Argh. Why Is There So Much Camera Gear? Please Help Me!

Argh. Why Is There So Much Camera Gear? Please Help Me! There's a car park in Dorset where I finally stopped kidding myself about camera gear. This episode is what I learned. In Episode 238 of the Photography Explained Podcast, I cut through the overwhelming world of camera gear and help you work out what a beginner photographer actually needs, what can wait, and what you can ignore entirely. I'm Rick McEvoy, a professionally qualified photographer based in England, and in this episode I circle back to a story I first told in Episode 236 — the day I stood in a car park in Delph Woods in Poole with a bag I could barely lift, and finally had a very honest conversation with myself about gear. 🎒 The Bag. The Car Park. The Realisation. On 30th December 2016 at 15:37, I was in the car park at Delph Woods in Poole, loading gear into the biggest camera bag I owned. It had waterproof zips — ideal for a boat trip I had never taken. It had room for a week's worth of snacks. It had enough camera gear for a National Geographic expedition. I was going for a walk in the woods. And then I tried to lift it. Standing there with that thing pressing down on my shoulders, I went through everything in the bag and tried to remember the last time I'd actually used each item. Not owned it. Used it. The remote shutter release? Months. The filters? Can't remember. The second body I'd brought as a backup? Never. All of it was in the bag. None of it was getting used. I had bought into the idea that more gear equals better photography. The camera industry is very good at selling that idea. It's also completely wrong. Tip 1 — 📷 The Camera Body: It Matters, But It Matters Less Than You Think Every camera body made in the last ten years — even entry-level ones — is capable of producing a brilliant photograph. The camera body is not what's holding your photography back. Your eye is. Your understanding of light is. Start with what you have. Upgrade when you've genuinely outgrown it — not when the new one looks shiny on a YouTube review. I have been using full-frame Canon camera bodies for years, but this year joined the entry-level/beginner market with the Canon R100. I have been impressed with the results I have got — and this is not down to me being amazing, it is down to this entry-level camera being very capable. Tip 2 — 🔭 The Lens: This Is Where Your Money Should Actually Go The lens controls how light enters your camera — and lens quality directly affects sharpness, colour, bokeh, and overall image character. Your kit lens is not rubbish. Use it. Learn on it. Don't rush to replace it. But when you invest in a second lens, invest well. 💡 A high-quality lens — prime or zoom — will help you take your photos to the next level, because it's better optics giving you better images. Lenses also hold their value in a way bodies don't. A good lens lasts decades. And if you want to take better photos, upgrading your lens will give you a bigger lift than upgrading your camera body. Tip 3 — 📐 The Tripod: Do You Actually Need One, and When? You need a tripod for low light. You need one for long exposures — waterfalls, light trails, anything where the shutter is open for more than a fraction of a second. And for landscapes at dawn or dusk, when the light is beautiful but the shutter speed drops, a tripod is not optional. But you don't need one before you know what kind of photography you want to do. Shoot hand-held first. Get comfortable. If you find yourself needing to photograph in low light or do long exposures, that's when you buy a tripod. And if you don't want a tripod, then fine. But you will need to be aware of the limitations this places on you. The full answer is in Episode 235 — Do I Really Need a Tripod? Really? Why Rick, Why? — well worth a listen. Tip 4 — 💾 Memory Cards: The Unsung Essential Memory cards are where every photo you take is stored — and losing one means losing those photos forever. Buy multiple smaller memory cards — not one big one. If a card fails, you lose less. Format your cards in the camera before every shoot. Back up your photos. Every time. Always. Tip 5 — 🔋 Batteries: No Battery, No Photos Your spare battery is the one item in your camera bag that will save you when nothing else can. Buy an extra battery. Full stop. You will run out of battery power at the worst possible moment — and an extra battery might not be cheap, but it can save an enormous amount of suffering. Think about it. No battery, no photos. End of. Tip 6 — 🔵 Filters: Mostly Not for Beginners Filters are accessories that screw onto the front of your lens, or are held by a filter-holding system. Polarising, neutral density, graduated ND — long list, real expense. My honest advice: don't worry about filters yet. The one exception is a UV filter on the front of your lens to protect it from dust and scratches. That's worth having. Everything else can wait. Tip 7 — 🔆 Lens Hoods: The Most Underrated Bit of Kit Use a lens hood. You should get one with the lens. Lens hoods stop stray light affecting your photos. And they protect that precious front lens element from knocks and stuff. Tip 8 — 🔵 Lens Caps: The Free But Essential Bit of Kit Your lens comes with a front lens cap and a rear lens cap. Take the rear one off when you put a lens on your camera. When you take a lens off your camera, put the rear lens cap back on. Take the front lens cap off when you take a photo. And then put it back on. Tip 9 — 🎒 The Camera Bag: Carry What You Actually Use The gear you carry is gear you have to carry. Every extra kilo on your back slows you down, tires you out, and eventually stays in the car or at home. Buy a bag that fits the gear you actually use. Not the gear you imagine you might use someday. If that's one camera body and one lens, buy a bag for one camera body and one lens. The full bag story is in Episode 236 — Why It Is 3 Times Harder to Choose a Camera Bag Than a Sandwich Bag. Tip 10 — 🚫 The Gear You Don't Need Yet Lighting equipment — studio strobes, ring lights, reflectors, external flash. Not yet. A drone — requires a licence in the UK. Learn to make great photographs on the ground first. A second camera body — not yet. Super-zoom telephoto lenses — unless you're specifically shooting wildlife or sports. A collection of everything — never. More gear does not equal better photography. There is a car park in Dorset that proves it. ⚡ Quick Recap Tip 1 — Camera body: matters less than you think. Your eye matters more. Tip 2 — The lens: matters more than the body. Invest in quality when you're ready. Better lens = bigger lift than a better body. Tip 3 — Tripod: buy it when you need it. Episode 235 has the full answer. Tip 4 — Memory cards: multiple smaller ones, format in camera, back up everything. Tip 5 — Batteries: always carry a spare. No battery, no photos. Tip 6 — Filters can wait. UV filter on your lens is the only exception. Tip 7 — Lens hood: use it. It came with the lens for a reason. Tip 8 — Lens caps: front cap off to shoot, back cap on when the lens is off the camera. Tip 9 — Carry what you actually use. Nothing more. Tip 10 — Lighting, drones, second bodies, super-zooms: not right now. 📱 What If I Use a Phone to Take My Photos? Your phone is your camera body, lens, and memory card in one. Modern smartphones take genuinely brilliant photos. The gear doesn't make you a photographer — the seeing does. When you're ready to move to a camera, start simple. One body. One lens. Learn those properly before you add a single other thing. That's exactly what the gear industry doesn't want you to do. It's also exactly the right answer. What Do I Do? I used to use loads of gear. Not any more. And I recently bought a Canon R100 and kit lens. And to go with that. A tripod. A circular polarising filter. A neutral density filter. A wrist strap. A spare battery and some memory cards that I already had. That is what I took to Mexico. No more. And you can see the results on my website where I have published a portfolio of photos taken using the Canon R100 and kit lens. I used to have that massive bag full of everything that I never used. I thought that I needed loads of gear to become a proper photographer. Turns out I was wrong. Turns out what I need to do to be a proper photographer is this. Look and think. Yes really. This is what I need to do to take better photos. There is much more to this, but this is the bottom line — there is loads of gear out there, but you probably don't need it. I buy gear if: Something I use is broken Gear will help me to take better photos Gear will help me get a photo I can't get with what I have Those are my criteria, which I recommend you adopt. 🎯 Here's Something for You to Do, Dear Listener Go through your camera gear. Write down every item. Next to each one, write down the last time you actually used it on a shoot. Anything unused in six months — ask yourself honestly whether you need it. Anything you're thinking of buying — ask whether you'd use it more than what you already have. It's a short exercise. It's uncomfortable. And it might just save you from ending up in a car park in Dorset, unable to lift your own bag. Text me from the podcast feed and tell me what you found. 🎙️ Related Episodes Episode 236 — Why It Is 3 Times Harder to Choose a Camera Bag Than a Sandwich Bag [Link to be added on publication] Episode 237 — What — I Have to Clean My Camera Gear? Really? [Link to be added on publication] Episode 235 — Do I Really Need a Tripod? Really? Why Rick, Why? rickmcevoyphotography.com/blog/do-i-need-a-tripod Episode 152 — How My One Photo Rule Will Help You Take Better Photos rickmcevoyphotography.com/blog/how-my-one-photo-rule-will-help-you-take-better-photos/ 🎧 Next Episode Episode 239 — Your Kit Lens Says 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 — What on Earth Does Any of That Mean? — Publishing Friday 14th August 2026. If you've ever looked at the label on your kit lens and had absolutely no idea what any of those numbers mean — that episode is entirely for you. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Photography Explained Podcast. 🤝 I do hope you enjoyed it and found it useful. If you have any questions 💁 or suggestions for a future episode, please let me know. 🙂 And if you did love this episode why not subscribe so you get every new episode straight to your listening device of choice. And if could tell one person all about my splendid podcast that would be greatly appreciated. For everything else — courses, resources, my weekly email and lots of other good stuff check out RickMcEvoyPhotography.com. And you can find me on YouTube by searching Rick McEvoy. And text me from the podcast feed – how utterly splendid. This episode was brought to you by a cheese and pickle sandwich, consumed before settling into my homemade, acoustically cushioned recording emporium. I've been RICK MCEVOY. Thanks again very much for listening to my small but perfectly formed podcast, and for giving me 27-ish minutes of your valuable time. I reckon this episode will be about 23 minutes long after editing out the mistakes and other bad stuff. Thanks for listening. Take care. Stay safe. Cheers from me, Rick! Want to go further with your photography? I have two courses at rickmcevoyphotography.com/courses. If you want to turn your photography into a business, my real estate photography course takes you through everything — from the kit you actually need to delivering work clients will pay for, based on my 20 years of doing exactly that. And if you're at the beginning of your photography journey, my beginner course was filmed on location in Mexico — real places, real light, real results. Not a studio. Not a grey background. The actual thing. My resources page at rickmcevoyphotography.com/resources is worth a look too. I've pulled together the gear, software, and tools I actually use and recommend — and some of them will save you a lot of money compared to what most people assume they need to buy.