Is this hobby really expensive?

Evan Idler wrote in post #2262059
HF, VHF, UHF, Satellite, Hi Speed Packet, ect. and I don't even have a lot of stuff but it adds up. I use to sell and service the stuff for 14 years. Ever buy a Motorola RF Service Monitor?
I have friends that have spent more on putting up 200 foot towers for their antenna farms than it would cost to buy a nice house. Ever seen a 4 element 80M Yagi. One of the locals put one up.
http://andor.net/ve6jy​/ve6jy-80m.html

He's Working on a 5 element now

--Evan

Wow, amazing to see a 4 element 80m yagi! I thought my old 6 element TH6DXX was big Amateur radio is also one of my 'more expensive than photography' hobbies.

I guess the idea is to make your hobby pay for it's self.

kram wrote in post #2254752
My question is : Do you or did you have hobbies that will put this hobby to shame in terms of expenses?

In the last 18 months, I put maybe $15K into "mods" to a MINI Cooper. Ended up selling it and you get nothing back on mods to that car. Yeah, lots of hobbies cost more than photography equipment because as others have said, you can get some of your investment back.

One nice thing about this hobby, unless they change the camera mount, other than buying bigger and better lenses, you can keep the ones you got, and just upgrade the body. Unlike every computer server and work station that I've built, that you basically toss out the old, and rebuild everything. So much changes from generation, to generation that there isn't enough left from the old system worth carrying forward.
Even the old monitors need replacing every 2 to 4 years (maybe even sooner if Dell drops the price on their new 30 inch monitor a bit more 2560*1600 )

--Evan

go karting not quite a hobby kinda more of a lifestyle had 4 go karts at about 10k a pop plus all the other kit and 200 quid for a days racing then 150 quid for a set of tires 10 sets of tires for a weekend 3 hours between engine rebuilds seeing where im going lol thanksfully i was sponsered but there are guys that fund it by there self :O

Zilly wrote in post #2266921
go karting not quite a hobby kinda more of a lifestyle had 4 go karts at about 10k a pop plus all the other kit and 200 quid for a days racing then 150 quid for a set of tires 10 sets of tires for a weekend 3 hours between engine rebuilds seeing where im going lol thanksfully i was sponsered but there are guys that fund it by there self :O

YIKES!!! 10k. Boy, what ever happened to straping on a 3 1/2 B/S onto a 2x4 frame with lawnmore tires bolted on. Sure, you were fixing it more than riding it but...

Bonsai and Geocaching have nothing on this one.

Just curious....what makes up the bulk of the cost in geocaching? I am a GPS user (finding my way around, and to photo ops) but not a geocacher, so far the up-front cost has only been the cost of the receivers.

PetKal wrote in post #2258236

BearSummer wrote:
Nope, I think this one is expensive enough. I believe that if you can afford it you should be limited by your ability and not your equipment which is why I have what I have. Now its just a matter of living up to the equipment

all the best

BearSummer

Bear, as one collector to another I must tell you that I honestly feel that even my humble 18-55 kit lens exceeds my photographer's skill. In other words, I do not think I can ever "transcend" , to use Connie's favourite vernacular, its performance capabilities.

Well to be honest Petkal I dont consider myself a collector as that implies that I only have them for the sake of having them (just ignore the 50 1.0). If that were the case I would have the 24 1.4, 50 1.2, 180 4.5 macro, 300 & 400 2.8, 500 & 600 4.0 to complete the "practical" set. So what's the difference between the "have it" and the "dont haves". Well for me its all about vision, if I can visualise an image that I want to create then I know what equipment I need to produce that image. If I am consistanly thwarted by gear limitation then then its time to buy a new lens, however if my gear fulfills that requirement (or I can work around the situation with existing equipment) then a new lens isn't necessary.

Is there room to "grow", absolutely. Am I likely to "transcend the performance capabilities", some lenses I do ask to much of (100-400 springs to mind) others have a long way to go and require a lot more use, and therin lies the responsibility of living up to your equipment. The next challenge is to map out which lenses have IR hotspots as my IR D60 is due back soon.

No rest for the wicked.

All the best

BearSummer

If the government was a little nicer, I had more time, and more money, rocketry could definitely get expensive over a few years...
Reed

All my friends into golf here absolutely insist that I am getting away cheap Yes, with space as limited as it is and money as free flowing as it is here, golf clubs are hard to get into and bookings very expensive....

Of course, you could get fake golf apparel that costs only 10% of what it costs around the world I've looked for fake Canon Ls but no luck so far

BearSummer wrote in post #2268441
Well to be honest Petkal I dont consider myself a collector as that implies that I only have them for the sake of having them (just ignore the 50 1.0). If that were the case I would have the 24 1.4, 50 1.2, 180 4.5 macro, 300 & 400 2.8, 500 & 600 4.0 to complete the "practical" set. So what's the difference between the "have it" and the "dont haves". Well for me its all about vision, if I can visualise an image that I want to create then I know what equipment I need to produce that image. If I am consistanly thwarted by gear limitation then then its time to buy a new lens, however if my gear fulfills that requirement (or I can work around the situation with existing equipment) then a new lens isn't necessary.

Is there room to "grow", absolutely. Am I likely to "transcend the performance capabilities", some lenses I do ask to much of (100-400 springs to mind) others have a long way to go and require a lot more use, and therin lies the responsibility of living up to your equipment. The next challenge is to map out which lenses have IR hotspots as my IR D60 is due back soon.

No rest for the wicked.

All the best

BearSummer

Heh, I also have that vision sort of thing like you, but I also have a vision of me collecting certain primes even when I might not need one of them (i.e. I want 30 1.4 and 50 1.4.)

How about sailing? A good yacht will put you back quite a bit. Not to mention mooring fees, maintenance, etc.

kram wrote in post #2254752
I've always looked at the price of glass that I want to buy and the 1 series and the accesories list. The list is rather long if you want a full setup with high quality.

But when I put things down and put down a price, a really top end set can be assembled for 10-20k. Leaving out real exotics of course.

My question is : Do you or did you have hobbies that will put this hobby to shame in terms of expenses?

Photography has always been second to the piano for me.

First piano cost $500 in 1975,
Second one cost $5,000 in 1978, sold it in 2002 for $12,000, but with change in value of dollar, lost money (Yamaha G2E).
Third one cost $3,500 in 2002 (Roland KR377)
Present one cost $7,300 in 2004 (Roland KR7)

Prices are in $ CAD, and don't include a few hundred in music.

30D + 24 - 105L + 2X Extender + polarizer + UV + bag = $4,000 two months ago with taxes.

Stay with photography, it's much cheaper.

I'm also a big fan of model railways, but don't have any room to set them up. I have about £1000 of stuff boxed up, and when I eventually do set it up I'll probably spend even more on it.

I'm just obsessed with collecting things (which is apparently an inherent male collecting gene), so I'll always find something to throw my money into.