Too much of anything is bad, or generally, not good. That applies to your photography gear as well. If you’re just starting out with photography, your goal should be to maximize what you have and not to have everything that looks nice.
The most common mistake a lot of newbies (beginners) make is to buy a lot of gear thinking that they would get better faster. Then there’s peer pressure. The newbie’s mind is fertile ground for suggestions—equipment suggestion, that is.
One of the first things a newbie will do is search the internet for resources. The amusing thing about doing research in the internet for photography is that the results usually points to forums. This fact leads the newbie to join forums. Once the newbie becomes a regular member, he meets up and joins other regulars. That’s when all the bombardment of suggestions and gear recommendations start. The newbie gets excited and gets even more excited when he sees sample photos produced by those lenses and cameras.
Then the newbie researches more on those lenses and cameras and convinces him- or herself that he or she needs those gear. If the newbie is rich, he or she buys the gear. If the newbie is financially limited, he either uses some form of credit or loan or uses savings to get the gear. Once the gears they have the gear, they tremble with excitement to use it, doing test shots left and right, and more than willing to go out and shoot. This lasts for about a month or two, then the excitement fades, and some other lenses becomes suggested, then further researched on, and then acquired — and then gets stored in the storage cabinet, or wherever you store your gear. This cycle happens again and again and also triggers other purchase cycles.
What other purchase cycles, you ask? The accessories purchase cycle. Yes once you buy a lens or a camera, you’d be enticed to buy accessories for those gear. You’ll be tempted to buy filters for your lens, battery grips for your camera bodies, flash triggers and light modifiers (omni-bounce, gary fong’s lightsphere, and other things) for your flash. Eventually you’ll be left with a lot of stuff that you don’t need, or will not use in the near or far future.
To avoid, or at least lessen this cycle, I recommend you follow the following suggestions:
1. Don’t buy. This is simply the most cost efficient solution to prevent gear accumulation. Instead, make do with what you have.
2. Rent or borrow. This is the best way to evaluate a lens or a camera, before committing to purchase. You could rent from the camera rental shops or borrow from your friends. It helps if most of your friends have the same camera system.
3. Identify your specialization. Knowing what you’ll be shooting frequently will be a good indicator of what the gears you’ll be buying. For example, if you want to focus on macro photography, you don’t need to buy that fisheye lens that your friend is raving about.
4. Buy and pay cash, always. This will help you avoid impulse buying (generally, unless you carry 3-5 thousand dollars in your pocket daily. It’s easier to do impulse buying if you use your credit card.
5. Delay your purchase by at least a month. This will help tone down the initial excitement of buying a new and highly suggested product.
6. Convince your spouse or better half to buy it for you. If she/he buys it for you, you’re lucky to have her. But if they don’t, and they convince you that you don’t need it, you’re even luckier. I find it a good jolt of reality to discuss your purchases with your better half.
7. Buy with your spouse or better half. This is your final line of defense from impulse buying. Sometimes it even turns out well. They, the better halves, can be good at negotiating the price. It never fails.
I hope after reading the suggestions above you realize one thing: having more gear is not necessary, it can even be a hindrance to your skill improvement and personal relationships.
As I always tell the newbies I meet and asks for advice, focus on your basics first, before getting more gear.
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UPDATE:
I’ve posted my current gear list at: http://www.russelcp.com/general/whats-in-my-camera-bag/
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