1. Identify the purpose of the bag
   The bag could be used for any or all of the following purposes: 
   • Bag for Active Shooting – Active shooting means you have the bag on your body while you’re taking pictures. Sling bags, belt bags, and backpacks are ideal for this purpose especially the smaller sized one.
   • Bag for Transporting – When you use the bag just to store and transport your gear, you can opt to get the bigger shoulder bags or backpacks. Bags for transporting your cameras are usually left on the floor, in a corner, in a car, or on a table while you take pictures. These bags are also the ones you use when you travel with all your gear, the ones you hand carry on your flights. Take note that there are size limitations on bags you can hand carry on airplanes, so make sure the bag you’re going to take meets these limitations, or else you end up checking the bag in and have airport personnel throw it around.
   • Daily Shooting – When you bring your camera with you everyday, it’s best that you put it in a bag to minimize the damage caused by your daily routine. The bags for this purpose are usually the small ones that can fit a camera body and some memory cards and batteries.
2. Identify the gears that will go inside the bag

I made a list of my all my gear and possible gear purchases. Once done, I got a better idea of the size of the bag to buy.

3. Identify the budget
   Identifying the budget helped me narrow down the brand of the bag to buy. If money is no object to you, get the well-known international brands like Lowepro, Crumpler, and Tamrac.

My  Bag Story
In my case, I was really on a tight budget, so I opted for a 20 dollar generic camera shoulder bag that could fit my EOS 300D, flash gun, filters, batteries and other smaller accessories. After 3 years it’s still in good condition but I decided to retire it. These days I have three bags to fit three  purposes: Lowepro Fastpack 250 for transporting my camera gear and laptop, Lowepro Off Trail 2 for  active shooting, and Lowepro Rezo TLZ20 for daily shooting.

I guess you’ll be asking,”Is it really necessary to have more than one bag?”. My answer is “No”.  I survived with only one bag for 2 years. But eventually, when you already established your shooting style and habits, you’ll realize that you won’t be carrying all your gear. You’ll also learn to be practical when it comes to gear selection, and hopefully you’ve already identified the type of photography you’ll be doing more often. For example, when you’re just starting out, you’ll probably be carrying all your lenses, camera bodies, and accessories because you’re not sure what you’ll be shooting when you go out. You’ll be preparing for landscapes, portraits, candids and whatever else you can think of.  But as you mature as a photographer, you would realize that not all your gear will be used. So gradually you’ll be shedding of those extra baggage. You won’t be a carry-all photographer anymore: you’ll be a weight-sensitive, gear-efficient shooter.

That’s why I have 3 bags. My Lowepro Fastpack 250 carries all my gear and laptop when I go on official or paid shoots. When I’m covering events outdoors that requires me to be always on the go, I use my Lowepro Off Trail 2 that can be used as a shoulder bag or a hip pack, lessening the burden on my shoulders. And when I go to work or just walk outside and I decide to bring my camera, I put it in the small Lowepro Rezo TLZ20.

Things to look out for
When you’ve decided on what bag to buy, check the following parts:

• Weather protection - waterproof and water-resistant. This is already self explanatory.
• Padding – thick enough to protect your gear, but not too thick to be very bulky. You need some of that space for the actual gear not just for the foam.
• Strap – check the material of the strap and the spaces of the webbing. The finer the spaces,  the better and the stronger the strap.
• Stitching – Get the bag with the double stitches.
• Zipper – check the teeth of the zipper, make sure they’re at least 4mm thick and are made of metal or hard plastic. Also check how well the zipper is stitched to the fabric. More often that not, the zipper will give way to stress at the stitch points on the tape rather than on the chain (check this site for the parts of a zipper). The sliders should also have provisions for inserting cords or strings for easier pulling.
• Velcro – As weird as it seems, too much velcro is not good for your bag. It will put more stress on your bag everytime you open it especially on the stitches. Also, make sure that the velcro side with the hooks are fully covered when you close the flap. Having those hooks exposed can damage other clothing material, i.e. when it rubs on other textiles like your shirt or the insides of your bag.
• Buckles – check the material of the buckle, make sure the plastic is stiff enough that it doesn’t slide off, but it’s flexible enough to bend and not break when pressed.
• Hooks -avoid aluminum snap hooks if possible because they tend to crack or become brittle over time. If you can avoid bags with hooks the better. They’re the weak link in your bags. I’ve had several bags with these aluminum snap hooks and almost all of them broke because of the weight.
• Ladder locks - these are the locks on the strap that you adjust. These things handle a lot of stress especially when your bags are fully-loaded. Check the plastic used for the locks. If they bend or look brittle, don’t buy the bag. Once this ladder locks break, your bag will be out of service, probably for good. If you can find metal ladder locks, the better.
• Comfort and Fit – make sure that you’re comfortable with the bag you’re buying. Try carrying it or putting it on then put some pressure or load on the bags to test how it distribute the weight. If it becomes uncomfortable after a minute or less, don’t buy it. Imagine suffering with that uncomfortable feeling for hours.

I hope you got a better idea on how to buy your camera bag. The process of selection would be hard but it will be a rewarding experience. It’s your turn to get the bag that’s right for you.
Good luck!

Establishing the need for any equipment/tool/accessory is the first thing you should do when contemplating on a new acquisition.

Note: Gear Acquisition Sickness (or Syndrome in some part of the online photography community), or GAS is an affliction that hits you when you start mingling with other photographers and beginners.  I’ll discuss GAS in another post, but as a brief, GAS makes you need something that you really just want. It’s like saying I WANT to have this lens because I think it’s cool, then rationalizing that you NEED that lens because it will make you a better photographer.  In the end you just end up with a lens that doesn’t make you a better photographer and  just takes up space in your bag or dry cabinet.

So on with the tips.

During the time I was writing this article, I noticed that it was fairly long. So to save you from reading till the end, I’m giving you a summary:

If you’re budget conscious yet you need to satisfy that urge to buy more, follow this sequence of purchases:

cheap TRIPOD, good FLASH, better LENS.

Still interested to know my rationale for that sequence?  Read on.

If you’re on a budget like me, here are some thoughts to ponder on:

Flash (a.k.a. flash unit, external flash, on-board flash, flash gun, or strobe)

Thinking of getting a flash? Ask yourself the following questions:

1. How often will I shoot indoors (indoor events, functions and gatherings)?
2. How often will I shoot in low light situations?
3. How often will I shoot subjects that are against the sun or against very bright light that would require me to have fill light that my built-in flash cannot provide?
4. Have I maximized the built-in flash in my camera?

If you answered “very often” or “a lot” to the first three questions, then you probably need a flash. Make sure to get a very good one. Don’t risk it with third party flashes. Buy a Canon flash if you’re a Canon user, or a Nikon flash if you’re a Nikon use. Buying the same brand as your camera ensures that they have the highest compatibility. Again, don’t risk it.

If you answered “occassionally” or “not often”, just save your money for the other two items. Why? If you’re not going to use it that often, it will just gather dust in your bag or dry cabinet. For the few times you need it, you can adapt your built-in flash to fulfill that need (unless you bought a Canon EOS 1-series or 5D that doesn’t have a built-in flash). Personally, I only needed a flash when I was already covering events, and doing product shots in a studio setting.

If you’re more of an outdoor shooter or you favor natural light, get a reflector instead. It’s cheaper and it gives more natural-looking results.

Tripod

Thinking of getting a tripod? Ask yourself the following questions:

1. How often will I take long exposure shots (shots slower than 1/10 of a second or night shots)?
2. How often will I be the photographer and also be part of the subject of the photo?
3. How often will go out and shoot landscapes and architectural shots that require a very stable platform and a fixed shooting position for my camera?

If you answered “very often” or “a lot” to these questions, then you probably need a tripod. Otherwise, just save your money. Tripods are not the lightest equipment that you’ll be using, so don’t burden yourself carrying that extra load.

Tripods are meant to give your cameras a stable platform so that you can take relatively shake free shots. Examples would be shooting night landscapes, long exposure shots outdoors (like landscapes and panoramas) and indoors (like studio portraits and product shots). It can also be used as the fixed shooting position to shoot multiple shots of a landscape which you later would be stitching together.

If you do decide to buy the tripod, please don’t be tempted to buy the most expensive you can afford. The most expensive tripods aren’t the most practical. Why? the expensive ones are commonly big. If you want to know how it feels carrying a tripod during a shoot, get a tube (PVC) with at least a 8cm diameter and 75cm length, tie a rope from one end to another, then sling that over one shoulder. Now start walking and shooting with that dummy tripod on your shoulder. Cumbersome isn’t it?

Another reason I suggest not buying the expensive ones is that most tripods already give a fairly decent stability to cameras that weigh up to 1 kilogram (that includes the camera body and lens and whatever is attached to the camera body). I have a cheap tripod (34 SGD, samurai brand) that can easily support  my EOS 20D with a Sigma 24-70mm 2.8 lens ( a total weight of 1.2kG).  I’ve never had any accident with it and it has already helped me take some very  wonderful nightscapes, as seen in my post, The view from Esplanade.

I’ve heard other photographers say that you should use the bulky and heavy tripods to give more stability to the camera and to prevent the cameras from tipping over, or being accidentally kicked. I find those reasons flimsy. Tripods will not tip over or fall or even go rolling down a cliff if the photographer placed it on a stable and safe position and footing. It’s stupid to blame the tripod for tipping over when you placed it on a wobbly set of rocks, or on top of a wall. It’s even more stupid to blame a tripod for being kicked; it’s a photographer’s responsibility to make sure that his equipment is not in harm’s way.

I remember one experience I had when I was shooting at Scotts Road, Singapore. I climbed the pedestrian overpass for a better Point of View of the traffic and lights. I set up my cheap tripod and started shooting. Then this guy came and set up beside me with his expensive looking manfrotto tripod. He then gave my cheap tripod a look and smiled. I knew what he meant. After several minutes, I noticed him shaking his head and checking his tripod. I got curious and asked what the problem was and he said that his shots have wobbly, shaky light trails and lines even though his tripod is very stable and he’s sure he didn’t nodge it during exposure. When I heard that, I laughed. I said something like, “your tripod is useless here because the overpass is vibrating because of the speeding cars below.” After that he packed up and left without getting a good shot (that’s according to him).  I also experienced that same effect on my initial pictures but I easily adjusted to it by changing my settings. My tripod did it’s part, it was up to me to adjust to the situation. Remember, it’s not the gear, it’s the photographer.

Lens (a.k.a. glass)

Ok since this post is getting long, i’ll make this brief. If you think you need a new lens, ask yourself these questions:

• Can I afford it?
• How often will I use it?
• Where would I use it?
• Why would I use it?
• When will I use it?
• Can I borrow the same lens from my friends so I can try it out first?

If you answered positively to those questions, then go ahead and buy it. If not, just save your money.

A good lens that you actually use is a good investment. It will keep you happy for a long time. A good lens that you don’t use is just excess baggage. If you survey the “for sale” section of most photography forums you’d find that a good number of sellers sell their lenses because they don’t use it that much. That for me is a waste of money.

A kit lens will be good enough for most uses. Try to master the basics first with that lens. Once you’ve exhausted the kit lens to its fullest potential,you can already identify the next lens you need to buy.

As a final suggestion, if you do decide to buy those three items, buy in this sequence: cheap tripod, good flash, better lens.

I’ve shared to you my opinions on these three common purchases of newbie or beginner photographers. It’s up to you if you’d consider those suggestions. Just remember, in budget photography, it’s the need that comes first, not the wants.

Cheers!

But since I’m writing about budget photography and how to cut down on spending in this hobby, i’m going to give you some points to consider before buying a DSLR.

Before anything else, I’d like to make one thing straight, buying anything out of peer pressure is a bad idea. If someone tells you to get a DSLR because it will make you a better photographer and look cool, think again.

If you’re just starting out in photography I suggest you learn the basic skills like composition and lighting FIRST before investing on gear. Having all the gear in the world wouldn’t make you a good photographer if you don’t even know the basics of these two skills. Any decent point and shoot camera with manual settings control can be a good learning tool for composition and lighting. You don’t have to shell out hundreds of dollars or even thousands just to learn what the difference of adjusting aperture, shutter speed and ISO would do to you photos.

If you’ve read on, and learned the basics already and:

you think your point and shoot isn’t cutting it anymore;

your cellphone camera is not good enough for taking photos other than your self portraits;

you now have the budget to buy a DSLR;

or you think getting a DSLR will take your photography skills to the next level;

or for whatever reason you have, you now need to have some points to say when people ask you, “Why buy a DSLR?”.

Here are some reasons that would justify a DSLR purchase and what I think about these reasons.

Image quality
If you compare an image taken by a point and shoot and a photo taken by a DSLR, given that all settings are equal and resolution is the same, the DSLR photo would generally be better. Again I said generally, not always, but generally. It used to be always better, but with the advent of newer Point and Shoot cameras like the Panasonic LX3 and other similar enthusiast cameras the difference just got smaller in terms of sharpness, clarity and color.
One rebuttal to this justification is that once you print both pictures (from point and shoot and DSLR) the difference would be hardly noticeable on an 4×6 or even an 8×10 print.
Ok some would argue that with digital photography, most photos are now just seen on computer screens from online photo sharing sites. On a computer monitor, the full difference of the two would be noticeable. Let’s just assume that it is, but do you really view a photo at 3.2 Megapixel resolution on the web? A 17” monitor wouldn’t even be enough to display the whole photo, in full resolution. That’s why we have the term web size or around 640×480 pixels. So whatever resolution your image was, you’d be shrinking it (downsizing is the techie term for it) to 640 pixels on the long side. So if you have an 8MP photo (3504×2336 pixels) you’ll resize it to 640×427 pixels. There goes all that resolution, image sharpness, clarity and color.

Lens Interchangeability
Ok this one is, for me, one of the selling points of DSLRs. You’re not stuck to your cameras’ lens, and you can change it for whatever purpose or situation.
But if you’re going for range vs cost, you can get a 15x superzoom digital point and shoot camera for the price of a telephoto lens of a lesser range. That’s getting a zoom range of 28-432mm for a price of a 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens. So if you just want the range and just the average image quality, just get a super zoom digital camera like the Sony H-series or the Canon S-series. Also take note that with DSLRs, the lenses will be more expensive than your camera bodies, because you need to spend a lot for quality lenses.

Real time shooting
Again, this is another major selling point of DSLRs. When you click the shutter button, the camera takes the photo. With most point and shoots, you click the shutter button, a slight lag time, then the camera takes the photo. How many wonderful moments have you missed capturing because of that darn lag time?

Low light and High ISO capability
This is related to image quality. The maximum useful ISO of most point and shoot cameras is 200. At ISO 400 some can still look good at smaller resolutions or in printouts. With the latest digital cameras that have high ISO features, you’re just getting a high ISO value of 800-1600 and a overdose of a noise reduction feature. Don’t expect good results.
Most DSLRs can produce photos that are generally noise free up to ISO 400, and still usable upto 800 and 1600. Some, like the wonderful Nikon D3 have useful images upto ISO 12800 or higher (they say).
But why would you want to have low light shooting capabilities if you’re camera has a flash? The answer is, there are situations that don’t allow you to use your flash like in some in churches, museums, events or places where flash photography is not allowed, for example at the Singapore Night Safari.

So far I’ve tried my best to show you the practicality of getting a point and shoot over a DSLR. My reason? it’s not just the camera that takes good pictures, it’s the photographer who framed the shot and pressed the button. Avoid people who tell you that the gear will make you look good or an even better photographer. Most of the times people saying that are gear heads (camera collectors who focus on the photo gear rather than the art of photography itself). Read, Learn and practice: that’s going to help you more than a piece of gear that burned a hole in your wallet. For me, a good photographer can take a good picture even with a camera phone. Peace.

If you found this post interesting, you might enjoy reading my earlier post on buying a DSLR titled “Gear Lust and Buying your first DSLR.”

The initial topic list includes:

• Why get a DSLR?
• Flash, Tripod, Lens – which comes first?
• Buying tips for your camera bags
• The benefits of downsizing – - – your gear.
• Does size matter?
• Etiquette for the newbie photographer

This will get me busy for a while.

You may ask why I’m giving these tips. Well, I’ve been asked about these topics so many times I thought it best to just write about it and point the person to my blogs. Feel free to try them out.

A disclaimer: These are my suggestions and opinions based on my experience. These are not rules you always follow, but they are more of guidelines, like the rule of thirds (sounds better than calling it the guideline of thirds). I’m in no way forcing you to adapt them or implement them; and in no way am I responsible if your gear lust dies after following these blogs.

Let the cheap times roll.