Don't buy pointless camera gear
Sunday 15 September 2024, 20:10 by Nando Harmsen | 3,538 views | 9 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
Photography is popular. That means it is a way to make money. Invent a device or accessory and promise miracles, and there will be photographers who buy it. What could I have better spent my money on?
Want to spend money? Take up photography as a hobby. As well as cameras and lenses being expensive, there are an endless number of accessories. Some are useful, but most are pointless.
It is so easy to buy another accessory that promises miracles. Quite often, it is the solution to a problem that does not exist. Or it is a cheap alternative where the saying "buy cheap, buy twice" applies perfectly.
Over the years, I have also bought many things that were actually unnecessary. Sometimes it was a cheap solution that ultimately did not work. Other times, it turned out to be completely useless. This is not limited to digital photography. I was already doing it in the analogue era.
Here are some things I bought at one time, but should not have. In the end, they ended up unused in a cupboard, were sold, or were simply thrown away because they turned out to be completely worthless.
1. Grey card
A grey card is not for white balance, although some people still think it is. It is for exposure. Although a grey card can certainly work, using one these days is anything but practical. The camera's light meter works more quickly and, above all, more easily.
2. Lens calibration
The idea was to check and calibrate lenses so that they would produce the sharpest image possible. Back focus, front focus, and all that sort of thing could be corrected.
In the end, this card ended up in a cupboard. Not only is it very difficult to use, it is also impossible to set up accurately enough.
3. Cheap travel tripod
I thought a light and small tripod would be useful. And it is, because a travel tripod is easy to take with you. I found a relatively cheap tripod and bought it. At first, it seemed perfect.
But it turned out that the legs were difficult to secure, and it was not as stable as expected. In the end, using it became an annoyance instead of a pleasure. This applies to many cheap tripods, so be careful.
4. Gorillapod
I'll stay with tripods for a moment. I bought the Gorillapod to place the camera in unusual locations. On a fence, a tree branch, or wherever. It was a nightmare to clamp it in place properly and securely. I never used it because there was no need to mount the camera in those places.
In the end, I did use it a few times to mount a flash on it, which works well in principle. But there are simpler solutions for a flash. They also work better, and are not as large and bulky.
5. Omnibounce
They promise a world of difference in light quality. In reality, its usefulness is so limited that it only works against you. You send so much light to places where it is of no use that it only costs you more flash power.
There are better solutions for good-quality flash light. You certainly do not need an omnibounce for that.
6. LED panels
Those small, cheap LED light panels seemed like a good idea. They do produce light, but very little of it. In addition, the light cannot be shaped and they do not provide consistent light quality. Now they are sitting uselessly in a cupboard because they are a nightmare to use.
7. Universal L-bracket
I bought a universal L-bracket for the cameras I review. My own cameras have L-brackets developed specifically for those cameras. They are expensive, but work perfectly. The cheap universal L-bracket proved unusable in 99% of cases.
You especially run into problems with the tilting screens found on many cameras. Sometimes even access to the battery compartment is obstructed. Invest a little more and you will get much more ease of use and enjoyment in return.
There is much more
There is of course much more you can buy whose usefulness is hard to find. The many crowdfunding products in particular are something to watch out for. They often promise the earth, but you end up with a piece of gilded lead.
Think of camera bags that fit everything and more. Flash accessories, filters, brackets, clamps, and even tripods. It often looks better than it is. Also do not spend money on presets for photo editing, or on cheap cables and chargers.
Have you bought things that you later regretted? Let me know in a comment below this post. Have you seen something that you think might be useful, but want my opinion? I'll be happy to take a look for you.
About the author
Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.
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9 comments
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Mac wrote on Monday 16 September 2024 at 15:33 | replyI have an addition to the travel tripod.
Translated from Dutch.
I myself have 2 cheap travel tripods, both are very stable, even with heavy lenses.
Only you do have to make a compromise, they can't go high, not high at all. So always put them somewhere, or get down on your knees.
And both of these were described as travel/macro tripods.
If you pay attention to that, you can buy a good tripod for travelling cheaply.
Indeed, just don't buy a cheap travel tripod that goes up to 150cm or so, then you are indeed stuck with an unstable thing. -
ronald Maas wrote on Tuesday 17 September 2024 at 10:49 | replyHi Nando, finally another article that a beginner photographer can certainly benefit a lot from.
Translated from Dutch.
This kind of practical experience is what helps make relevant choices from the abundance of advertisements.
Great!! -
Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 17 September 2024 at 11:22 | replyA few years ago, on a whim, I bought the Laowa super macro lens that could magnify up to 5x. I thought photos by other photographers were so beautiful. I wanted to do that too. Unfortunately, I found it very difficult to work with because I also had to buy a macro rail. Manual focusing was difficult. In the end, I only used the lens a few times. A few months after buying an R7, I traded in that Laowa for the purchase of an RF lens that I now use very often. I’ll leave making super macros to the real enthusiasts. It’s not necessary to master every branch of photography.
Translated from Dutch. -
guest wrote on Tuesday 17 September 2024 at 12:07 | reply
Photo of the tripod(3 legged thing, I think)do you really consider this a junk travel tripod? is also not really cheap.
Translated from Dutch. -
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Jojo wrote on Tuesday 17 September 2024 at 17:34 | replyI nevertheless find the GorillaPod useful.
Translated from Dutch.
Not for attaching it to something, but as a small tripod: it needs little space where you want to photograph e.g. mushrooms and flowers and is very maneuverable , compared to a regular tripod -
Nando
wrote on Wednesday 18 September 2024 at 11:58
| reply
I've had the little thing for quite a few years now, and I've noticed that the legs no longer have enough friction to stay in position. It can't even properly hold a speedlight anymore, let alone a camera with a lens.
Translated from Dutch.
A good tabletop tripod is a much better choice, in my opinion.
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BSNF wrote on Tuesday 17 September 2024 at 18:11 | replyI have been a (nature and landscape) photographer for many years and use a universal L-bracket from LeoFoto on all three of my Nikon DLSR cameras. For the incredibly large price difference, which can amount to over €125.00 per bracket, I gladly accept some otherwise very minor inconvenience, such as when changing the battery. And with compatible Arca-Swiss tripod heads on my three different good tripods, it works perfectly together.
Translated from Dutch. -
Stefanie wrote on Wednesday 18 September 2024 at 11:24 | replyFor lens calibration, I once found a DIY (folding) card on the internet, but the same applies to that: don't bother with it anymore, tried it once and came to the conclusion that with some fixed objects in your surroundings you can just as easily check whether your lenses have a deviation and if that is the case then the repair service is still the better option.
Translated from Dutch.
I personally don't think the LED panels are useless equipment at all, I regularly use them for small still life and macro things. Indispensable in my kitchen table studio
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