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what do you regret buying for gear?
I very rarely need an on camera flash so I bought a Sunpac D3000 for my Nikon. Pretty useless. I think it is not as good as my pop up flash. Jun 17 14 12:18 pm Link I've never used my ring light -- it just wasn't bright enough, except for too close photography. I never used my smoke machine (bought for $5.00 the day after Halloween 10 years ago). I rarely use my telephoto-zoom. I would love to swap it for an ultra-wide angle lens/zoom. I got a kit for modifying my soft box (grid, oval mask, etc.) -- I haven't used it. Jun 17 14 12:20 pm Link Smoke machine - never used it other than Halloween. LOL Jun 17 14 12:23 pm Link Canon 430EXII speedlight. Not because it hasn't performed flawlessly, but because I could have gotten a YN568 with more features, and more power, for $100 less. Jun 17 14 12:29 pm Link My needs for what I do are pretty basic, so I don't regret buying much, maybe the rolls of black and grey paper I have that are a year old and not used, that's about it. Never really was into a lot of expensive or exotic gear, and most of the fun stuff I have (like the light my avatar was shot with and that I never use) was pretty cheap. Andrew Thomas Evans www.andrewthomasevans.com Jun 17 14 01:43 pm Link I generally regret buying something until I figure out what it's good for. Each piece of gear has strengths and weaknesses. Use stuff for what it's good at, not what it's bad at. :-) Jun 17 14 02:08 pm Link 5D MkIII Jun 17 14 02:43 pm Link R.EYE.R wrote: Oh....oh....you went there. Now we're getting honest Jun 17 14 03:57 pm Link  I have 3 of these now. The first two broke. They are now expensive paper weights. Impossible Film is a bit finicky to begin with, and maximally finicky in these cameras, which don't forgive in the way that newer polaroid cameras do. Jun 17 14 03:59 pm Link When I reentered the world of Photography in 2006, because of past experience I bought into Pentax. 5 years of nothing but QC problems moved me to Canon. I regret having bought anything made by Pentax. And I further regret spending five years dinking with crappy gear. Jun 17 14 04:20 pm Link Eyesso wrote: Essentially I skipped 5DmII since it's mirror box was same if not larger than original 5D (which I own), and since I am shooting only adapted glass I was excited that 5D MkIII sported a smaller mirror by 0.45, which essentially would relief me of lugging a 1DS battlecanon (pun intended). The 100% coverage of viewfinder was added bonus. Jun 17 14 04:55 pm Link Natural Body Photo wrote: +1 Jun 17 14 05:47 pm Link I regret buying into several brands at once. I started out on pentax film gear and bought a pentax DSLR in college. I was given an old Nikon N90S so I started buying nikon glass. Not much later I bought an old minolta XD11 and started buying lenses for it. Before I knew it I had so many lenses across all 3 lens systems and soon realized it was a total waste of money (and space). I found myself starting to shoot more digital and not being able to use my nikon and minolta glass on my pentax dslr was a pain so I sold off my nikon and minolta gear and bought some pentax "limited" and *(star) lenses and haven't regretted it one bit. Its much better to have a few pro level lenses than several lower to mid level lenses across several different systems. Ed Woodson Photo wrote: Must of had really bad luck, all I own now is pentax gear and never had any serious issues. Did you have the SDM issues? Jun 17 14 07:50 pm Link analog light wrote: I had issues with the DA* 16-50 and the DA* 50-135. centering issues and SDM problems. At one point, I had three K7 Bodies because two were in the hands of CRJ more than they were in mine. I started out with the K10D and it was a joke. Jun 17 14 08:20 pm Link DougBPhoto wrote: I second this... Jun 18 14 12:57 am Link Elinchrom BX500ri by 3. Thought that by going for a 'quality' brand and top range models that I could shoot trouble free for many years. The oldest of the heads are just over three years old, the other is six months newer. All have been to the repair shop at least twice. They have never been used outside of the studio and no one else has ever used them. I'm very careful in how I use them and they are handled gently, always keeping in mind what I've paid for them. At one point two of them were in the repair shop together and I've had to buy a cheap Chinese made set, to fill the gap. I use these most of the time now and they have been trouble free, so far. The two heads, plus stands, cables, carry bag and soft boxes cost the same as one Elinchrom head. Jun 18 14 08:45 am Link Locutus wrote: nah just getting OLD! Jun 18 14 09:04 am Link Mola Euro. Great modifier, but way to big to lug around. Has been standing on a stand for more than a year now. Collecting dust... Jun 18 14 10:47 am Link Third-party battery grip. Hate it. Its shutter release is sticky and difficult to press halfway. Wish I'd paid the additional to go with the Canon. Jun 18 14 11:09 am Link Did a work trade for a Pentax 645 and a bunch of lenses. Never cared for the Pentax as it could only sync to 1/60. Being used to the FM2's sync speed of 1/200 I never even thought to check that out before making the trade. Made it kind of useless in the studio for anything other than still lifes. Shortly after getting it I went full on digital anyways because it was a bitch getting film processed locally. Jun 18 14 11:40 am Link Cheap tripods are always a bad move. I have purchased a few used and old Bogens for very little money. I still have them or let students use them. I am a sucker for a good deal on a tripod. Jun 18 14 11:59 am Link SCAM Photography wrote: Don't be so quick to group all 3rd party lenses into the same boat. Some Tamron lenses are actually rated as good as, if not better, than their Nikon/Canon counterparts. For example, the new Tamron 70-200mm F/2.8 lens is just outstanding, especially considering the price. Jun 18 14 12:31 pm Link I regret buying third party batteries for my nikon and canon digital bodies. USED nikon and canon batteries have lasted longer than these brand new pieces of crap. Jun 18 14 06:34 pm Link Ed Woodson Photo wrote: Maybe I've had good luck then. I have a K200D (basically a smaller K10) for 6 years with no issues and just bought a used K7 no issues yet. I skipped the SDM issue all together and had my 50-135 converted to screw drive. Jun 18 14 09:22 pm Link 7' parabolic umbrella, I don't have the room to make good use of its focussable beam. Trying to decide between selling or getting a sock for it  Jun 20 14 03:01 am Link Not much. Cheapo suitcase-style equipment cases. 10x16-foot white vinyl background. (Well, I should have had it delivered to the studio. It’s in my basement at home. If I put it in the back seat of my car, it would stick out the window about 5 feet.) Offbrand 12x60-inch strip box. I used it three times, and one of the rods poked a hole through the corner of the box. 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 Nikon AF-D lens. Totally unsharp. Portrait Professional. Never used it much. Haven’t used it in years. That’s about it. Jun 20 14 04:02 am Link White Lightning 3200. What a lemon. Serviced once after failing and has failed since. Actually started smoking the second time. I hate sending stuff back. Don't know even if its still under warranty. Jun 20 14 04:17 am Link I don't really regret anything Sure I have gear that I don't use, but each piece of gear I bought taught me something. It has all been part of a progression towards developing a style of my own. Jun 20 14 04:20 am Link Nikon 58mm/1.4g. What a soft piece of crap. Sold it and lost no money, though. Jun 20 14 05:26 am Link As I read this thread these lyrics from Frank Sinatra's 'My Way' kept popping into my head: "Regrets, I've had a few But then again, too few to mention I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway And more, much more than this, I did it my way" And, of course I've had my share of disappointment along the way, but I learned something with each step. So, I really have no regrets, so to speak. However, I do have some equipment that I either never or rarely ever use, but it was part of the journey and served a purpose at the time. Jun 20 14 05:48 am Link +1 for cheap tripods. Jun 20 14 06:05 am Link SCAM Photography wrote: +1 Jun 20 14 06:13 am Link Nikkor AF-S 24-70 2.8N, completely useless focal range, not wide enough at 24, not anywhere near long enough at 70. Hideous distortion at the wide end, heavy, focussing ring and zoom round the wrong way, and questionable sharpness. Glad to see the back of it! Luckily I flogged it for not much less than I paid for it! Jun 20 14 06:20 am Link If my Canon 5d mk3 doesn't start focusing better in low light, it's going to be that!! Jun 20 14 06:23 am Link TDSImages wrote: It's these kind of things I don't understand. There are so many great images throughout history, and lighting wasn't always perfect, but the images were. So why do you absolutely need to shoot in the dark unless you're a spy or something? Jun 20 14 06:43 am Link Regrets I've had a few but then again too few to mention. Invested in 4x5 when the world was going digital. Invested in ridiculously expensive early digital like the d30 and 128 MB cards. Invested in repairing a friend's old 2401 power pack (long story. it was a point of honor.). It would have been cheaper to buy the power pack and throw it in the gulf. Jun 20 14 06:37 pm Link Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens...most worthless lens I own. I know plenty of people swear by this lens, but it is simply a focal length which I never need/use. I use 14, 28, 85 and a few zooms MUCH more of the time. Jun 20 14 06:54 pm Link Warren Leimbach wrote: ... and those decisions made you the top sports photographer you are today, so they are not something you should regret. Jun 21 14 03:39 am Link Canon G10. I wanted a compact camera to lessen my load when just 'out and about'. Acknowledging that Canon made better compacts than my DSLR maker's I tainted myself. Short distance people snaps fine, anything requiring fine detail, landscapes etc - useless, appalling. Jun 21 14 07:43 am Link Pocket Wizards. I don't use them because the particular models I bought don't do what I thought they would. Jun 21 14 08:23 am Link |
