I'm quite amateur and low-budget at this...
Current stuff
Canon EOS Rebel T3
18-55mm IS-II Kit Lens
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens
Tamron 80-210mm f/4.5-5.6 (EF mount) w/lens hood I always forget to use
Circular polarizers 52mm & 58mm - I forget the brands, the painted lettering rubbed off after about a month
Some UV filter - I never found a use for these, I only use them if there's going to be debris around or something.
Velbon tripod - I forget the model number, it's nearly 20 years old, but picked it up new for $5 at a going-out-of-biz sale
Targus monopod - I'll take this on the road if my carry on luggage has room
Manfrotto Allegra 10 shoulder bag - meant for a 4/3 mirrorless, but fits all my stuff snugly and slips into a backpack
Historical stuff on a shelf:
Canon 300D
18-55mm kit lens - kind of blurry when cropping
- Shutter torn after about 75,000 shots, causing light leaks. Loose mirror, too.
Canon EOS Rebel XS
35-80mm kit lens f/4.0 (EF) that makes terrible grinding noises when it auto-focuses, but seems to work silently in manual focus.
- All it needs are batteries and some film...one day.
Canon AE-1 (manual)
Canon 55mm f/1.8 FD mount
Samigon 135mm f/4 FD mount
Some sort of 2x FD mount magnifier (forget the brand)
Vivitar adjustable flash (I think it stopped working, tried it about five years ago).
Canon Speedlite 155A (same deal)
Colored 55mm filters (blue, green, yellow, orange, red), circular polarizer, some sort of cross-hatched star filter
- Light leaks galore, bottom loose...conversation piece only. Used it from 1991 to 1996. Gift from my grandfather. Yes, it actually all worked when I first had it...putting it through its paces after 10 years of previous use and then loaning it out wasn't a great idea.
The Tamron is on its third camera body; I bought it used for about $150 back in 1998. It doesn't focus too well on the T3, seems to either take 10-15 seconds to focus properly (it uses some sort of series of interpolations to arrive at the subject). It was a bit slower on the 300D, and much quicker on the old EOS XS. It's quite sharp and gives decent tones when it focuses properly, yet maddening when it seems to second-guess your shot...which you don't really notice until you look at your images on a computer. Not sure if it's just worn out - there's a bit of slack on the focusing end - or just abused.
I like the prime lens, but it's difficult to put up with when travelling; I want all sorts of flexibilty when I'm not sure what I'm going to encounter. I do like the sharpness and accuracy it gives back, or as long as I can stand still. And the bokeh on demand is nice at times.
Edit: 35-80, not 24mm
