Currently, I'm in the $1000-5000 category. This is the most money that I've ever spent on a hobby--the rest of them all added up haven't cost this much.

Thus far, this is the hobby that I've gotten the most satisfaction out of, though.
Within that category, the figure is knocking on the $5000 door--that's just my body and lenses. If I were to throw in the accessories like my tripod, head, bags, flash, etc., it would definitely cross the $5000 mark. When I had my Pentax gear, I estimated that the replacement value was somewhere around $3000 for my body and lenses; since switching to Canon, that figure has gone up quite a bit; the replacement value on 2 of my lenses alone is about half the value of my entire body/lens kit. My 40D body was given to me as a gift and I've bought all of my lenses gently used, so I haven't paid anywhere near what their replacement value is.
My 2¢...
Heather
