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.htmlWe 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.aspxNeewer 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-cSecond 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.