Ten things worth every penny

[JacaRanda]

Worth
1) Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM Lens - first L lens that showed me the difference.
2) Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens - 3rd L lens that made spiders cool.
3) Tamron / Tamster 150-600 - first 3rd party lens. Has made me reconsider going bankrupt by getting my dream lens the 300 f2.8L IS II USM (i still want it really really bad)
4) Yongnuo YN-565 EX TTL Flash Speedlite - does everything the Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash (that I need) for less than half the price - just saw one for only $99.00 Ughhh.
5) Optech strap - I lug around a 60d w/grip + 2 batteries and the Tamster which is over 4lbs alone. No issue, very secure, comfortable, versatile, does not require my tripod thread and a fraction of the cost of Black Rapids.
6) Lightroom and now Photoshop CC.

Waste
1) Nifty Fifty, Fantastic Plastic - just does not get use with wildlife photography. slow focus on indoor low light attempts.
2) Canon 430 ex ii flash. Not worth double the price of yongnuo....
3) Westcott 43 inch Apollo Orb Speedlite Kit 2340 does not get much use, cumbersome.
4) Stupid uv filters
5) Other studio or portrait shtuff that do not get much use.

 

[TCampbell]

I definitely DO NOT regret buying my Black Rapid strap. The only thing that annoyed me about it was whenever I wanted to go from strap to tripod, I had to remove the tripod bolt and re-attach the arca-swiss plate for my tripod.

BUT THEN... Black Rapid came out with an accessory which locks to the arca-swiss plate. So now I just unclamp the camera from the strap and clamp it to the tripod (there's a locking mechanism on the clamp so you don't accidentally release it when using the strap.) I absolutely love this thing. When people complain about the weight of a full-frame gripped camera with a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens... i say "get a more comfortable strap". I can (and do) wear that thing for hours and hours on end.

The other purchase I don't regret (a Canon accessory) is the new Canon radio-controlled speedlites. I had been wanting to buy the PocketWizard Mini & Flex system for so long but had read so many stories of the inconsistent performance and that a basic non-TTL system was more reliable -- that or just go with straight manual flash. Then Canon came out with this system and I get rock-solid reliability and fantastic integration. Even the price was attractive (but that's not hard to do considering the PocketWizard Mini & Flex systems are fairly expensive at prices around $200 per module.)

I would second Chuasam's suggestion of the Sekonic L-358 light meter... except that Sekonic has replaced that with the new L-478. There's an L-478D and an L-478DR. The "R" version has a built-in PocketWizard radio transmitter so you can trigger flashes wirelessly. My first Sekonic meter was an L-308S... that's (still) their most basic which is also able to meter flash (there are more basic models that don't support flash, but I'd definitely steer someone in the direction of a meter that can deal with flash metering situations.) The L-478 series is, I think, one of the best bargains in terms of functionality for the price.

 

[rexbobcat]

3, 6, and 10 stop ND filters.

Being able to do long exposures anywhere as well as use shallow DoF with strobes is awesome.

 

[greybeard36 8]

Yongnuo 565ex flash
Yongnuo little cheap flash triggers
Nikon D7000
Nikon 35mm f1.8 DX
Nikon 50mm f1.8
Nikon 55-200 DX zoom
Nikon 18-55 DX zoom
Lightroom and Photoshop
Nikon R1C1 macro flash
Can't think of anymore.

 

[tirediron]

...UV filters -- handy for those times you might scratch a front element, or want to put grease on for blur. Easy to clean. They don't affect image quality at all if you shoot digital, digital sensors don't "see" UV....

Digital cameras don't "see" UV because the sensor assembly has a built-in UV filter. As for it not affecting image quality at all, I'm going to respectfully disagree. Strongly. Granted if you spend $150+ for a Singh-Ray, Lee, Heliopan or B+W UV filter, the affect may be almost impossible to see, but I can promise you, a cheap UV filter, particularily when shooting in sub-optimal conditions will show up in all kinds of ways. Increased CA, flare, ghosting...

 

[Derrel]

Worth every penny:

1.High-speed SanDisk or Lexar memory cards
2.newer mid-level to prosumer to flagship Nikon d-slr bodies of recent vintage
3.high-quality speedlights
4.top-grade 70-200 f/2.8 zoom lenses
5.Nikon 85/1.8 G or 85mm 1.4 AF-D short telephoto primes
6.Speedotron lighting gear bought used at 75% off retail prices!
7.Lightroom
8.iMac (any size)
9.Domke camera bags
10. good C-stands

Waste of cash:
1. List-making book and workbook bought online from a Canadian photo studio
2. membership to 24 Hour Fitness
3. Patron tequila
4. Wash AND WAX automated carwash: just pay for the wash-ONLY option!!!!!
5. Expensive wine in restaurants. $12 retail priced bottles sold at $35 are not a good deal.

 

[chuasam]

I definitely DO NOT regret buying my Black Rapid strap. The only thing that annoyed me about it was whenever I wanted to go from strap to tripod, I had to remove the tripod bolt and re-attach the arca-swiss plate for my tripod.

BUT THEN... Black Rapid came out with an accessory which locks to the arca-swiss plate. So now I just unclamp the camera from the strap and clamp it to the tripod (there's a locking mechanism on the clamp so you don't accidentally release it when using the strap.) I absolutely love this thing. When people complain about the weight of a full-frame gripped camera with a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens... i say "get a more comfortable strap". I can (and do) wear that thing for hours and hours on end.
.

Try a Carryspeed FS pro

 

[JacaRanda]

Worth every penny:

1.High-speed SanDisk or Lexar memory cards
2.newer mid-level to prosumer to flagship Nikon d-slr bodies of recent vintage
3.high-quality speedlights
4.top-grade 70-200 f/2.8 zoom lenses
5.Nikon 85/1.8 G or 85mm 1.4 AF-D short telephoto primes
6.Speedotron lighting gear bought used at 75% off retail prices!
7.Lightroom
8.iMac (any size)
9.Domke camera bags
10. good C-stands

Waste of cash:
1. List-making book and workbook bought online from a Canadian photo studio
2. membership to 24 Hour Fitness
3. Patron tequila
4. Wash AND WAX automated carwash: just pay for the wash-ONLY option!!!!!
5. Expensive wine in restaurants. $12 retail priced bottles sold at $35 are not a good deal.

OMG! I am still wasting/donating money to 24 hr fitness. I worked there many years ago and I only pay $9.99 a month to any non sport gym. Can't remember when I was there last, but it's probably 6 years ish.

 

[JacaRanda]

Oh, and I have no doubt that Black Rapid straps are really good, based on all of your opinions that have them. It's just that I am lucky I did not spend the money, when I found something that works comfortably for me at a savings.

At some point, I will try on a BR and see if I have been missing something.

 

[CameraClicker]

...UV filters -- handy for those times you might scratch a front element, or want to put grease on for blur. Easy to clean. They don't affect image quality at all if you shoot digital, digital sensors don't "see" UV....

Digital cameras don't "see" UV because the sensor assembly has a built-in UV filter. As for it not affecting image quality at all, I'm going to respectfully disagree. Strongly. Granted if you spend $150+ for a Singh-Ray, Lee, Heliopan or B+W UV filter, the affect may be almost impossible to see, but I can promise you, a cheap UV filter, particularily when shooting in sub-optimal conditions will show up in all kinds of ways. Increased CA, flare, ghosting...

Yeah, that wasn't worded very well. I have quality filters and if I showed two photos, one with and one without, you probably couldn't tell which had the filter. But, what I wanted to get across was that the UV filter is supposed to improve your photo by removing UV, and that adding a UV filter to digital does not provide a positive effect.

I know most sensor wafers include an IR filter and a low pass filter, though some like Leica and the Nikon D800e don't have the low pass filter. I was not aware a filter was present for UV. I was under the impression that the photosites just aren't that sensitive to UV.

Tests with UV filters and Haze filters have not provided a better looking image than the same body and lens without the filter, so they seem useful only as mechanical protection. Many years ago, a classmate dropped his father's SLR during a trip. The filter was destroyed. The lens was fine. If the camera had landed differently, perhaps the result would have been a damaged lens? Perhaps having a lens hood would have saved the filter? Sometimes I use a filter, frequently I just use a hood. I usually have a filter on my 16-35 because the hood is so large a diameter that I frequently don't carry it. That said, the B+W 82 mm filter cost more than many P&S cameras.

 

[sandrat]

Good

Canon d1000
Battery Grip
Sandisk HS card
Nifty Fifty
Metal lense hoods
ND filters
Youngnuo Ettl flashes
Wansen flash triggers
Shoot thru umbrellas
Amazon camera backpack
Remote shutter release
Adobe PS and LR
Snoot
Gels

Bad

Cheap nimh batteries
Too short tripod - I'm 6'1'

 

[zaroba]

I really don't feel qualified to post after reading this topic. lol
But, I'll try.

Good:
Canon Rebel T3i - I know it's not the best camera out there. But it is my first SLR and I've loved it since getting it 3 years ago. So I think it's worth listing.
Filters - Even though a lot say they do no good, I do mostly nature shots which often involve walking through wooded/rocky areas in parks. I like the comfort of knowing there is that extra layer of glass protecting my lens. Filters are cheaper to replace then lenses.
Backpack camera bag - I love it. Got smaller bags figuring I'd use the backpack for storage and the smaller bags for trips, but nope. Almost never use the smaller bags.
1oz Tic Tacs - I know, might be silly to list. But the empty containers are the perfect size to hold T3i batteries and SD cards.


Worst
Screw on fish eye filter lens. Don't really know why I bought it. Really don't like the fish eye effect.

 

[jtmiv]

Dear Chuasam,

Good

Buying used, I've bought $ 9000.00 or $ 10,000.00 worth of used gear for about $ 2000.00. Everything works fine and most of it was purchased from someone on a message board. One man's trash is always another man's treasure.
Anything OP/TECH
Sigma DG600
Canon 15-85 EFS/IS

Bad

All the film cameras I collected from about 1995 to 2002. They are great cameras and work just fine but the expense of film kills them. I generally stick with old stuff that works but sticking with film was a mistake.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[jsecordphoto]

Don't have a huge list but

Worth every penny


The Tokina 16-28 f2.8. SO sharp
The Wonderpana filter adapter for the Tokina- a little pricey but I've never regretted buying it and their filters
a $5 compass that I was able to put my camera strap through. One of the best things I've ever done, so nice being able to quickly check a compass when scouting locations. Especially helpful when scouting stuff that I plan on going back to at night and need to see how the Milky Way will line up.
The NIK Suite
A good tripod

 

[hassiman]

Good

Leica M4 with 35mm F2 Summicron.

CarrySpeed FS Pro. The Camera Strap BR wanted to be before they sued CS out of Business.

Really Right Stuff L brackets and camera strap quick release.

Gitzo 3 series systematic tripod and Monopod

Good ambient light/flash meter.