Equipment equipment equipment...

Yes we are now ready to explore further and I have decided to focus this year's budget on getting better equipment and not more equipment.



2007 was the year when I decided to start building up the club's inventory. 2007 was also the year that I officially took over from Mr Tee as the Teacher-in-charge (even though I already came in from Oct 2006 for the inaugural Prom Nite Print n Sell which eventually morphed into the Prom Nite Glamour Shoot).


At that time, the club had only 3 Nikon DSLR (2 x D100 and 1 x D70) and quite a number of lenses (1 x Nikon 24-105 VR, 1 x Sigma 70-200 f2.8, 3 x Tamron 24-135, 2 x Sigma 50 f2.8 macro, 3 x Sigma 15-30) and enough external flash heads. In our possession also included about ~ 10 prosumers (Fujifilm S602 and Minolta Dimage A1). Imagine, Minolta became Konica Minolta and finally Sony... such was the length of progress... For posterity sake, please remember that cameras were much more expensive in 2003. The S602 cost the equivalent of a 400D and the A1, a 40D.


Though I believe in the mantra that the photographer is the more important than the equipment used. But to swing to the extreme and discount the equipment is also a load of bull. I witnessed for myself the 2005/2006 batch (Benjamin & Junsen's batch) using the prosumers and end up having blurred and noisy shots. For an aspiring photographers, these photos could be rather discouraging. Only a few privilege ones could use the Nikons and they are normally the exco members. For Benjamin's batch, the D70 wasn't available till 2006.


Though there have countless examples, out on the internet, of beautiful photos taken using the prosumers but most of these photograpers were rather experience and they have the knowledge to work within the limitations. However not so for students. If I don't even remember wrongly, they were not allowed to borrow the cameras for personally use (with the exception of Junsen for his China trip).


The limitations of the prosumers were many...
1. Shutter lag
2. Focusing speed
3. ISO noise control
4. Limited focal length of the built in lenses
5. Inherent wide depth-of-field due to the small sensors


Now the 2006/2007 batch (Kingston's batch) was much smaller than Benjamin's. From 30 plus to 10 members. Therefore Kingston's batch was able to have much more opportunity with the DSLRs. Trust me, using the DSLR for the very first time can be quite intriguing especially if you have been using a compact for some time. The depth-of-field control, focusing speed and ISO noise control is so so so liberating.


Therefore when I took over the club, I knew that if I want to attract more students and give them more opportunities to take photos which they would not be able to achieve with their compacts, I need to grow the club's inventory. For 2007, a lot hinged upon the budget that would be allocated to Photography. The 2006 budget was paltry, not even enough to buy 1 camera body. However I was fortunate that the 2007 budget was 6x bigger. But though the budget was much bigger, I was only at most able to purchase 2 x EOS 350D with a complete range of EF-S lenses to cover 18 - 200 mm. Hmmm... why did I mention Canon??? Should I be talking about Nikon since the school was using Nikon then.


At the end of 2006, I was at a crossroad. I wanted to grow the club's inventory but though the 2007 budget was 6x bigger, I was only able to purchase 2 cameras with lenses to cover 28 - 300 mm (35mm equivalent) after setting aside money for the club's consumables (mainly ink and paper).


Sounds impressive huh??? The cameras will have to be D70s and the lenses are the consumers type. Basically entry level systems and frankly speaking they are good enough for beginners. However Nikon cameras then were quite poor when it comes to ISO performance. Anything above 800 will be very noisy. Even Mr Tee's D2X was noisy at 800 and that's why he uses his D2Hs for low light events as it is a 4 MP cam (very large photosites) but still D2Hs was considered noisier than Canon's entry level 350D. So I was considering whether to switch the club to Canon.


Now that's a very big decision. Switching to Canon would mean that I have to rebuild the inventory from scratch as Nikon mount lenses are not compatible with Canon's and vice versa.


Reasons to switch:
1. I am a Canon user and often I find it difficult to guide the students in operating the camera (there's a difference between photography techniques and operation of camera) when shooting as I'm unfamiliar with the interface.
2. Canon cameras have better ISO performance (it was true till the arrival of Nikon D300, D700 and D3, which kinda balance out the ISO issue).
3. Canon equipment are on par in terms of costing when bought new but they are cheaper if bought off the 2nd hand market thus giving better bang for buck.
4. I can loan my equipment to the students if the need arises.


Reasons not to switch:
1. Students who were using Nikon may find it difficult to adapt.
2. The basic equipment were all there and I could start buying more specialized lenses like ultra-wide angle, fisheye lenses etc.
3. Canon system would have to rebuild from scratch.


So the decision to switch was a difficult one.


Also I was very mindful of the feelings of certain people:
1. Mr Tee. After he is the venerable photographer of MJC and he started the club from scratch.
2. Kingston's batch of members. They have grown used to the Nikon system and they are Nikon 'loyalists'.


I spoke to Mr Tee to seek his opinion and he was very gracious. He said, "Since you are in charge now, you have the authority to decide. Furthermore you are familiar with Canon and it would be easier to guide the students.


Now the real headache was with Kingston, Eunice and Chee Howe... When I sounded them out, they were howling with disapproval. They even made sure that I knew of their disapproval over MSN.


(Just to let you guys know how difficult it was. I almost decided to stick to Nikon and actually placed an order for the Nikon 18-200 VR lens)


In the end what tipped the balance in favor of Canon was the 2nd hand market. I was initially under the impression that I would be able to purchase 2nd hand items as it would pose certain administration headaches, but after speaking to the finance manager, I realized that it was possible. (the 2nd hand market, till now as of time of posting, gives much better bang for bucks when it comes to Canon equipment as Canon was ahead of the competition)


Hmmm... did Kingston and co. agree??? Well... they didn't exactly but since I'm boss, they had to 'comply'. However I'm sure they knew that I had considered seriously their views then.


So in Dec 2006, I made my first round of purchases. I bought 2 x EOS 350D with accompanying EF-S 18-55 lenses. I also got a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 that comes with a 2 x teleconvertor and a Canon 10-22 ultrawide angle lens.


Somewhere in March 2007, Chee Howe approach me with this idea to raise funds for the club by taking over the passport size photo taking of the JC1 students. Actually I already had the idea in mind but I didn't approach them because the exco was small and they were already up to their neck with the projects and school work. But still kudos to Chee Howe for being so 'enterprising' and taking the initiative. That's what I call ownership. So since its student initiated, I agreed to it. For this project I procured 2 x 300w Jinbei studio strobes and accompanying softboxes. (Anyway this project is another story in itself).


The procurement of the studio strobes were also part of a larger plan I had in mind for the prom nite. But having studio strobes will not be as useful if I do not have studio backdrop and stands. Ha... the issue of purchasing the backdrop and stands was another 'titantic' struggle between me and Kingston and co. But even eventually these purchases were integral in expanding the club's expertise and the members had tremendous amount of fun and greatly accelerated their learning. To know more, refer to
photography > MJC: Studio Days

photography > MJC: Just Some Thoughts Part II



The passport size photo project was a success and raised a substantial amount and I was able to procure another 2 x EOS 350D with EF-S 18-55 lenses and another Sigma 70-200 f2.8 that comes with a 2 x teleconvertor and a 430 EX Speedlight (external flash).


Though Kingston and co initially complained about issues such as the build quality, small handgrip, seemingly inferior user interface but I'm sure they enjoyed the better ISO performance and the ultrawide 10-22. I still remember Eunice quipping about the distorted perspective which resulted in an ultra long female arm when she covered the Science Fiesta's Egg drop competition.


Eunice was also the 1st one (I think) that I allowed to handle my 70-200 f2.8 L IS lens. At that time, she was my most trusted photographer.


So the 2007/2008 (Quentin's batch) was the first to start off their photography journey using the DLSRs. I banned them from using the prosumers.


Personally I can see that my strategy was paying off. More of the JC1s were participating in shooting school events. More members were also keen on exploring photography on their own. I also allowed students to borrow the cameras home though the possibility of having them damaging the equipment is there. Bit by bit the proficiency level increased.


In Jan 2008, still I felt that we could do with more camera bodies and at that time, the used price of the 20D has dropped thus I procured 2 of them. The 20D was a semipro DSLR and it was also my first DSLR. It was really a joy to use it. The multi-controller and the big rear dial really helped in speeding up the handling. Suerya said that the 20D rocks when she first used it. In March 08, I bought 4 EF-S 18-55 with IS function and a Lensbaby 2.0 when I was holidaying in Hong Kong. The new EF-S lenses were for the 20D cams and to replace some of the older non IS versions. IS is very useful as it can compensate for handshake, giving up to 3-4 stops of advantage. The Lensbaby was for creative purposes as it give selective focus due to the flexible tubing.


Somewhere in April 2007, I bought either 3 or 4 EF-S 55-250 mm IS lenses. These were to complement the EF-S 18-55 lenses. Finally all the 6 EOS cameras have at least a range of 18-200 mm (35 mm equivalent of 28-320 mm). However I'm still short of external flash heads.


2008 was also the year which the new prices of entry cameras such as 400D and 450D were so low that you can easily purchase them with a budget of slightly more than a thousand dollars. The 2nd prices were even much lower. So some of members of the 2008/2009 batch (Elliot's batch) were able to buy their own cameras. Therefore ... (haven't finished but post to satisfy initial pangs of cravings)


(Now resuming the 2nd part of the 2nd part)...
Therefore, it kind of give me the flexibility to move away from just accumulating camera bodies.


Oh I also remembered that somewhere late 2007, we had our newest computer, a Dell Quad Core. Some of the reasons why we needed a new comp was because the 2 Power G5 were showing their age. With the amount of processing we are doing, a blazingly fast computer will definitely serve us well. Furthermore we will have to cough up more money if we get another mac as we will need to purchase a newer version of Photoshop etc... Anyway the Dell was so fast that Quentin was gleefully showing off how it could open a hundred files in CS2. So the Dell has been our mainstay for the past 1 year plus. However as with al Wintel platform, some form of instability is settling into the Dell. Recently Shirleen was showing me how CS2 would shut down when she was editing the text. Trust me, I have never seen CS2 shutting down so fast. In a blink of an eye, it was gone with all your processing efforts. Hence for 2009, I've issued a challenge to the Elliot and co. to raise funds for a new Mac Pro.


Coming back to cameras and lenses, I purchased the first Canon primes early 2008. They were the 50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.8 amd the 100mm f2.8 macro. The kids had a lot of fun with it. They took portraits, macro, still life and etc... Something that wasn't really possible with all the zooms we had (with the except of the f-mount sigma primes).


The rest of the funds were mainly used to purchase more printing media. The year 2008 saw a 2 - 3 fold increase in printing output. We also spent a lot on mounting boards. 2008 can also be reckoned as the year of exhibitions. We had exhibitions after exhibitions and Quentin and co. is always coming back to me, "Mr Cheng, we need more mounting boards."


In Nov 2008, I purchased another set of lights, this time round I bought branded ones, Elinchrom. This was in preparation for 2008 Prom Nite. We set up 2 shooting stations so that we could clear the queue faster. We spent a bit of money on promotion by means of photo frames to show out the larger prints. Honestly it wasn't just for bigger margins that I pushed for larger prints to be sold. Somehow larger prints command more visual attention and it would be a pity if the prom niters leave with a 4R print of them decked out in finery.


The 2008 Prom Nite Glamor Shoot was an all time success. Needless to say, we made a tidy amount but the money was quickly used to purchase more printing media and equipment. Often I try to fulfil the wishes of the members but once again, money is never enough. However I did managed to get another 85mm f1.8, 50mm f1.8, 200mm f2.8 L, Manfrotto tripod and a set of Tianya filters + 77mm ring adapter (just nice for the EFS 10-22mm).

Finally I'm back to the first point about getting better equipment instead of more equipment. In Jan 2009, I purchased a used 5D and a 24-70L f2.8 L. I'm also holding on to a 1D Mk2 which I will loan out to the students for use. Basically we will have different cameras for different purposes. However due to increasing wear n tear of equipment (possibly due to negligent), I've decided to be stricter with the usage of the 'pro' equipment. I hope my students can understand the rationale. Recently we had to repair the 50mm f,14 and it costs us $250. I've also repaired 2 350D and 1 20D. I still have 2 EFS 18-55mm kit lens which are damaged and I will most probably leave them unrepaired as its most probably cheaper to buy them second hand than to repair.

But at the end of the day, the equipment serves the photographer and not the other way round. So carry on making the image of your vision.

PPC.