Photography Budget Considerations

[rs-eos]

Overview

Users often post on this forum seeking advice for new camera.  However, what is typically not mentioned is a budget.  And my guess is they just have the camera and lens or lenses in mind.

What follows is primarily aimed at interchangeable lens cameras for use for photography.  However, most would also apply to point-and-shoots (skip the lenses section) as well as video.

Camera

One assumption I believe is that often made is that a camera will take up the largest amount of a budget.  It certainly could, but more often than not, it will make up less than half the total cost.

While cameras are certainly not disposable, they, along with some essentials below, don't have incredibly long lifespans.  I would thus recommend getting a camera that will meet your needs and not go with a model that has features you don't anticipate using at all.  Doing so will allow you to use your budget more wisely.

Lenses

A good lens can really last a long time.  Invest wisely so that your lenses will be as future-proofed as possible.  As an example, if you're either currently using or eyeing a new R-series camera, primarily look at RF lenses.  For the long term, it will be a better investment.

Already have older lenses that you want to use short-term on a new camera? It may be possible with an adapter.  So be sure to carve out a bit for an adapter in your budget.

Keep some budget for filters too.  I strongly recommend a protection (clear) filter for your lenses.  Definitely don't go with the cheapest brands here.  Doing lots of outdoors shots? Interested in doing long exposures? You may want to consider Circular Polarizer (CP) and/or Neutral Density (ND) filters.

One challenge with screw-on filters comes with having two or more lenses such that they use different sized filter threads.  While you certainly can look at step-up rings, they may interfere with lens hoods.  So it could be that if you want to do long exposure photography with all your different lenses, your budget for filters can grow quite a bit.

Essential Extras

Memory Cards don't come with cameras anymore.  Do NOT purchase micro-sized SD cards.  Purchase full-sized cards from reputable brands sold by reputable dealers.  Card prices (to include CFexpress ones) have really come down in price.  Thus, budget accordingly here and don't be tempted to get the cheapest.

Unless you're only going to shoot around the house and not hours on end, pick up at least one extra battery.  Stick with OEM batteries (i.e. Canon).  This is another area where many times, users are picking up third party batteries.  While they may work, they could cause problems.

Lighting

A lighting budget will really depend upon what you want to do.

If you will only be using available light, you may want to consider a reflector and scrim/diffusor to at least have some extra control and allow for filling in shadows.

If wanting to fully control the lighting in the scene, you have fairly inexpensive speedlites, to moderately priced studio strobes, to high end studio packs.  But no matter what lighting you plan to use, you'll inevitably need light stands and most likely will enter the wonderful world of lighting modifiers.

Of course there's middle ground too where you want to add a bit of flash/strobe to available light.

Other Considerations

Interested in panoramas? Studio work? Long exposures? That's just a few things that would really benefit from a tripod.  One recommendation here is to invest in a system that you can grow with.  It's also often the case where you may end up purchasing numerous inexpensive tripods over time.  Usually it's better to go with a good tripod up-front.

Eyeing a very expensive camera or lens and just not sure? Consider keeping some of your budget for renting gear.  It's a great way to test drive the items to see if they are something you want to eventually purchase.

And, don't forget to consider warranties.

Conclusion

Beyond a camera a lens, there are so many other items to think about for your overall budget.   I would recommend not only thinking about the short term, but the medium term.  i.e. ensure you don't paint yourself in the corner by maxing out your budget on a camera and lens/lenses and not have anything left for essentials.  Or putting yourself in debt such that you wouldn't be able to add desired items over time.

What follows is my personal breakdown of cost percentages across major categories.   This will by no means apply to your budget, but it's provided here as a point of discussion.  To help reinforce that depending upon your goals, there are many items to consider.

Photography Cost Breakdown

• Camera and accessories: 14%
• Lenses and Filters: 15%
• Tripod system and accessories: 9%
• Lighting and Grip: 58%
• Other: 3%

[Tronhard]

Hi Ricky:
I think this is an excellent article on issues to do with getting camera equipment.
Looking at your cost breakdowns at the bottom, while I absolutely appreciate these are yours, I would expect that someone buying a new camera and accessories would be likely to spend much more on the body than 14%, and less on lighting an grip than 58%.
I can see it might be so for someone doing a lot of studio work, for example, but for the basics - i.e. people shooting with limited budget and mostly outside, I would be interested in your expectation of the balance of budget allocations.  Perhaps a chart with different scenarios?

[rs-eos]

Correct. As I noted, my percentages are only a talking point. It’s to help readers in seeing a potential list of categories they can ask themselves about. Basically a checklist of items to consider.

[Waddizzle]

Excellent post.  I think you could do a similar one about storage and transporting camera gear.

[Tintype_18]

Thanks for the information. Being involved in some other things besides photography, this holds true with many hobbies.