Gearing Up Part 2 | Camera Gear & Lenses

Posted on Aug 6, 2010 in Cameras, Canon 5D mark II, Canon EF, Featured, Gear, Lenses, Tech, Zeiss ZE | 1 comment

Yesterday I posted about the costs to upgrading my computer for shooting and editing video.  Today I’m going to go over the initial expenses I’ve had on the camera gear side.  And what photographer out there doesn’t love the opportunity to buy new photo gear.

First of course is the camera it self.  I had a Canon 1DS mark II that in all honesty I didn’t use very much.  I primarily shoot a medium format system with a Contax 645 and Phase One digital back.  My 1DS mark II was mostly a backup camera so moving to a Canon 5D Mark II was a no brainer.  I also really don’t like cropped sensors, so a 7D was never a question.  For some photographers this may not even be an extra expense because they’re already shooting a 35mm digital camera that shoots video.

Since I already had a Canon system that means I already had all the lenses.  However, although I didn’t really need to, I decided to switch out my Canon lenses for their Zeiss equivalents.  As I said, I normally shoot with a Contax 645 so I love Zeiss lenses.  I’ve never really liked the feel of my Canon lenses (I did keep my Canon 85mm f/1.2L though).  The Zeiss lenses feel like tanks and the focus ring is firm and exact. Even when shooting stils I found the focus ring too “loose”  on the Canon’s and for video focus pulling is even more important.  Of course, the Zeiss lenses are all manual focus, but that isn’t an issue to me since I never use auto-focus anyway (and can’t in video mode).

Here were my camera upgrades:

• Canon 5d Mark II ($2500)
• Canon BG-ES Battery Grip ($240)
• Canon LP-E6 Battery x3 ($225)
• Zeiss Distagon 35mm T* f/2 ZE ($1005)
• Zeiss  Planar 50mm T* f/1.4 ZE ($670 “barely used”)
• Sandisk 32GB Extreme CF (x2) ($308 after rebate)

Camera gear total: $4948
Estimated Ebay sale of replaced gear: $2700
Net upgrade total: $2248

So when you combine the computer upgrade expenses I wrote about yesterday with these camera upgrades I’ve effectively spent nearly $4900 ($7800 if you don’t count the resale of old gear) so far and that doesn’t even include any gear specific to shooting video other than the camera itself.   To some this may seem like a small amount and to others it may seem daunting.

I know what you’re going to say… a lot of my purchases weren’t really necessary, which is true.  My computer was likely more than adequate without the memory upgrades and I didn’t really need to switch my Canon lenses to Zeiss lenses (although it won’t be too costly of a switch since I should be able to sell my Canon lenses for only a tad less than the Zeiss lenses).  But, the bigger expenses like storage were necessary and likely going to be short lived before I’m upgrading again.  And as for software, I was glad to find Final Cut Pro cheaper on Ebay (full version new in box) but I have a feeling there will be a lot more software purchases later if I want to get into something like After Effects and other tools for color correction or the many other plugins and apps out there.

Next up will be the gear specifically for shooting video.  Focus systems, monitors, finders, matte boxes, etc, etc, etc.  Whew… now those will be pricey and I have no old gear to sell on ebay to recoup some of my costs.  Since I don’t have a bottomless pocket I’m doing some research on what I want to buy first and the most cost effect models to buy.  Any suggestions welcome.

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