Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/05/31
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Nathan, it seems to me that simply having a computer already doens't mean that its cost shouldn't be tallied. From one perspective, if you're using your camera to make money, isn't the depreciation on the camera part of the costs, even if you already had the camera? and from another perspective, the hardware installed in a computer used for photography typically goes well beyond the specs of a general-purpose computer (RAM, drive space, processor speed). Certainly the cost of these additional items are directly related to photography. Doug Herr Birdman of Sacramento http://www.wildlightphoto.com on 5/31/05 9:23 PM, Nathan Wajsman at nathan.wajsman@planet.nl wrote: > Doug, > > What you are basically describing is an bookkeeping approach, which > tries to allocate all costs fully. What I am describing is an economic > approach (which I, like all economists, believe is the correct one for > decision-making) which says that when considering whether to engage in a > new activity, one looks at only the *incremental* costs and benefits of > that activity. So, in my case, the only such costs related to digital > photography include the digital camera and a few CF cards, and the card > reader for the computer. The computer itself I already had, so that cost > is not incremental, and neither is the cost of the office furnishings in > my home office where that computer resides. > > Now, if I were to write grant applications or deduct the cost of my home > office on my tax return etc., then of course I would throw in everything > I possibly could, but from the point of view of economic analysis those > costs are totally irrelevant since they would be incurred either way. > > Nathan > > dnygr wrote: >> Nathan and I are going back and forth on this one. I hope we don't bore >> the >> rest of you, and in advance I must say I respect what Nathan writes so >> much >> that I offer the following opinion in the most respectful of ways. >> >> When we write grants at the clinic, we have to include costs that are not >> directly related to the services we provide. This means that we have to >> include secretarial and bookkeeping expenses among others. I think by >> analogy >> one needs to do the same with a computer used for many things including >> photography. It is part of the cost of the photography one does. >> >> Doug Nygren >> >> >> ________________________________________________________________ >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> >>