About My Photography Gear as of 2008

(taken from a couple of my previous posts on flickr)



Taken w/ Nikon S7c and 2 SB-800's. big

Cameras: Nikon D70s, D200, D300, Fuji S5.
Lenses: Nikkor 80-400mmVR, 18-70mm, Tamron 18-200, Tokina 12-24mm.


The only other lens I have is the Nikkor 70-300mmG and I lent it to a friend a while ago. For the money ($150-175 new) it is not a bad lens.

D70s (pix) - worn out and broken, shutter already repaired once, currently has all sorts of problems with the CF card - often can't read it (thinks it needs to be formatted) and often can't write properly to it (writes jibberish)

D200 (pix) - love it, around 115k shots on it. Grips a little worn, one spec on the sensor I can't get rid of, ,

Fuji S5 (pix) - I know it's a great camera (it's based on the D200) but it is not the camera for me and what I shoot a lot of the time. I hope to put it to better use one day. For now I use it at sunrise and sunset sometimes. The color and dynamic range of it are great.

D300 (pix) - best performing camera I've ever owned, until it began having lots of trouble with autofocus, which at its worst would not hunt for focus when the shutter or focus-on button was pressed. Currently sent back for repair after about a month of use (9k pics).

Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR (pix) - It took me about 9 months to out grow the 70-300mmG ($170 lens when I got it). The 80-400 is great, for the money (10x that) it can do a lot. I've read reviews and some hate it, due to slowness and softness. As far as I know the next cheapest lens by Nikkor that reaches to 400mm is the 200-400 and is around 3x or 4x more. This is my primary lens for birds, etc. I'd guess 90% of what I've posted on flickr was shot with this lens.

Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5.-5.6 (pix) - the D70s/D200 kit lens, works well, focuses very fast, and I like it. My first dSLR lens was actually the Tamron 18-200mm.

Tamron 18-200mm (pix) - My first dSLR lens, I wanted a lens that by itself has a good range so I could learn to shoot, learned what I liked to shoot, and at the same time not have to worry about which lens to use, or changing it on the fly. I still use this lens often.

Tokina 12-24mm f/4 (pix) - newest lens I have, and it very good. I use it for big wide angle landscapes mainly.

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ProMaster Extension Tubes 12/24/36mm (pix) - They're pretty good. I've had luck using 2 at most at the same time. They'll decrease the minimum focus distance on a lens by moving the lens farther from the sensor. I use them as a macro lens substitute w/ my 18-200mm or my 80-400mm.

Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter (pix) - this is an ok teleconverter, and will supposedly work with either type of lens (non-IF or IF). It didn't work well at all on the 80-400mm on the D200. I tried it once on the D300 and was suprised, very surprised, how well it worked with the 80-400mm. (that said, I still don't use it very often.)

And all the rest, everything except my monopod and tripod(s):



Follow up to my previous gear shot where I wrote about the big items (cameras and lenses)

View big

A few items and info:
Lots of cards - I've got a ton of cards but use the 8GB Extreme4 card mostly, or the 4GB "pro" card, or 2GB Extreme4 card.

Lots of batteries - 4 Nikon ones, 2 Fuji ones. I try to keep all the batteries charged and with me, but on occassion I've had a couple partially charged ones and wished I had planned better. 4 Nikon batteries means I will usually have 2 or 3 fully charged ones on any given day.

A few filters - these days I don't use any. The closest I will come, which isn't a filter, is the white-balance disc for setting custom WB.

Flash cord SC-29 - use it rarely but it's handy, you can do off camera flash without using CLS (wireless triggering).

Cable Release - MC-30 - handy for tripod shots, which are rare for me.

Level bubble - most expensive little piece of camera gear I own. Probably costed 1 dollar to make, paid ~$35. Almost NEVER use it, since I rarely shoot from a tripod...

Cokin Filter(s) - Almost never use the graduated neutral density, maybe I'm missing something, but I just never really liked the results much.

Better Beamer(s) - first one I got was a hack to mount properly on the SB-800. 2nd one I got is made for SB-800, still don't care for the results much, and don't like the odd balance that the added weight of the BB AND the flash creates with a big lens and body.

Flash modifiers - "A better bounce card" and a snoot (back left of above image). They both work well, and are handy.

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So, I like to have cards, batteries, and my D200/300 with the 80-400mmVR, and that's often about it.
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About My Photography Gear as of 2008