When Buying New Gear

Two days ago I have been dogging myself whether or not to buy that sweet studio flash deal I saw in the internet but then I realize that I am just panic buying again since I have a upcoming shoot. Right now I am choosing whether to buy a new cheap-o flash trigger or 2 packs of 4 pcs rechargeable batteries or add another one of those cheap-o but definitely a keeper flash. 

This bad boys is around $40

Two packs of this is just about $40

Would you believe that this baby is just about $80 and definitely exceeded my expectation

Those three items will be perfect for my upcoming shoot but I only need one or two since I do not want to load a lot of stuff inside my bag and above that I need more money because I have decided to just save more and wait until I can purchase a 300ws flash head and a power pack at the same time which will probably cost me about $400. Now you must be wonder what am I trying to get across to you, well what I am trying to illustrate to you guys is that when buying a gear we sometimes overlook the simplest solution to avoid emptying our bank. I am going to share you guys some guide question to dwell on to help you to do a well thought out plan when purchasing a new gear.

1. Do I really need it? - The most basic and probably the most important question of all, usually I follow up this question with: "How often will I use it?" and if I am satisfied with my answers then I go to the next question which is...

2. What are the other important items I could buy with the money allotted for this purchase? - Let's just say that you are going to buy a Elinchrom but with that money you can buy a secondhand car or probably a new lens. This question is supported with another question: "How much more money do I need to add to get this X" If you are going to buy a Sigma lens but then you saw sweeter Canon lens with just a bit of additional expense then why settle for the Sigma when you can wait.

3. What about inexpensive gears? -  I know that as a photographer you should invest on your gear but would you rather empty your bank account just to "invest" on a top of the line gear. This question is usually supported with the question: "Maybe I can just rent one" if you are not going to use it often but you really need that gear to get your vision done then by all means just rent the stuff.

4. Is there a DIY version out there? -  typically no brainer but hey if you can manage to build a DIY version of something that you really want then wouldn't that be way better than just walking to the store and purchasing your desired item? You'll never know maybe you could probably just build that DIY Project that will definitely help other photographers out there.

5. Do I want it just so I can brag? - There is nothing I hate more than people who just buy camera gear just to showoff. This question is best followed up with: "Do I like the item just because of the specs?" This is the problem with some people, they can still shoot a photograph even if their cameras have lower specs because lower specs doesn't mean poor image quality.

These are the 5 stuff to consider when buying gear and hopefully you guys find this post informative.

What about you? What do you ask yourself when buying new camera gear? Hit the comments and lets discuss!