Camera Gear Doesn’t Need To Be Expensive.

If you have an interest in photography, you likely have an interest in gear. You’ve also likely been disappointed in some of the gear, especially used, that you have bought in the past.

There are lots of techniques and strategies that can save you money when you buy gear. I’ve learned these from years of being a professional online seller. That’s where my interest in photography came from. Good photos sell.

The Buying Guide will help you save money on cameras, lenses, and other gear. You should be able to save enough money to where you can break even when you buy and sell gear.

Picking Out Vintage Lens Winners.

All lenses aren’t equal. Modern lenses will give you images that are razor sharp corner to corner. Vintage lenses can set themselves apart by how they render, the color you can get with them, interesting bokeh, or other characteristics not valued by current photographers.

On the other hand, many vintage lenses just aren’t that good. Their performance may not be good enough to set them apart from other lenses. Worse, as time has gone on some lenses have defects that will render them worthless because of the difficulty in repair.

I’m somewhat indiscriminate in my purchasing of gear, so I get a mix of good, bad, and average. The lens reviews will help you find a lens worth owning.

Nothing Depreciates Faster Than A Camera.

Cameras are the fastest depreciating pieces of photography gear. That’s bad if you buy a new camera. If you buy used, you can get a high-end camera from 10+ years ago for pennies on the dollar.

Being able to use flagship cameras of years gone by is an interesting experience. Medium format in both film and digital become obtainable for non-professional uses. Or owning many cameras is remarkably affordable.

The camera reviews section showcases all of the cameras I have reviewed. You can also find information on camera manufacturers that are no longer in business.

Recent Posts

All of the Problems with the Sony A7

Sony A7 Problems Glaringly obvious problems exist with the Sony A7. Reading reviews from when the camera was released 5 years ago don’t mention any of the problems. After purchasing a used A7, I began to immediately notice problems I was not made aware of. The star eater problem is the only deal-breaker, and it only applies to astrophotographers. Other issues can be worked around or avoided, as long as you are aware of them.

Nikon 28mm f/2.8 Series E Lens Review

Nikon 28mm f/2.8 Series E Lens The Nikon 28mm f/2.8 Series E lens is the widest of all the Series E lenses. Introduced as a budget lens, it still fills that role today. It has an AI-S mount so it will work on most Nikon cameras. Used Prices & Where to Buy A huge number of these lenses were sold in the early 1980s. As such, copies are widely available.

Nikon 50mm f/1.8 Series E Pancake Lens Review

Nikon 50mm f/1.8 Series E The Nikon 50mm f/1.8 Series E has remained a popular lens for more than 40 years. It was originally designed as a budget lens, but became popular with professionals. Often referred to as a pancake lens, the lens is short and light. With caps on the lens, it can easily fit into a jacket pocket. A camera can also still fit under a jacket with the lens mounted.

Inexpensive Motorized Focus Stacking Rail - WeMacro Rail Review

WeMacro Motorized Focus Stacking Rail Review If you want macro images with a greater depth of field, you’re going to have to focus stack. Manually doing the process takes a long time. The WeMacro rail is a motorized macro rail and camera trigger. Once a shot is set up, you can hit start and walk away. When you come back, you’ll have images ready to be stacked. Build Quality & Design Black anodized aluminum is screwed together to make the frame.

Yashica 55mm f/2.8 ML Macro Lens Review

Yashica ML 55mm f/2.8 Macro Lens The Yashica 55mm f/2.8 ML macro lens is well constructed, sharp, and has little distortion. Compared to other vintage macro lenses, the only standout feature is that it is expensive. A 27mm extension tube is needed for 1:1 magnification. However, 90-105mm macro lenses are a better choice for 1:1 because they have larger working distances. Used Price and Where to Buy Check current prices on eBay.

Tamron SP Di 90mm f/2.8 Macro AF Lens Review

Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Used copies of the Tamron SP Di 90mm f/2.8 Macro lens have the best price/performance. The lens is sharp from f/5.6-f/11 with no chromatic aberration. Weighing 418g (14.7oz), the lens is the lightest macro lens I have reviewed in the 90-105mm focal length range. Working distance is comparable to 105mm lenses because the front element is recessed. Used Price and Where to Buy A newer version of the lens has been released, but new copies are still being sold.