large & small. Mrs Stow is similarly vigilant I don't waste money on 'toys' for me when there's always more things for the home to buy! A friend of mine says he is cursed having no buyers remorse. (Something I always suffer from - should I have bought this, or kept the £X) His lack of this remorse means he buys all sorts of stuff he neither needs or subsequently wants. However as he's no remorse he's not worried! He only bemoans it's absence as his life would be easier & wallet fuller with it.
 
Trig's said:
Damm seems I've just missed out on a 17-35mm in the sales thread :LOL:
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I wouldn't get too hung up about that - 17-40 is allegedly built better and from all the tests I've seen, produces much better image quality than the older 17-35.

17-35 came out before digital was mainstream as well, so I doubt the glass had the coatings needed to help reduce flare and ghosts on digital too.

17-40 and a flash is also much much cheaper than the 16-35!
 
Koolpc said:
So guys. any filter set woth buying for landscapes / buildings? Budget is low now after big spend. Any ideas would be great.
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Tony,

for the photography you mention I guess you would be looking at Polarising filters, Neutral Density filters (ND) and Graduated ND filters. None of these come cheap, just some more expensive than others.

You will need to decide whether to go for the square mount slide in or round screw onto filter thread type.

A polarising filter will tend to darken skys and greenery if it is at right angles to the source of light and it will reduce reflections depending on the source of light.

ND filters come in a variety of strengths and purely attenuate the light hitting the sensor. This can be useful if you want motion blur in water or clouds when there is a lot of light and you cannot get the speed slow enough.

Graduated ND filters come in soft and hard types with varying strengths and are used to reduce the exposure of part of the scene while allowing full exposure of the rest. Typically used to prevent over-exposing the sky with the correct exposure for the rest of the scene ie too high a dynamic range for the camera.

So you can see there are many filters just for these situations. I think it will be a case of seeing what effect you want to use most and going down that route before moving onto one of the others.

I personally use screw in polarising filters and the square Lee 100x100 ND and graduated ND filters.
Lee are not the cheapest filter or easiest to find either. Cokin do a square set at prices that do not break the bank followed by Hitech at a little more money. There are Singh Ray filters also but they are silly money and no better than Lee IMHO.
 
trencheel303 said:
I wouldn't get too hung up about that - 17-40 is allegedly built better and from all the tests I've seen, produces much better image quality than the older 17-35.
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:thinking: Do Nikon do a 17-40 or are you thinking Canon :shrug:
 
swordjo said:
It's more than 4 :LOL: 2 x 1000d's, Pentax K-x, 450D, a Samsung, 500d and now possibly a 7D :LOL::wacky:
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Hey man, why don't you just stop winding the guy up? I've seen you do it in more than one of his threads and there's no need for it. It's his money, and his personal choices.



Trig's said:
:thinking: Do Nikon do a 17-40 or are you thinking Canon :shrug:
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Sorry, brainfart there - I didn't see you had Nikon. Carry on :LOL:
 
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