So I was doing an inventory of my photographic equipment, and my particular way of packing usually involves pulling everything out, laying it on a floor, and then repacking. By having a clear overview of all my stuff, I am able to, while the equipment is on the ground, re-arrange, categorise and if necessary, reassemble items whose parts have become separated over the course of time.
With everything on the floor, it became clearer to me than ever before just how much photography-related stuff I have. Over the years, I have accumulated a whole heap of stuff, some junk, and some highly specialised items for tasks which I might maybe do once a year.
It’s even worse than normal in my case, because I started my journey with Sony, then made the switch to Nikon. While I was with Sony, I was acquiring Minolta lenses (of which I retain around four) as well as Sony-specific hardware accessories. So I actually now have a “Sony bag” specifically with all the Sony alpha-mount stuff in it. With the addition of the E-mount Sony NEX system I have, that makes three separate mount systems that I have equipment for. Compounding the glut are the various adapters for flashes or lenses that I figured would allow me to cobble together a Frankensteinian creation of doom which would bring any brand-specific fanboy to a paroxysmic rage.
Unfortunately, I did not take a photograph of the floor when all my equipment was out, but in a new move for me, I decided to document the equipment as I repacked them into various bags and containers. This basically makes my gear searchable, if I am finding for that elusive piece of whatsit. The final inventory came up to three and a half A4 pages long, in at least nine different containers/bags. What can I say, I have a lot of bags.
Doing an inventory like this allows me to find out various other things, of course. For example, I found out that I am out of the 23A type 12V batteries, which are used in my wireless radio trigger transmitters. I also found that I have a lot of light modifiers, and predictably, those take up the most amount of space (with tripods/lightstands coming a close second).
I also managed to figure out the number of lenses I have:
It’s not as bad as I thought!
And I have seven flashes, all up. One of these flashes is damaged, however, as are two umbrellas, and one softbox. The damaged stuff, I keep at the bottom of one of the larger boxes, so I can pull them out for shoots where I know stuff is going to go down, with the express intention of trashing them.
Yes, I am a hoarder when it comes to equipment, but I must say that the strategy of using ebay for things has paid off budget-wise over the years. I am no DIYer – I prefer my stuff to come to me assembled in final form, but at the same time, I am glad that I haven’t had to spend too much money on generic equipment like lighting accessories or adapters. Less money spent per piece of gear in the long term equates to more pieces with which to play with.