Watch This Before Upgrading!

Avoid buyer's remorse by following my upgrade checklist. I share the advice I give when someone asks me about upgrading. I hope you find it helpful. Cheers, Duade
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Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:25 Gear or Photographer?
01:21 Ask Yourself Questions
02:26 Common Problems
05:32 Research
07:00 Try Before Buy
09:54 My Mistakes
10:31 Buying New
11:12 Diminishing Returns Theory
13:20 Product Cycle
14:50 Choice Is Yours
15:56 Trips Instead of Gear?
17:21 Conclusion
12:35 Delete Images
13:21 Conclusion
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[lvp.hampus]

Indredibly down to earth, really making one think twice about these decisions. No fancy transitions, music or effects - just honest conversation. Love it Duade!

[NobleJPhotography]

Great video 👍 As a 14 year old beginner photographer, I spent my first 6 months using a compact camera and I managed to get some really nice shots by just improving my skills.

[raleighmeade]

Duade, this is one of the best videos to get folks thinking about gear, their needs, and the reality of 'knee jerk' purchasing. You sure have a nice way of describing the pitfalls and benefits. We greatly appreciate the content you produce for the rest of us. (even as far away as we are, in Texas)

[CatServant]

I just upgraded from a Canon Rebel XTi (purchased in 2006) to an R6 Mark II, which has me a bit overwhelmed. The mirrorless cameras have so many more settings than my XTi did because of everything a mirrorless setup enables. I decided to keep my primary EF 24-105mm f/4 L series lens. I had been holding out for a 100-400mm zoom for many years and I plan to get the RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 zoom lens as my next major gear purchase.

[Scottye-ynzc]

Also take into account image editing software, when I first started out couldn’t understand why my images had more noise and flat compared to my friends with the same gear. Shooting in RAW and Image editing software made a huge difference. Always enjoy your channel..

[Skene_O]

I went from Canon 6D to R6 18 months ago and that helped me improved my photography as it made focusing easier. I see all the new cameras popping up now but i am not upgrading as the R6 if awesome for a hobbyist like me. I believe i have a t least 5 years out of the R6 before i will upgrade. My skills will be better (hopefully) but by watching vids from people like yourself and others helps enormously. Thanks for sharing your advice with us all. keep it up mate

[Da-Real-Gigachad]

Biggest tip i can give is to “sleep on it” just spend some time not thinking about anything related to whatever you want to buy, then reevaluate. (Looking at your wallet might also help decide)

[johngunning]

Some good advice. I've just bought a second-hand R5 (Still under Canon warranty)as I'm about to go on a pretty big trip overseas. Incidentally, I was standing next to Heyn Decock aboard MV Grinner on a pelagic trip out of Southport when his camera strap broke and his Nikon camera and 400mm lens dropped into the Pacific Ocean. Luckily he had his gear insured but I was very impressed that he didn't burst into tears as we watched the camera sink! You're right he is a good bloke and a knowledgeable birder.👍

[WernerBirdNature]

Hi Duade, you nail all important things to consider ! After you & Jan cured me of my fear giving up the OVF for EVF, I upgraded in 2021 from 70D to R6. And it was a huge improvement in all areas except one crucial corner: using the same glass, a 20mp FF sensor obviously puts less pixels on the bird than a 20mp APS-C sensor 🙈 Besides that one frustration, I loved it so much that 11 months and 70k shots later, I swapped it for the R5. I couldn't know the R6ii would appear a few months later, which plummeted the resale value of my R6. So in hindsight, I would have lost much less money if I had skipped the R6 and went straight to the R5. But at the time I didn't have the experience with the new tech and wasn't aware I would become soo addicted to our common passion, which meant I couldn't possibly justify such investment in a hobby. I guess it was necessary learning money ..
Obviously, now the R5ii looks tempting .. but I'm doing my best to resist the temptation for a while 😛

[BillFerris]

I recently did a major equipment upgrade moving from a DSLR system to mirrorless for wildlife and birds, and I couldn't be happier. I spent years preparing for this move - maximizing my skills, understanding my equipment needs, researching the options, and seeking advice from other photographers who are deeply familiar with the kit I was considering - and the time & effort invested really paid off.

[HP]

Great video Duade. You are so right. When i first got started in wildlife photography I discovered that I was trying to buy my way to better photos. I finally decided to learn more about what i was doing and started getting better images. Now I try to save money for trips. My only "want" is the 200-800. Otherwise, my R5 and R3 do way more than I'm capable of.

[willemdebeer]

What a worthwhile video. I currently have a 90D, been using it since early 2022 and I am extremely happy with it. Have been considering buying the R6 mkII or R7 but to be honest I have not been dissapointed yet by the 90D. There are functions the R range has mine does not and it's a lot easier to get good shots. But I cannot complain like you said. It's all about the person holding the camera..

[Augnos]

I got that same email when I preordered my R6 Mark II. I will never preorder a camera again 😂

[buggersofoz]

Your detailed tip videos are getting better and better! For the last 4 years I've been following 'buy used before you keep' strategy and patiently waited for deals that actually gained me a few $$ per kit on resale. I've gone through (in this order!)😅 Sony A6000-> Canon M50 and 7D2-> Olympus E-M1->E-M1.2+ Panasonic GH4, GH5 (both sold), + Canon 5D2, Nikon D7200 and this was just the birding gear, not counting smaller M43 bodies. Currently holding on to last 3 with quite a steikimg difference between 3.19kg 5D2 with Sigma 150-500mm lens and 1.27kg EM1.2 with 75-300mm lens... I also bought EF to M43 adapter. If that works, I'll likely keep the EM1.2 and the Sigma, it not, I might end up re-buying the 7D2 which had the best FEEL of all cameras I've ever used... or I'll try and get a deal on a used R10 and see how the new bargain Canon stacks up against old but gold Olympus😅 Not much to loose, on the gear that I bought and resold, I've currently got around $500 profit... bot counting the freebies (lenses, bags, tripods and monopods, memory cards, flashes) that I gathered 'for free' along the way.

[RetrieverTrainingAlone]

Excellent! For about 5 years, I learned from my mistakes with a used $300 bridge camera. I recently upgraded to a Canon R7 with RF 100-400mm and RF 800mm F/11 lenses....all purchased used in excellent condition. I love these for wildlife photography here in Montana. My old bridge camera stored only jpeg files, had no IBIS in the body and lens and had no eye detection or automatic tracking. Took some bird in flight photos this morning and it was amazing! Went on a 10-mile dike hike this morning and took along the R7 and 100-400mm which are lightweight and that was fun.

I did find that when I set the R7 to auto-level, first curtain shutter was disabled. I also discovered that when I set shutter to silent, it automatically set the camera to electronic shutter....I noticed taking a burst of photos of a fawn running along the fence line the fence posts were not vertical (rolling shutter). So I learned to live with shutter noise and first curtain shutter with no rolling shutter in a burst.

[deegreen]

Very informative video. A lot of photographers suffer from GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) and don’t always make the most of what their using first.

[williamsharp]

Whenever possible, do upgrades far enough in advance of any significant or critical shooting, for example travel. Allow for familiarization and practice with the new gear - hardware and software. A new 'system' and major upgrades with many new features and differences can be especially challenging, but even one major difference that is critical to you and perhaps your primary reason for upgrading should be given time to become proficient 'enough' with before using on a trip on which you will probably not want to spend a lot of time learning what you could have before leaving on the trip. If you can take your current gear and the new gear, great, but if you will be relying only on the new gear, remember that time is special, and the special trips are for shooting images, and all else that go with being in new and special places. :)

[bruceholmes]

Duade,
Another great video. Love the checklist and really great advice to get folks thinking about gear, what they are looking to get out of photography, and the reality of 'newer gear' purchasing.

[welovelouella]

Hi Duade,

Appreciate this really comprehensive YouTube video, it certainly covers a great list of considerations before we spend our hard earned money.
I’m 65 now and 159cm (5’3”) and after realising the limitations of my previous system-autofocus too slow and way too heavy, about 18 months ago I switched brands to an R7 with the RF 100-500.
Even with the frustration of low light issues and autofocus jumping around, I still stand by my decision and can easily and happily carry it around all day photographing which to me is invaluable. (using the Carry Speed Sling Strap, ) It gets me out and about, and that’s ideally what it’s all about. First time Canon user.

[denisesavage]

Really helpful insights there Duade. My last upgrade was from a 13 year old DSLR crop sensor to a full frame 4 year old DSLR. Found one second hand to fit within the budget. Wasn't keen on mirrorless - yet. I very much enjoyed the upgrade. I hadn't been looking to upgrade until one of the lenses was dropped and finding a replacement was almost impossible. I knew I was up for exploring an alternative system to reduce that risk next time something like a dropped and broken lens happened. (I can thank the kids for that accident . . . .)I crunched numbers, worked out what lenses would be most helpful for the type of photography I do, what the budget would allow. I had borrowed another camera and just gradually acquired what I was aiming over a couple of years. Worked well for me at that point in time.