Sold off 2/3 of my photography gear + lessons learned
A little unusual news on the blog this time – I sold off most of my photography gear!
What I sold:
Leica Q, Nikon D750, five Nikon/Sigma lenses and a Profoto A1 flash.
What I kept:
Fujiflm XT3 and three Fujifilm lenses (16mm F1.4, 23mm F2, and 35mm F2 – 24, 35 and 50mm equivalents).
How did I end up with all this stuff?
To be able to quickly switch between lenses – and to have a backup camera if something was to happen to one – I've always had two camera bodies with me on shoots. I started out with my Nikon D750s.
(Actually, at the very, very beginning I only had a D90! And ended up getting the D750s next. And found a new home for the D90 quickly.)
Over the years I bought some lenses that ultimately didn't fit what I do at my documentary family sessions – but a couple of them ended up being handy at the handful of weddings I did so I kept them stored away for those types of events while I sold the others. I've decided I no longer need these "just in case" lenses, if I shoot a wedding again, I can always rent.
In 2016 I got myself a Leica Q, and sold off one of my D750s. I wanted a 2nd camera that would be light to carry, have a wide lens – great for when I need to hold my camera overhead for some shots of babies in their beds or in a parent's arms.
But what I didn't like about the Leica Q was that it wasn't weather sealed – I was always afraid that I would ruin it. And well... I wasn't in love with how the grain looked at higher ISO.
Towards the end of 2018 I booked a couple holiday events (a Diwali celebration and a Christmas one), and I was worried about lighting and bought the Prophoto flash.
At the very end of 2018 I also bought the Fuji XT3 to replace my Leica. My plan was to sell the Q back to the Leica store in SF once I was sure that I wouldn't be using it anymore. Time went by quickly, and as I had plans to take my Leica up to the store this spring, the shelter-in-place orders came.
And then I forgot all about it, amongst the news and the noise.
Why I'm minimizing
A few weeks ago I started thinking that to simplify my gear and downsize the amount of stuff I have, I should switch over fully to Fujifilm. That way I could get rid of all the "duplicates" I had in Nikon form.
I ended up selling off *everything* non-Fuji to Adorama.
I also sold off my once-used Prophoto flash – I prefer to not use one as my approach is documentary, and I haven't done artificially lit portraits in a very long time.
Half of the money covered a Fujifilm XT4 as my 2nd body, and I won't need to buy any lenses for it since I already have what I need, use and love.
Lessons learned about buying and selling gear
Always know what it is you're planning to shoot, and pick your gear according to that
Selling things off sooner rather than later means they're worth more money and you have less *stuff* to maintain
Get quotes from multiple places – and let them know about each others' quotes!