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Is cheap gear really cheap? This is what it can cost you in the long run

by 22 Comments

How many times have you heard the proverb “I am not rich enough to buy cheap things?” Do you live by it? When buying camera and lighting gear, you should rely on this saying. Cheap gear may actually turn out to cost you more in the long run, and not only in terms of money. In this video, Pye Jirsa explains the true cost of gear and gear failure. So, is cheap gear really a good investment?

First of all, you should have the budget for buying gear. But is it smart to buy more pieces of cheap gear for this budget, or buy one more expensive piece? Price should be one of the criteria for buying gear, but it shouldn’t be the only one. And this is especially important if you are a professional photographer.

For example, you can buy one Canon 600EX-RT speedlight for $500 and five third-party speedlights for the same price.  Although the second offer may sound tempting, it may be smarter to buy only one high-quality speedlight for this budget. Of course, this goes for all the other gear as well: lenses, cameras, tripods and so on.

Pye made this mistake in the past and bought several cheap speedlights instead of one or two expensive ones. He ended up always having 4 to 6 of them in set, because some of them were always having malfunctions and failures. So, if you need to have several speedlights to make sure one will work, isn’t it better to just buy one decent one and be sure you can rely on it?

Then, another problem with cheap gear is that it can make you miss the shots. Instead of focusing on work, you focus o troubleshooting the gear. Cheap lenses can have focus problems and thus you need to shoot more images. Because of this, not only does the shooting last longer but also the post-production. Then, cheap batteries can cause camera problems or run out much faster. So you are again required to pause the shooting to change the batteries and focus on the gear rather than the models and the photo shoot. Cheap radio triggers and flashes miss firing in the key moments. Cheap speedlights can be inconsistent in color and power output, which requires you to spend more time post-processing.

So, cheap gear can actually cost you more money in the long run. You need more pieces of gear to make sure you’re covered. Then, if something goes wrong, you may lose the clients and you will agree- that’s not really good for the business. But it’s not just about the money. If you need to spend more time in troubleshooting and post-production to make up for all the mistakes, it’s consuming your energy and time as well.

Naturally, I’m not saying we should all go and buy the most expensive gear there is. It all depends on what you do and what you want to achieve. I am a hobbyist, so I can allow myself cheap tripod that will make me insane until I set it right. However, if you want to grow a business and be a professional, I believe this really is an investment you need to make to make it all run smoothly and not to miss the shots. After all, in the long run – this will actually save you money, effort and time.

Do you agree with this? Do you rather buy more cheap gear or you prefer the expensive gear?

[The True Cost of Gear and Gear Failure via No Film School]

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  • I think you’re missing one point in the article. I agree with that the cheapest china knockoffs are pretty bad, but from my experience, you may find better price/performance ratio I some “cheap” stuff. My yangnuo flash did not let me down yet and was priced at 80 usd two years ago. As I’m using Fuji last year, I do not have experience with cheap lenses, but overall was very satisfied with third party cheap accessories, such as flash triggers, flashes, remote and such, mostly bought at fraction of price of original gear

    • Yeah, you’re right. I believe there are some pretty good pieces of cheap(er) gear that can easily compete with the expensive ones. Did you get recommendations for the ones you have or you bought them and they turned out to perform well? I’m curious. 🙂

      Those “main” pieces of gear I use (lenses, cameras, speedlight) are from Nikon. I even bought Nikon remote. But now that you’ve mentioned accessories, I have several cheap ones, but none of the features any electronics.

  • Buy cheap buy twice!

  • Nath Bala

    I bought a NG36 speedlight nikon (360€) and a NG58 speedlight yongnuo(30€). After 4 years of use I prefer the cheap one.
    For some gear like tripod lens, it’s true but not for the whole.

    • Cris Firmo

      I have a good and very old tripod from a local brazilian brand (I bought it in 1999) and it still firm
      But Youngnuo flashes are awesome and common acessories (lens caps, hoods, straps….) are overpriced when are “made” by big brands (they don´t make anything but outsource them to the sames factories that sell them for U$ 3)…

  • Some cheap stuff is actually good

    • Whatdoyknow

      Not necessarily cheap, but affordable I would say, but do your homework first before you buy. There is so much info on the internet that shopping for a good deal is worth your time.

  • There is no gear that has no possibility of fail. Sure, generally you pay more for more security and less chance of failure, but in the end – it comes down to cost/benefit proposition.
    Some photographers are ok to buy cheaper gear, like Yongnuo speedlights and are risking higher faliuare rates than CaNikon ones. They do it because choosing Yongnuo stuff, economically more viabile.

    Basically – it is not about cheap vs expensive gear. It is about risk tolerance and resources. Some photographers will rather buy GODOX strobe in place of ProPhoto one, to have statistically smaller chance of failure. Some will even buy backups for their ProPhoto’s, to be even more reassured.
    But in the end – it all comes to personal preference and situation, not Good VS Bad.

  • This debate been going on for years. Photogs in my experience fall into two catagories, those who believe that unless you are buying branded (ie nikon or canon gear) you are not a real photographer but just playing. This can be even in the face of hard evidence that a third party lens/flash etc can perform almost as well for a much lower cost. You will never change these peoples minds ( believe me i have tried). Then there are photogs who are open minded and are willing to embrace cheaper gear and give it a chance and lot of the time they are pleasantly suprised. Yongnuo and Godox have seriously raised the bar in quality when it comes to Chinese accessories and should not be discounted as “not proper” equipment. I’m happy to let the “brand” guys spend a fortune on one flash gun that still has the potential to fail and I’ll pick up four for the same price.?

  • Kelly

    I’m pretty sure the article’s intent was to show that buying that one ‘great’ piece of gear is a better investment in the long run, then it is to be upgrading that item three or four times.

  • I had a 430EXII, then a 600EX. I also have 4 Yongnuos that I use very very hard. I still have to see one of the Yongnuos fail. By the way the 430EX broke with a light mist. In flashes, go for Yongnuo.

  • Tim Evans

    I learned this saying as it applied to cookware, but it applies to photography as well: “You can buy quality and cry once, or you can buy cheap and cry over and over.”

    That said, I love my Yongnuo speedlights. However, (1) I’m a hobbyist and not a pro–I’m not sure I’d rely on them for anything “mission critical” if I was a pro. (2) I recognize that they are basically disposable speedlights. They cost less than it would cost to get one repaired if one broke.

    As my father says, there’s a difference between cheap and inexpensive.

  • Owen

    I have been professionally photographing for a number of years now, and hobbiyist even more years on top. The one camera I brought new, was the one that broke, And the warranty I got with it, turned out to be pointless. I can honestly say, that none of my second hand gear has broke.
    Sure it has cosmetic issues, but that doesn’t impact the mechanical side.
    As long as you do your research, of the item, but also of the seller, there is nothing wrong with secondhand.
    For the price of one of my lenses(if brought new), I brought 4 lenses which gave me a much wider range of flexibility, and they are all still going strong.
    That being said, there is also nothing wrong with buying new. 🙂

  • Buy cheap if that is all you can afford. Upgrade when you can.

    Most of you already do this.

    There, age old conversation over!

  • It’s really a bit of luck and a bit of research with cheap gear. The first strobe I ever bought was an $80 no-name from ebay, that 300ws strobe is still going and made it’s cost back 100 fold. Conversely, I’ve gone through 3 different sets of wireless triggers, and half a dozen tripods. I definitely should have gone for the expensive ones right off the bat.

  • Stephen C Miller

    inexpensive=fail?????? really a broad term used that doesnt really explain much.

  • I have used Yongnuos for years and they work perfectly. If you still worry about reliability, you can buy two sets and still save a fortune.

    • Cris Firmo

      There is a know photographer and teacher here in Brazil that says: Buy 1 or 2 Yongnuo and save the money to get good lens since YN flashes are very good

  • Andrew Sharpe

    It’s taken me a long time, but I agree with this video. Take Yongnuo, for example. Very inexpensive, loads of good features. I used it for a month or so, and then after a day outside shooting cactus at full power, I discovered the flash no longer would do anything *but* full power. Some ‘net research confirmed that it’s a common problem. So, I bought some used Nikon SB-28 flashes. Similar features, similar price, and so far, much more reliable. I tossed the Yongnuo. Not to say that everything Yongnuo does is bound to fail early, but that was my experience with the flash.

  • Police: StartChargingDrivers

    It all depends on the level of photography.
    If you are a serious professional, then cheap equipment costs a great deal more in the long run, because after the cheap or DIY gear breaks, you are forced to get real gear.
    Loose a few clients over cheap or DIY gear, and the costs can be huge.

  • Original VH Fan

    Whatever you do, always read the reviews on your inexpensive purchases!

  • Ken Carver

    I have to chime in also about Yongnuo flashes being a reliable alternative to overpriced Nikon and Canon Flashes. The only failure I have had the past 3 years is when I dropped one off a cliff in Big Sur.

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