Every time we take the leap to the next expensive purchase, one thought pops into our heads: will I regret it later? Well, at least in my head. However, if I need to make a purchase, I will. Here are some purchases I wish I hadn’t made.
Recently, I sat down to review all the devices I own to decide if it all makes sense financially. In this half-spontaneous research, I found photographic equipment that I regret buying. Either it doesn’t live up to its promise, has been broken, or is used only for professional purposes. Here is a list of some devices that I wish I had never bought.
Loupedeck
Loupedeck is a great concept: tactile controls for editing. I watched it again Loupedeck a while ago, I concluded that it was a great way to quickly edit a lot of photos in Lightroom, but still fell behind on how great or even acceptable with Capture One. Unfortunately, my workflow is 90% in Capture One. It’s very unfortunate that I use about 5% of Loupedeck’s functionality. This is because the useful and usable feature (for me) is color tagging. Other features, such as the tactile controls, are very unresponsive. Sadly, editing with the mouse is much faster. Loupedeck is sitting on my desk, collecting dust. If I knew this now, I wouldn’t even think about buying one. 
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 II
This is the lens I bought right after I watched a video about the “Trinity” of the lens. My plan is to cover all bases from 16mm to 200mm. Not exactly why I need anything wider than 24mm, I still buy this marketing machine from Canon. The 16-35mm f/2.8 by far my rarest used lens. The only time it shows up is when I go to take pictures of the landscape for entertainment or for BTS. Those are the only two uses I have, and both are doable with something that isn’t a high-quality professional lens. Hopefully, at some point, there will be more uses as I challenge myself to explore focal lengths beyond 45-55mm (which is the most used focal length range in my portfolio). my private). Currently, this lens is wasted a lot. That’s a lot of money I could have spent on something else. 
Cheap kickstand
My first lampstand was a complete throwback. I bought it for under $10 from Amazon and was hoping to get something out of it. Unfortunately, all I get is disappointment. After a month of use, it broke, and I had to buy a second one. The second is identical to the first. I still have both light holders and I use them to hold a color checker. The stands are held in place by tape. Although I didn’t spend too much on these cheap lamp holders, I will never buy a cheap one again. The good thing is that getting a good Manfrotto stand isn’t too expensive, especially if you’re buying used. Used Manfrotto’s Grandstand as good as new ones because they don’t break easily. I have stands that are decades old and I have yet to see them break. Rental homes can use the same shelving they used in the ’90s because it’s so hard to innovate in light rack technology.
Cheap lenses
I’ve owned a decent amount of cheap lenses to start with. My first lens only cost $60 and was partially damaged. That only lasted a few months until I had to buy a new lens. It seems to me that cheap lenses with plastic construction and mounts don’t last long and end up being a waste of money. Even cheap, newly purchased lenses will have a much shorter lifespan than professional gear. After a few cheap lenses, I finally saved up and got a used 70-200mm f/2.8 IS, made in 2002. I use this lens to this day. , and I only need to get version II if this one breaks. As a budget-friendly lens and also a lens of excellent quality, I have no doubt saving a little and getting a professional, weatherproof lens. There are several reasons, aside from build quality, why you should buy a professional-quality lens. Although my 70-200mm is built for film cameras, it performs quite well on the 5Ds. In terms of autofocus, it’s also a powerful performer, as it’s made for professional use. Sure, modern lenses are miles ahead of old lenses 70-200mm f/2.8 IS doable, but mile ahead means slightly faster speeds, not significantly faster. I want to compare between RF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS and the EF 70-200mm Mark I lens to prove this point. 
Cheap Speedlites
My favorite among them are the cheap lamps and the cheap lights. Maybe I’ve been using Profoto for too long, but I couldn’t figure out how to use a control from another brand when starting out. So unless I have to use one, I won’t. The same applies to the speedlites. If you use any speedlite, lots of features will bombard you across the screen. Sure, it’s great to have so many features, but they’re intimidating for a beginner. I found that using a A1 from Profoto has made the whole experience of using on-camera flash so much more positive. In addition, the light quality and consistency are also far superior. Ability to add click modifiers and newly released tools soft box make the ecosystem much better. I find it important to have as little equipment in place as possible, so so far not having to use a full speedlite bracket to mount the regulators is great. 
Stop thinking
Items that I regret buying, like those mentioned on this list, fall into three categories: either it’s a purchase I made because I was told to do so by marketing, or I bought things that were hyped or tried to ignore things I really shouldn’t have. Following this article, I will write about some devices that you should not interrupt.
Do you have a device that lets you down? Why did you buy it and what happened?
