Post workshop gear envy

After a photography workshop, there is always gear envy, and then a splurge. You see all of the gear others bring on the trip, and suddenly, your kit looks subpar! Am I right? Certainly, I am! Wait, what? That's only me? Well, I guess I am the only one then. When I returned from Scotland after 17 days, I had a short list of gear I need to upgrade. Off the top, the two filters I destroyed and the remote shutter remote had to be replaced. I did that before I even left Scotland. Pfffft, I am not an amateur when it comes to this.

When I landed in the States, got home, unpacked, and thought over things, I decided I hated the Leofoto tripod I took on the trip. Sure, it's rock solid, fits in my luggage, and it's 5+ feet tall without a ballhead, but getting the legs tightened down was tricky. I was frustrated with the leg locks many times, they had to be wrenched down to get them secure. And I just can't do that on site, wind howling, cold, rain blowing sideways trying to get a shot. I just need it to easily work. My 2 Sirui tripods did not suffer this issue, so $350 out the door to replace the Leofoto with the Sirui AR3204. I could not be happier!

And then, the biggest piece of gear I bought on return was a new camera body. Nope, hell no, this is not to replace my R5. But, in anticipation of an end of the year bonus at work, I bought a Canon R7 for birding. Yep, I have gotten to that point in my life. And I am okay with it. I think my RF 100-400mm lens will live on the R7 and will be a fun piece of gear for me to play with for a few years.

Speaking of the R5. It left the great state of Alabama today, headed to a Canon service center in Virginia to fix the body panel issue I caused when I left my camera and tripod unattended on a windy beach in Scotland. Go ahead and laugh, the initial estimate is $500 to fix. Rookie mistake, I know! The rest of my year end bonus is slipping away. I've not seen it yet, so it may not even cover all of this. Slight panic. It'll be ok!