How much $ have you spend on your camera, lens, gears, accessories, etc...

Give or take about 5K in about half a year. Purchased a 60D kit in July, picked up a Sigma 30mm and Rokinon 85mm and Canon 50mm 1.8. That was all together about 2K. Then I traded the 60D and 30mm for a 5Dc. Bought a Sigma 50mm and Rokinon 35mm. Then last month bought a 5DII and earlier this week picked up a 70-200 f4. Isn't including my 35mm film cameras and other accessories..

This is the biggest hobby i've spent money on but i'm happy with the results i produce .

about $10,000

Don't know and don't want to know how much I spent on all my gears in the signature in the past 2 plus years. Love all my gears. Good thing I can make some money with this hobby

Around $1700. I thought my total was a lot lol.

I have about $15,000 worth at the moment for my current setup, but have bought and sold around another $4,500 worth of lenses and other gear to get my current setup. And I'm waiting for another lens worth $1,500 to come through British customs after buying one off the classifieds here. Good job I've got it all insured.
I'm hoping this year I will actually start to make a bit of money back on it, but it's only a hobby and I'm happy even if I don't. I've sold a few shots so far, mainly portrait stuff for friends (so I don't charge a lot) and the odd macro and that's about it. I've got 1 macro shot going into a book whenever it comes out, but I'll only get a credit for that as I gifted it to the writer.

Have bought and sold a few bits since I wrote this so I'm now upto about $17000 worth, must get my sig up to date lol.

robertwsimpson wrote in post #13864455
photography is expensive, but your wife will get mad if you paintball your newborn baby or teach it how to hit the apex on a hairpin. If you photograph the baby on the other hand...


photograph goes with everything that you can do in life. That's why I don't think it's ever a bad investment.

After I took an amazing portrait of my wife, that she describes as the most beautiful picture of her ever, I had cart Blanche to buy any gear I wanted ...

As for me, about £6000 (9.4k USD) on current setup.

JDM555 wrote in post #13866924
Around $1700. I thought my total was a lot lol.

Trust me - it isn't . Once you drop serious money on a piece of camera equipment (lens, body..) you'll understand just how expensive this hobby/profession is!

Probably up to around $20,000+ and I have never made a dime on it, it is strictly a hobby.

YIKES!

From my first digicam, a 3.1mp Canon S30 in 2001, I've probably spent around $9,000, but I've also sold gear whenever I've upgraded. Current gear is around $3000, more if I include software. I'm not a pro by any means, but I do use photography in my work, and that's been the engine driving the hobby.

HOLY CRAP

I just did a spreadsheet to keep track of all I've bought and all I've sold. The end result is $3,626.15!

I know this isn't alot compared to most of you but for someone who doesn't make a whole lot, I think I've spent alot. Only thing I want to add for me to feel complete until the next major upgrade is a 8mm rokinon fisheye and a sigma 30mm 1.4 which brings the total up to 4300 :-/

laxlife1234 wrote in post #13867761
Trust me - it isn't . Once you drop serious money on a piece of camera equipment (lens, body..) you'll understand just how expensive this hobby/profession is!

I know. I feel embarrassed to post such a low amount in this thread. I'll just add an extra 0 when someone asks lol.

JDM555 wrote in post #13868687
I know. I feel embarrassed to post such a low amount in this thread. I'll just add an extra 0 when someone asks lol.

I wouldn't feel embarrassed. The first year I was shooting DSLR my total investment was maybe $1100 including the camera bag, filters, etc. This year I've dropped more than $6000 in less than 45 days but that's because I want to try to market my photos so I can get even MORE equipment. That and hubby came into money and I figured I could probably talk him into letting me upgrade because I do take pretty nice pictures, but refused to try to market my photography without better lenses, minimum.

It isn't really the investment that determines how good your pictures are. That is technique, knowledge and practice. You can do that with a point and shoot. The more you spend for gear, the more reach you can get, and the better the image quality is (though it isn't amazingly better, it's a little better), maybe the more functional the camera is. You're not going to get a 600mm lens with a total kit that costs $1100 (for your cost) unless you were given that lens as a gift. So.

Don't be embarrassed by your equipment - only be embarrassed if you've spent any amount of money on it and don't use it.

I don't know, haven't counted, probably don't want to. I'm guesstimating around $15k. Photography is my cheapest hobby, but probably most rewarding.

linh811 wrote in post #13868803
I don't know, haven't counted, probably don't want to. I'm guesstimating around $15k. Photography is my cheapest hobby, but probably most rewarding.

I wish that we had the kind of income where I could call photography my "cheapest hobby" - as it is, to get this kind of money invested in upgrading, I had to tell hubby (and this is an honest intention on my part) that I want to earn money with this going forward. This is at this point a business investment, though the sole purpose of the business end is to invest more money in my kit until I have every lens and body I want.

As a "hobby" photography and music are probably neck-in-neck. I own a spinet piano, a higher end Yahama Clavinova, a $1000 Yamaha portable full-size keyboard, and an Alvarez guitar... (oh, and a classic wooden clarinet from the 1950s and a 1920s vintage silver tenor saxophone). Writing as a hobby is only at about $700, so definitely a far, far third. Now, if you count my chicken raising a hobby it costs me about $90/month, cost me $800 for building stuff, and about $80/year in new stock. I've been at it for just over two years now... so I guess it would be between writing and music.... ?

I really need better hobbies... crocheting - pfeh - it has cost me less than $300 total including all the stuff I've crocheted and given as gifts! ROFL