Have you ever thought about how much kit you’ve got in your kit bag?
Really sat and thought about it. No matter which style of photography is your passion, you’re bound to have a fair amount of kit.
Camera bodies, lenses, chargers, tripods, even the bag itself. Then there’s any gear that you might use to edit your photos. Mobile phones, tablets, laptops.
It’s a pretty extensive list when you think about it.
At Ripe, we not only see Photographers using all kinds of kit to create incredible photos, but also the dangers of not properly protecting that kit.
Collecting your kit is a labour of love
It’s probably not only taken a fair amount of time to collect it all, but also a fair amount of cash. It’s not inconceivable that you’re carrying around hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds worth of kit around with you when you’re on a shoot.
You’ve perhaps had your eye on a new lens for a while, or perhaps think it’s about time you upgraded all your camera body. But if you’re upgrading your kit it’s even more important to make sure it’s properly protected.
After all, the more kit you’ve got in your kit bag – the more you’ve got to lose.
Just ask Eilis, a photographer we know. She almost put an early end to a shoot she was on when she dropped her lens:
“Thankfully, it didn’t break. But it has taught me that I need to insure my kit.”
“I’ve spent a lot of time saving up for my kit, it’s a big investment, and I couldn’t afford to just replace it all, so I don’t want to just throw that investment down the drain.”
Why you need to know the value of your kit
It’s not only for your own sense of pride to know how much kit you’ve got. When it comes to insuring it it’s incredibly important.
After all, if you don’t know how much all your kit is worth, how can you be sure it’s properly protected.
We asked Lisa, who’s been a passionate photographer for over 10 years, to think about how much kit she had.
“I favour landscape photography, so I started out with a camera rucksack, lightweight Manfrotto tripod, a Canon 650d which included the standard lens that came with the camera, plus a wide angle, a telephoto and a prime lens.” She explains.
“More recently I’ve taken an interest in food photography, so I’ve expanded my kit to include studio lighting with soft box, diffusers and reflectors to name a few, there’s probably more lying around at home too.”
It’s for photographers like you and Lisa that we created a quick, easy to use online tool to help calculate the true value of all your kit.
“I was really astounded at the overall cost of my kit”, Lisa says
“I had no idea that the pieces I’d accumulated over the years had such a large overall value.
I tend to think of the cost of my kit on a more item by item basis. My camera is worth this much, my lens is worth that much etc. But seeing the grand total on screen, I was quite taken aback by how much I’ve actually got, and how much it’s all worth!”
So what would her advice be to other photographers?
“I’d definitely recommend finding out how much all your kit is worth and getting it all insured. Photography and my kit are so important to me, and to think that I hadn’t got it properly covered because I didn’t know how much it was all worth was frightening.
I definitely wouldn’t be able to afford to repair or replace it all if something were to happen.”
How much kit does your Unsung Hero have?
The joy of photography is the power it has to inspire, whether it’s inspiring people to go and explore the world around them or inspire some social change in the world.
From incredible charity work and raising awareness of social issues within your community, to starting photography clubs and mentoring the next generation of photographers. We often hear stories of how photographers have used their photography to make a difference.
That’s why we’re proud to be associated with the ‘Unsung Hero’ award. Exploring the many incredible ways photographers like you use their work to do amazing things in the world.
If you, or perhaps someone you know, has done something that you think makes them our ‘Unsung Hero’ you can enter our award here.
If you, like Lisa, want to know the true value of all your kit,
If you want to find out more about how we at Ripe can protect you and all of your kit on your pursuit for the perfect shot, head online and find out how we can help you. There’s even a discount of up to 30% for new customers.
