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

[Rene]

I love my nifty fifty - even with it's shortcomings. I keep telling myself that when I get "composition" nailed, I'll invest in better glass (got a long way to go)!

[Meg]

I felt like this for awhile, but with how I've been approaching my business model, I've been upgrading my gear first. I'm happy with my gear, except for the fact that sometimes I wonder if it makes it too easy. Is that possible? That my creative edge becomes dull from ease of use, quality, and practicality? Sometimes I resort to only my cell phone to keep the creative juices flowing :)

[mnkathy]

Cheap is my middle name! Since I am a beginner, I have the canon rebel xt and the only lenses I own are the ones that came with the camera: the EFS 18-55mm and a zoom 75-300mm. I happen to love a few shots I've taken with these lenses, but I do salivate over the macro! I'm always wondering what my next lens should be?

Love the parallel of Justin's boat and your camera. Love it.

[Gail]

Just as I love our little non-racing catboat day sailor, http://www.flickr.com/photos/22733432@N08/4679040822/
I am really not an equipment/gear person at all. I am strictly an amateur and have no plans to become professional...I just like taking photos for myself and my family...I have been very happy with my G9 point and shoot for the most part...and it is fun trying to get the most out if it that I possibly can. It is also easy to throw in my pocketbook and therefore I always have it with me...and as everyone knows the best camera is the one you have with you.,,Unfortunately I have gotten a scratch on my baby's lens and this led me to upgrade to a Rebel with a kit lens which I have been having fun with too. This doesn't mean that I don't have a wish list ...I'm eyeing a G11 and a zoom lens, and a 50mm prime lens, and a Polaroid SX-70...but I will be happy without...

[Tracy Sutherland]

I have a wish list, and if I won the lottery I would no doubt go crazy, but for now I am (mostly) happy messing around with what I have. Shiny new lenses would make me happy, I expect, but I'm not unhappy now.

[Wendy]

I hear ya sister! I think I own the same crappy lenses that you do. However, I'm a beginner, and I'm ok with what I have, especially since I did just plunk down the big bucks for a 50 mm 1.4f lens - and I love it. I'm reluctant to shoot with anything else now, so while I love the lens, it is a big confining. I'm a long time knitter, and I work at a yarn store. I always encourage beginners not to go with a cheap acrylic for their first project because to really develop a love of the craft, you have to love the yarn, and what you're making. And, I feel the same way about photography to a certain extent - I'm so glad that I made the investment in the one lens - I know that by using this lens, I will want to continue to shoot, get better, and maybe next year, invest in the wide-angle. Baby steps.

[Sara]

I've been really frustrated with my gear lately. Everything needs a professional cleaning. I have a spot that reappears in my photos. I want a new lens to get me excited again. I haven't been shooting as much as a result. Oh, and I love my main lens 17-85 but the nifty fifty is mostly useless these days. I have some sand in the dial so it won't auto focus and overall I'm just not that happy with it. Oh well! I might get a fuji instax just to get a bit excited about shooting again.

[Diane]

My relationship to my gear is definitely Not a struggle. My gear, especially my camera and lenses are the tools of my trade. I've learned -- no, I continue to learn -- how to use them to their best advantage. I appreciate them and how they help me to create art through my camera and lens.

My gear DOES NOT define me, nor confine me. I can squeeze a lot out of my equipment. In fact, I shocked many pro photographers and amateurs too who learned I was using a dynamite little D40 that put out some pretty fantastic images. Sure, that D40 is now primarily my back up camera, but just because I've been using a D300, does not mean my photography improved. It only added another layer to what I already had.

Future equipment will be some lighting plus another portrait lens. As much as I'd LOVE a macro lens, a macro simply doesn't make sense for my work right now.

I appreciate the equipment I do have and I steer away from trendy equipment such as Lens Baby lenses. I guess I'm more pragmatic than most, but that's me :~)

Thanks for asking :)
Diane

[Mary]

My equipment and I are just starting to get to know each other. We're at the beginning of what I hope is a very long relationship. I have two lenses: a big one and a small one. The big one is great for it's zoom and the small one is excellent at taking portraits, especially at night.

I really do love them both and my Canon 7D but we've got a long journey ahead of us. A journey that I am really really really looking forward to.

[kristin]

yes yes yes! i too have the entry level nikon dslr. no fancy glass and a whole lot of kit plastic, but trust, always trust it is the eye, not the equipment. sure i'd love money to fall from the sky so i could upgrade of course i would. but even with a point and shoot, it is all in the eye.

[deezee]

I bounce around using different cameras but have definitely discovered that under certain conditions with specific requirements for the result, the better camera wins the race.

[Leah]

I can't say that I have the worst gear in the world; actually I think it's pretty darned good. But I can totally relate to your feeling, whenever I visit my local camera store and they chuckle at my "off - brand" equipment and ask when I'm jumping ship to <insert top two DLSR brands here>. My reply, whenever you're donating the equipment.

[mosey]

I love my camera (Panasonic GF-1) for its size and portability and crystal clear images. However I also feel limited by it - I covet (COVET!!!) a macro lens. I love doing extreme depth of field images and can get the focus I want, but not close enough to the subject - I always have to crop in to get exactly the composition I picture in my head. But I think the limitations of my camera have forced me to be more creative with how I shoot and edit my shots.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7687752@N03/4679204968/

[Suz]

My gear (nikon d90 with 18-105mm kit lens+ 50mm/1.4) is not nearly what you'd call 'fancy' or even close to professional, but it allows me to capture photos that my point-&-shoot could never measure up to. For that I am grateful...

As many others have echoed in their comments, the person behind the lens is more of a factor than any expensive lens. Money can't buy you beautiful photography...

[Mrs Soup]

I still borrow my dad's Nikon D60. Someday. Someday I'll own my own. There have always been more important things to spend our limited money on though.

[Jeannette]

You described my bag to a tee. I just got the Lensbaby ($48, delivered!), but would really love a quality telephoto and I'd really love a speedlight. I've founf t's fun to dream and want, because I appreciate it so much more when I finally get it! I really love my nifty fifty - even if it is cheap!

[Melissa]

I have a love/hate relationship with my camera. I too have the Canon Rebel XTi. I'm happy and grateful for the lenses that I own, even though I want more, more, more! I sway from being happy and grateful with what i have to coveting and dreaming and putting items in my Amazon cart just to see how much it would all add up to, then I go check my money tree and sadly no money ever grows on it!

[bekkah]

A few months ago I purchased a Nikkor 35mm...at $200 it is the 'cheapest' lens in my bag and surprisingly it's turned out to be my absolute favorite. I use it for everything and I get cranky on the rare occassion when I have to switch over to my (waaaay more expensive!) macro lens. Just goes to show, don't judge how happy you'll be with a lens by it's price tag :)

[Sugar Daddy]

You know what, I have all the gear I've ever wanted... Nikon D3s, Nikon 300s, 17-35mm 2.8, 24-70mm 2.8, 70-200mm 2.8, 105mm Micro and a 10.5mm Fish Eye Lens. I won't be mentioning all my lighting equipment... but I will give up everything just to have your creativity and passion. Everyday I visit ShutterSisters and I love all the images here and realized that the equipments are just tools, it depends on who uses them. My pictures are stupid... how I wish I can buy creativity. Take care and I love you all.

[Stephanie]

I feel the same way. I have a Rebel and the 50mm lens you mentioned above. I just got a new lens as a graduation present but it's definitely in the "affordable" range. I often see beautiful images and think I need fancier glass to capture that kind of beauty. But then, I get a compliment or two on my own photos. "You have a great eye!" is my favorite because it implies I did something - I used skill/talent/whatever you want to call it and made my camera work for me. And in those moments, I love my camera precisely because it does work for me.

Please enter me in the giveaway contest!

[Faith]

Yeah, I've been thinking about getting a lense upgrade. Something fixed, with a low aperture.
And WOW wouldn't I LOVE to win that canvas giveaway!!

[Nicole]

I feel as though I have outgrown my gear. It's been more than two years since I bought my first DSLR and my 50mm 1.8 lens and I feel as though it is confining my development as a photographer.

That being said, I am grateful for the past two years where I learned about composition and how to use my camera, rather than merely falling back on the equipment.

[Christian @ Modobject at Home]

While I dream of a fancier camera and a nicer lens {or two} most of the time I just feel grateful to have a DSLR and a 50-fixed lens. Both were surprise gifts from my husband who continues to champion my dream of learning to take beautiful photos.

[jenn]

That sounds familiar :). I actually 'honed my skills' on a canon point and shoot from 2000 (that I acquired 2nd hand in 2004). For all of its limitations it was actually a great camera once I learned to trick it into doing what I wanted. I think those sorts of beginnings really make us appreciate the small upgrades when we do get them. I am still ecstatic about the dSLR I eventually acquired (the cheapest canon model, 2 years ago) with its kit lens.

[gina]

with little or no extra cash and just a desire to try to do something fun and fabulous I dream of the bigger, better more wonderful but know that this is what i've got so I'll just do what I can and learn what I can. I love your photos and and the stories that surround them =D which is what its all about and of course the fact that you encourage all of us shutter sisiters to make beautiful things by seeing the beautiful. =D

[Tera]

Well there of course is always something I don't have that I would like but I do try to make do with what I have. I have a couple of really nice lenses that I probably treat better than my own children :) I agree though equipment does not make a photographer. You must learn lesson and try new things, that is what I have loved about doing a 365 project this year. I have learned so much and tried so many new things.

[claudia]

You know, I am just so thrilled to have a dslr that I am good with working with what I have until "money falls from the sky" :) My relationship with gear is this, photography starts with the eyes, I used to take some pretty amazing shots with a point and shoot, so now that I have dslr the possibilities have opened up for even better shots! Yeah, I'd love to have a lensbaby and maybe an 85mm 1.4, blah, blah, blah...I got over my lens envy during my 35mm slr days. Right now, I'm content to even been considered when someone is looking to have their portrait taken! But hey, if anyone is giving away equipment or you see money falling my address is..... ;)

[April]

As I grow as a photographer I can see my gear restraining me in someways. Though, I am grateful for what I have and I will keep saving my pennies for greater equipment :)

[Kelly]

loves shutter sisters.

[divrchk]

I'm craving an 70-200 f2.8 in the next year. I'm not sure it's going to happen. I upgraded to a Canon 7D but I feel that my kit lens and really old others are def. holding me back.

[Jade Sheldon]

There are days when I am unhappy with what I have and I spend hours online looking at the prices of cameras and lenses. And then I think about how lucky I am that I have what I do have. The camera and lens that I have is leaps and bounds greater than what I had last year and in a few years I'm sure I will have even greater upgrades. I don't think you are limited by your equipment, you are limited by your creativity and imagination. And in terms of creativity and imagination, I have more than I know what to do with :)

[Lesli]

I have the Nikon D50. Normally use the lens that came with it. I have recently been thinking about an upgrade but I am in no financial position to do so. My gear is always with me and I am sure that family and friends see it as another part of me. Like a third arm or something.

I don't mind.

[Cathi]

What a great post!

I am just moving beyond my trusty point-and-shoot, having received my first SLR at Christmas. My lens inventory consists of the lens kit. I received the 50mm f/1.8 for Mother's Day. This equipment is all the challenge I need at the moment (ignorance is bliss, no?), but in all seriousness I do look forward to gaining comfortability and the possibility of more challenging equipment.

On a separate note, I have learned so much from your site. Thanks so much for the inspiration you provide to us daily.

[Sonal]

I was lucky enough to receive my D90 as a gift. I love my camera. Because I don't feel like I've come close to mastering it, I'm not looking to upgrade any time soon. I would love to add about 3 more lenses to the kit lens that I have. I don't feel confined because I still have an endless amount of things to learn and pictures to take with the equipment I do have.

[hi kooky]

Oh, you touch on such an interesting topic! A few years back, my husband encouraged me to buy a Canon 20D. I did and I love it. However, I most often grab my dinky Canon SD1000 point-and-shoot, especially when traveling with my family. No, it doesn't have quite the range that the 20D has (blows out a little too often), but good pictures are about the photographer's eye and mind, just like any artist.

I was speaking with a friend who has been a professional architectural photographer for many years. I mentioned that my lenses weren't so great, and he told me, "They don't have to be." That's all it took. He didn't even have to spell it out. Great equipment does not necessarily a great photographer make. (Not that they wouldn't be nice! :) )

[Heather M.]

I've been told over and over and over again, that cameras don't take nice photos, people do. I remind myself of that over and over again when I get lens/camera envy. It is so true though, you can have an awesome camera but still not take awesome photos.

[abbeyinOK]

So far, gear is relatively limited and I'm relatively new to it. Have promised I will learn this basic, kit gear as well as I possibly can before advancing much, but the temptation is there, though the $ often aren't. So far, embracing it and learning.

[GayleV]

Right now I feel pretty comfortable with my gear so I would guess that would mean that "we" fit. I do have a "wish" list like ANY photographer, but I don't feel any urgency to get that stuff right now!

[Kylie]

I shoot with a rebel xs - entry level, and on it at all times is the 'cheap' 50mm f1.8. but, im a big believer that its the person behind the camera and get annoyed when people say "wow, you must have a great camera!" i bet no one tells a painter that her paintbrushes must be awesome! my photos aren't excellent, but im not DFL either. my dSLR has helped me to become better, learn more and i love seeing my shots progressively get better. i may not have the "best", but i have the best that i can afford and my camera is my baby :o)

[Diane]

I was given the T1i for my birthday last August with the kit lens. At xmas, my parents gifted me an 85mm. SO LUCKY. And my neighbor, a photographer who is doing other things with his life right now, lets me borrow his 50 or 100 whenever I want. I have enough -- certainly -- but it's easy to think about what I might do with just one more fancy glass...

[Nancy]

First of all I want to thank my husband for teaching about camera gear. I don't think that someone needs the ultimate gear to produce an awesome image. It is always a challenge to learn new things about photography and photography gear.

My first lens I used was a Nikon 50mm . My husband never let me touch any other lens (even though he had really really goood ones). It was the cheapest and best lens to learn. I had no zoom, I was the zoom. It pushed me to be creative. My husband laways says, push your gear to the maximum. No need for fancy stuff!

Now, that I have other equipment, I still love shooting with my 50mm, even though i have better equipment.

[Mira]

Oh yes. and absolutely props to you! for years I shot with a minolta 101a the completely manual, workhorse of cameras. And a pile of hand me down lenses. It was a perfect way to learn, my student camera. I loved that thing, and it took a fair beating over the years.
Now I've been *gifted* what I consider a rockstar camera. I longed for a new lens for years and was delighted and shocked when my husband went for the lens AND body. I was intimidated to even take it out of the box for days after it arrived. People see it and take me seriously. And it does take stunning pictures, sometimes, and when they're something less than stunning, I have no one to blame but myself. I'm still learning this camera, nearly a year later. And I find a growing love for it too. When my 11 year old stepson wants to take over, I get a little twitchy and probably grab my camera back too soon. ;-)
I would LOVE a canvas! Been considering one. Hardest part will be picking which picture!

[Sarah]

I am truly grateful to have a DSLR in the first place. it was not in our budget and my latest lens (gift from husband) was not either. I will make my way using my 18-55 kit lens and 50mm 1.8 to create a hopefully worthy portfolio to begin turning this very expensive hobby into a part time profession.

Then I'll dream about the 5D. But not before then. ;)

[Kate]

I waffle between lusting for a new lens and thinking that it's just too much money to spend, and that I haven't "earned" it yet by practicing with the old one. In the end, lack of time prevails, and I never get around to ordering anything! One day....one day...

[Sheila]

I guess I'm usually intimidated by those with "better" equipment. However, I feel like I shouldn't invest in expensive equipment until I've done MY best t make the best of what I have. I currently have three straightforward lenses that I still need to conquer before upgrading to more expensive lenses. After all, this is art, and you can't let the technology and equipment get in the way of creating your art. :)

[Julie Alvarez]

I don't even have professional gear!
I own a Lumix point and shoot, and a film camera, a Nikkormat as old as my uncle.
I love the digital because it's all I got in that aspect, even if it's barely manual.
And I certainly ADORE my Nikkormat. She's been with me for a long long time now. Maybe more than twenty years. I will never regret buying it from my sister. And I made a promise to never sell it!
But... I'd love a digital reflex already.

[Robyn]

Some of my most favorite photos come from a point and shoot. It's not the equipment that makes the photographer, but the photographer that makes it great.

[Michele D.]

I have this quots that I read to myself, daily.

"Photography is not about cameras, gadgets and gismos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn't make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel." - Peter Adams

It reminds me that even though I do not own an expensive camera, or a lens(if anyone can believe that) I too can make and create beautiful photos. I can do anything as long as I dream big and love what I do. That is what makes all of you and I, great. =)

[strawberrygoldie]

Call me naive.

It's OK. I have heard it before.

I have shot for the past three years with a Canon PowerShot. Won a few contests with those photos.

Sweet!

I aim to keep it simple. Yes, I may feel that way because I simply haven't the funds to purchase lenses for my sparkly new Canon Rebel. I would like a macro. A wide angle. A telephoto.

I make do with what I have, and it works pretty darn well for me :)

[CassandraClaire]

Glad I'm not the only one who struggles with Cheapy McOlderston's equipment! I shoot with the Rebel xTi, the Canon 50mm, a crazy ghetto Quantaray 70-300mm, and a Tamron 17-35mm (my fave)...I'm super grateful for what I have considering the amazing deals I've got on it all - but it's in our nature to always want. :)

Glad I stumbled upon your post!