Author: Tony Colangelo

Like many photographers do at the beginning of their professional careers, I spent way too much money on gear and accessories. The driver for this over-spending was rooted in my own insecurities about entering the realm of professional photography, which was something that I’d only dreamed of many years ago. I talked myself into believing that if my gear was first-rate, the quality of my work would improve and if I was lucky, would compensate for my short comings as a photographer. Guess what? I was wrong. My images didn’t improve until I starting putting in the work on a consistent basis through reading, practice, repetition, putting my work out onto public forums for critique; followed by more repetitions. This, beyond any gear that I purchased, is what had the biggest impact to my growth as a photographer.  

Although I’m still very much committed to my growth and professional development, I will confess that I still get a rush from reading about the latest gear. While it’s generally accepted that one doesn’t need top-of-the-line gear to produce excellent results, it’s still fun to talk to friends and colleagues in the field about the latest-and-greatest.

For me personally, I’ve always felt that good money goes to glass. So as a Canon shooter, I’ve invested a good chunk of change in "L-series" lenses. While this wasn’t an absolute requirement for real estate work, spending money on good glass was one of the nuggets of wisdom that I latched onto and I made those investments as soon as I could afford to. I’ve been putting off the purchase of a new camera for quite a while, biding my time until the new Canon R5 mirrorless camera comes out. I saw an announcement just last week of a September launch date. It’s been on my “wish-list” for quite some time and I’m excited at the prospect of owning it.

My excitement after reading the announcement made me wonder about which one or two pieces of gear were at the top of everyone’s wish-list here. So, I’m hoping that you’ll all take a moment to share what gear you've recently purchased that has added value to your offering, or what new technology coming out, has you excited. Yes, this may seem a little self-indulgent but the way I see it is that if a lot of people write in, not only will it be interesting to see what items get mentioned, it might serve as a spark to make others start to question their own wish-list items and maybe do a bit more research. Best case is that folks will probably make a more informed decision. At the very least, I think it’ll be fun to do the research on everyone’s suggested items. So, I hope you’ll chime in!