Im purchasing $25,000 worth of equipment and need help...

[josephbraun]

<p>can i ask why?</p>

[mizore]

<p>If you've never had any experience shooting advertising photography that was used in successful ad campaigns, then this company is trying to get for percentages of potential sales what most advertising companies would charge good money for designing. Check their experience with running successful companies. Does their product make sense? All this comes before putting time and effort into making them promotional material. If they go bankrupt, who owns the equipment you're using. Don't quit your day job. If you've got talent for advertising photography, people have broken into that with no more than two decent bodies, three good primes, and a really good portfolio.</p>

<p>There's a saying in horse circles that green horse and green rider are a bad color combination. You're apparently a green photographer. If this is a start-up, most start-ups fail after five years.</p>

<p>You might want to ask in the business forum about what people who have worked professionally would think of the deal, what the gotchas are with percentage of the sales.</p>

[g dan mitchell]

<p>As if to prove one of my earlier points about taking purchase advice directly from forum posts, someone included this gem in their post:</p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>(btw, Primes are always a better choice over zooms)</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Always?</p>

<p>Dan</p>

 

[graham_thompson1]

<p>Eddie.<br>

Can I interest you in some Nigerial Government Bonds. You sound the sort of guy that would take them especially with my two for one offer that is only valid today. I'll save you $10000.</p>

[chris_dahler]

<p>Yep. Major troll/BS alert going on. Don't feed the trolls and they'll go away.</p>

[david johnson]

<p>I am a newbie here and seldom post comments and even I thought "here we go again" when I first saw this thread. It is amazing to me how often folks ask a question or ask for advice and then precede to discount or out and out reject the advice they sought. So, if you know everything, why ask? I think folks really just seek validation or support for what they want to do.</p>

<p>One good thing for me from this thread was a partial answer to a question I was reluctant to ask - - if I were fortunate enough to be able to buy two camera bodies, and I have interests in a variety of types of photography, should I go for two identical bodies that specialize in my primary interest (or money maker) for consistency or should I chose a different second body that better suits my second interest?<br>

It seems that several of you folks advised choosing two different bodies. Even if the OP did not appreciate the advice and opinions posted to his question, I did.</p>

[mizore]

<p>He's actually got a web site with photography on it that's not bad, just not extraordinary (but that holds for most of us). He just joined the day he asked the question, so that much feels like a troll, but if he is trolling, he's at least worked at it.</p>

<p>Website is all about what he is going to do, not what he's done, with multi-media. </p>

<p>Eddie, you're asking the wrong questions. </p>

<p>Let's say this is real and a company is doing this to get a cheap but reasonably talented kid to work his butt off in the way that young and reasonably talented kids do. They're highly unlikely to give him the gear for anything less than $26K worth of work. Consultants get paid. Companies that can't afford consultants at $500 a day for buying their gear (and you have put a fair amount of your own time into this, without a contract I suspect) can't really afford to give away $25K worth of gear.</p>

<p>It might be worth doing if it gets you experience in doing video promotions, but I suspect that you'd be better off making a name for yourself with YouTube videos (say the equivalent of "Badger, badger, badgers"), have something go viral and then get someone to pay you to work for them.</p>

<p>If you don't have it in writing now that you will own the gear after such and such time or when the company folds, then I bet you don't get gear out of this. </p>

<p>What the sales are only something 4,000 units a year, and your percentage is 6% of five to ten dollars? A rather large number of writers have been in this position, and shouldn't have quit their day jobs. 4,000 units a year at $1,000 each makes three percent of gross is a good income, if that's what you'll get. You also have to pay taxes out of that and benefits if you're not actually an employee of the company. One percent of that, not so good, especially with self-employment taxes coming out and no benefits.</p>

<p>David Johnson, if money is tight, consider picking up a film body that takes the same lenses as your digital body and you're covered if the digital body goes down. Used film bodies are stupid cheap now. Look for things that have similar or identical ergonomics which will take the same lenses. Shoot film if something happens to the digital camera. While the job will cost you film, photofinishing, and the price of a good scan from someone who does that work well, you won't have pissed off a client unless you're shooting PJ things that need to be in the paper now. In that case, a backup digital body is probably necessary, but newspapers and websites don't need 12 MP, much less full frame, so used that takes the same lenses would be fine.</p>

<p> </p>

[stephen_asprey2]

<p>I think he's gone. Too much? Probably. </p>

[allan_passmore]

<p>Can someone enlighten me on the meaning of "troll" in the sense it is used in this thread?<br>

I know what a troll is in Norwegian fairy stories, but while I have a rough idea from the context in this thread what it means here, I'm not sure I fully understand.</p>

[hal_b]

<p><a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=forum%20troll">Urban Dictionary: Troll</a><br>

Also:<br>

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)">Wikipedia: Troll</a></p>

[w_t1]

<p>This was great fun reading this post and all the responses, came here all depressed that there is no Game 6 today. I haven't had so much fun here since that guy used to threaten people for patent infringements on old polaroid cam modifications in the Large Format forum.</p>

<p>My BS meter started moving on the first line, right when he said <em>I need help</em> . If it was 250 or 2500 I might not have reacted so strongly.</p>

[derek_thornton1]

<p><strong>This is so typical pnet. If its not someone bragging about how much money/equipment they have than it is the snooty, stuck up responses given to folks with sincere questions. </strong><br>

<strong></strong><br>

<strong>Go Angels!</strong></p>

[mizore]

<p>It's not impossible that a company would buy the gear and then hold on to it while trying out different photographers and paying them only commission. </p>

<p> </p>

[orly_andico]

<p><em>Im not trying to blow this money, I just don't feel like buying used equipment or <strong>anything from the states</strong> . I mean, I'll look into it but the first thing i did was go on b&h and the price was about the same.</em></p>

<p>If he's in <strong>Canada</strong> ... then the $25K starts to make sense right?</p>

<p>Lots of conspiracy theories here..</p>

<p>EDIT: Yup, a cursory look at his site seems to confirm that he's in Canada.</p>

[mizore]

<p>$25,000 Canadian converts to $23,700 US roughly. I've seen other Canadian posters talk about the price differences in buying Canadian over buying US and paying import duties. What people have been telling him is that if he imports the gear, he can save over what he'd pay in Canada. <br>

Henry's price for the Canon EOS-5D, without a battery pack, is $3299.99 Canadian. B&H is $2,699.95 US, not counting a conditional rebate, which converts this morning to $2,840.077 Canadian. That's a Buy Canadian premium of over $400 on that one item alone, in Canadian dollars. I don't know what the import costs would be, but other Canadian posters have imported cameras from the US just as US buyers used to import things from Robert White because of screwy local pricing by distributors. If his local camera store is giving him a discount of $400 CA over Henry's price, he is in the ballpark for B&H's price, without the limited rebate.</p>

<p> </p>

[allan_passmore]

<p>If you still think that those of us who are sceptical about Eddie's claims are wrong, have a look at these two sites, and ask yourself: is this guy really in the running to be "given" $25,000 worth of equipment?<br /> <<http://www.modelmayhem.com/800878>><br /> <<http://eddiemanuel.com/>><br /> <br /> Note, amongst other problems, Eddie's unfortunate tendency to cut off the top ten percent of people's heads.<br>

On the positive side, it's comforting to know that Eddie is "...ready for all of life's challenges..." (see the first web site), because I think he's going to get a quite a few challenges if his present form is any indication.</p>

<p> </p>

[mbkissel]

<blockquote>

<p>As if to prove one of my earlier points about taking purchase advice directly from forum posts, someone included this gem in their post:</p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>(btw, Primes are always a better choice over zooms)</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Always?</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Dan, it seems like the "prime only" crowd comes out of the woodwork gnashing their teeth at the mere mention of a zoom. As if to imply pro photography can't be done with a zoom. Too funny.</p>

[tomwatt]

<p>Were it me, I'd pull the list together in total and submit it to several of the large photo houses (Adorama, B&H, Calumet, etc.) for bid. One package deal for bid. But maybe that's because my experience includes government contracting, and doing it that way comes naturally... but entertaining a bid allows for a couple of plusses, not the least of which includes having the sellers compete for price/product.</p>

[chris_clarke3]

<p >If I was the OP’s employer/funding source, I don’t think I’d be too chuffed that he’s seeking advice on spending $25K from anonymous internet forums.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >I use PN for things like ‘filter or no filter’ and ‘does the 50L really suck that much’, not ‘how should I spend my large budget’.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >No disrespect, just seems like the wrong venue to seek advice on such a large investment. It’s either a case of bad judgement or a load of old bollocks.</p>

 

[paul_runnoe2]

<p>What camera bag will carry all that stuff at once?</p>

[allan_passmore]

<p>That's why I suggested he get his stuff at B and H for $13,000, and spend the balance on a truck!</p>

[nealcurrie]

<p>The cost of importing to Canada depends on the shipment method. Canada Customs will only charge the same tax percentage that he'd have to pay locally. The issue becomes with the shipping, and what fees the shipping company will charge to do the paperwork for him.</p>

[gerald_matar]

<p>get one 5D mark II and one 7D they 5D mainly for landscape and portrait and the 7D for sport by having both you would cover all kind of photograhy situations</p>

<p>you need tripod.. microphone</p>

<p>why hoya filters.. consider B+W they are very good or at least get them for your L lenses</p>

[suman]

<p>How come I did not know that administration is giving away a stimulus package in photo industry? Shame on me.<br>

I think this is some sort of joke, else I would not touch Hoya filters with 75k in my pocket to spend.</p>