From the course: Learning to Use Mirrorless Cameras

Setting your budget for your camera

From the course: Learning to Use Mirrorless Cameras

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Setting your budget for your camera

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- Setting a budget for your camera system is very much a personal decision, but I'd like to share with you a few tips and some lessons learned as I've built out my own collection. Now keep in mind that I have the benefit of working with many coworkers and we have an office, so we have a wide collection of lenses and camera bodies. Because we have multiple photographers and videographers in our shop, it's quite possible for us to have a lot of gear. So don't feel like you have to build a giant collection. There are several things that you can do to save some money, and one of those is picking a platform and sticking with it. Now it's very tempting to keep switching platforms because different manufacturers keep putting out great promotions and new technology improvements, but every time you do this you're going to create problems for yourself. For example, I really like what Fuji has done with their lenses. I've got this great small Fuji camera here, and it's a lot of fun to shoot with. It's something that I got as a giveaway at a conference, and while I like it and it's quite useful, I don't use it as often because I'd have to buy all new lenses. But I do think it's a great platform, and it works well. I'm just not ready to invest in yet another system. So it's a fun knock around camera that I'll take on trips and I bought a couple extra batteries, but it's not really going out in the field with me a lot of times. In other cases, sometimes you might want something that's really versatile. So for example, I've got a camera here from Olympus. This is the EM Three here, and it's a great camera body. And it's really quite comfortable, works well, and it uses the Micro Four Third System. Well those same lenses are quite versatile in my office. We're using Blackmagic Studio cameras right now, which also use Micro Four Thirds lenses. And I've got the Blackmagic not quite pocket camera here and this also uses Micro Four Thirds lenses, and so do the cameras from Panasonic and the GH4 system. So this means that if I buy a lens, it's going to work across all of these different camera bodies. So it makes it a lot easier to invest in good lenses. But obviously you're going to find something that really appeals to you for different types of work. So when I need to shoot and I need a pro body, I'm really attracted to the Sony series, in this case with the full frame sensor and excellent video work. I find myself doing a lot of pro video work, so having the quality plus the sensor size has been really quite beneficial. But in all cases, I encourage you to not keep jumping around. I still own equipment that I bought for older cameras and we keep it in house. I find that we're able to easily put these cameras to work, but if you find yourself constantly switching between different brands and manufacturers, what's going to happen is you're going to keep spending money. Camera bodies constantly evolve, and they're always shipping new ones with slight improvements and great new features. The real cost in a camera system is the lenses. And you generally just don't get the same performance if you try to adapt lenses. Sure it's possible on certain systems like Canon's EOS R to use the older EOS lenses and they work great, but if you try to take those Canon lenses and put 'em on a Sony camera, while there are adapters on the market you just don't get the same level of control or auto focus capabilities that you might need. So what I suggest is try really hard to resist the temptation to constantly switch. You're always going to see great news about new cameras and people publishing stories and blog posts talking about how wonderful something is. What you should really try to do is stay put. The truth is, is that glass is what matters most. Having lenses that are good makes all the difference. I have lenses that are 10 to 20 years old in some places, and I still use them. Good glass lasts a really long time if you take care of it. So as you start to build out your collection, think about making sure that you stick with one platform. Instead of constantly switching to new bodies, try out a new lens. Maybe add a macro lens for closeup work, a wide angle for landscape, a great prime lens for shooting portraits, but as you invest you'll see that your system starts to add up in value. Another lesson that I've learned is make sure you save up and buy the best lens that you can. Rather than buying cheap lenses that don't work very well or wear out, buy a lens that's good or even great. Now there are lots of price differences and sometimes the difference between a 1.2 and a 1.8 prime lens is huge financially. You don't always have to buy top of the line, but make sure you do your homework and look at reviews. I've never regretted buying a good lens. They last for a long time and will far more likely be with you after you've upgraded your camera body. And another thing that I'd like to suggest is don't feel like you have to buy everything. You can absolutely rent lenses and camera bodies from companies. I've rented a bunch of these lenses from Lens Rental here and they were delivered right to our office, ready to shoot with. This means that you can try out different equipment and make sure that you like it before you buy it or if you find yourself needing a really long lens like this great one here before I go on a trip, well I can rent it and take it on the trip and I don't have to invest in that top glass. So what it comes down to is think about the long-term investment. Buy what you need, rent what you think you might need, and don't keep churning through equipment or you're going to waste your money.

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