Questions before buying a new gear

It is struggling for any photography addict to buying new gears (body, lens, filter...). This post will help you clarify your decision by answer the following questions:

1. Have you ever owned a camera?
If you haven't got one. Please consider this post.

2. How long have you been using your gears? How many photos have you taken?

After having your first camera and lenses. This is your next question to answer.. If the answer is less than 6 months and 1000 photos. Then the answer is you DO NOT need to buy any new gears. The more you use your camera to take photos, the better you know what you need, and more important (while reading this post) it will help you to answer the following questions.

3. What is your favourite target and time?

What is your favourite?

Let's have a look at your photo gallery/ portfolio and answer this question. It can be landscape, portrait, street, wildlife...

If your answer is "I don't know because my work is all over the place". It’s a sure sign you haven’t settled who you are and what you want to do with your photography. Until you sort that out, nobody else will be able to either. Stick with it
Is your priority time night? or day?
If the answer is night, you need a 'fast' lens (high and/or fixed aperture, let's say f2.8 or f1.8...)
If the answer is day, you do not need to pay much more for a high and/or fixed aperture, a zoom lense with varied aperture 3.5 to 5.6 or 3.5 to 6.3 is not a bad option.

4. What is your favourite focal length?
Again, all this information is available in your portfolio. This will suggest which type of lenses you should buy next.

5. Have you used all your gears' functions
Last but not least: Don’t buy anything new until you are sure you’ve exhausted the limits of what you already have. Most photographers don’t come close to using the full potential of all the gear they already have. Spend time reading manuals, researching manufacture sites, and practicing with the tools you now have before spending money on new ones