Void Pointer

One of the commonly emailed questions to me is what photographic equipment I use. Here is the list of what I use currently:

Body:

Nikon D300

Zoom Lenses:

1. AF-S Zoom-Nikkor ED 17-55mm f/2.8G IF DX. Easily the best lens in that range. Excellent colors, contrast and sharpness, only if you get a good copy.
2. Sigma 10-20 f/4.5-f/5.6 HSM. Really nice UWA lens.
3. Nikon AF-S VR 70-300 f/4.5 – f/5.6. Awesome lens. I am on the 2nd copy of this lens, sold one early but bought back again. Great for travel.

Prime Lenses:

1. Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF lens [non-D]. I briefly sold the lens and was without it for about 2 weeks to realize that I needed it badly, so I ordered another one . This is the perfect lens to make quick photos of the kids.
2. Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AF D.
3. Tamron 90 macro.  Easily the best value for money lens in that range of macro lenses.

Flash:

SB-800, has built-in wireless capabilities and fully i-ttl and CLS compliant. All that means is I can use the flash on the hot shoe or outside of it and don’t have to do a thing to get it to work well.

Tripod and head:

Feisol CT-3401 Carbon Fiber tripod. One of the few things in this hobby which is worth the $ you pay for.

Kirk BH-3 ball head. You won’t know why people spend so much money for a ballhead until you use one . My photography can be easily split into two phases, before this tripod set and after. I wrote a review of this setup here.

Studio equipment:

2x Alien Bees AB 400, 22 inch beauty dish and diffusion sock, many light stands, umbrellas, background support systems, many backdrops, flash adapters and reflectors

Filters:

1. B+W 77mm thin circular polarizer, I use it outdoors all the time.
2. Cokin P slim holder, 2 stop soft GND filter.
3. Tiffen, hoya UV filters that I don’t use any more , step up rings to the 77mm diameter.

Hardware:

1. Apple iMac 20″ 2.16 GHz, 3 GB RAM, 500 GB HDD
2. Series of external HDDs
3. Wacom intuous 2 tablet

Software:

Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop CS3, Bibble Pro.

Monitor Calibration:

Gretag Macbeth EyeOne hardware calibrator. A steal given the steep discounts of today. [Update: Version 1 of this calibration device is no longer available, you have to get the pricier ver 2 these days]

Printer:

An Epson R200. A very good entry-level photo printer.

Bags:

1. Thinktank Airport Antidote backpack. Simply the best backpack I have used.
2. Lowepro Reporter Light 200 RL Shoulder Bag – when I want to carry a two lens kit.

On the go storage:

PD 70X portable storage device with a 60 GB hard disk.

Previously owned bodies:

1. Nikon D70
   Great body at a killer price (then and particularly now)
2. Nikon D80
   Modest upgrade to the D70.  I could have totally passed this one.

Previously owned lenses:

1. Nikon AF-S 18-70 Kit lens
   Decent starter lens, which you outgrow really quick
2. Nikon AF D 50 f/1.8
   First taste of bokeh.
3. Nikon AF D 50 f/1.4
   Killer lens.  I sold this one in haste and bought the non D version almost immediately.
4. Nikon AF 70-210 f/4 – f/5.6
   The ‘Ken Rockwell’ lens.  Decent lens.
5. Nikon AF 70-200 f/4
   Good lens, terrible CA.
6. Nikon AF 20 f/2.8
   Killer lens, bad CA, but I might buy it again.
7. Nikon MF Micro Nikkor 60mm
   Very sweet lens, if you have the patience to use it.
8. Nikon AF 300 f/4
   Killer lens, my first real pro lens, very limited usage for non wildlife buffs.
9. Tokina AF 12-24 f/4
   Killer lens, bad CA.  Traded it with Sigma 10-20
10. Nikon AF D Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8
    Killer lens, too heavy, traded it with Tamron 90 macro
11. Nikon AF D 85mm f/1.8
    Killer lens, upgraded to 85 f/1.4
12. AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor ED 70-200mm f/2.8G IF. This is all you can ask for in a lens and three things you don’t want. Weight, size and cost. Simply the best lens I have handled.  Unfortunately, the weight and size caught up with me.  I had to sell this lens .