One of the commonly asked questions to me is what photographic equipment I use.

Galen Rowell says in “The inner game of outdoor photography”, “Asking a photographer what gear he uses is like asking a writer what word processing software he uses” :) .  He is right.  After all these years, I have realized that my skills are always the limiting factor than my gear.  If I could improve my image acquisition and processing techniques a lot more, I suspect my results would be way better.  I am sure my results would more or less the same if I used any of the DSLRs out there.  Mainly due to being a gearhead, I have accumulated a bunch of photo gear, so here is that list.

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. This “replaced” my 70-200 f/2.8 VR, that should tell you something about this lens when used at its sweet spots.

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 27″ i5
  2. ReadyNAS NV+
  3. Wacom intuous 2 tablet

Software:

Adobe Lightroom 3, Adobe Photoshop CS5, bunch of plugins.

Monitor Calibration:

Gretag Macbeth EyeOne hardware calibrator.

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 :( .