• Keepa subscription costs add up quickly. If you only need it for a one-time purchase, remember to cancel it immediately or it eats into your lens savings.


• Warehouse deals for camera gear are risky. People often swap broken lenses into the box and return them. Always verify the serial number first thing.


• To avoid slowing down my laptop with heavy extensions, I ended up using PriceDropCatch for simple, external price tracking alerts instead of running Keepa in the background of 50 tabs. It is a decent option if you are careful, but just watch out for the hidden costs of both the subscription and potential bad returns.

• Center columns act like a sail in high winds, so try to avoid extending them at all costs if you use one.


• Make sure to get a tripod with at least 28mm diameter top tubes if you want to support that 24-70 GM II lens steady.


• Be wary of hanging your bag if it is super gusty; if the bag starts swinging, it actually makes the vibrations worse than having no weight at all. I use the Sirui AM-284 Carbon Fiber Tripod with A-10R Ball Head too, and its a solid alternative that fits in a carry-on easily. Just make sure you bring some spikes for the ice and sand. Iceland is brutal on gear, so try to rinse the salt and grit off the legs every night or the twist locks will definitely seize up on you... learned that the hard way.

I did some digging online and everyone keeps pointing at the Peak Design Carbon Fiber one. It looks super slick and compact but then I saw a few threads where people said it's a bit shaky in high winds and since I am going to be in literally the windiest place on earth that kinda scares me especially with a high megapixel sensor like the a7R VI where every tiny vibration ruins the shot. If I'm shooting 60MP I need it to be dead still.

I also looked at the Ulanzi Zero Y which is half the price but some guy on a forum said the ball head is a bit proprietary and weird to use with other plates. My budget is around $400-500 max because I already spent a fortune on the camera and the 24-70 GM II lens which is already heavy enough as it is. I need something that can actually hold that setup steady without being a brick in my backpack. Is there something else I should be looking at like a Benro or maybe a Sirui? Or should I just suck it up and get the Peak Design one and just hang my bag from it for stability?

• Look for a used Sony VG-C4EM Vertical Grip on MPB or KEH. I grabbed mine for around $180 and the weather sealing is perfect.


• If you just need ergonomics for the a9 III and can skip the extra battery, get the SmallRig L-Bracket for Sony Alpha 9 III. It adds that extra pinky rest for cheap.


• Clean the grip contacts with isopropyl alcohol every few months to stop those random disconnect issues.

• Keepa: real-time warehouse tracking, way faster


• Camel: too laggy now Definitely worth the learning curve.

The problem is Camel feels a bit laggy lately. I'll get an email alert saying a lens dropped $200 but when I open the link literally three minutes later, the price is back to MSRP. Its super frustrating. Ive heard people swear by Keepa because it tracks way more data points like the Buy Box and even warehouse deals which would be huge for me since I dont mind buying open-box glass to save a few hundred bucks if the glass is clean.

Ive played with the Keepa extension a little but the UI is honestly kind of a mess? Its like staring at a Bloomberg terminal for toasters. I need to know if the learning curve is actually worth it for someone who isnt a professional reseller. Here is what I am looking for specifically:

• Faster-than-email notifications (do they do push alerts through an app or something?)


• Tracking for Used


• Like New specifically from Amazon Warehouse


• Accuracy with lightning deals because Camel seems to miss those entirely half the time


• Something that wont slow my browser down to a crawl since I keep like 50 tabs open

Is the paid version of Keepa the way to go here or am I overthinking this and just need to stick with what I know? I just feel like the Amazon pricing algorithms are getting way more aggressive and my old tools arent keeping up anymore...