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Photography gear you shouldn't buy…



PRINT SALE: http://www.jamespopsys.com/store/

If you’re starting out in photography, it’s tempting to think you need all the gear straight away… you don’t. If you’ve got a camera and an idea of things you might like to take photos of, you’re most of the way there. In this video I detail accessories I’m always asked, but that you don’t need, namely:

1:20 Filters
5:31 Drones
8:16 Expensive tripods
9:43 Gnarbox & SSDs
11:25 Cleaning kits
11:54 Calibrators
13:04 Loupedeck
13:58 L brackets

Also a huge thank you to Lumix for sponsoring this video. I’ve been using the G9, G85 and the G90 for a long time now and the stabilisation in them is immense. Find out more here: https://www.panasonic.com/uk/consumer/cameras-camcorders.html.

Please check them out on instagram too: https://www.instagram.com/lumixuk

Presets: https://www.jamespopsys.com/store?category=Presets
Newsletter sign up: https://www.jamespopsys.com/newsletter

My book: http://www.jamespopsys.com/store/pre-order-2018-book

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If you would like a print of any photo that appears in one of my videos, please email hello@jamespopsys.com with a screenshot of the image you would like, and the size you would like (A4 = £30 or A3 = £50). These prints are signed but not numbered. Thanks for your support 🙂

Thank you 🙂

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MUSIC:

I get all my music for the videos from Epidemic Sound. Try it out here: http://share.epidemicsound.com/v9VD7

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GEAR:

These are affiliate links, it costs you nothing to use them but I get a small percentage from Amazon when you buy something, so thanks! 🙂

Cameras:

Panasonic G9: http://geni.us/g9body
Panasonic G80/G85: http://geni.us/PanaG85

Lenses:

Panasonic 12-35 2.8 II: http://geni.us/panasonic1235
Panasonic 35-100 2.8 II: http://geni.us/Pana35100
Leica 8-18: http://geni.us/818leica
25mm Leica: https://geni.us/25mmleicalumix
15mm Leica: https://geni.us/15mmleicalumix
42.5 mm Lumix: https://geni.us/lumix42mm

Accessories:

Walkie talkies: https://geni.us/walkies
Camera clip: http://geni.us/PDcapture
Drone: https://geni.us/djimavicprotwo
Laptop: http://geni.us/MbookPro
Desktop: https://geni.us/imac2019
Shotgun Mic: http://geni.us/rodevmproplus
Big Tripod: https://geni.us/3leggedthingbrian
Red camera strap: https://geni.us/pdstrap
Backpack: http://geni.us/mindshiftbacklight
Little Tripod: http://geni.us/Gorillapod3k
Anker Charger: http://geni.us/ankerphonepack
UV, Polariser, ND8, N81000 combo (46mm): http://geni.us/Gobekit
ND kit (58mm): http://geni.us/GobeNDKit
Schott polariser and UV (58mm): http://geni.us/GobeSchott
DJI Mavic 2: http://geni.us/DJIMavicAir
Memory card wallet: http://geni.us/sdcardwallet
Messenger Bag (Sandstone): http://geni.us/thinktankretrospective
Gnarbox: http://geni.us/lXAy
Hard Drives: http://geni.us/WDDrives
Tablet: http://geni.us/WacomIntuos

Printer: http://geni.us/canonpro10s

Original source

d4mations

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24 responses to “Photography gear you shouldn't buy…”

  2. Hi James. Agree with a lot of your video/points. 2 years ago i went and bought my first professional camera (a7riii) then i kept buying ‘stuff’ that i thought would improve my video/photos, filters/tripods/drone with loads of accessories/gimbals/massive camera bag that felt like a dead donkey on my back – it made me fall out of love with content creating. what i’ve come to learn is that ‘stuff’ doesnt give you great content, in part it does, but its the story. And if u cant capture the story cos your busy flaffin about with all your toys and accessories. All i have now is the camera/2 sony lenses/tripod (sorry lol) and some aperture lights – in terms of cam tech, i am very careful what i buy and make sure it adds to my enjoyment than take away from photography than take it away cos im having to lug it around with me and fix into place which really does take the enjoyment out of it. I feel about Gimbals now how you feel about tripods, absolute pain and awquard to travel with. So im learning new ways how to get steady shots without the palava of one of those, but unfortunately a tripod is a must. That gnarbox you showed, thats not even necessary, if im out all day i just pop my ipad pro in my bag with a card reader. Even with drone photography, yes the different perspective is cool but i dont think its worth getting one unless your a professional and have clients who demand arial stuff, its a very small percentage of photography, along with all the hoops u have to go through with the CAA and flight limitations and even as a professional its better bang for your buck buying a nice handheld and a couple lenses as theres more to shoot on the ground than there is in the sky, even the midrange drones may seem reasonably priced, but once you get the accessories you need extra batteries etc, you couldve got a decent mirrorless camera – i know what id choose (former drone owner)

  6. If you actually care about getting accurate color then you SHOULD buy a color calibration system. Sorry but that is terrible advice telling people not to calibrate their monitors. Color is such a important part of (color) photography that people should be training their eyes early on and get used to what correct color looks like. Yeah, maybe you see slight differences from device to device but that is not a good excuse. Maybe you do not see much in the beginning but long term you will start to notice things. Maybe this is not one of your first purchases but I would recommend you budget to get something early on.

  7. I think you are pretty spot on with all of your assessments. Especially for beginners. Find out what you love to shoot first, then build your gear around that. For me, I love long exposure water photography, so a tripod and an L bracket are a must have, but if I were a portrait photographer they wouldn’t be as necessary. Great video! 👍🏻

  10. I think you give bad advise. You give an answer without having the question. The question should be, what type of photography are you interested in. Good advise would be pick one to 3 types. If the person says, I want to do landscape and astrophotograpy, your advise that tripods are a waste of money is bad. Every astro/landscape photographer that is worth his beans will tell you don't buy a cheap tripod, especially if it is supporting and expensive lens/camera. Horibble, Terrible, Bad advise is telling people to use their shirt to clean lenses. Sure if you own 50 dollar lenses who cares, but lets say you have a 14mm lens, any scratch on the bubbled protruding element of that lens will show up on your image badly and if they are F1.2 to 2.8, they are super expensive. Bad advise, pec-pads in a sealed bag have no dust or dirt on them and a little bottle of 95 percent alcohol or watered down Dawn dishwashing soap is cheap and won't damage expensive lenses, Clean before you head out and only clean in the field if you have to, unless you have cheap garbage photo gear like you do then sure, who cares. Lets say someone ask, should I get x- mavic pro or y-another brand drone and you say get a Z-Panasonic G9. Then they say they have no interest in cameras, just photographing from the air, saying get a Panasonic G9 is bad advise. Because you don't know the question. Your inexperience also shows which again, my advise would be don't take your advise, but take advise from a pro photographer that does what you are interested in, Lets say birds in flight, do not buy a Panasonic G9 for birds in flight, even with firmware updates, not a good selection for this style photography. My advise is to find people professionals on the net, look at their images, if they are professional top of the line people, emulate them and see if you can send them questions or watch their instruction videos. (Though even that is a stretch, some of your images look good yet you have some of the worst advise I have seen on youtube). Don't take advise from people like you who are clueless. If you printed a lot, and your monitor was not calibrated, and you had to keep going back to your computer and making adjustments, then printing and wasting ink and paper, you would quickly change your opinion, your advise about not getting a monitor calibrator is just bad. I watched a video from pro photographer, Hudson Henry who explains why you would need one, follow his advise if you want your images to look like his and you need to print. My advise is sound. Figure out what you want to shoot ahead of time and do research, then buy what you need to shoot what you want within your budget and go outside your budget if it really means a lot to you to get a certain result. Don't buy a 400 2.8 lens to do macro photography. Don't buy Panasonic G9 if you want professional results in say birds in flight or many other photographic style. My best advise is to not listen to people like you on youtube that has very little experience and hand out bad advise. To your credit, some of your images look good but a lot of busy foregrounds for my taste, but I am not a professional critic, so why you hand out such bad, childlike inexperienced advise is beyond me There is tons of bad advise on the internet like yours and it is sad that people will listen to it and regret it later.

  15. When doing anything more than quick snapshots, a tripod would soon be needed. Start off with a travel tripod that takes an arca plate. Travel tripods are lighter and more compact to bring out anytime. Start off with a 35mm or 50mm prime lens. Having the better pic quality from a simple prime lens is much nicer than a bulky zoom lens.

  18. Do you still have the coating issue with the macBook or already ordered a new one? If you still suffer from it you might as well take the whole coating off. That's what I did and the screen was as good as new. OK a bit more shiny and reflecting, but as long as you use it indoors you should be fine.

  19. Not sure why you're waging war on tripods… if you're into landscape photography, you need a tripod. I had a Manfrotto aluminium for 2 years and it broke my back everytime I used it. It was around 200 quid new. I got a Gitzo carbon fibre for 600 quid new and it was the best 600 quid I ever spent. It's really light and way sturdier and less prone to vibration than my old tripod. If you buy a tool that you dont use then of course it's a waste of money. But otherwise, purchase wisely and it will be of huge value. I do recommend getting a cheap tripod first if you're just starting out, but if you decide it's your thing, then it's worth spending more on something better to hold you gear on and also that will not destroy your spine when you're walking to your destination

  20. good video and tips. i mostly agree, BUT:

    first: tripods are key! there is not such thing as bad lighting conditions, just a lack of tripods. i use mine for all sorts of panoramas, hdr pictures, low-light/night/astrophotography, lightpainting, for more extravagant macro work, super tele stuff, etc. all these areas wont really open up until you have one decent tripod. no high-tech needed, just robust with all-round functionality (and appropriate to your hight) will do..
    * second: colormanagement is key! you dont use uv filters cause of quality loss but dont care about colors/presentation? that makes no sense. i dont do hardware calibration myself (cause most people dont either and i "calibrate" new hardware with a set of neutral images) but its paramount to learn about colorspaces and colorprofiles and where and how they are used! without consistency and portability, at least to some degree, digital photography is pointless. if one is seriously into prints, then i would recommend hardware calibration too.

    have a good day 🙂

  21. Super helpful video. One thing I think outrageous is some of the lanyards and wrist straps . I'm always about what can I do with the most cost effective solutions. So I made my wrist straps and neck straps out of Paracord. Also I do use a tripod but it's cheap and I'll use it until it breaks or drives me nuts. Also, if you do want filters , there's loads in perfect conditions available used online. It's actually hilarious because I spent years not buying a "real" camera borrowing friends and families, using hand me downs and somewhere in between cameras . They made me really appreciate my camera now. It's also funny because I spent years working in a photo lab back when we still developed photos. It's definitely not the cameras that make great photos, it's the stories. I'll also still swear to you that 35mm and monochrome slides are the crispest photos ever but wow has technology finally started catching them.

  23. I watched a youtube video once, and the guy worked in a camera shop, and he said that weather sealing on cameras is a scam basically, completely useless, and that the people who brought in a damaged camera the most had weather sealing on it, whereas those who didn't brought theirs in less for repairs.

    I think It's either that weather sealing genuinely does nothing, or it's that those who don't have it actually make sure they take good care of their cameras, and those who do have it think that it's indestructible and can never be water damaged or can be just thrown on the floor, which obviously even with weather sealing you need to take as much care of it as you would if it didn't have it.

  24. I love your presentation. Very concise and informative. I have been shooting for quite a while and teach online sports and lifestyle photography to newbies. I fully intend to make this a share for them.

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