Camera Gear I Regret Buying

Over the years I’ve made some dubious purchases. Either because I thought it would make my photos 10 times better or because I was convinced by a YouTuber that I NEED that item.

Dedicated camera bags. I must have spent so much money on camera bags over the years. You name any major camera brand bag and I’m 99% sure I purchased it at some point or another thinking “this is the bag to end all bags”… only to list it on eBay a few months later at a 50% loss. Dedicated camera bags are overpriced, over engineered and scream ‘please steal me’. Another big issue is that most of them are extremely uncomfortable and not ergonomic at all. They are great for transporting camera equipment from your house to your car to your shoot and that’s it. Of course I’m sure there are some that are good however after years of trial and error, the best solution is a camera cube and a proper backpack. Your back and neck will thank you for it.

Mist or diffusion filters have become popular on YouTube especially among filmmakers by giving you a soft look with bloomed highlights and an overall filmic tone. These filters are not cheap and the look you get is baked in. I tried my best to get on with them however I quickly found that in most cases, the effect would have been better if it was selectively applied to some parts of the image, something which you obviously can’t do. The last straw for me was a shoot one night where the effect was too strong and ruined a bunch of shots. You can replicate a similar effect in editing and I will show you how here.

They say if you buy cheap you buy twice. In most cases you can learn your lesson and move on, however when it comes to memory and storage please please please don’t buy cheap. I once purchased cheap memory cards which froze half way through shooting and cheap hard drives that just died one day. No matter how tempting the price is, when it comes to memory buy the best quality. Any of the top brands will do.

At this stage of my photography journey my editing is limited and simple, however when I started out I’ve spent a fair share of money on various plug ins for Lightroom or Photoshop that promised everything under the sun. They were a waste of time and money.

Thankfully I personally never wasted any money on this however I still want to add it here because I’m sure many have been duped into buying these items. I’m talking about any gimmick that promises better photos or better settings or better exposure. Be it a gadget that you plug into your camera or some crazy filter you put on your lens. You might have seen some of these items in magazines and pushed on social media. They are primarily aimed at gullible beginners and offer a magic bullet to great photos. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is and if makes you say “Really?!” In a high pitched tone, then it’s definitely best avoided. The only shortcut or magic bullet to better photos is becoming a better photographer, not some crap you attach to your camera.