I have spent a lot on camera gear over the last few years, well according to my accountant.

From my perspective, however deluded and obsessed I may be, I have spent relatively little for what I have accumulated, but in what amounts and where is the money funnelled is interesting.

All values are in Australian dollars.

Cameras.

Many brands and more individual bodies over several generations, but I have been quite settled over the last decade and to my surprise, this generation I have actually worn out some cameras.

M43 cameras on the whole are well priced for what they are. In total over the last 11 years, I have spent probably $20,000. A lot is may seem, but this is 4x EM5’s, 2x EM10’s, a couple of Pen/Pen mini’s, a GH2, a Pen F, 2x G9’s, a G9II, 2x EM1x’s (1 mint second hand), 2x EM1 Mk2’s.

Most that I have still work, the older EM5’s it seems pack it in if you don’t use them, but they likely accounted for something like 1,000,000 shutter fires all up, so retirement earned. The remaining have a couple of million to go (one EM1x, G9 mkI and the Pen F are basically unused and the G9II is new).

This is similar to the value if a pair of full frame pro cameras, but with more depth and variety plus the ability to evolve. I would change little except that three years ago, if I had waited just a little, I could have had an EM1x on special for the price I paid for an EM1 Mk2 and if I chose the GH5II over the S5, life may have been easier this year.

Overall, my adoption of M43 has been a decisive win.

Other cameras at the moment are specialist and video centric. The S5 full frame is a good “other” camera, which led to a small system, but none will be wasted.

Lenses.

Vast forest of glass, some good, some mediocre not much that is poor.

In M43, I have had a lot of glass go through, but most of the better stuff has stayed for my current format, with only a few missed steps and little “shedding” (a sold 12-100 pro, 20mm Pana first ed stand out). I currently have 9 zooms, 10 primes, a cine lens and some legacy glass.

I have paid about $12,000au or so over the years, some of which from the “inside” working in shops, which currently includes full coverage from 16 to 600mm (F/F equiv), many weather proof, all sharp and many fast for their type, especially compared to full frame versions and some “character” options, most with redundancies.

All have a role either in stills, video or both.

Don’t even do the math on full frame equivalents, it’s eye watering. My whole arsenal would be swallowed in size, weight and cost by a 600 f4 alone. The only change I would make would be to have kept everything I ever bought in M43.

In full frame, I have 3 Lumix primes, a decent kit lens (20-127 in 4k), 2 legacy lenses and 3 cinema lenses 9one a serious macro lens), all for a little over $4,000. A total bargain and sound investment for the future. If I spend any more here though, bargains aside, it will start to be a pointless and diminishing exercise.

Mixing formats is usually pointless, but in this case I am happy.

Bags.

Never enough, never the right one.

No good news here, but fun none the less. Enough spent probably to cover a couple of camera bodies, but right now, I seem settled.

Domke bags have generally been good investments and the only regrets I have had are for those I sold off. The price of Domke bags has been steady over the years (see below), unlike some brands that lately seem to have taken on jewel-like preciousness. Even the F804, my worst recent gaff, is a very handy overnight bag with camera options.

Filson and Billingham are passion choices, rarely practical and both have over the last few years gone well out of sensible reach at $500+ for a Filson medium Field Bag and $650 for a Hadley medium! I paid about $250 for each of mine and thought that was a little rich.

Most other brands have been tried, Crumpler and Mind Shift/Think Tank standing out. These are either used or disposed of and replaced, in staggering numbers. Working in shops is hard, because the mark-up on bags is actually decent, meaning you buy cheap, sell for what you paid and can try them out (but still stuff up).

Standouts tend to be surprisingly useful and often better priced non-camera bags like the 511 Range Ready bag ($150), the Tokyo Porter satchel and a no-name little pouch from a vendor in Kobe etc.

Currently my collection would likely come is at about $2,000, but that is grossly over valued by the current prices and my oldest is an F2 Domke that I paid the same for in the 1980’s that they go for now.

No right answer here. You never know until you buy, then find use for the duds anyway, so dollar to dollar never a wise investment, but hard to waste money entirely.

Lighting gear.

Lighting has been a giver. My cheap as chips flash units have handled so many gigs, they are now well in the black, the LED panels are probably about even and the COB light’s although under used owe me little.

Lighting is a funny thing, a bit like owning a Tux. If you have it, you look for reasons to use it, if not you get by. In my case I bought a cheap suit and try to carry it off with some bluff and experience. My total costs for 4x Selens COB’s, 5x Neewer LED’s, 8x Flash units (YongNuo and Godox) is about $1500, or to put another way, a single Aperture 600D. My only real need is for a portable battery unit to make the entire thing portable.

Next time I would stick to one flash brand, stick to probably 1 TTL and 3 “dumb” units total and just get two decent LED’s as alternates.

Lighting mods.

This one is embarrassing. I have a dozen soft boxes, several brollies, a few reflectors, some domes, scrim and flagging, but tend to use a pair of Godox 42” brollies I bought right at the very beginning in desperation. Total cost, relying on the cheaper brands and careful research is under $1000, but could have been under $100!

If I did it again, four white brollies with removable backing and a large reflector.

Backgrounds.

This is an odd one. Obsessed with these things for a while, I eventually sprang for a Manfrotto 2.1x2.4 collapsible on grey/black. Rory Lewis would have been proud.

It paid for itself with the Telstra shoot, but I scratched an itch for the Pewter/Walnut as well. This one has only been used a couple of times, but I love it, especially the subtle texture of the Pewter.

They need more use. Other efforts include some 1.4m width leather-look vinyl, which on the whole are a success and cloth of several types.

Another handy item is the 2"‘ square slate-look vinyl tiles I use a lot (see the mic shot below). Go anywhere kitchen bench.

$1000 all up, the $650 of that in the 2 Lastolite-Manfrotto units.

If going again I would get e huge grey cloth one, the Pewter Manfrotto and a cheap black/white.

Sound gear.

Boy did this one get out of hand.

My goal, something outside of the usual videographers remit, was to be able to cover a school rock band or orchestra. The usual ways of doing this are a shotgun mic on camera or synching a separate sound source. Neither of these appealed (although I can do them), because I wanted better sound into camera and full control.

This required me looking at the problem more from a sound engineers perspective. I wanted to be able to either mic up one or more instruments or people directly, or cover a room. I can do either in multiple ways.

Interfaces, the bit in between have been mostly good and the usual one to the next to the next growth. The Zoom system works for me on the whole, but the H1n, is now mostly surplus and the F1 with an all too easily broken battery door (which is a common thing apparently), is a disappointment. I like the F1 and use it constantly, but it annoys me it broke so predictably. $1500 spend on 4 units, 3 capsules and a LAV and all are useful. I can take up to 8 XLR mics.

If I went again, just the H8 or an F6, with the capsules and an F3 with separate shotgun mics for run-n-gun (MKE-600/400).

Microphones are a hobby with its own motivation it seems. One thing I can say for it though, is you can get some great gear for little outlay, you just have to find a way to use it.

Apart from the MKE-400, several little shotguns and the zoom capsules (about $300 total), I seem to be the video guy with a studio in his bag. 6x Lewitt’s, 3x sE V series and a Pro-Lanen mic came in at about $1500 total, which on balance is a decent collection, but for what? Not sure.

The Hollyland Larks are a decent LAV solution, but not my preferred idea.

The MKE-400 was a great investment, see below for the rest.

I want to use it all, but have little opportunity. Some field recording, maybe some drop in video, voice overs, ambient sound, even a poor band with need of a cheap demo recording?

Either my secret super power or a waste in the whole. All comes doen to me I guess, but one advantage of sound gear is, it does not evolve super quickly. The mics most of these are competing with are 50 year old Shure SM 57/58’s, so not a use it or loose it proposition.

If I went again, the Lewitts would be enough (2x 040 pencils, 2x 240 room/vocal condensers and 2x 440 DM bass/instrument mics), but the sE V’s and TT1 are handy for a panel situation.

Overall, nothing much wasted and if so, not a fortune. I can see how easy it is to spend vast sums in areas that need little, but the advatage of being broke most of the time has taught me to look for the things that have fallen through the cracks or secrets well kept.