Over the next few weeks (ok, it will probably take months...) I plan to go about reviewing just about every piece of photography gear I own or have access to. I have several reasons for doing this.
Firstly, I want to try to improve my own writing and, perhaps more directly, my product photography. Taking pictures of stuff and making them look good is not an easy thing. I mostly do landscapes with available light, so taking pictures of smaller things under more controlled lighting conditions will be a good exercise for me.
Secondly, I think I have a perspective to offer on this subject. I could never do as good a job of evaluating the technical aspects of cameras and lenses as a site like, say dpreview and I can't really offer the experience of a professional photographer like, say Ken Rockwell. But I can give the perspective of a dedicated amateur who has taken tens of thousands of pictures during years of shooting. Like many of you, I have a real job that, sadly, isn't photography. I would like to do it for a living, but professionals work too hard for too little money. I shoot when I can and I don't have a lot of money for my gear. So I have to make sure that what money I do spend is on gear I will use and doesn't break the bank. A lot of us have to walk that fine line between saving money while avoiding wasting money on something that isn't good enough. I guess one way to look at it is that we have to be cognizant of value. Spending only $100 for a lens is a waste of $100 if the lens isn't good enough to use. This is not to say that I haven't made my share of mistakes over the years or that I don't wish I had more money to spend, but we all make mistakes and we all want more. Yet somehow we all manage to muddle through. But if we share what we know, maybe we can all do a little better than we would have alone.
And lastly, I am doing this because I think it will be fun. No sense in having a hobby if you don't enjoy it, after all. Along the way, we will take a look at camera bodies, lenses, tripods, and all manner of random crap that I keep in my shooting bag. Oh, we will look at bags too, of course.
2 comments:
Good to hear you are reviewing bags, too. In true female fashion, I bought a pair of women's golf clubs at a yard sale this summer for $20 (score!), mainly for the pretty purple plaid bag they came in (bigger score!). I have yet to use them, but I'm certain that come time for a trip to the links, the bag will be the most important part of my golfing kit.
--Elizabeth
Bags could be the *most* important thing. No sense in having all of this gear if you can't take it anywhere, after all.
I would love to see a picture of the golf bag, by the way.
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