This is a series of weekly short tips on photography that I’ll be posting every Tuesday.  Many of these are aimed at folks who have just picked up their first camera, but not all, so check back every week for new tips!

There are two main barriers to entry when it comes to photography: technical know-how, and the cost of equipment.  Assuming you actually like photography, overcoming the first one merely requires a little reading, a little feedback, and a lot of practice.  The second barrier, unfortunately, isn’t quite as easy to overcome – at least, not until money grows on trees (I’m working on this, though).

A professional photographer—that is, someone who makes their living with a camera—has no problem dropping a couple of thousand dollars on a single lens if it’s the right tool for the job.  It’s a cost of doing business, and the money that it brings in will pay for the lens many times over.  I’m going to discuss mostly lenses here, as these are the most important items you’ll have in your camera bag—they’ll almost always outgrow whatever camera body you’re using, and will make the biggest difference in image quality.

For the rest of us, however, this means you’ve got one of two options.

First, you can buy cheap gear.  There are plenty of great budget lenses out there, but often those lenses may not meet your requirements.  As an example, one lens that pretty much lives on my camera right now is Tamron’s 17-50mm f/2.8 cropper (i.e., meant for cameras with a smaller-than-35mm sensor), which sells new for about US$450 (there’s both a Canon and Nikon version available), as well as a newer version too for Canon and Nikon at US$650).  It’s obviously not as sharp or durable as a far more expensive Canon L lens, nor does it have fast, silent autofocusing, but for my purposes, that’s a reasonable tradeoff.  But what if you decide that you do need those features?

The second option is, then, to buy used gear.  The advantage here is that a used lens will generally be of higher quality, and have better performance, than a new lens at a similar price.  Additionally, should you grow out of it, you can typically sell a used lens for pretty much the same price as you initially paid (assuming, of course, you keep it in the same condition).

The disadvantage, of course, is that you have to ensure you don’t get scammed.  As with any other major purchase, always research the options, and what the current market price is.  Deal locally so that you can meet up with the seller and test the new lens on your own gear.  There’s usually no warranty on used gear, so you want to make sure that it works properly.  Don’t worry too much about the warranty issue, though: the money you save by buying used will typically be greater than any money you might have to spend on future repairs or maintenance (assuming normal wear-and-tear, that is).

Another tip for buying used: gear snobs will typically pay a premium for a gear that comes with all its original packaging and user manuals.  This is a good thing if you’re selling gear that you bought new, but if you’re looking to buy, then paying a premium for stuff that’ll sit in your closet just isn’t worth it in my opinion.

As always, caveat emptor, do your homework, and learn what to look for before buying a used item.  Read reviews.  And, as the dude with the accent says, save your money.