My Least Used Camera Gear
Which piece of camera gear do you own but hardly use? It's easy to fall into the trap of buying the equipment you don't need. Maybe you see it as a great deal, or perhaps you're excited by what you can finally do with this purchase. But how often do you use these pieces of gear outside of your initial excitement? You may reflect on some of your purchases and have difficulty justifying them. Here are three things purchases I probably should not have invested in based on their use so far.
Drone
I’m not sure this qualifies as “camera gear,” but it is something I purchased intending to use frequently. I went back and forth on getting a drone for years and finally picked one up just over a year ago. I got the DJI Mini 2 with the Fly More Combo, which included extra batteries, a charger for three batteries, and a nice bag, to name a few. I wanted the drone for two purposes: capturing aerial footage for YouTube videos and getting top-down photos, but also for travel, as it would be an excellent addition to having aerial footage in my travel recaps.
I have used it a few times during car photography, and I like the results, but I found that my focus was more on photography as that is what I am primarily there for. For travel, I never take it with me as I want to travel as lightly as possible, and I also have no idea what the rules are around flying drones in certain places. I could look those rules up before travelling, but the drone is still a bit of work to get out and fly, and I usually don’t have extended time in specific locations to capture footage. If there is a choice of either capturing photos or getting video, I’ll get the photos.
I quickly said yes when I bought the drone and was offered a “replacement” warranty. Although I rarely purchase extended warranties on electronics, I thought this could be the one item to do so with based on my inexperience with drone operation. A few months into my drone journey, I promptly flew it into the side of a building. It was well spent, saving me a few hundred bucks by paying only the replacement fee for a sealed, brand-new drone.
The drone remains a piece of equipment I don’t use much, but I feel the purchase is justified as I have no doubt I will continue to use it and become more comfortable with its operation.
Lee Filters
Lee Filters is a company that provides a variety of camera filters, accessories, and other photography-related items. Years ago, I invested in Lee Filters to capture long exposures during the day and graduated ND filters to assist with light differences. This investment included purchasing a variety of graduated filters and Lee Stoppers. The Lee Stoppers are simple tinted filters that allow long exposures when there is too much light. I used them quite a bit for a few months and have never used them for car photography. Although they are really good, I usually leave them at home when I need to shoot. Some daytime, long exposures could be interesting for car photography as they could blur clouds and water. Although seldom used today, I hope the Lee Filters are introduced again soon.
Car Camera Rig
Have you ever browsed car photography and wondered how they got that shot? What car photography equipment is used to capture these shots, and how could you try doing something similar? I have thought that many times, and some of the most interesting photos (which I still have not taken) are rolling shots - those photographs with the car in motion, spinning wheels, and a streaky background. Wow, what a way to capture a car’s speed, emotion, and allure!
There are three ways to capture rolling shots, and they include:
Capture it for real - Shooting from one car as the subject car drives closely at the same speed.
Do it in Photoshop - Sometimes great results, frequently noticeable that post-processing was involved. Very time-consuming.
Use a car camera rig attached to your subject car. A fair amount of set-up and some post-processing work to remove the rig from the photograph.
As mentioned, I have not yet captured car-to-car, at least with any serious intention. I have tried adding motion with a combination of Virtual Rig and Photoshop with both okay and not-so-great results. The third option, the car camera rig, got me intrigued. This rig would allow me to capture any car in motion without requiring a stretch of road or multiple cars. After setting up the rig, I could take my time with composition and move the camera around to get various angles to capture. This would give the sharpest and cleanest photos of real motion. So, I bought a camera rig from Rig-Pro; I was so excited! So why don’t I use it?
First, let me say that the rig is a very good quality item. The components are well constructed and sturdy, and I would probably be confident with the assembled rig attached to a vehicle and having my DSLR hanging from the end. But currently, it still sits in my garage in the box it was shipped in. I have never used it, which is my biggest regret as it was a pretty big purchase and being a niche item, it will also be challenging to sell if I want to. Also, for some reason, I didn’t anticipate the size of the rig, the multiple components included, and, as a result, how inconvenient it would be to bring the unit with me every time I wanted to use it. I already got my camera gear, bags, tripods, a light, a small ladder, etc., and this is just one more thing.
The rig itself also takes some time to set up correctly, and when you are attaching things to someone’s car, you want to be sure that it is right with no possibility of anything falling off. Since I have never used the rig, I am not confident attaching it to a vehicle I don’t know, and I’m not confident using it because I haven’t used it—quite the predicament.
Summary
To conclude, although I do own some gear I rarely, if ever, use, I still see how they could fit in with future work. The drone should return for car photography, aerial top-down shots, and YouTube footage soon. The Lee Filters have their place, and I would like to use the Lee Stoppers to get some long exposures with background motion, including water, clouds, etc. The camera rig is probably the one that is going to take the most planning and practice, and honestly, it’s one I am strongly considering parting with.