First, buy some cheap crap

There's a classic style of post about just about any kind of photographic equipment that shows how starting with cheap equipment and gradually going to better and better gear is much more expensive than getting the better gear to begin with. These posts always irk me, especially when accompanied by exhortations to get the finest, most expensive gear that's out of the range of most mortals.

My approach has been exactly the opposite: When going into a new area when I don't know what to look for, I get something cheap that I expect to get rid of in a year or two. Whether tripods or flashes or
studio lights, I look for a third-party or store-brand kit as a "learner set". I'll then use that plus various internet sites to learn how to use that thing and what it is I like and don't like about it. I have found this to work a lot better than trying to understand what's useful and what's a gimmick based on internet reviews.

Once you've figured out the basics of this new type of equipment, it's time to get a reasonable one. This is where the mass-market brand-name items come into play. You can now reasonably look at reviews and comparisons, disregarding things you've found are unimportant for you, and up-rating what's really your thing. I bought my 60D this way: I made a spreadsheet of the features I wanted and the cameras that gave them. Since some features, like a flip-out display, are relatively rare, it cut down the selection to where I could borrow or rent the options until I knew what to get. I didn't do it when getting a tripod, but was lucky enough to be able to sell the Manfrotto that didn't suit me for a small loss.

The medium-quality item is likely to last you for several years, during which you'll figure out if it was just a short infatuation with a particular method or technology or something you want to specialize in. If the latter, you will surely learn enough by then to get what you need, rather than what people are trying to push.

If you tried getting the very best quality from the beginning, you're as likely as not to get something that's not suited to your needs: Too big, too heavy, too specialized. And even if you get a thing that suits you, you might find that it was just a passing fancy that you spent thousands of euros on instead of hundreds.

The main point is to make a conscious decision to get a "learner set". Know that it will be sub-par and adjust your expectations accordingly. Then you'll have a better chance at getting what you really need later.

A final note: Don't apply this to items where your safety is at stake.

A lack of preparation on my part...

My brother +aurin ræder and I have started a mutual photography challenge. The first challenge is to make a picture of "soft water" using "high key". Not too hard here in winter, I think, we have a nice river right downtown and snow abounds. Alas, my lack of preparation (and an unstable Gorillapod) thwarted my first attempts.

I had to wait for +Mickey Blake to come home so +The Frida Diaries wouldn't feel all abandoned and start barking. No problem, she comes home with about an hour before sundown. So I start packing up my gear, find lenses, pick a tripod (I have three, plus a monopod for hiking), look for the neutral-density filter in all the wrong places, etc. etc. By the time I get out the door, almost half an hour has gone, and it's cloudy so there won't be much late light. By bad luck of the U-bahn draw, it takes as long again to get down to Thalkirchen, plus some time to get to an interesting water spot.

By the time I found something looking like what I had in mind, the light was low enough that the lack of an ND filter was not an issue. At ISO 100, I got 15s at f/8 right away, easily enough to blur the water. Putting my Gorillapod near the water's edge, I aimed for various shots at low angles including some interesting water and snow-covered rocks. Only a few shots in, the light was too dim for that, and I had to up the ISO. A few shots later, the only way to get enough light was to take out the small but bright pocket light that +Richard Jørgensen had provided me with years back, which just happened to be in my pocket. First time I tried light painting, in theory - in practice, it was just a main light. Focusing was of course awful, though using the flip-out display with manual focus seemed to work ok. It was hard to tell, really. Eventually, my light gave out, and I had to return.

Back home, my shots turned out horrible. Every single one was either shaken or stirred blurred, or both. While the compositions seemed OK, there was just not enough detail to be really striking. It was hard to tell if the focus was off, or the Gorillapod had just bent downwards during exposure. In either case, failure.

Morale: Prepare your equipment ahead of time, so you don't have to spend valuable light-time doing it at the last moment. Also, I need to get more used to what the Gorillapod can and can't do.