Upgrade

This evening I felt a little horny and decided to go and look for some porn. Don't get me wrong here. It's camera porn. Now I have a new favorite camera lens which is the Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 EX HSM II DG APO macro. It's an EX lens, equivalent to Canon L series lens but in a lower price. Suitable for a student like myself and people on the budget. While I will not exaggerating on how great the lens look, specs and such, a though come and hit me.

Why don't I upgrade my skills rather than upgrading my equipment?

I began shooting with my very DSLR early this year around February I think I'm not sure. And since then I have spent more than one thousand, probably close to two thousand on the equipment itself. I bought a telephoto lens, a prime lens, a flashguns and soon will be a battery grip. I know that photography is quite a very expensive hobby but I always wonder, can I get professional looks photograph using my existing unit without actually getting those high quality, fast lens that would cost me a house maybe.


The answer is both YES and NO! With my current consumer level equipment, there is no way I can take professional like photography. Let's talk reality here. I can't get a nice indoor sports with my current telephoto, the Sigma 70-300mm f/4 -5.6 APO DG Macro. F/4? That is rubbish! Totally rubbish. But I can improve my skills by finding a table or a pole where I can place my lens so that I can make the lens more stabilize for a longer shutter speed. Or maybe a monopod would help.

This does not only apply for photography but in other things in life too. Our appearance, our performance in sports, our exam result. Soccer for example. I can buy all those fancy boots and shoes with precise accuracy and all those lying crap they always proud of, but if the player are a rookie, he is still a rookie. The gear just added some cool factor to the player, not actual performance. You can buy all learning tools to help you succeed in your test but if you, yourself don't want to succeed and keep on wasting time, it's back to zero.


Anyway I would love to improve my photography. And that is exactly why I will stop buying any lenses for the next one, maybe two year so that I can focus with my current lenses while saving up for the greater lens, such as the Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 EX DG HSM II Macro :D


p/s: 1 month to go to enrollment for undergraduate
p/s: all the best for those that are going in next week :)
p/s: saving moneh saving moneh!