How much money have you invested?

[bribrius]

im still trying to figure out the gear insurance thing.... granted, i don't have huge money in gear but generally speaking my house is in is insured with its contents up to 100k in belongings or some stupid number (way more than my stuff is worth here, so are you guys insuring for theft out of your cars or something?

First of all, check your home-owners policy carefully; irrespective of the total dollar amount covered many (most?) have limitations on the amount that they will reimburse for a specific type item. $5000 seems like a very common number in my experience, so in practical terms, you could have $10,000 in gear in your home, your house is burgled, and all your gear stolen ($10K can easily fit into one gadget bag these days); if you have a $1000 deductible and a $5000 cap on camera gear, all you would get would be $4000!


My insurance covers my gear no matter where it is. House, venue, vehicle, bus-station locker up to $50,000. It also covers me if someone else damages my gear, or if my gear hurts someone ($2,000,000 liability). It also allows me to add a venue as a 'co-insured' so that if I'm shooting in a big hotel for example and something happens that relates to me or my gear, my insurance and not the hotels will take the hit. This is a VERY common requirement of many venues.

excellent post. i don't think i need the gear insurance in my case i have more valuable items i should probably be concerned with though? It does seem to be important the difference between who needs it and who may not and what might be covered in what situation? i had someone break into my house once (well, i don't lock it anyway they walked in), but because of the dog i think they managed to get away with about three minutes and maybe a hundred dollars in stuff? i DO WISH i had caught them. i do i do. And i think they hit the dog with something when i got home it looked a little hurt acting but was okay. For curiosity sake, if i drop a camera in a river or if it is stolen out of a vehicle what does this insurance cost? so we all know?

 

[robbins.photo]

I guess the equation is a lot different depending on the individual, and what sort of photography they do the most. For me I'm strictly amatuer, no desire to turn pro whatsoever. At the moment I've got two Nikon D5200's - for me it made sense to purchase a second one recently because my daughter has expressed an interest in photography and now I'll have something she can shoot with when she tags along. When she's not, I have a second body I can mount a lens on (usually my 85 mm prime) so I can have it ready to go at a moments notice without swapping lenses.

I've found that works exceedingly well for me personally, I don't have to spend time swapping lenses anymore before I'm ready to shoot, and I don't need to carry around a camera bag with me on my zoo walks. For lenses I've got a very good selection that works well for what I do, I currently have a Sigma 70-200 mm F/2.8 as my primary zoom lens, I've got two different teleconverters for it so I can add one or the other in and turn it into a 140-400mm at F/5.6 or a 98-280 mm at F/4 as needed. Gives me both fast glass and good zoom capabilities without having to carry a lot of extra lenses.

I have an 85 mm AF-S G F/1.8, which might seem like a strange selection to some since I already have that focal length in 2.8, but for what I shoot it is a fantastic lens. It is amazingly sharp, works great for portraits, and is very fast - I've found that 85 mm is also one of the most useful focal lengths when shooting indoor at the zoo so it is definately worth having in the bag even though I can acheive the same focal length with the Sigma.

I also have a 50 mm AF-S G F1.8, which works great in a wide variety of situations, it's good for portraits, aquarium shots, and stuff where I need a little wider angle than what the other two can provide. All in all my kit pretty much delievers great results in about 95% of the shooting situations I generally find myself in so really I probably won't be making a lot of additions to it at least in the near future, other than something a little wider angle at some point.

I've been shooting for a little less than a year now, but so far at least I've been very happy with all my equipment selections. As far as how much money I have invested, rough guess would be a little over $2000 at this point. One thing I did discover though is that I realized that for me this isn't going to be just another hobby, this really has become a lifelong pursuit.

So really when it comes to getting new gear, I really think your best bet is to take a look at what you have, figure out what need your current gear isn't meeting, and then look at adding something to address that need. The other thing to keep in mind is that when folks look at your pictures, they for the most part won't have a clue what it was shot with unless you tell them. So if like me your getting the kind of results you want out of a D5200 it just doesn't make a lot of sense to spend a ton of cash on a say a D800 if the only reason for that purchase is so you can say, "Hey, look at me, I own a D800".

But the equation is different for everybody. For some folks a D800 or maybe a D4 is a good investment for what they do - I certainly wouldn't want to try photographing weddings for example with my crop sensor D5200's.

 

[JerryVenz]

Nikon camera gear and port. flash: $9025.00

Canon camera gear and port. flash: $8500.00

Tripods and support: $1850.00

Studio Flash: $3725.00

Studio soft boxes and light modifiers: $5075.00

Misc. studio: $1889.00

Studio Props: $7250.00

Studio Backgrounds: $7950.00

The camera gear is just the digital gear we have retained--It does not count the digital body upgrades we purchased since 2001 along the way--those are FIVE DIGITAL BODIES--before those listed.

That would add another: $9500.00

This does not count ANY of the MEDIUM FORMAT CAMERAS we bought before we went digital--that was THREE SYSTEMS ( Big Money ).

So... are those inflation adjusted numbers?

NO. And my wife pointed out that I did not include: studio furniture, Wall Decor--all of the many framed and unframed large wall portraits, our projection equipment and very large screen, AND our studio computers, monitors, printers, and raid array.

 

[tirediron]

... if i drop a camera in a river or if it is stolen out of a vehicle what does this insurance cost? so we all know?

Prices vary widely depending on area and desired coverage. Mine costs $750/year.

 

[The_Traveler]

Insurance on only equipment loss/damage (not liability or other professional stuff) costs me about %1 but I'm not a pro, don't shoot for $.

 

[TinySquid]

So... are those inflation adjusted numbers?

NO. And my wife pointed out that I did not include: ...[snip] our projection equipment ...

But how could you forget that boat anchor?! :roll:

 

[The_Traveler]

Just a mention that when you use the term 'investment', the implication is that one hopes for a return on this investment.

For those of us who are realists, the word is probably not investment but sunk costs.

 

[spacefuzz]

The question made me curious....

Shooting heavily for the last 5 years, professional for the last 3 in Fine Art, Stock, and Aviation:

Gear: $20k
Printing and Shows: $7.5k
Outdoor gear to get on location: $5k
Travel to locations: $45k

Total: $77,500 give or take

 

[table1349]

Too much....... and not enough!

 

[bace]

I can't be bothered to read most of the posts in the this thread so I'm sorry if this is repetitive.

I started with a $500 film camera.

A few years later I bought a 300D (cheapest and first DSLR from Canon).

I literally only every invested after making the money from the gear I had. If you can't make money with a $500 Camera, then you're not a good photographer. Period.

If and ONLY if you can make money with a $500 camera should you ever invest in more gear, as you reach your creative limitations.

My first investment was a lens, then studio lights, then camera upgrade, then light modifiers, then strobes, then blah blah blah.

I became a people photographer, so that route worked for me, but rest assured that at no point was "investing" in a business past renting gear worth it. Spending lots of money does not a photographer make. In-fact spending lots of money on gear is great news for real photographers, because it's just another "pro" that will be going out of business soon and selling all that amazing gear on craigslist for mad cheap.

Like my most recent investment of a 5D MKIII. Which literally paid for itself in 2 months (probably the only thing I've financed since I started).

 

[kathyt]

I would say between $21,000-23,000.

 

[tirediron]

...If you can't make money with a $500 Camera, then you're not a good photographer. Period....

I'm sorry, but this statement is rubbish. Period.

 

[bace]

So you're saying you couldn't make money with a Rebel? I've literally taken product photography for a client with my iPhone. Understanding composition and light has nothing to do with the gear you have.

Understanding photoshop and editing doesn't require money. Just time.

Also, you make a great argument.

 

[table1349]

Bring your iPhone and your Rebel and pick the big 12 football game or basketball game you would like to shoot and I will get you on the sidelines/baseline with me and well see how many photos are of publication quality.

 

[kathyt]

So you're saying you couldn't make money with a Rebel? I've literally taken product photography for a client with my iPhone. Understanding composition and light has nothing to do with the gear you have.

Understanding photoshop and editing doesn't require money. Just time.

Also, you make a great argument.

I shot with a Rebel for a long time. I out grew it very quickly. I don't think showing up at an event with a Rebel would be a wise decision. Backup? Lenses? Lighting?