I’m a photographer. I’ve been interested in it for the past decade and a bit, and decided to go pro a few years ago, and have since been working on getting the equipment together. But being on disability, and living with two parents and a grandparent (my grandmother passed away in late August) who are all unemployed or self-employed, has made that extremely difficult. So I’m trying to raise some funds to help me get there. I’ve divided my effort into two crowdfunding campaigns. The first, stage 1, is practical, high priority items, mostly not terribly expensive yet still beyond my budget for the foreseeable future. The second is more of a dream list, the really expensive items that I don’t expect to ever have a chance to use, but that would be so great to have if I could find some way.
For stage 1, http://gogetfunding.com/project/lens-fund-stage-i, I’m trying to raise $32,400 for 36 items. I plan to get many of them used. Note that prices sometimes fluctuate, so those shown below may not exactly match those on my campaign page. In roughly descending order of priority:
- http://www.henrys.com/26853-CANON-LP-E6-BATTERY-PACK.aspx 2x spare batteries for my Canon EOS 5D MkII. $120 each.
- http://vistek.ca/store/ProPhotoTripods/252907/benro-a2580f-classic-tripod-aluminum-flip-lock.aspx Tripod legs. I want Benro 2970F, but these are the closest I can find. $150.
- http://www.henrys.com/68928-CANON-EF-24-70MM-F2-8L-II-USM-LENS.aspx Essential lenses for event (such as wedding) and portrait photography, with applications in landscape and other areas as well. The 24-105 is more versatile, with the longer zoom range, but smaller aperture. $2500
- http://www.henrys.com/364-CANON-EF-24-105MM-F4-L-IS-USM-LENS.aspx $1400
- http://www.henrys.com/298-CANON-EF-25-EXTENSION-TUBE.aspx $220
- http://www.henrys.com/309-CANON-EF-12-EXTENSION-TUBE-9198A001.aspx This and the previous item are extension tubes for macro photography. $130.
- http://www.henrys.com/58122-SANDISK-16GB-EXTREME-PRO-CF-CARD-90MB-S.aspx High-performance 16GB memory card. $120.
- http://www.henrys.com/85020-DATACOLOR-SPYDER-HIGH-DEFINITION.aspx Monitor calibrator, to ensure the colours I see when editing my photos are accurate, and the same as the colours that other people will see when they look at digital copies or prints of my photos. $330.
- http://www.henrys.com/85183-SIGMA-50MM-F1-4-DG-HSM-ART-CANON.aspx $1050
- http://www.henrys.com/133-CANON-EF-50MM-1-2L-AF-USM.aspx $1840
- http://www.henrys.com/366-CANON-EF-85MM-F1-2-L-II-USM.aspx Three essential portrait lenses. The Sigma 50mm is cheaper than the Canon, and also sharper wide open, but has a smaller aperture, making the Canon useful to have as well. So I want all three, but the Sigma 50mm and Canon 85mm are higher priorities. $2500.
- http://www.amazon.ca/Samyang-Mirror-Teleconverter-Digital-Cameras/dp/B007Z3U9XI/ref=sr_1_30?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1407571992&sr=1-30&keywords=samyang Cheap, manual-focus-only, fixed aperture (preset), 500mm f/6.3 reflex lens. $187
- http://www.amazon.ca/Samyang-650-1300mm-Telephoto-Teleconverter-650-2600mm/dp/B0082DDUUE/ref=sr_1_129?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1407572403&sr=1-129&keywords=samyang These Samyang (also sold rebranded as Opteka, Vivitar, Tokina, etc) lenses are not, of course, on a par with higher-end lenses, but they can be useful in filling a niche as long as you understand what you’re getting here, and don’t have unrealistic expectations. $297
- http://www.henrys.com/368-CANON-EF-16-35MM-F2-8-L-II-USM-LENS.aspx $2030
- http://www.henrys.com/63857-CANON-EF-8-15MM-F4-0L-USM-FISHEYE-ZOOM.aspx Rounding out the wide end of the zoom range with a fast wide zoom and an ultrawide/fisheye zoom. My priority is to cover as much focal range as possible with as few lenses as possible, before focusing on more specialized or higher-end lenses. The new 16-35 f/4L IS is a possible alternative to the 16-35 f/2.8L; smaller aperture, but both cheaper and sharper than its 11-year-old sibling. $1600
- http://www.henrys.com/65920-SIGMA-OS-105MM-F2-8-EX-DG-MACRO-CANON-MT.aspx The price of this one has dropped significantly recently. $650
- http://www.henrys.com/354-CANON-EF-180MM-F3-5L-MACRO-USM.aspx Two macro lenses. Macro photography is one of my specialties, but I don’t currently have the capability. The 180mm is more useful to me, but the 105 is much cheaper. $1800
- http://vistek.ca/store/MemoryCards/271884/sandisk-extreme-pro-32gb-cf-card-160mbs-1066x.aspx High performance 32GB memory card. $230.
- http://www.henrys.com/83198-TAMRON-150-600MM-F5-6-6-3-DI-VC-CANON.aspx $1300
- http://www.henrys.com/709-SIGMA-OS-150-500MM-F5-6-3-CANON-APO-DG-HSM.aspx $1200
- http://www.henrys.com/59778-SIGMA-OS-50-500MM-F4-5-6-3-CANON-DG-HSM.aspx Three powerful supertelephoto zooms, useful for wildlife photography, one of my specialties, as well as good budget lenses for sports photography/photojournalism (I’m passionate about cycling, and dream of photographing the Grand Tours some day). Each of these has advantages and disadvantages in different situations, so I want all 3, but I’d be happy with the Tamron and either of the Sigmas (but probably the 50-500). $1750
- http://www.henrys.com/62793-CANON-EXTENDER-EF2X-III.aspx $530
- http://www.henrys.com/62794-CANON-EXTENDER-EF1-4X-III.aspx Teleconverters, extending the effective focal length of a lens at the cost of a couple of stops. $530.
- http://www.henrys.com/69322-POCKETWIZARD-PLUSIII-TRIGGER-TRANSCEIVER.aspx Wireless flash triggers. $170 each x2.
- http://www.henrys.com/66411-HAHNEL-GIGA-T-PRO-II-TIMER-REMOTE-CANON.aspx Programmable wireless remote trigger/timer. $130.
- https://www.adobe.com/ca/products/catalog/cs6._sl_id-contentfilter_sl_catalog_sl_software_sl_creativesuite6.html?start=10 Adobe CS6 Master Collection. $2600. Alternatively I could go with Creative Cloud for $600 a year, but I don’t want to be in a situation where I’m unable to work because I can’t pay the subscription cost. I’d rather buy once, and use the product as long as it’ll run.
- http://www.henrys.com/374-CANON-TS-E-24MM-F3-5L-II-TILT-SHIFT-LENS.aspx 24mm tilt-shift lens. $2200.
- http://www.henrys.com/59117-CANON-EF-70-200MM-F2-8L-IS-II-USM-LENS.aspx Fast wildlife lens. $2750.
- http://www.henrys.com/78796-CANON-EOS-70D-D-SLR-BODY.aspx Backup APS-C body to complement my full frame. $1300.
- http://www.henrys.com/77193-Canon-EOS-Rebel-SL1-DSLR-Body-Only.aspx Backup very compact and lightweight (and inexpensive) APS-C body. $630.
- http://www.henrys.com/78769-SONY-DSC-RX100M2-20-2MP-3-6X-3-CMOS.aspx Compact point and shoot camera with advanced features. $700.
- http://www.henrys.com/74629-LEICA-V-LUX-4-COMPACT-DIGITAL-CAMERA.aspx Long zoom point and shoot camera. $950 each x2 (one for me, one for my father).
- http://www.phaseone.com/en/Imaging-Software/Capture-One-Pro-7.aspx Phase One Capture One Pro 7 RAW processing software. I actually bought this already, but would appreciate help with the cost. It’s normally $300, but I purchased it at 60% off (it’s currently 50% off, but I had a code for an extra 10% off), for $135.