Is $3,000 Too Much For a Camera?

I really wonder about this.

On the one hand, I've been "cash strapped" most of my life and I think $3k is a huge amount of money to spend for a camera, verging on "outrageous."

On the other hand, I've done it. Never actually $3k+ on a single body exclusively I guess, but close, and I've bought a $3k camera and lens, or one body plus a second backup body, or an outfit. Not once but several times. I regret almost all of those purchases—all but one that I can think of—and I wish I had most of that money back. (The one exception was my Leica M6 and 35mm Summicron, which I got good use out of and resold for almost what I paid for it.) But I have to admit I myself have spent that kind of money for gear.

On the third hand (because there's a third hand here, yup), some people have money, and buy things like boats, multiple cars, multiple motorcycles, and second homes. I even know people who have helicopters. Little tiny "personal" ones, but...helicopters.

In that kind of context, I'm just not sure $3,000 for a camera body is all that much. When you put it in perspective.

I know people who have spent $3k or more on the following items: a painting; a photographic print; a pool cue; a pool table; a lawn mower; a vacation; a bicycle (really, there are $3,000 bicycles) and a single component in a stereo system (that is, speakers, power amplifier, turntable etc., in case you don't know what I'm talking about).

I can't think offhand of any other things that people I'm personally acquainted with have spent $3k on, but there must be more examples. Can you think of any? Examples of people you personally know who have spent $3,000 on something that most of us consider ordinary, or perhaps discretionary or unneeded? Anyone know someone who has spent $3k on a bottle of wine or a watch or a pony for their daughter or a piece of furniture?

Don't feel obliged, but, want to tattle on yourself? What's the most extravagant thing you've ever bought for more than $3,000? 

I don't believe I know anyone who has spent $3,000 on a meal. But then, how would I really know? Probably someone I know has done so and I just don't know about it.

I know I don't want to spend $3k for a camera again, especially one that's going to be outdated a few years. But it's all relative I guess.

What's the most you'd be comfortable spending for a camera body?

Mike

[UPDATE: I think I figured out where I'm coming from on all this. When the E-M1 Mark II came out at $2,000, I had a strongly negative reaction...because I had been anticipating its release and considering looking at it seriously. When the E-M1X came out at $3,000, I felt no reaction at all, because I'm not in the market for a camera at the moment and wouldn't buy an E-M1X anyway because it doesn't suit my tastes and needs. So I guess that's what accounts for my initially puzzlingly different reactions to the prices. —MJ]

[UPDATE no. 2: It didn't occur to me until after I wrote this post that for most of the late '80s and '90s, my annual budget for film, chemicals, printing paper and related supplies was right around $3,000! And I was being frugal—rolling my own film from bulk and buying proofing and workprinting paper on sale. —MJ]

Original contents copyright 2019 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

Harsh reality

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

YS (partial comment): "One thing I've always been astounded by, in the years of reading the blog, is despite cultural (we're like three continents apart) and age differences, there's always something you write that will strike a chord with me. I suppose that's why you've been able to do it for so long, since it clearly resonates with others too!"

Peter Wright (partial comment): "I believe you have put your extravagance bar far too low. The Swiss have a watch industry where $3,000 is not even the entry point, and it's doing very well thank you very much. I doubt if any Leica bodies or lenses can be had for as little as $3k. Likewise, $3k is hardly enough to get a basic vacation on a continent you don't already live on. I could go on. I don't thing 'extravagant' starts to kick in today at less than $10,000 for any of the items you mention. A $3k price on a camera for someone who needs it? Won't hold them up for a second!"

PaulW: "Other than housing, health, or transportation, I have never spent more than $3k on anything. I look forward to seeing the comments on this post! By the way, $3k is not considered extreme any more for a bicycle. My local shop has a number of mountain bikes with MSRPs over $4k and a couple priced at $7,500!"

mike in colorado (partial comment): "I think it was about $3k that I spent in 1999 on an Arca-Swiss F-line 4x5 camera. Without a lens. I was at a point financially and photographically that it made sense to me. I used that camera this morning, so I'm at less than 40 cents per day of ownership."

Jim Simmons: "Neither of my cars cost me more than $5,500, but I spent $7,000 for a sofa that took five months to arrive from Italy. And believe it or not, no regrets. Most expensive camera: Arca Swiss F-Metric at $2,800, 15 years ago."

Kaemu: "In the San Francisco Bay area, its not unusual to see people ride bicycles that cost between $5k and $15k. Not something I would do, but I also prefer not to think about the money I spent (squandered in some cases?) on photographic equipment. Not sure any good would come from that."

Ben Rosengart: "I have seen many, many musical instruments costing upwards of $3k, including guitars, pianos, mandolins, even ukuleles. When cared for properly, they don't depreciate (I think pianos might be the exception here)."

John Camp (partial comment): "Spending large sums of money can be stupid, ridiculous, crazy and a lot of other things, but it's also an expression of freedom."

Joseph: "Well, I spent exactly $3,000 on two gallon Ziploc bags full of smoked Kuskokwim River salmon strips. I knew the person who caught, dried and smoked the fish. And I also knew the $3,000 would buy three $1,000 scholarships for Alaska Students attending post-secondary education. I was bidding against a colleague at a fundraiser; he kept on raising me $100 until we got to $1,000. Then I said the hell with it and tripled the amount. My mother had died a couple of months before and there was a surprise $3,000 check from a very old insurance policy that showed up in the mail just before I left for the event. It was put to good use. I love Kuskokwim salmon."

Andy Sheppard: "I'm still spluttering over the $3,000 pool cue...."

Mike replies: David Jacoby makes one "Cue of the Year" each year for $25–35,000.

Geoff Wittig: "I spent almost that much on a book. Just one book. I was visiting Seattle with my son who was checking out colleges circa 2006 and also visited with one of my old college friends who lived near the city. On one trip downtown we were killing some time and checked out a 'used and rare' bookstore. There sitting in a glass case was a copy of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, the fabulous 1930 Grabhorn Press edition. This is by common consent perhaps the most beautiful 'fine press' book ever printed in America. For sale, for $2,750. After several (begging) phone conversations with my long suffering wife, I bought the book. Which meant trusting the bookstore to ship it to my home back east. Several anxious weeks later it did arrive. I think it's still the finest work of art I own, though I have some beautiful photographic prints thanks to TOP that are in the running. No regrets."

Clay Olmstead: "I know people who have spent that much on a set of golf clubs, and then pay more money to use them—and greens fees aren't cheap. You can go out and shoot all the pictures you want for free."

Brian: "My wife just spent $3,000 on a dog!"

Mike replies: I almost did that! My foundling from the park, Lulu the mutt, needed a TPLO operation for the canine equivalent of an ACL tear. It cost $2,700 and ten weeks of nursing and rehab. She was grateful!

See Spencer H's comment too. Props to him for loyalty.

Jeron: "All is relative—it depends on how much money you have and the value you assign to things. Most people I know will easily pay $3,000 for a set of rims, and consider it a sensible purchase. To me, that’s an absurd amount of money for a totally irrelevant object. If I were rich, I'd just buy whatever seems to do the job and not worry about it. Not having to worry about such issues is what I imagine is the sweet thing about being rich...."

Mike replies: Most people think so, but I'm not sure. Even very rich people go bankrupt. And less rich people can be very secure. There is a great book about this that I learned a lot from called The Millionaire Next Door.

Aaron: "High-end espresso machines often cost $3,000+. I haven't bought one (yet), but know people who have. I certainly know plenty of people who have spent $3k+ on jewelry, particularly engagement and wedding rings."

Will Lovitt: "As the manager of my local camera store says, 'You only cry once.'" 

Alfonso Rubio: "Three thousand dollars is about the average price for a business-class return ticket from Europe to the West Coast. It is also the price of the Canon 5D Mark IV. My Vespa 300cc cost me €4k last Spring."

Nick: "In addition to photography, my other great money-sucking hobby is the uber-geeky card game, Magic: The Gathering. There are 20,000+ different cards for the game, and some of these cards were printed in very small numbers (especially the older cards, before the game caught on in a big way). There are different formats for gameplay with different rules on which cards one can use in one's deck. The typical format (Standard) in which most people play has decks that run ~$200, and which must be frequently upgraded and replaced. The next most popular format (Modern), features decks that can run well over $1,000, but which need to be upgraded less often. Legacy, the next largest format, often features decks that cost around $4,000, and Vintage, the format that allows almost all of the cards (including the oldest and rarest) features decks that cost more than $10,000. The most expensive individual Magic Card, Black Lotus, can retail for over $6,000.

"I (thankfully) do not play Legacy or Vintage, but my total collection of Standard and Modern cards cost me well more than $3,000."

C.R. Marshall: "Three grand is nothing. My wife has a horse. Three grand is what she pays for board for six months. Not counting lessons, clinics, shows, a trailer, a tow vehicle, saddles, boots....

"She has friends who take their horses to Florida for the winter. It all comes out of her paycheck and she finds it worth every penny. Here in central Wisconsin, I see plenty of folks pulling multiple snowmobiles in the winter (and big boats in the summer) behind big trucks.

"It will cost me more than $3,000 by the time I am done with my Peter Turnley workshop in New York this summer."

Rodger Kingston: "Back in 2005 or 2006 I spent $4,000 for a limited 1930 first edition of Hart Crane's The Bridge—the Black Sun (Paris) edition, with photographs by Walker Evans. I sold my collection of signed Aaron Siskind books to pay for it. But that volume, which was Evans' rare first book, had been the essential and missing crown jewel in my Walker Evans collection, which I was later able to sell for $100,000."

Dan Gorman: "If memory serves, my wife and I spent about $3,500 on a king-size custom-made bed 8–10 years ago. Seemed like a hell of a lot of money at the time, but I've never regretted it for a moment. You can't put a price on a good night's sleep. Zzzzzz, Dan."

Philip Wynn Ramsden: "My credit card was hacked for a $3,000 lunch in Sydney a couple of years ago. I was in Sydney with my card at the time and was not invited. The card company re-imbursed me, thankfully."

David Miller: "Two principles guide my financial decisions: 1.) Live within your means 2.) Given adherence to Principle 1.), unexpected income should not be wasted on sensible purchases.

"Principle 2) has permitted me a couple of purchase well over the $3,000 mark:

—an X-Pan camera with three lenses: awakened my vision; gave rebirth to my photography; changed my life

—a top-of-the-line daVinci Designs tandem bicycle as a 40th wedding anniversary present for me and my spouse: opened our lives to new shared horizons; carries us for two or three thousand miles together every year including two trips around much of England; changed our lives

"So far it's working out pretty well."

Dave Rogers: "Bodhi, my 10-year-old Golden Retriever, tore his medial cruciate ligament one morning when he was doing one of his random, tear-around-in-circles-as-fast-as-he-could on the end of a twelve-foot leash drills. Then he screamed and fell. I'd never heard a dog scream before, and hope never to again.

"I live on a second floor condo, and I could carry Bodhi up the stairs; but going down put us both at serious risk. We moved in with my then-girlfriend, now wife, and had the surgery, itself an ordeal because they sedated the morning of the surgery, then decided to not to perform it because the surgeon didn't like what he saw on the X-ray; thought he might have had bone cancer. He aspirated vomit coming out of it, but survived and the radiologist determined it was just arthritis, so we did the surgery a week later.

"Recovery went well, and he was going up and down the stairs like nothing had ever happened. With the false start and the radiologist, I think we were around $3,200 when it was all said and done.

"A few months later, it appeared as though he had developed a dent in the side of his head. Trigeminal nerve wasn't working, and the muscle on top of his head had atrophied. Our vet said we needed to see a veterinary neurologist. A $75 consult and 20 minute exam told me he had a brain tumor that was pressing against the nerve. I would have four months to a year with him.

"It was four months to the day.

"He was fine every single day until the last one, when it was unambiguously time to say goodbye. We had 24 hours for friends to come by and say goodbye. There's an outfit called Lap of Love, they'll come to your home and do what has to be done. It's a remarkable service and very well done and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

"It was $450, and after we had carried his body down in a litter to the vet's car, I settled up with her and we said goodbye.

"A few minutes later, I got a call from my friend who was with us at the end. She was also the one who brought Bodhi and I together almost a decade before. She said that she knew it probably didn't count as a 'good deed' if she talked about it, but she'd already paid the vet before she'd ever come to my house, she hadn't processed my card.

"Bodhi and I had about eight months, I think, after the TPLO. It was worth every penny. It's a remarkable surgery, but it gives amazing results. We enjoyed every day, though the last 90 were bittersweet.

"A bit off topic, so I won't be offended if it doesn't make the cut. But some people know the price of everything and the value of nothing."

Jennifer Blankertz: "The most I've ever spent is $8,500, on a rowboat. Of course, a Van Dusen 1x isn't exactly your average rowboat.  :-)  "

Mike replies: Cool. My great-aunt Dickie rowed until she was in her late 80s, and got into the boat ceremonially a few times in her 90s. Her rowboats were made of wood, but in that category she also had the best of the best. She died aged 101.

Ben Shugart: "I'm victim to frequent bouts of GLS (gear lust syndrome), but I rarely suffer GAS where photography is concerned. My last camera purchase was a used Nikon D300 in 2011 for around $750 and I'm still very satisfied with the photographs I get with it. Somehow, though, that practicality doesn't extend to my mountain biking hobby...er, obsession. $6k for a fully human-powered two-wheeler seems perfectly reasonable."

Timothy Gray: "In 2007, I spent $3,000 on a then-brand-new Epson Stylus Pro 7800 printer, including the Epson Two Year Extended Warranty and several rolls of paper. At the time, I felt sick to my stomach having spent such an amount on something I knew so little about (I was sending out for printing at the time and a colleague suggested I bring printing in-house). Well, it is now 2019 and that printer is still going strong. It has helped me win art competitions and photo awards and exhibit and sell many prints. Yes it was quite an initial outlay and yes the inks are expensive, but for something that has given me such joy over the years, it’s been well worth the price of admission."

Comments

[Steve Weeks]

When I first read this post it struck as just comment bait and dismissed it. After coming back to it and reading the comments, I thought about it and yes, I spent 3k on a then new Canon 5D ( if you consider the 2,995 price + shipping from B&H) as a 60th birthday present for myself. As of right now, said camera is still going strong(ish), as my grandson is breeding English Bulldogs and the pictures he uses to sell the pups seems to be adding $500-750 per pup. Granted he loves the dogs and has a good eye for detail, but the camera and the L glass haven't hurt.

[psu]

$3K is on the edge of too rich for a body...

But for total crazy go with $3K for a single normal/wide focal length prime lens.

[Ray Hunter]

I always rationalize that my Nikon F2 with 50mm lens, which I paid $500+ for in 1975, would in today's dollars be in the $2500 range today. Doesn't make it any easier to swallow. I thought $500+ for a camera was the ultimate luxury back then!

[Mark Kinsman]

I paid about that for the Canon 5DMkII back in 2009. It was the last time I spent that amount. Canon’s penchant for feature crippling cameras made that one the last Canon purchased by me. I moved on the Fujifilm. Now the budget no longer has room for that kind of expenditure.

[Marc]

I wouldn't pay $3k for a camera anymore, but own a couple of recumbent trikes (ICE Trikes) where $3k is the 'entry fee'.

A couple of month ago, I've got a used Milan velomobile for $5.5k
https://etrike.wordpress.com/2018/10/20/a-milan-sailed-my-way

To come back to photography:
After I bought the velomobile and rode it back home (120km), I took the only decent picture of last year (with a pedestrian Fuji X30).

Marc

[Christopher May]

Probably the largest single purchase I've ever made was for a vacation to Kenya in 2016. Between the cost of the safari, airfare to/from Nairobi, a hotel in London for a long layover to visit a friend, camera gear rentals from the fine folks over at LensRentals and incidental costs like keepsakes and meals that weren't part of the tour, I spent $8000, give or take a bit. Even the cars I've purchased have all been used and low key affairs that cost less than this.

While much of the world might see $8000 as anywhere from a touch extravagant to something as simple as a "spring break trip," it was something that was completely and totally over the top based on how I was raised and how my family still looks at vacations. When I was very young, "vacation" was a weekend trip to Wisconsin Dells (we lived in the far western suburbs of Chicago, so this was about a 3 hour drive). When I reached my early teenage years, my vacation radius expanded to Colorado, where we were able to stay with family and take day trips to Garden of the Gods, Rocky Mountain National Park, etc. While they greatly increased my perception of the world, those trips still involved driving in the family minivan, staying in low cost but clean and family friendly motels and packing food so we didn't have to stop at restaurants too much. So they weren't *too* expensive.

The idea that one would spend the kind of money that I did for the Africa trip was something completely alien to me. I'm glad I did, though. It was a trip I'll never forget and made Mark Twain's unique wit in The Innocents Abroad come to life for me:

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

I still find myself leaning on the frugal roots of my past. $3000 does indeed seem like a hefty price tag to me for a camera. My camera kit is something of a treasure trove of older and sometimes forgotten gear that may not be the latest and greatest but is more than good enough for my needs. However, my Kenya trip taught me that sometimes, it's worth it to splurge. Even if it goes against everything I have learned previously. For me, the splurges tend towards experiences more than things. But if the new Olympus, a Nikon Z7, a Canham Wood 4x5, a Leica M6 with 35mm Summicron or some other $3000 camera stirs in others what my memories of Kenya stir in me, I cheerfully wish them the very best with whatever they pick up.

[Rick Popham]

I spent $3K on my D800 in May,2012 and it's still going strong. It was a lot of money for me and worse, I had to upgrade a couple of lenses because they didn't measure up to the new sensor. But I've had many adventures and sold quite a few prints from the D800, so I guess by now I've broken even.

A friend at work was talking about the new $2500 mountain bike he just ordered. He said he hesitated at the price, but then thought "Rick would spend $2500 on a lens and have a hell of a good time with it, so why not!"

[Tom Bell]

The other night Sarah and I settled down late at night to a film. When it finished I changed channels. There was a fabulous program on Lobbs the shemakers in Jermyn Street in London.
A whole history of the shoemakers and the old knights of the shire who used to buy the shoes “ back in the day “.
When Sarah was making tea I thought before I die I would love a pair of hand made black smart shoes ....

I enquired the next day ....£4350.00 .... for a pair of shoes. I had been wondering if I could get away with spending say £800.00.

Luckily my inner scot came to the fore. I think my mother (nee Ross) would have spun in her grave!

[Stephen Gilbert]

"A a pool table!" :-)

[Tsukasa]

As a road cyclist I can sadly confirm that a $3k bicycle is "just above entry level".

However if you ever feel the need to validate photography as an extremely economical hobby, just price out some of the higher-end mechanical watches ... a pastime in which a $20k watch can be somberly declared to be "excellent value".

On the other other hand, I just got a perfectly good Nikon N65 for the grand sum of free :)

[Mark L]

I've just moved house and I'll spend more than that creating a new darkroom and nothing will give me more pleasure......

[Peter Conway]

Each of our wintertime trips to the Caribbean has cost more than $3000, and each was well worth it. My only regret is that, with Wednesday’s forecast of -22 F in Chicago (and -50 F windchill), we didn’t book a trip this week!

[Robert]

insurance and registration on a car, each and every year. The biggest money pit of them all.

[Chuck Holst]

In 1995 I spent $2500 on a fiberglass sea kayak (an NDK Explorer), plus more for various accessories. I still have the kayak, but a new version is probably $3500 these days. Still, I've always considered it far cheaper than a fishing boat, motor, trailer, tackle, and a pickup truck to tow it all, which you see much more of on Minnesota highways.

Uh, one of those kayaking accessories for the longest time was a Nikonos V underwater camera with 35mm and 80mm lenses. I replaced it with a Sony RX100 with a Meikon waterproof case, which can be operated one-handed.

[Eolake]

I spent $6k on a Canon 30D with a zoom in 2001. Man, that got outdated fast.
And a similar amount for a Nikon D2X and zoom a couple years later. ...

At least I managed to resist buying a friggin Hasselblad!
(Except a used 500C)

[Mark]

My wife's $15,000 piano is the biggest and most expensive thing in our house. My $4,000 bicycle holds that position in the garage.

[Darin Boville]

In the SF Bay Area it used to be a sort of unwritten rule that the rich techies didn't flaunt their wealth. I remember one story of a boss smashing in the windows of expensive cars in the company parking lot with a baseball bat to make that point clear. But time has passed. As others have pointed out, $5k+ bicycles are common. $5k e-bikes are on the rise, Teslas are everywhere. I know of one guy--not a techie--who spent $3,000 on a meal at a local French restaurant--for two people. Costco sells $1600 bottles of wine. The culture here is changing.

[Yoshi Carroll]

I was about to spend over $3K on a TV, but it looks like the price dropped: https://www.lg.com/us/tvs/lg-OLED65C8PUA-oled-4k-tv

:D

[PDLanum]

How about $7,995 for a Leica M10-D or $8,295 for a 50mm/f2.0 APO ASPH Summicron. That's $16,290 for a body and a nifty fifty.

You get what you need, can afford and really want. I am not in the position where I can change brands at the drop of a hat. I have legacy glass and some newer stuff that does not fit an Olympus, so no I will not change. If I were starting out, I would not spend $3K on a body because I really like to eat.

Then again, if I had a great deal of money I would buy a Phase One FX for north of $50,000. But that is in my dreams not in my cash flow.

[Archer]

I was pricing out a bike build a while back, and it was coming it at $2400 for a steel framed, friction shifting bike. It will be darned close to the perfect bike for me, and will be my principal transportation. $2400 seems like a bargain, frankly. The performance and the aesthetics will be exactly what I want.

In a couple of years (maybe sooner), I'm going to be in a situation where wildlife photography is likely to take up a whole lot of my time, and I don't believe in doing things by halves. Will I spend serious money on a camera for that? You betcha! Will I get an E-M1X? It won't be $3k by the time I'm buying, so maybe. Then there's that 150-400. That sure would be handy. Decisions, decisions.

The thing is, that if there's something you want to do, you set your own parameters for the tools, and spend as makes sense. As long as you can afford the gear (and by afford I mean: pay cash), why not?

[Marvin G. van Drunen]

Omega Speedmaster Professional (the "Moon Watch") purchased about twenty years ago for maybe $2000.00. A new one today retails for about $5000.00. But, after 10 years my Omega needed to be returned to Switzerland for a complete service for which I paid $800.00. It is now in need of another complete service for which I have been quoted $895.00. (The service is needed because a mechanical watch needs cleaning after time passes.) A $30.00 Timex is more accurate, but man, I do love that Omega.

[Phil Aynsley]

Two points.

If it a business related purchase then it can most likely be justified. The 1Ds cost me AUD$12,000 back in the day but served me/my business very well for six years.

Would you pay $3000 for a print? I have, several times over the years. Does a camera = a print? I'm not sure but it a thought!

[Rube]

I never spend more than ¥100,000 for a camera or lens. I normally buy used. I have a ton of gear, but I shoot everyday, and give a lot of stuff away.
BTW, in 1989 I spend C$20k for a Toyota truck, the most I have ever spend on anything, including my own or my son's education. I still drive it today, 30 years later.

[JohnMFlores]

Yes.

[CC]

There are a number of comments about bikes already, but I'm always perplexed by why it can be thought odd that bikes cost what they do: Perhaps as many children have bikes they are mistaken for toys?, or cheap bikes are mistaken for the real thing? But I digress, for some photographic bike crossover and inspiration www.cycleexif.com worth a visit.

[Paulo Bizarro]

It's all relative to one's income, but I normally apply a lot of common sense. Here in Portugal, 10 Euros already buy an excellent bottle of red wine. Around 5 - 7 Euros, the quality is normally very high as well. The latter is my self-imposed limit.

I laugh when I see folks buying all that fancy French and Italian wine for much more than that. Portuguese wine is very high value for money.

In terms of photography, my most extravagant thing I bought was my first Canon EOS 1 series camera, with the 17-35 and 70-200 f2.8 zooms: this was back in 1997. I used the crap out of that kit, from Mexico, to Bahrein, and Venezuela.

Today, I am much more "surgical" and mostly buy second hand stuff.

[HR]

$1000 in 1980 is $3000 now. Did you ever spend $1000 for a camera around that time? And your $3000/year for film in 1980 is $9150 now.

[Noons]

Thank the Gods for the planned digital camera obsolescence!
I'd NEVER spend 3 grand in a camera, no matter what.
Never did, not even in the film days!
My most expensive camera? A Nikon F6, bought from a student "moving to digital" for an absolute pittance.
And also a Mamiya RB67, same sort of source, for next to nothing.
Also a Nikon D200, bought when everyone sold theirs to buy a D300.
Still working, all of them.
Total expenditure? Less than 3 grand.
Roll on, the "upgrades"!

[Doug P.]

Despite being a cheap bastard, I broke down and bought a Sony A7Rii at full retail a while back. My most expensive camera purchase ever. Nice camera, but I only buy used now at a steep discount. Hey, I'm not made of money.

[Keith]

My rule for camera equipment is to never buy anything I can't afford to replace. I want to be able to take it out and use as desired without fretting over the cost in the event of a catastrophic event.

[Kenneth Wajda]

I like when people ask me how I can afford to shoot film, since digital is free.

[Al C.]

Wow, another "big" subject. Where to begin... at the beginning, natch.

Imo, at birth, we each come with a set point re how we view/value/expend money. I submit that set point does not change with age, nor financial circumstances or means.

When you ask, is x dollars too much? I take it you mean on a toy. GAS is a misnomer, since gear is neutral. Gear can be a tool, or a toy. In general use, by gear I believe we mean toy. By toy, I mean something which is not necessary, something whose sole purpose of ownership is enjoyment of ownership.

I heartily subscribe to the thesis that he/she who dies with the most toys wins. But that does not mean I believe a person should mindlessly spend on toys. Face it, most of the fun re toy acquisition is the pre-acquisition search and research, the endless reading of reviews, and the agonizing over cost-benefit ratios, weight v. MTF etc., etc. Once acquired, most toys end up taking up space in our closets, or garages. Those who do not fret and agonize during the acquisition phase are doomed to miss the fun, and the point.

There was a guy at my company years ago who would on his commute home stop by a BMW or Porsche dealership, trade in his few months old BMW or Porsche, and pick up a new one. This, he would do once every few months. We, of course, all made fun of him -- until I realized the reason he kept doing it was because he never fretted or agonized over the acquisition. Thus, having missed the excitement, he had to do it all over again, hoping he would feel something this time. The poor chap missed the entire point of toy acquisition.

Now, a short defense of proper toy acquisition, dollar amount be damned. By proper I mean one accompanied by obsessive knowledge-seeking re the subject. Set aside pursuits of the trivial kind, and compare toys to arguably equally obsession-worthy avocations such as wine or gourmet food. I, too, enjoy a great meal. However, once the meal is over, the experience is over. But the best toys, a great stereo, a great camera, do not live only in your unreliable memory -- they live in your house. With a toy, you can get up, take it out, caress it, turn it on, and enjoy it all over again any time you wish. You will wonder if it is still good enough. You will feel a frisson (a word I learned from Harry Pearson): is it time to acquire a newer, better one?

What can beat that? It's priceless.

[Bear.]

For whom?

[Ross A]

I bought a new Canon 400mm f/2.8L IS for $6,600. After using it minimally due to the weight, I sold it for $6,500 two years later.

I got very lucky that the version II was over $10,000, and initially had delayed availability, but during that time the version one had been discontinued. I gambled that someone wouldn’t want to wait and would snap up my like-new one.

[Roger]

I recently spent $2800 for a Aillio Bullet R1 coffee roaster. It replaced my still functional Behmor 1600 roaster. Being more like a commercial roaster with similar levels of control over the roast more than justifies the $2400 price difference for me. And then there’s the enjoyment factor.

I’m a home roaster. I don’t need to put in the time or effort when any number of craft roasters could provide me great coffee. But for me, roasting is part of the process of making a great cup of coffee. Money well spent.

[Zb]

90% of my photography occurs while out riding my (not quite $3k) bicycle. In a way it's a piece of photography equipment.

[Joseph Brunjes]

Mike,
Sorry to jump into this conversation so late. I think the $3000+ price tag for anything digital is a waste. Pros used to shell out that kind of cash for a film camera that would last them most of their career. Many of those same cameras are now being used by a new generation of film shooters decades later. Today's digital camera is going to be obsolete in only a few years and is not built to last more than 10. Their proprietary files and batteries guarantee their demise.

[Bill Langford]

As a youngster my friend and I would collect "pop" bottles and turn them in to the little store down the road for 2 cents ea. When the price of a full cold one went up to 6 cents (or in our case 3 empties) we were paying 4 cent for the contents. Today a coke in a paper cup is to me outrageously overpriced.
A little relativity from an official geezer.

[Matt]

To answer the main question, yes, almost every time I buy a camera. The body may be 2,500, but then adding a lens, batteries, chargers, extra cards for a new format, it adds up. And then last fall I got bitten by the Leica M10P's unbelievably good shutter, and had to have one of those and a 50 summilux, so that was a 12k day.

And re: $3000 bikes, I have one; you'd be shocked to find out it's relatively _cheap_ for what it is. There are, if you can believe it, $3000 wheels (not on my bike; I'd have to lose about 40 lbs before they'd do me any good). It's certainly diminishing returns, but if you need it, you need it, and the price doesn't matter.

Which is probably true for a lot of these items: for whatever reason, you need a thing; the cost is just and obstacle to overcome. My M10p, I held one in the Leica store in SF, heard the shutter, and knew I needed it. When I'm on, the results I get with it are like no other (and when I'm not on, no camera can help me).

[Leland Davis]

Ever since she was a teenager my daughter had a fascination with Cartier's tank watch. When she had her 40th birthday my wife and I, her husband, and her brother all went in on the cost and bought her a $3000 watch. Ironically, I have a Chinese replica which I bought for $30 and when I took it in for a battery replacement the watch repairman had to look at it through a loupe to confirm that it wasn't genuine.