Reading mode: Light Dark

An expensive hobby

Go to last post
Have you tried adapting vintage prime lenses? it is less expensive than a full upgrade, but an optional focal reducer and some full frame primes will give you some more artistic options, at the cost of more effort to get focus and framing. See specific websites for lens info and samples.
 
I wish all my other hobbies were as inexpensive as photography. My motorcycles, boats and classic cars are orders of magnitude more expensive, and I'm pretty much on the bottom rungs of those hobbies. I've had my most used camera for 8 years and it's still going strong, the pictures it takes are better now than when I first got it.
 
Its not expensive.

Going out for drinks on the weekend is expensive. Water skiing is expensive. Hot rod cars are expensive. There are a lot of expensive hobbies out there.

Purchasing a camera body and lens every three years or so is really a pretty inexpensive hobby.
 
D Cox said:
FrancoD said:
Can you suggest some less expensive hobbies ?
Click to expand...
Drawing, painting, wood carving, acting, writing, playing the mouth organ, philosophy ...
Click to expand...
Writing, philosophy and the mouth organ might be cheap.

Playing a more serious instrument is very expensive. Acquiring the proper tools and knowledge for 'serious' drawing, painting or wood carving is not cheap at all. Art supplies are ridiculously expensive, and the more you get into it the more expensive supplies you want to acquire because of what they enable you to do artistically.
 
Digital photography is cheaper than it has ever been. Original rebel 1000.00

photoshop 600 laptop 800. Today rebel 2 lens kit 600 on sale often cheap laptop 300 photoshop 10.00 a month. My first 2gig card Sandisk ultra 89.00
 

Loading…

www.dpreview.com

this thread is not open to pros. Business expenses are easier to justify.

I just finished adding my last 40 years of camera equipment and I am at $8000 give or take. Add in film processing flash cards and batteries and we are over 10k I expect. So $250/year for a hobby I really enjoy is a bargain.

I just read a thread on a canon forum where a guy showed some very nice pictures from his old 5D. One of the comments was why not move up to a 5D mark IV? The reply was the $3000 difference.

This got me thinking about just how much equipment I have, and how much is enough? I have had a lot of GAS over the years, but lately I am quite happy with my used equipment.

Recently I wanted to give away my old 20D to a college student who wanted to get serious with photography. So I gave it to him with a kit lens. It was my ever ready bang around camera, so I justified the need to replace it. I even felt a little GAS pumping! But I could not justify dropping a couple of thousand for a new xxD. In fact how much upgrade could I really justify. I share my pictures mostly on the internet or show them on my phone or iPad. And the 20D pictures really looked just as good as the 50D pictures for that. And the few short videos I take are ok with my iPhone. I decided my old eyes really did need a bigger screen than the tiny one on the 20d. So long story short, I shopped 30Ds and 40Ds and finally got a 30d with 18-55 STM kit for less than $150 including shipping. The camera is like new and the lens is new, and it is more than I need. I am thrilled.

For my use and abilities I just could not justify a big expenditure when there are really good used cameras out there.

So all that preamble to ask you this. Justify your equipment for the photography you do. Are your pictures really better with a 2K camera or even a 2K lens? ( remember NO PROS)

or if you are shooting with older equipment show us why it does just as good as the newest bestest!

have fun, and please keep it polite!!!
 
As others have said, this is indeed a very cheap hobby. Anybody can do it for free with a smarphone camera, and $1000-$2000 can get you some very nice gear.

Even if somebody gets all the best lenses and cameras (i.e. Leika) that is going to run to about what....$20,000-$40,000? That is still nothing if you look at some other hobbies
 
Last edited:
RE: Expensive hobby

If all you want is an inexpensive hobby, may I suggest READING!
If you live in the urban USA, it is more likely that there is a Public library nearby.
I read at least one book a week from my local public library.
What about gardening? I do that too. Have a little flower garden and vegetable garden.

My wife and I often take a "one-tank full" or less trip. Visit your city or state website for destinations. We do and those are gems in many ways. Of course my wife brings her $99 P&S pocket camera and the memories are captured for posterity.

If you are NOT enjoying Photography, then it is NOT a hobby.
If you are enjoying photography, then go on with whatever gears you have and get the most out of that gear. Forget about upgrading. Photography is NOT ALL having the best gear. As a hobby, it is about discovery, expressing your ideas, finding yourself.




I wish you the best!
stevezissou said:
I've started to think my small amount of investment in my Oly OM-D E-M5 is going to be it for me and photography. I've been looking at upgrading but a decent upgrade it going to be $1,500 to $2,000. I've looked at buying used, older models and they are less, but the tech is not as up to date and their prices are not that much lower.

I'll keep my Oly and use it, but I'm not going to pursue photography. I think there are less expensive activities to get into, but that is just me.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
"I'll keep my Oly and use it, but I'm not going to pursue photography."





Some of my most enthusiastic customers used Zenith and Praktica cameras.

Can't get more basic than that but they had a great time with those.

16a24b0767874b129797bc1389bd4243.jpg



b7c0e68c6ee8411baee4096cda278262.jpg
 
Phwooarr!

The notorious Zenit. You could get one with a 55mm for twentyfive bucks, but the screw mount meant you could pick up some bargains in 'old' primes. In fact as it was a pure machine it functioned as well as a top of the line Nikon, maybe a bit heavier, and only 1/500 top shutter speed, but if you had one you could easily get the copy for Surfer, Wheels, People, Nature. and Garden.

If you were my uncle you could even have done some glamor spreads for Australian Playboy with one

--
Painting with light
 
Last edited:
ISO 1 Million said:
FrancoD said:
Can you suggest some less expensive hobbies ?
Click to expand...
Running. Basketball. Reading. Swimming. Writing. Volunteer work.
Click to expand...
Most hobbies can be as cheap and expensive as you want them to be.

Take running.

What happens if you get all competitive and decide that at the age of 68 you want to run all the top open to the public marathons around the world ?



f7eb78afa0814ceaac8c86ea0af1fc48.jpg

but just as one can be happy to run around the block, one can also be happy with a $100 camera.
 
I buy a new DSLR body about every 4-8 years to keep up with the latest advances in sensor, autofocus, etc. I've had some of my lenses for almost 20 years and some of my flashes for 11 years.

DSLR technology is mature and it works perfectly. There is a new generation of bodies including significant improvements every 4 years or so and I put aside my pennies to upgrade (usually).

I don't have the impression that I'm spending a fortune on hardware. I spend my money on taking pictures (models, travels..)
 
It does not cost a fortune to pursue photography. In fact people take great photos and have a lot of enjoyment without constantly spending money on upgrades. I probably haven't spent $2000 on my DSLR's and lenses in the last 8 years and I'm generally happy with what I have.

I suspect the OP doesn't take good enough pictures and is equating spending ever more money with getting better results. What he has ought to suffice if he had any ability.
 
yardcoyote said:
Photography has never been cheap. And frankly, if you think of it as just another activity, interchangeable with golf or stamp collecting, then yes, it probably isn't worth it. It only when the act of making images grabs you by the eyes and the brain and the gut that it makes any sense at all. And even then, it's not much sense.
Click to expand...
I see people talking all the time about spending $1500 on a lens or at least a couple thousand on a new body... and if you look at their galleries it often seems that all they're getting for their money is flower and duck and waterfall photos. Maybe they should just spend a few bucks on a good photography course or book.

Photography doesn't need to be all that expensive - I probably haven't spent $2K total on what I have now, having sold off earlier bodies, unused lenses etc. that I didn't need.

And thank GOD I don't have to pursue this hobby with film and processing like the old days, when it really WAS an expensive pursuit.
 
Last edited:
Franglais91 said:
I buy a new DSLR body about every 4-8 years to keep up with the latest advances in sensor, autofocus, etc. I've had some of my lenses for almost 20 years and some of my flashes for 11 years.

DSLR technology is mature and it works perfectly. There is a new generation of bodies including significant improvements every 4 years or so and I put aside my pennies to upgrade (usually).

I don't have the impression that I'm spending a fortune on hardware. I spend my money on taking pictures (models, travels..)
Click to expand...
I buy a DSLR that is not the very latest but is an improvement from what I have now. I started with a 12mp Canon XSi (450D), then sold it and traded up to a T3i (600D I think it was). In fact I got such a deal at B&H with a Canon rebate I ended up almost even on the deal and got a profession color photo printer in the bargain.

When the T3i could not keep up with my needs for burst shooting, I sold it and bought a nice clean used 7D.

I upgrade when I have a reason, when I can get an improvement in IQ or features, something that I need but don't have at present. And I've spent a lot less money on this hobby than some people have spent on a single lens or body.
 
Franglais91 said:
I buy a new DSLR body about every 4-8 years to keep up with the latest advances in sensor, autofocus, etc. I've had some of my lenses for almost 20 years and some of my flashes for 11 years.

DSLR technology is mature and it works perfectly. There is a new generation of bodies including significant improvements every 4 years or so and I put aside my pennies to upgrade (usually).

I don't have the impression that I'm spending a fortune on hardware. I spend my money on taking pictures (models, travels..)
Click to expand...
Maturity is seldom a good thing, because what follows it in the lifecycle is decline and death.

Now, it would be heartening to hear that the DSLR is a very immature technology (if only that were the case!), for one could then look forward to some real improvements, such as AI-assisted autofocus, user's eye-tracking focus point selection, 8K video, voice-control, and so on).

These improvements will no doubt make it into cellphones at some point.
 
Jack Dumbbell said:
Chris Malcolm said:
stevezissou said:
I've started to think my small amount of investment in my Oly OM-D E-M5 is going to be it for me and photography. I've been looking at upgrading but a decent upgrade it going to be $1,500 to $2,000. I've looked at buying used, older models and they are less, but the tech is not as up to date and their prices are not that much lower.

I'll keep my Oly and use it, but I'm not going to pursue photography. I think there are less expensive activities to get into, but that is just me.
Click to expand...
I gave up film photography because it was costing too much. Now with digital I'm spending about the same amount of money per year as I used to spend on film. The big difference is that I'm spending most of my money on things which last, like lenses, taking a lot more photographs, learning a lot more, and having a lot more fun.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top