Here is how to drop $500,000 on gear this Black Friday
Nov 26, 2024
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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I think most of us have spent at least some time in our lives browsing through our favourite retailers’ websites. We sit there, poring through pages and pages of products we dream of one day owning. We also occasionally fantasize about the things we will never own.
Some products are just so expensive that no reasonable individual would ever buy them for their own personal use. Sure, there will be the random ludicrously rich exception, but for the most part, they’re not tools for mere mortals. But how expensive can you go?
Here, we take a look at the five most expensive items we could find on the B&H Photo website. We’ve got the most expensive camera, the most expensive lens, the most expensive tripod, the most expensive light and the most expensive lighting modifier.
Most Expensive Camera – Arri Alexa 35 Live Multicam System Pro ($118,070)
The complete name of this camera kit is the Arri Alexa 35 Live Multicam System Pro. Despite the name, though, this is just a single camera with a price tag of $118,070. This isn’t even the most expensive camera on the B&H website, but it is the most expensive they’d show the prices for. For the rest, you have to go in store to get the price and buy one. For your money, though, you do get a complete kit, including various mounts and supports to integrate it into the rest of the system, and the fibre base station. Of course, a lens will cost you extra
Most Expensive Lens – Fujinon 4K Plus Premier UA125x8BESM-S35 2/3″ 125x Box Zoom with OIS ($246,000)
While you probably won’t get this lens to work on the Arri Alexa above, this lens is held in similar esteem. It’s a favourite amongst sports broadcasters, with a high 125x zoom level. It goes from a super-wide 8mm to an extremely narrow 1000mm. And with its built-in 2x teleconverter, you can double this to 16-2000m, with a wide f/1.7 aperture, at least between 8-340mm. It drops down to f/3.4 as you get closer to 1000mm. So, it’s not perfect. But for $246,000, what can you expect?
Most Expensive Tripod – OConnor 120EX Fluid Head & Cine HD Mitchell Top Tripod with Ground Spreader ($29,070)
At $29,070, the OConnor 120EX Fluid Head & Cine HD Mitchell Top Tripod with Ground Spreader – what a mouthful! – is pretty expensive. It’s more expensive than many of our camera rigs. Even fairly expensive ones. Why would anyone need a 29-grand tripod? Well, if you’re using a $100K+ camera with a $100K+ lens attached to it, you need to know it’s rock solid. If a $29K tripod saves your $200K+ camera rig from a fall, it’s money well spent. And a good tripod will last you your whole life.
Most Expensive Light – Aputure INFINIMAT Tunable Color Light Mat with Inflatable Airbag (20 x 20′) ($78,900)
The 20×20′ Aputure INFINIMAT isn’t even out yet, but its pre-order price is the most expensive light on the entire site. It even beats out the likes of Arri and LitePanels. And it does it by a pretty wide margin, too. This type of lighting is beyond excessive for most of us. But for those with an entire basement with tall ceilings as their YouTube studio, I could see this being a very cool addition when that lottery win comes in.
Most Expensive Lighting Modifier – Chimera F2X 10 x 30′ Light Bank ($16,177)
With a cost of $16,177, the Chimera F2X 10 x 30′ Light Bank hardly seems worth mentioning. But it does appear to be the most expensive lighting modifier available at B&H. This mammoth softbox is no joke, though. At 10ft deep and 30ft long, this is for covering large areas. Whether you’re photographing cars in the studio or trying to simulate nice big soft cloudy daylight, the Chimera will have your back. It’s a bit much for shooting on location, though.
The total cost of all this lot, in case you were wondering, is $488,217. Even if you’re fairly well off, that’s a lot of money to spend on gear that isn’t really all that practical for most of us. For their use cases, they’re the best at what they do, but to us, overkill doesn’t even begin to describe it.
If money truly were no object, though, and you could go on an unlimited shopping spree at B&H Photo & Video, would any of these even be the items you’d go for? What would you buy if you grab first?
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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