Some notes based on my experiences:
1. Don't try to do this on the cheap. Yes, you can make it work with a crock pot and a temperature controller. Here's the problem with the crock pot. It's ceramic, and has a high thermal mass, meaning it can absorb a lot of heat. The issue is that when the temperature controller turns the pot off, it's still going to radiate heat into the water for a long time. That increases the temperature wave, and though I've never done it, I can imagine that the wave is +/- 3-5 degrees. While pretty good, it isn't precise enough for some applications. My SousVideSupreme cycles maybe 0.5 of a degree. At $300, it's worth it to me to have that kind of precision, and someone's name to stand behind a product in case something should go wrong.
2. Though no one ever mentions it, food safety is a big, big issue when you're cooking food in the danger zone. As such, your cleanliness and sanitation is very, very important. Be mindful of it.
3. Sous vide is not the be all, end all of cooking. It doesn't work at all for some applications, namely green vegetables, beans and legumes, and pasta.
4. If you're cooking large quantities of items to serve at a later date, you need large quantities of ice to get everything cooled down. An ice bath should have just enough water to keep the ice cubes from sticking to each other. That takes a lot of ice. If you don't have an ice maker, you'll need to have a bag of ice. Something to keep in mind.
5. Cooking times for meat are a non-linear relationship between time and thickness. For example, a 1" thick steak cooked to 130 dF will take about an hour. A 2" thick steak could take 3 hours, because of that whole volume thing. Look up some guides online to see what the expected times are based on thickness for the meat you're cooking.
Some of the foods I've cooked, temperatures, and time, and comments.
Just about any root vegetable is excellent sous vide. 185 dF until they are done, because it's going to depend on the vegetable and how big the pieces are. Check by trying to mash a piece in the bag. If it mashes, they are done.
Venison loin or tenderloin. 128 dF, an hour for tenderloin, 1.5 hours for backstrap. Truly awesome. Flash sear it before serving.
Pork spare ribs. 155dF for 9 hours. It's isn't barbeque, and I certainly won't try to pass it off as barbeque, but these are truly outstanding.
Lobster tail. 150 dF for 30 minutes. Put the shelled tail in the bag, add half a stick of butter and some salt. Butter poached lobster, and it's amazing. Make some stock with the shell, reduce it, add the juices from the bag, and reduce it some. Drawn lobster butter.
A whole turkey. I cut the turkey into 6 pieces, and cooked the white meat at 150 dF for 4 hours, and the dark meat at 165 dF for 8 hours. Chilled both down, and reheated it the next day. It was very moist, but it had the texture of deli turkey meat. Not was I was expecting, but it wasn't bad. May try it again.
Pate. Yes, I did pate in my sous vide machine. I put it in a loaf pan, vacuum packed it, and put it in the machine at 155 dF for 8 hours. The texture was perfect, and I didn't have to worry about over-cooking it or weighting it down after it cooked, because it was already compressed. Won't do it any other way from now on.
Compressed watermelon. Very interesting because of the textural change. The vacuum made it more flavorful, with a nice texture. A bit messy to do, but I'd do it again.
Pork sausages. 155dF for an hour. Perfect every time and no busted casings. Often I don't even bother searing them.
Catfish. 150 dF for 20 minutes. Stays very moist, and the texture doesn't change much. I cook it this way often.
Steak. 128 dF for an hour for a 1" steak. It's great, except for the searing part. The problem is that the steak is very wet when you take it out of the bag. Even ever setting the steak on paper towel to absorb the excess moisture, you need a white-hot cast iron pan to get a decent sear. I don't do it often, but if I was cooking a bunch of steaks for a big group, it's something I would consider doing.
I'll add more later if I think of anything.