Bad Photography Purchases You Should AVOID (what to buy instead!)

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Ian I use a K&F Concept Variable ND Filter. I find it works very well. No problems of exposure variability. I’m very happy with it. I use it for long exposures of waterfalls.

Variable NDs are definitely oriented for video. I never use them for photography. My own bad photo purchase was, in fact, a set of single-strength NDs. They vignetted terrible. I switched to a square system instead. I know there are current magnetic filters that are thinner and vignette less. I just can't be bothered since my squares work for me. P.S. I do regret buying a grad ND. I've learned to exposure-bracket instead.

There was a theme, namely don’t buy cheap! Ian, you mention lens pens, and the flaws of a cheap purchase product, but I use the actual LensPen brand, and it’s a super product. Ideal to pop in bag, doesn’t consume space, works great on lens and filters, especially the odd finger print, etc.. I never take my blower with me. And I’ve never needed to use the Zeiss wipes I have in the bag, other than for my glasses! David Maffin.

I agree on the variable and filters. I’ve repurposed mine, for use with my analog canon AE1 which has a limited shutter speed, so when shooting wide open i can increase the effect to get some nice portraits with background blur in my film photography😂

Thank you for the video. I’m in the middle of researching magnetic filter systems but haven’t settled on what to buy yet. There are just a few reviews on them. More are needed. As many others have said only purchase the original LensPen product but I also highly recommend quality clear filters to protect each lens so the pen never touches the coated lens surface itself. Take care.

Tripods and camera bags , I have spent far too much much on them my soulution in the end was to buy a rucksack that I fitted my camera bags into , The bags hold cameras safely and lenses. One holds accessories . The extra room and pockets I use for placing equipment that for the moment I am not requiring like filters flash lens covers into the side pockets. I lose less stuff now because they don’t fall out of the bag or get left in the floor . Wild life photography you can move quickly and so having a lot of space to drop and zip quickly help for quick movement ❤

I use a Singh Ray Variable ND filter on my 24-105 lens without any issues.

Thanks for reminding me of the lens pen! I thought the same as you did about it but I just hadn't tossed it yet. I am getting it out of my bag now to avoid any further embarrassment, thank you Ian!! CHEERS, the lens pen is gone!!

Finally got a piece of brush out of my Pentax ks2. Wont be using that again. Wish i knew About these things earlier but thanks Ian. Now to get a better filter set. Keep up the grrat work.

I guess we all have mistakes we wish we didn't make. Love the mug on your desk.

Great video Ian, thanks! I would agree to the majority of the items that you mention, but I do love the original Lens Pen, they have worked wonderfully for me! Maybe you got a cheap knock-off, but the original one do work with the help of the Rocket Blower, essential piece of equipment!

I use a variable NDfrom Heliopan. But like you said, for videography. I have wide angles too. But if you're a one person production team using a Steadycam roaming around with constantly changing light It's way better than changing ND filters or compromising the depth of field you want to achieve or shutter speed, that has it's own effects in video. So I set up shutter according to frame rate and aperture depending on what depth of Field I want and can correct for brightness by just turning the Vario ND. But that is a really good filter. Even in wide angle and at the extremes the cross is barely recognizable for someone who looks really close at the footage for editing. Had a cheap one too. that was unusable because even in the best long sense in the middle of the filters range the cross was visible. At the extremes it was impossible to ignore. Never used the Vario ND for photos, except spontaneous photos while around with video setup. Oh and like with Polarization Filters... With Vario NDs (basically two polarization filters on top of each other) money really talks. The Heliopan costs more than 4 times the cheap one.

Great video Ian. I went through a photography journey along the way I learned what works and what doesn’t work. Circular magnetic filters, exposure bracketing and exposing the highlights works best for me. Now I have to sell all my dust collection gear. 😅

I bought some grads and never used them. I find I can get better results with my raw image editor (NOT LR). One of the best purchases I've made is a clip-in sensor protector that means I never have to clean my camera sensor.

Good video and some useful advice, but I totally disagree about rectangular GND filters, whilst they are perhaps becoming less relevant in modern digital photography and cameras with large dynamic ranges, I continue to find them indispensable. I do blend exposures when a GND isn't a practical option, but I do find the few seconds it takes to fit a GND is quicker than blending images in post production. Also, they allow for creative decisions in the field and they allow me to be creative with exposures and particularly using them at an angle when the sky is brighter on one side of the frame, allowing me to balance exposures which again save post production time.

Thanks for the info. Never purchased a variable ND filter but have thought about it. I often wondered if the polarizing would be problematic. Even a regular polarizing lens has problems with wide angle lens. Bad purchases - I have a closet full of camera bags that I never use. Adapting hiking bags has been more successful. Another was a sling strap. They all have a swivel hook attaching to a single point on the camera. When hiking, the camera is just not stable. Back to two attachments to the camera to keep it from swinging all over the place.

Ha! I like the lens pen. It's a light, portable, takes up no space, brush. The retractable bit means (1) you don't get random muck on it (if you don't touch it with your hands) and (2) it's variable stiffness, the bristles being effectively stiffer when it's only partially extended. Safely knocks most duist off the lens in the field. The pad at the other end is silly, though.

Thé problem is when you decide that you need a cpl filter at first, you just buy the one that fits your budget and not really thinking ahead in time. Then you finally need a ND filter, at lease to try, and again, you buy something that you screw on your lens. At the and we should buy a complete kit from the same system once.

I like your VW bus coffee mug.