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I’ve been an avid amateur photographer for a long time.  I started out with cheap 35mm point and shoot cameras and over the years, I’ve traded up.  My first “real” camera was a Canon 35mm SLR.   I think I spent about $300 for the camera and thought that that would account for the majority of my expense.  I knew I would pay developing costs at about $10/roll but boy was I wrong!   Upon using the camera for a few weeks, I quickly realized that I needed extra equipment:

  1. A tripod - $40
  2. Additional lenses - $1200
  3. Variety of filters - $300
  4. Cleaning supplies - $35
  5. Batteries - $15 every other month
  6. Variety of films - $30 every other month
  7. Remote Control - $30 (for time lapse photos)

After about two years of paying expensive developing costs and finding it harder and harder to develop specialty films, I finally decided to go digital.   About a year ago, I purchased a Canon Digitel SLR 8 mp camera.  The camera cost about $700 but I knew that this would only be the beginning of some cascading expenses.  I was fortuante to buy the same manufacturer camera because my lenses were interchangeable.  The filters, remote, and tripod were also reusable but there were a slew of other expenses associated with the camera:

  1. Memory Cards - $50-$100/each (the good news is that storage gets cheaper with great capacity over time - not the same with film!
  2. Printing - $20/quarter (While much cheaper than film developing, printing costs have been relatively cheap since I keep most pictures digitally and print only my favorites)
  3. Storage - $300 (I now have over 6 gig of photos taken over the years and had to purchase an additional drive to store them; this also includes expenses forb burning images onto CD/DVD media for archiving images.
  4. Software - $40-400 (A slew of imaging software editing programs will be needed for you to enhance your pictures)
  5. Cables - $20 (connecting your camera to TV, Computer or other devices requires various cables)
  6. Card Reader - $20 (most computers now come with a card reader standard but you’ll need one if you don’t have it)

And then there are a whole array of additional options you can buy for your camera and photography hobby:

additional lenses, flashes, fancy tripods, holders, filters, lighting, backdrops, and such.

I don’t mind the expense because I’d like to eventually sell some of my photos and I consider this an investment in training and education but beware, the $xxx price tag on that film or digital camera is only the beginning!

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!