overcoming your gear: let's call it sharking (and, a giveaway!)

I’ve stood there in shops, staring through glass at glass... coveted glass.

$1599.99. $989.99. $1249.99. Even if I did have the money, how would I ever choose? I need a macro as much as I need a wide-angle. Instead my camera bag is filled with hand-me-downs and compromises, an extremely limited selection of what are generally considered the most ineffective, inexpensive, kit-grade lenses Canon has ever produced.

The Canon EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 II lens is a very inexpensive starter lens with a low build quality. As long as the person using the 28-80 knows its optical shortcomings, that designation may be fine. Otherwise, they may permanently be turned off by its performance. Its optics are mediocre at best, making it nearly impossible to get ultra-sharp pictures. The price is cheap, and so is the lens; the overall workmanship and quality is low.  ~ The Digital Picture

Lately, that’s the one I use most often for nature shots, including the one above.

Build quality of the 50mm f/1.8 is very cheap (as you might expect). This lens feels more like a toy than a piece of optics, with plastic contruction right down to the lens mount.

There is not much to this lens. There is no distance window or markings. There is barely even a focus ring - and the tiny ring that is there is barely usable. Only five non-rounded aperture blades are used in this lens, leading to poor bokeh (image quality of out of focus areas).  ~ The Digital Picture

That’s the one I use for portraits, though I'd give it a better review than that.

And that’s pretty much it. A lensbaby for play, as-yet unmastered. A 10-20mm wide angle that’s slow, tough to focus precisely, and distorting around the edges. All mounted to a camera body that’s widely considered to be the beginner point for SLRs. Except it’s been my starting point for years.

I have never used a good lens, let alone a great one. The same goes for a camera body. I’m afraid to even pick one up for the sake of mortgage payments.

+++

Our village is filling up with summer residents, rich folk from the States, England, all points in Europe. With the onslaught of Porsche SUVs comes an onslaught of boats that eat money, sails that literally sparkle, crews outfitted in matching gear.

We’ve got a 40-year-old Shark, adopted, a family of small boats not seen much around these parts. Justin’s spent years sandblasting the keel, replacing the bulkheads, poring the internet for used sails.

"It’s so demoralizing," he said after yesterday’s race. "We came last. I can’t compete with those guys. They’re laughing at us. I don’t even have a roller furling for the jib. The rigging is from the 1960s. There’s no way I can race that boat. I don’t know why I bother."

Later, when the race results came in, Justin was shocked to discover that he hadn’t actually come last. He’d beaten two boats of the fleet. Two better-equipped boats designed to go fast. He beat them because he’s a good sailor. Not because of his boat, but in spite of it.

+++

I feel the limitations of my gear every time I reach for my camera. Clunky, lightweight, noisy, imprecise. I see it when I download, my best-case focusing turning out about as well as I imagine others’ worst-cases.

But every now and then, someone who knows about cameras looks at my images and says, “What do you shoot with?” and I tell them. And in that moment, I get... props.

None of this is a competition, but indulge my metaphor: when it comes to light-bending and composition and storytelling with my camera, plenty of people are ahead of me. I’ll never catch them—not with this glass. But I’m not DFL, either (to borrow from the nautical, Dead F*cking Last).

And for now, I’m content with that. I’ll keep pushing, nudging, compensating, overcoming, until $1249.99 falls from the sky into my lap.

+++

Hello Giveaway!

It’s random giveaway time from our friends at Hello Canvas.

Leave a comment here between now and Tuesday at midnight, and you could win a 20x24 canvas of your photo of choice from Hello Canvas! The prompt: What’s your relationship to your gear? Does it define you? Delight you? Confine you? What are you most grateful for, and how do you see your stable of lenses and equipment evolving in the next year?

Also, winners from our Hello Gorgeous mini contest will be announced on Tuesday. Wheeee!

The winner of the Hello Canvas 20x24 canvas print is Bekkah of Through the Lens, our 68th commenter. Congratulations, Bekkah! And thanks so much to everyone for sharing your thoughts on gear, both today's and tomorrow's (and wishlists).

Comments

[Kaje Housman]

I, too, am relegated to lesser optics, but I am enjoying it all the same! I am new (less than a year) into owning my first dslr and I am hooked, for sure!

Please enter me into the Hello Canvas giveaway!!

Namaste

[Karyn Kelbaugh]

Thank you for that post. I've been crushing hard on some new glass and talking down to my current collection. This is just what I needed today!

[Keri Always]

I waffle between satisfied and frustrated, for the same reasons as your article. You expressed my feelings for me very well.

[honey]

recently, i chose a Quaker Oats pinhole camera built over 20 years ago by a college friend to complete an assignment. this included pouring chemistry in the darkroom. days of delight have followed. a deep and basic delight in the process but mostly of the magic that is photography. it is nice to step backwards to see, exhale, and compose.

[camerashymomma ~ meredith winn]

oh i hear ya. sure, you've outgrown your gear but that's a (relatively) easy fix. the truth is: you can *see. and that is what others lack. all the gear in the world doesn't make an artist. just like all the money in the world doesn't make a sailor. "But every now and then, someone who knows about cameras looks at my images and says, “What do you shoot with?” and I tell them. And in that moment, I get... props." yes, hell yes!

don't enter me in the giveaway, i just needed to say that outloud. (that and i took the sister image to this dewy drops on a leaf shot yesterday, i love the darkness surrounding light)

[Missy K]

I could have written this post. As in, I think we own the same gear. :-) And sometimes I am really frustrated by its limitations. Other times, gratified by what I get with my "beginner" "toys." I loved honey's comment above, "a deep and basic delight in the process." I remind myself that no $$$ can buy that.

[s.patel]

i'd say that i've recently come to the realization that my gear is more confining that empowering just because i feel overwhelmed by it and then don't use any of it!! working on simplifying and just getting out there to enjoy instead of overthinking it!

[Marcie]

I'm a big believer in the thinking that the image is made by the image-maker..and not by the fanciest of equipment and highest priced lenses and optics. In other words - it's all in the eyes of the beholder!!
Love how you've said this!!!

[Cheri]

I am working with the original (as in first release) Canon Rebel with the kit lens that came with it. I also have a very cheap zoom lens and probably the same 50 mm lens that you described. Despite having owned this camera for years, I am just beginning to learn how it functions outside of auto mode. It isn't my equipment that is limiting me - it is my phobia of trying to learn all the technology it holds!

[CDScott]

I have a decent body and low level lenses. I tell myself that I will treat myself to some high end gear once I start "making some money". But until then, I am satisfied with my gear, but I wonder what more I could do with the good stuff!

[Linda Jackman]

I also believe that the image is made by the maker, you can not buy creativity, yet good glass does make a mighty difference. I have some kit lenses and some great glass... I still use all of them. It depends on what I have in mind for the end result. I am delighted with all of my gear and hope to continue to build up my collection.

[giftsofthejourney (Elizabeth Harper)]

This was a perfect Monday post and so well said.

After I spent hours on line this weekend checking out new camera gear, this was just what I needed to read.

Lately I've been coveting another PowerShot ... maybe a G11 or some other newer, faster, not so little go anywhere brand. My G9 has severed me well, but it's just about toast.

I really bad in that I have good glass and it just sits as it's too big to lug for all the shooting I do on the go. It's not quite what I thought I'd be doing with my gear after moving to the UK. I used to shoot weddings in the US, but here less people seem to get married or sadly want professional for too little money to make it worthwhile.
.

[shelagh]

I have great gear and I have good gear and I find that it is not the gear that counts. It is the shot. The skill of the photographer. THAT moment.
I decided not to take my heavy solid nikon300 to NYC recently, I took a Canon point and shoot and I am thrilled with the pictures. Really, it is the photographer not the goods. A poorly composed and exposed picture taken with a fabulous set of tools cannnot compare to a terrific shot with a mediocre camera. That's what I think...... :)

[xanthe]

i would never have known your equipment was limited, i'm in a similar boat to you and manage with what i have, dreaming of new glass and a top end body and waiting for that envelope of cash to land in my lap, but i do hold close to me (and it's true what meredith said), that it's your EYE that's the most key ingredient. Yours is priceless.
x.

[lucy]

my cheap 50mm f 1.8 is my very favorite lens, because it gives me the effect i'm looking for -- dreamy, blurry, and light-loving. i'm not drawn to super-sharp images anyway -- to me life is usually messy and blurry -- so i'm happy with what i have.

that's not to say that a wide-angle lens isn't on my shopping list. just not today. :)

[Carolyn]

I need a good macro but alas can't afford it right now. sigh.

[skparkplace]

SO glad to hear someone else has the same longings as I do. I love my camera, take fantastic pictures, but the customers don't see the lack of clarity in some of the images. I have started saving my money for some new glass. Thanks for letting me know I am not alone in the lens world.

[melissa]

Great post! I have a big wish list too!

[alaina]

almost all of my gear is hand-me downs and it mostly overwhelms me and makes me feel guilty for not knowing how to use it more effectively. but whenever i borrow a friend's i appreciate it for all that it does.

[Becky Sue]

My limitations are in my mind. I'm such a rational person that I have difficulty seeing things different than how they present. I don't automatically think to get down low or take the shot from a different angle or even what makes an interesting photograph. I'm trying really hard to think outside the photo.

[amy]

oh yes, i can relate. i only have the lens that came with my NIkon but i have big dreams and although i think a new lens can do wonders it's the eye and the heart and the intuition....AND a super cool fancy new lens! awesome give away!

[JanaBanana]

I too have lens envy...BUT have done the best I could with what I have :) I have one of the lens stated above and had I not had that lens I wouldn't have been able to capture one of my all time favorite pictures of my two year old. =0)
Would love to be entered in your contest! Thanks

[Clara]

Generally, my gear confines me. I have two cameras, and the one that I'm most comfortable with is the one I use almost exclusively. Sometimes I wonder if i wouldn't be better if camera #1 "disappeared" (I don't really mean this, and I feel like I have to state this in the post in order not to jinx myself). Perhaps then I'd spend the time that I need to spend exploring what camera #2 can deliver and what I can achieve with it. Nevertheless, I'm grateful that i have the luxury of a choice.

I'm afraid that there are no new lenses in my future during the remainder of the year. However, I've been eyeing a Diana and eyeing may turn to lust, after which all bests are off.

[Amanda]

This theme resonates deep for me today. It's absolutely horrifying for me to wish for more than I already have; which I am, indeed, absolutely grateful for. My mama bought me my D90 for my 30th birthday, what a most amazing gift. I have one other lens that my lover bought me and I feel pretty darn blessed. I think the only time my lack of equipment (or good equipment) gets to me is when I get caught up in what everybody else has - and that is just crazy. When I get the 'gimmies' or the 'i wants' I just remember the old adage that beauty and art are about the person holding the camera and not the camera (or glass) itself. ...Now should I ever hit the lotto it may be a different story entirely! Cheers! A contented shutter sister.

[Rachel Trippel]

I love your post! I'm in the same boat. I have the original Canon Digital Rebel. For the most part, I'm just so grateful to have my DSLR and love learning more everyday. I love the thrill of shooting and discovering and revel in the moment when I capture that special image. On the otherhand, it's hard not to realize that today most point and shoots have more megpixels than my camera and I long for more glass. I have a Canon 75 -300 that I LOVE and then discovered that it's only an "OK" lens in the overall scheme of things.

Thank you for the chance to win.

[Marianne LoMonaco]

That piece could have been written by me. I have a kit lens that came with my Rebel, the cheapest Canon DSLR. And I just bought the 50mm f1.8 II the lens with so much auto focus noise.
I'm happy with my tiny gear. Sure I'd love more, I'd really love a macro lens but that's not going to happen this year. I understand my camera, I know how to use it, I know what it with do for me and what it will give me. It's also not too heavy. I'm happy with what I got.

[pam]

I think all of us with Canon's have the cheapie 50mm f1.8 lens. It is my lens of choice. It stays on my camera ninety percent of the time. For my birthday, hubby said I could get a new lens, pick it out myself. I'm totallly freaked. I don't know enough to pick out a good lens!

[hellolovely]

i love my nikon d3000. it's nothing too special, but it helps me create gorgeous photos every day! i use the simplest lens that i purchased with the camera. right now i'm not at a place where i can afford a new lens, but i plan to get a new one within the next few years. however, i feel that it's the photographer that makes the photos, not the equiptment. :)

http://hellolovely14.blogspot.com

[deea]

It's so easy to focus on the negative. Thanks for the reminder, & encouragement to do otherwise.

[Lisa]

Wow - what a lot to ponder! I have to share with you: I learned a few years ago of a very popular fashion photographer (I forget his name now as I don't follow fashion - hah!) who solely used a point-and-shoot camera to take all of his shots. Those shots were published in magazines. Goes to show you it isn't the equipment but the person behind it.

That being said, the gear DOES make a difference in oh-so-many circumstances. I have the Canon XTI with kit lens and long for a macro...any sort. Oh, and of course the t2i so I can capture HD video! Ah, but for now I'm trying to celebrate all my other creative avenues and let my voice be heard regardless what tools it uses!! Thanks for a great post!

[Jenny Modesitt]

I was going to order a nice, new and expensive piece of glass this morning. Really. I decided first to check my favorite blogs and thankfully read your post. Maybe I will love my 50mm 1.8 a little longer and work more on lighting and composition. Thanks for your post. It was exactly what I needed to read.

I love my camera. In fact I take it everywhere I go. I am fairly new and it is easy to get sucked in to all the products we just have to have. It is nice to know all the expensive toys aren't needed.

[Angella]

I have a lot of fancy gear, but I will be the first to admit that gear is no good unless you have an eye for photography. You, my friend, have that. And when you DO get the fancy gear? Watch out world.

[Kate.S @ Little House]

I understand limitations of geer! I am a wanna-be pro stuck with this...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30297021@N02/4376255109/in/photostream/

What is s a closet photographer with no money to do? :)

A good lesson on biding my time :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30297021@N02/4667501165/

[Shawna]

I have a good macro lens that I love and have even used for some of my favourite portraits. My biggest issue is with my body - specifically the noise it produces. It's a good camera, but not great for my favourite shots, which are handheld macros, so I sometimes have to either bump the ISO (see the aforementioned noise), or admit the light isn't going to work. I dream of upgrading, but I knowit's not in the cards for this year.

(I'm also trying to make friends with my 50mm f/1.8, but so far no dice. My shots are almost always blurry.)

[Jen at Cabin Fever]

I was a "kit photographer" for a long time with nothing special going on except the camera I used. Recently I upgraded my camera and bought a macro lens. The process of buying a lens was so daunting I almost didn't know where to begin! I ended up going with something cheap that had a lot of great reviews. While its not the best of the best it works wonderfully and is a great stepping stone to more expensive equipment.

By cheap, learn, and then grow into something more pricey!

http://www.cabinfeververmont.com
Click on the "photo assignment" tab and check out June's assignment!

[beth]

does my equipment define me ?......does the fact that it acts like an oxygen tank to me mean anything......like take my camera, and i stop breathing and I wouldn't have a clue as to what to do with myself.....

yep, it defines me alright.....and when i show up anywhere without my camera....i'm asked where it is :)

i love my macro....and my new 17-60 lens that i use now for almost everything....but my zoom at 300, oh you gotta love being able to spy, which is what i feel like i'm doing when i shoot with that :)

[Janette Carle]

Love the article. Good dose of reality. I have a 'confused' relationship with my gear. As in - what to do? I love photography but have only picked it up in the past couple of years as a hobby. I can't rationalize spending a ton of money on gear. At the same time, I want what I have to help my photos rather than hurt them (I need all the help I can get). Couple that with the fact that I'm lazy and won't lug around a bunch of stuff. I'm on a neverending search for the "perfect" lens. I have a crop sensor and upgraded my kit lens to the 17-50mm 2.8 Tamron. Love it - it really has helped indoors. Now, I want something longer with a relatively low aperture but that has proved elusive. And I don't want to carry around 5 extra pounds. And I don't want to spend the equivalent to a mortgage payment. I'm obsessive about reading reviews too. I love the ones that say - just spend the money - you will be happy you did. No matter what they say, $1300 vs $500 is a lot of money and my untrained eye won't notice the difference. Do you know how many shoes you could buy with the difference?? I also have the so called "cheap" 50mm 1.8 and LOVE it. Can you see my issue? Anyone have a perfect (reasonable) walk-around lens that has a longer reach than 50mm?

[Vanessa]

I have a wish list on BH filled with a 5d mark ii, 50 mm 1.4, 24-70mm wide angle lens, among other things. Unless I win the lottery it's exactly what it's titled. A wish list. But I, like you, manage to get compliments on my photos somehow..and I guess that's really all that matters. <3

[joey]

When I finally decided to go digital, I was very hesitant to invest a lot. I'm so thankful that my husband pushed me to get some gear that I could grow into. Little did he know I would become addicted and now long for thousands of dollars of lenses and a full-frame body.

[Gale]

Thanks for the reviews, so helpful!

[chris]

Good post! My gear has evolving all year and I'm not there yet! I am the process of developing an appreciating for fast lenses, as I don't like to use any flash. I'm narrowing down my favorites and considering selling a few, including a kit lens which I no longer use.

[AngieS]

What a great post! I, too, am the proud owner of a Canon Rebel, the kit lens, a 50mm 1.8 lens, and a low end zoom lens. It goes without saying that I want to upgrade the camera and buy better lenses. But not having had the pleasure of using top quality equipment, I guess I don't know any better. I take good photos with the equipment I have, I get good comments on my photos, so for the most part I am satisfied. Having said that, a Japanese tourist asked me to take a photo of him and his wife in the center of London last week as he handed me his Canon 5D...I can still feel the delicious weight of it in my hands and hear the beautiful sound of the shutter as I took the image!! It was heavenly...

[Dorean Beattie]

I never felt defined by my lower end gear until I joined a camera club. The members seemed to have an unofficial competition to see who could walk in with the most current (ie, just released) gear. I felt like the class dunce. Then I began to notice that the people that were most into their gear weren't the ones getting the most ribbons in the monthly competitions.

[Misty]

I'm a beginner, so I have beginner gear. Honestly, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference, so I'm obviously not ready for it. I have 2 lenses that do enough to keep me busy for a while. With everything I do, from pencils to pool cues to saddles to cameras, I try to stick with beginner gear until I can appreciate the difference. Then I feel I've earned it.

[AnnGeeDee]

My relationship with my gear is plutonic. Lots of give and take from both sides: my gear helps me define my vision, but my vision is not dependant on my gear. Some of my favorite shots have been taken with my point and shoot purse camera lately. I am most grateful for my techno-savvy husband who reads all the reviews and finds the best deal on the gear I covet. He fueled my obsession with photography when his Christmas gift to me was the original digital Canon Rebel way back when. I truly am a lucky girl.

[Erin Faye]

I have less than ideal gear, and would love to upgrade. But since that is not in the budget for a long time, I work with what I have and make the most of it.

[Lis]

such reassuring words ...

great equipment is only as great as the sensibility of the person using it. I like to think my equipment doesn't define me; I expand upon it. (But yes, I did treat myself to a 50mm 1.4 lens and love it!)

[brittany]

this post warmed my heart. i just got my first dslr, after years of pining and scheming. i had to buy it used on ebay for the cheapest i could find, with a kit lens, and clean it up when i got it. the only other lens i have afforded myself is an old 50mm prime lens that i have to focus manually and meter by eye.

this spring, i took my first photography class with my "new" camera and all the other ladies in the class had money to burn and incredibly drool-worthy equipment. but with a little hard work and heart, i think that i showed that there is more to it than what money buys.

it is so easy to get intimidated by what others have and be tempted to be dissatisfied with what we have. but in the end, a little work and a lot of heart goes a long way, i think.

thanks for the reminder.

[Faith]

I've spent years honing my skills and working with the original Canon Rebel and the nifty fifty. My husband surprised with the L series 35mm 1.4 for Christmas last year and while it's sharpness and bokeh blows me away it doesn't teach me how to take better pictures. That's still on me.

[Michel]

Sometimes you need to hear that someone else is feeling slightly less than last too. I have made myself a promise not to do any gear shopping until christmas. I have been building up with used gear for a year now and can make due. but MAN would a $1200 lens be nice!