Professional view on gear....

Ok...maybe a fun topic but hopefully also informative......If you are running a business, how do you view your gear? This question comes to mind because most of the people I come across automatically assume that I have the latest and greatest thing out there when, in fact, that's quite wrong. My philosophy is to use the most cost effective tools to get the job done....and this generally means using tools that are far older than I would ever want to admit to (at least to my clients).
I personally will not upgrade until I'm certain that the upgrade will generate enough additional revenue to more than pay for the investment......which means that I must find my current gear so lacking that it is actually costing me money to continue using it.....and this is why I continue to use an 8 year old body as my main camera.
That said, my use of older technology is rarely (actually never thus far) a hurdle to creating salable photos.
As a business owner, do you try to keep up with the latest and greatest or are you more inclined to stick with the cheapest option out there to meet your needs? How do you feel you decision has affected your business?

This could become quite interesting.

In many ways I share your philosophy - that said my main camera is a 5DMK3 and my backup is a 5DMK2. I originally went for the 5DMK2 because I was dissatisfied with the performance of my previous 30D in low-light - especially with weddings. I was finding that I would have to resort to flash or stupidly low f stops on too many occasions for my liking. The MK3 came along when the MK2 became unreliable.

For 95% of what I do however the MK2 (let alone the MK3) is overkill for what I need but even then when I'm working indoors in low light the high ISO capabilities of both my bodies saves me the hassle of digging out a tripod. I do use them every day though so I don't mind the expense so much.

Now as for lenses - I have two - both are 24-105 L.

On the rare occasion that I need anything else I will rent or borrow from mates. I would love to own a 70-200 F2.8 MKII L, 300 F2.8, 85 F1.2L, 14 F2.8 II L, 100m F2.8 L Macro and a 17/24mm T/S but in all honesty the investment I would have to make in these lenses would just not pay off for me as they would be used (commercially) once in a blue moon.

I guess that's normal way of doing business, and that's actually where hobby shooters differ from pros. We use sort of same mentality, and if you don't have really good reason to upgrade, we just don't upgrade. I mean spending 5000+eur for single body just to have latest and greatest, while you can easily do your job with generation older body, is something I can't imagine. I mean you need to work your a** off for these 5000eur. Sure if you can't do your job because of this what current equipment doesn't enable you to do it, then you buy new one. But just to have new one is out of question for us. And it can be camera stuff or computers or anything else related to this.

It is just a tool. If you need something, you get it. If something isn't that useful for you, you sell it.

My newest lighting equipment is probably 20 years old, and the majority is far older than that...but it was all purchased new by me. I shoot medium/large format and my main camera is going on 7 years old. Other than the fact that I'm starting to run into software compatibility issues, it still serves me well.

My clients have virtually no interest in the equipment that I use, only the image that they see on the monitor and whether or not they are suitable for their purposes.

I do buy equipment from time to time for very specific applications, but those situations are rare....in fact, that's the only reason I own a dslr.

I tend to care more about the photographs that I make than the equipment that I use to make them, but will admit that when I was starting out, the equipment part of the equation was a siren's song.

jra wrote in post #15892789
Ok...maybe a fun topic but hopefully also informative......If you are running a business, how do you view your gear? This question comes to mind because most of the people I come across automatically assume that I have the latest and greatest thing out there when, in fact, that's quite wrong. My philosophy is to use the most cost effective tools to get the job done....and this generally means using tools that are far older than I would ever want to admit to (at least to my clients).
I personally will not upgrade until I'm certain that the upgrade will generate enough additional revenue to more than pay for the investment......which means that I must find my current gear so lacking that it is actually costing me money to continue using it.....and this is why I continue to use an 8 year old body as my main camera.
That said, my use of older technology is rarely (actually never thus far) a hurdle to creating salable photos.
As a business owner, do you try to keep up with the latest and greatest or are you more inclined to stick with the cheapest option out there to meet your needs? How do you feel you decision has affected your business?

I usually buy the "best" body after it's been replaced by a newer "best" body. So basically when the 1D II came out I got a 1D, when the 1D III came out I got a 1D II, and then when the 1D IV came out I got a 1D III.

In other words, I'll let someone else take the big hit on resale value, but still get a helluva camera that'll perform well and last. I still don't have a 1D IV though despite the 1D X being out.

I used to notice that a lot of my friends' kids had newer and higher-end computers in their rooms than the ones I used for graphics in my printing business, or the ones my freelance designers used. Its pretty common in business that you buy the tool to do the job, and use it until it no longer up to the task, where a hobbyist may tend to be more interested in the latest "toy".

"I usually buy the "best" body after it's been replaced by a newer "best" body."

This makes a lot of sense. Going back to the '70s, I was a manager in couple of computer service bureaus using large-scale mainframe systems, and this was our hardware acquisition strategy. I've tended to do the same with my own business.

I used to notice that a lot of my friends' kids had newer and higher-end computers in their rooms than the ones I used for graphics in my printing business, or the ones my freelance designers used. Its pretty common in business that you buy the tool to do the job, and use it until it no longer up to the task, where a hobbyist may tend to be more interested in the latest "toy".

"I usually buy the "best" body after it's been replaced by a newer "best" body."

This makes a lot of sense. Going back to the '70s, I was a manager in couple of computer service bureaus using large-scale mainframe systems, and this was our hardware acquisition strategy. I've tended to do the same with my own business.

Interesting topic.
Over the last few years I have played the buying and selling game and am now happily where I want to be: Mark3, 16-35, 24-70, 70-200, 50 all L glass plus a bunch of 600 flashes and alien bees.
I rent the second body for weddings now instead of owning two.

I feel when a bride pays thousands of dollars it is my responsibility to have the best equipment possible to give me every opportunity to get the best shots I can. I fully agree its not the gear, it's the photog....but I want to minimize as much risk as I can when hired for a one time event.
It also allows me to fully question my ability. If I can not get the shot I need with the gear I have, it has to be my ability and skill at fault. If I am shootin a wedding with a Rebel XSI and 50mm 1.8 and I don't get the shot, I will blame the gear.

From a business standpoint though, my business is not my main source of income. It's run like a business but it's my fun job like many others here, so it's fun to buy new gear. However for my personal use, I use a 40mm pankcake lens most of the time.

As a professional, I need to be the best I can be, across the board. Equipment included.

joe

Well, I guess technically, I am a hobbyist, because I do not make a living with my gear. However, I don't make a living with anything yet, and I hope it will be photography.

Part of me wants the latest and greatest, however, I realize that it is ultimately me that limits what I can do. I certainly don't get the obsession with 'FF or you stink'; I can pull results out of crop that are almost as good as FF. however, they are definitely different tools. I have been getting much better at portraits, and I am using my 5D II to lead the charge on that front. On the other hand, my crop 60D and 400 5.6 L have taken my bird photography to the next level. One excels at wildlife, whilst the other excels at portraiture. Gear can certainly be to blame for failure (See my 100-400L that apparently hasn't been sharp since I bought it, and is too soft to use for much of anything, or my old T1i that is like shooting through fog.)

So really, my rant is to the effect that, it is up to the user. The gear is mainly a tool. And while a better piece of gear can be a huge boost, a professional can pull great results out of (almost) anything. I looked at a member here who uses an XSi as a tool; his results can put 90% of people with 5D's, 1DX's, or other similar cameras to shame. Even the iPhone is amazing, if used correctly. I have pulled results from my i5 that will put some people with DSLR's to shame. It all comes down to the basics of 'steady the shake, gentle squeeze to eliminate shake, expose and focus correctly, and compose'. Most non-photographers cannot believe that it came from an iPhone. But if you are careful, and work hard, good results can come from anything. I hope I made sense/stayed on topic enough.

I tend to have the high end lenses. The bodies I'll upgrade when I feel there is something better to offer that would suit me. Lenses can directly affect the quality and it makes sense for what I do to have good quality lenses. A good wedding season easily pays off the lens investment.

I probably shouldn't be answering this because I don't make a living at photography. However, I do have professional level shoots from time to time. In the defense of the lowly "hobbyist", some of us are not driven to buy the latest gear. I still use my 20D as a backup camera. I bought the 40D because I became unhappy with the 20D's narrower dynamic range. I haven't felt the need for a 7D, although I do worry about age-related reliability of my two cameras and sometimes wish for better low light performance. I also have not felt the compulsion to "upgrade" to a 35mm sensor, as I'm pleased with the results that I get.

Not all hobbyists are gear heads.

I don't frequently upgrade my gear. The one exception... is focusing in low light ability. Having fought with the 5D MKII in low light for the past 3 years... I pulled the trigger on a refurbished 5D MKIII a month ago. I never buy brand new gear though.

I have a lot of MKI lenses, as I don't see the MKII versions worth it cost wise.

In any business, you look at return on investment. How will the newest whatever (or upgrade) help your business. If you are looking at a computer, you might be able to easily justify it because it can process x number of photos 50% faster than your current one. (time is money) But if you are buying an iPad 3 because it just came out, even though your iPad 2 works fine, that is an unwise choice, economically. Same holds true for camera gear, automobiles, or pretty much any other expense you could possibly make.