AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

This is going to be a long post, so if you're not interested, please pass right by. But I wanted to share how we've built our DSLR equipment stash on a budget, and get any advice or suggestions on what we could have done differently or should do in the future. In assembling this, we relied on reviews on the Hog, on the always-opinionated Ken Rockwell, and on several other photography sites.

Two years ago this month, my wife and I strolled into a pawn shop while on walkabout around our small city. To my surprise, they had a DSLR outfit priced at $170, a Nikon D50 with two kit lenses, a bag, and a teleconverter. We had been talking about upgrading from 35mm and high end digital point and shoots for some time, and immediately went home to research both full frame and crop sensor systems on the Interwebz. We quickly came to the conclusion that we could choose either versatility in a crop sensor system, or higher image quality in full frame, but could not have much versatility and would have to share a camera body in full frame. The decision was made. We trotted back to the pawn shop, negotiated the price down to $150, and began our conversion journey. I set a budget goal of $2,000, with which to assemble an outfit for two, with some redundancy, that would replicate our 35mm capabilities and allow us high quality 16x20 frameable prints, as well as normal digital display. Yesterday, with the arrival of our last lens for a while, we completed the job, at a total cost of just under $2,000 (not counting $180 I spent on a body that failed to function a week after it arrived). Here's what we did.

First, a bit about us. We both love to shoot architecture and building details, nature, and street scenes. We love abandoned places especially, and abstract images and still lifes found in our walkabouts. You can see some of our work here: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-525693-1.html

We have grandchildren, and wanted to be able to photograph them in both candid portraits and activities (including our star quarterback grandson). We are cooks and food bloggers, and collect a variety of small objects (I make jewelry, collect old fountain pens, and my wife collects jewelry). The goal was an outfit that would be sufficiently broad to do most everything we wanted it to, and produce images of the quality we were accustomed to in our 35mm world. My wife previously used a Canon system and I used Nikon, but we entered the digital world through the Nikon door and never looked back. After we had learned the basics on the D50, we decided that the D3200 would provide us with a camera that met our needs, and did not especially desire any of the features in subsequent generation bodies. Here's what we bought, in the order we bought it:

Used Nikon D3200 body with 5000 shutter count - $270 on eBay. A basic body that meets our needs. At first my wife carried this, and I used the old D50 until I could afford one too.

Billingham 335 pro bag - $215 on eBay. What can I say? I like high quality luggage and bags, and we wanted something durable, comfortable to carry, and capable of holding a lot of stuff. Well worth the extra bucks IMHO. It's a thing of beauty.

Sigma 10-20 mm zoom - $160. I'm a wide angle guy, and do a lot of architectural and construction photos in my job. This had great reviews and is still my favorite lens. The build quality and image quality are both outstanding - it sold me on the Sigma line. https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Sigma-10-20mm-f-3.5-EX-DC-HSM-Lens-Review.aspx

Neewer 750II flashes x 2 - $70 for both on Amazon. Seemed the best of the cheap flashes, and they've served us well. Also helped improve my Chingrish translation.

Sigma 18-300 zoom with Image Stabilization - $379 at local camera shop. This is a great lens. My wife carries it most of the time. She takes everything from street scenes to action shots of the grandson and near macro closeups. We were thinking about the longer version, but this is more versatile and is the one that goes absolutely everywhere. https://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/os-lenses/18-300mm-f35-63-dc-macro-os-hsm-c

Second D3200 body - $250 on eBay. I finally got to upgrade my body! And it came with a nifty little Nikon SB300 speedlight and three batteries. 3000 shutter count!

Nikon 50mm f 1.8 - $190 from local camera shop (I love shopping locally when they have what I want). Because available light, portraits of the grandkids, and bokeh.

Nikon f 2.8 - 3.5 18-70 mm zoom - $120 from a trusted dealer at our local camera show in Boston. I love this lens. It's my new all purpose, and sits on my camera most of the time.

Neewer 16 channel flash controller - $15 on Amazon. An end to slavery! It seems to work very well, and, fifteen bucks?

Neewer Macro TTL ring light system - $65 on Amazon. She wanted TTL control, and we've had good experience with Neewer products. Chicks dig bug photos.

Sigma 50 mm f 2.8 macro - $100 on eBay. She's always wante a true macro, so this was a Mother's Day gift. It's manual focus on our bodies, but will actually autofocus on the D50. Might upgrade in the future, but $100 was all I wanted to spend right now.

In addition, we have umbrellas, light stands, filters, etc. from our film days. I upgraded to Neewer umbrella holders because they are much smaller than my old Reflectasols. Heavy film era tripods (I also shoot a Rolleiflex and Graphics) go with us, one in each of our vehicles. Bought a few chargers, batteries, remote controls, etc., bringing the total tab to $1,984. The D50 and wide angle kit lens stay in the office for emergency use if I've forgotten my gear. I still use the old Tamrac bag, but might upgrade to a smaller Billingham.

So whaddya think, Hoggers? Any real dogs here that deserve an upgrade? The plan is to put most of our spare cash into printing and framing going forward, maybe upgrading my daily carry bag to the smaller model Billingham, and possibly adding an autofocus macro (although reviews indicate they're a bit fiddly, and I've never had much of a problem focusing in macro).

I'm pretty proud of this outfit though, and of keeping it priced under our $2,000 budget goal. I've learned that the eBay square trade guaranties are probably worth it, that your local camera dealer can often compete with internet prices (they have computers, too...), and that today's Sigma lenses are a great alternative to the OEM brands. Please let me know if you think I've acquired some dogs or if there are gaps in our arsenal. But please no "You should go full frame...." advice. I know the gains possible, but it's just not in our budget these days.

Diocletian

I always knew Massachussettsians were smarter than the average bear! (I grew up, for the most part, just South of Boston) Sounds to me like you've done a pretty good job.
🏅🏅🏅

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Thanks! Of course we wanted it all, and wanted it all at once, but buying good quality used from trusted eBay sellers, going to the local photo shows, finding a good local dealer, and spacing out your purchases while you try out what you've already bought were the key aspects. Now all we need is some good weather to go road tripping!

Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, Colorado

Interesting post Andy, and I can see you are as frugal as I am. Although I am a Canon guy, it seems to me that you have done well in assembling a very good assortment of gear on the cheap.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Thanks Jake! (I'm guessing you might have some trucking experience? ). Being frugal is a combination of natural instinct inherited from Depression surviving parents, and necessity, as we've been a one-income family for the past five years and I'm only about five years out from retirement. I don't want to entirely give up on film, so I need to reserve some disposable income for processing and film. Going digital has freed us from a lot of budgetary concerns - SD cards are cheap! We're finally getting around to having some of our work printed larger and matted and framed. So far, I don't think I've blown the budget or bought stuff that we are unhappy with. Even the one misfire on the D3200 body wasn't horrible. The seller offered a refund, even after more than two weeks of intensive use, but I didn't have the heart to ask for it when I could have purchased the warranty. Buying on eBay can be an adventure, but you have to do your research and kind of trust your instinct on sellers.

insman1132 Loc: Southwest Florida

Sounds to me like you have wonderful equipment and had a GREAT time putting it all together!! Well done! Enjoy in good health!

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Thanks!

It really has been a lot of fun assembling this. And I know that it's not all "top of the line" stuff, but the lenses are all pretty darn good, and the flash gear is very functional. I'm sure we'll be buying more as finances permit, but, like I said, I'm pretty proud of the combination of functionality and quality we've achieved while staying on budget.

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

Hi, you did well. I used the same approach via Sony ( I still have my old Minolta 7000 - and some old glass - so I started with that. Couple years later (via E-bay) I have a thrift shop Sony A58 (had a shutter count of 213 !) for $110 - best score so far...an A37 I paid around $200, and 2 A300s that had bad LCD for approx. $90. Have mounted 5" FPV (cheap drone view screen meant for goggles) LCD monitors to the A300s and they have a new lease on life, and a 5" monitor really helps my old eyes...bought a third monitor to use with the a37/a58 as the 5" screen is wonderful. E-bay and B&H (love those "daily deals") produced 3 Vello remote triggers that are wonderful for bird/animal shots, coupled with more FPV gear 5.8 ghz transmitters/receivers (very small, great video "live feed", cheap and if they can handle drone crashes they have to be tough) that allow me both visual feed of what the camera see's, and the vello gear gives me focus and shutter control (yes I can also use a tablet and some apps, but this setup is so inexpensive and works quite well. Lens!! oh my, my wife says I've gone bonkers...many classic Minolta, Tokina, Tamron, Sigma from wide to ultra tele, zooms and primes....tripods, alum. cases, nice bags, heads, gimbals, lights oh my. I guess my take is yes, I could have spent probably $4K to do what I'm doing (with new gear) but what I have so far works very well, and since I'm a gadget freak and extensive tinker type person, I get as much joy out of modifying and adapting gear as I get from shooting (and I think nothing of burning off hundreds of shots a day.

Anyway....I'm getting long with this, but I think you've found the low dollar nirvana that I have - its fun and I laugh when people want to know how many thousands are tied up in my room full of camera gear!!!!!! Have fun and enjoy this very engaging hobby..... now, what to do with all those racing and camera drones....hmmmm
mike

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Wow, Mike! Just. Wow!

That's a pretty impressive setup on a low budget! I'm glad to find that other people also enjoy the quest as well as the results.

Andy

BebuLamar

Earlier this year Nikon had a sales on the D750 with the 24-120mm lens and the battery grip for $2000. The kit is now $2700.

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

Like I said - its fun and keeps the mind woirkin! I retired when they shut down the Space Shuttle program at KSC and at the same time serious health issue kept me from going back work ....and then, even though I was financially short of my retirement goals (by about 7 years) and once well, we decided that enjoying the life we've been blessed with was more important (you never know when it will be over). I don't post much, but I really enjoyed your trip into low budget photo land and have very much enjoyed mine. The satisfaction of seeing peoples reaction to my gear when out birding and such is priceless...the larger screens, attached radio gear, control from distance, etc. and if that alligator/bear/wild boar/eagle grabs my old cam and tripod....well, hope he doesn't get indigestion!! Cheers!!!
mike

whwiden

Good choice on the Billingham bag. Nikon dx is a good value choice. Good to set a realistic budget.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Wow, that's a really great price! Someday the older generation of full frame gear will become more affordable.

Maybe after that lottery ticket comes in.

But in the meantime we've got two photographers who can both independently shoot in pretty high quality, cover a pretty long range of focal lengths, and work independently. We just don't have the budget to go full frame, and are happy with the APS results so far.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Thanks! I could have gotten a decent bag much more cheaply, but the combination of comfort, accessibility, and durability seems worth it to me. My briefcase and luggage is from Tustings, and all of it will serve my kids and maybe grandkids one day.

Somewhat conflicted on the Nikon / Canon / Sony / Pentax choices, but I've always been a Nikon guy and have been very happy with the system so far.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Thanks. Glad Mikey Likes It!

We're all going to be short of our retirement financial goals, I fear. Glad to see you're not letting that stop you!!!

Andy