>>3486946I buy way too much good gear at retail prices and don't use it enough to justify the price.
Since 2018: D850, Tamron 70-200 G2, Tamron 24-70 G2, Nikon 500mm PF, and new Tamron 35mm 1.4
I feel like I get a lot of bang for my buck on the Tamrons in terms of quality. They're solid as fuck and the name brand comparative Nikon or L-lens would be nearly double what I paid for them. But for all that combined I'm in for over $5000 easily, especially when you count other stuff like batteries, XQD cards, etc. The 500 PF is somewhat of an adult's toy and that's a different story altogether. If I wanted to really bargain budget I would have gotten the Nikon 200-500, but the tech in the new 500 PF is pretty amazing and it's very unique for what it does in the size factor, so I sprung for it.
I used to do wargaming miniatures and spent countless hours assembling, painting, and playing with tiny plastic army men - probably spent like $7000 on them overall, but that was over a course of like 10 years worth of hobby. Granted most of the photog expenses have all been up front and it costs me nothing but time to take my pics home and mess with them in Photoshop or Lightroom. Printed a small handful but there again, that cost is nothing compared to the gear. Maybe it all evens out since the glass will be useful for a long time.
Justifying the money spent on a "hobby" has always been kind of a thing, but then when I considered buying the D850, I also considered I might soon be killing myself so I wanted to at least own a decent camera once before I died. Still suicidal from time to time, but I do enjoy my D850 lmao....
