Photography Gear Talk - Reviews & Recommendations

Since so many of us photographer types like to talk about camera gear, here's a page just for that. But before I jump into write anything about that I would like to point out that every artist should know that the tools they use to create their art with, are just that... tools. The material objects don't create art, the people using the tools do. Sure there are some tools that are better than others and that the artist that has betters tools at their disposal has better odd of creating "quality" art. But exceptional art can be created with some of the crudest tools, so I've always thought that the emphasis should not be on worrying about acquiring the best tools, but more so on developing developing our creative eye and on creative processes. But to be fair to all the gear heads and camera enthusiasts, I think it's fair to say that if we're going to use the latest and greatest gear, then we should be familiar with what they can do and how to get the best possible images out of these devices. And just like any thing we use to express our creative muse, practice makes perfect.
 
Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) Camera Bodies
I've been a Canon shooter ever since I've owned my first Canon AE-1 Program years ago. I've also had good luck with both of my full frame Canon 5D DSLR camera bodies and would recommend either one of these bodies to anyone who is serious about photography.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EOS 5D
Pocket Digital Cameras (Canon G9)
Sometimes you need to travel light, but you still want the capabilitiy to take photos with camera that has decent quality and manual control. I realize that this camera is now old and there is already a G10, G11, and G12 out, but I'm going to keep using my tough little G9 until I upgrade to a new model.
Canon Auto Focus (AF) Lenses
As much as I love lenless photography, I also enjoy using some quality glass on my camera bodies. And if you're a Canon shooter, you might be familiar with that little red line that can be seen on Canon's L series lenses.

35mm f/1.4 L Series Prime Lens
16-35mm f/2.8 L Series Wide-Angle Zoom

24-70mm f/2.8 L Series Zoom Lens
50mm f/1.4 EF Prime Lens

85mm f/1.2 L II L Series Prime Lens (Portrait Lens)
100mm f/2.8 Prime (Portrait & Macro Lens)

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS L Series Zoom Lens (great for portraits and wildlife)
When I bought my first DSLR, I wasn't sure what was the right lens to start off with. After reading online reviews and doig my homework, I ended up getting the 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. I figured this lens was fast enough and covered all the key focal lengths I probably would need to shoot at. I don' have any regrets buying that lens, but since then I've developed a love for fast prime lenses.

My 3 favorite prime lenses:
35mm f/1.4 I also have my eye on the 28mm f/1.8 (I really like this focal length) or 24mm f/1.4 L
50mm f/1.4
85mm f/1.2
 
I've had my eye on the 24mm f/1.4, but I think I want my next wide angle to be a fisheye. I've also used the Canon 28mm f/1.8 lens and liked it quite a bit. Maybe it's the focal length, I think 28mm really tells the story when you use it and I think you're somewhat safe with distorting people's bodies.

Now many would argue, why haul that glass around with you when you could have all those focal lengths in one or two lenses.
 
My favorite zoom lenses:
16-35mm f/2.8
24-70mm f/2.8
70-200mm f/2.8

I've read a lot of online photography forums that discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a zoom or a prime lens. Obviously a zoom lens has multiple focal lengths all wrapped up in one lens making it easier to zoom in and out.

Camera Bags
OK, I seriously think I have a problem with buying too many bags. For some odd reason I'm always searching for the perfect bag that's going to answer all my needs for traveling and working with camera equipment. Truth is, there is no one perfect bag for the job. Sometimes I feel like taking a lot of gear and using a backpack or roller bag and other times I like keeping things simple and only taking a body and a couple of lenses. So I've convinced myself (in order to keep my bag fetish going) that every pro needs more than one bag in order to do the job right. When I was just getting start as a budding photographer, I remember a photographer friend selling me on the Domke bag system. I like the rugged canvas look and the fact that it didn't look like a typical camera bag. As my gear grew and changed I realized that carrying all my gear on jobs using a shoulder bag was going to end up killing my back, so I switched to a camera backpack. For outdoor assignments, I really enjoyed using the Dakine Sequence bag and admired it's discrete camera bag design. This bag kept gear safe from accidentally leaving the bag and having you camera body and lenses plummet to the ground by having the opening on the shoulder strap side.
Lowepro Flipside 400 AW Camera Backpack
This camera backpack could go down as one of my all time favorite photography bags. When I first started out I used a black Domke F-2 camera bag, but after years of lugging that bag around I realized it was taking it's toll on my shoulders and back. I got an assignment that required me to travel by air to a location where I would have to work out of my bag in urban and backcountry settings. So I bought the Dakine Sequence camera backpack to fill that need. The bag worked great except for one section of my trip where I would have liked to put the bag in the overhead bin of a small two engine prop plane. The bag was simply too large for that to happen. Fortunately the flight wasn't that crowded and I was able to slide the bag half under the empty seat next to me. I know you can buy hard case rolling bags, but I wanted to travel light and not have to work about checking expensive camera gear that the success of my assignment was depending on. The bottom line is that the Dakine Sequence bag was too large for small plane travel and I wouldn't want to have to hand it over to the sky cab if I couldn't find a place to stow it onboard.
A few year later I came across the Lowepro Flipside 400 bag and took it on a trip to Canada, where I flew on large and small planes and the bag was just the right size. I packed less expensive items (like my Speedlights and pocket wizards, light meter, tripod) in my checked luggage in order to reduce weight and make room for other incidentals (book, magazine, small water bottle, food). Their are many great things about this bag, but the first thing is that it doesn't look like a camera bag and comes across more like a school or day hiking backpack. This is great for using the bag in areas of the world where you don't want to advertise that your toting around thousands of dollars of camera gear. Another great feature of this bag is that; It also opens and closes from the should strap side, which reduces the risk of picking up the bag and having all your gear plummet to the ground because you forgot to zip it closed. Trust me, it happens to the best of us. But I think the best thing about this bag is that I can access the content of the bag without having to put the bag down. When the bag is on your back and the hip-belt is attached, you can remove the shoulder straps and flip the bag around (thus the name "Flipside") which enables you unzip the main compartment and access your gear. Believe it or not, after a while I trusted the bag so much that I was changing lenses while I was standing in knee high water in a flowing river or at the beach over the sand and shoreline. Even with the bag fully loaded, with a DSLR, battery grip, 70-200mm, 85mm, 50mm, and a 16-35mm lens, the bag was comfortable to lug around on a full day photo shoot. Out of all the camera bags I've owned, this bag is by far my favorite. Here are the reasons why. -Small and discreet and doesn't look like a camera bag -Open and closes from the back so that when you put the bag down dirt and debris doesn't get on the straps. -Comfortable carrying around all day even when fully loaded with gear.

Dakine Sequence Camera Backpack
When people think camera bags, most of them don't think of Dakine. Well, I must say after putting this bag to use, it didn't let me down. I think the bag initially was designed for snowboarders and backcountry photographers. When I first got the bag, I thought it was a bit large for what I needed it for. But just like all bags, the more space you have, the more likely you're going to fill that space. But if you need space for a couple camera bodies and your favorite lens kit, this is bag is worth looking into. Our family owns multiple Dakine bags and all of them are well made, intelligently designed.
Lowepro Stealth Reporter 550AW
I bought this bag a few years ago when I was looking for a shoulder bag that didn't look like a camera bag, but functioned like one. I could stow body (with battery grip) and a medium size lens (24-70mm) and still have space for a few other lens, speedlights, lightmeter, batteries, CF cards (it comes with a really nice holder), cleaning cloth, and other small camera accessories.

Boda Lens Bag
(Great for event photography)
This is the bag I use when I want to carry just one body. This bag allows me to carry 2-3 lenses, a flash, extra-batteries, compact flash cards and even a small water bottle.
Think Tank Retrospective 20
(Pinestone Color- Since all my bags are black)
This is the camerea bag I load up when I want to tone down the fact that I'm carrying around a camera. Although as soon as you open the bag and pull out a camera with a long lens on it, that kinda blows your cover. Regardless of that I like the fact that I can stow a 5D with battery grip with a 70-200mm lens attached into the bag.
Compact Flash (CF) Cards & Readers For Digital Cameras
I always keep an eye on the price of compact flash and when the market it flooded with cards, the prices usually go down and that's when I load up. Personally I don't like to worry about space and the quality of the card when I'm shooting, so I only buy Lexar and SanDisk cards. Occasionally I'll buy an off brand, but I only use those cards for practice shots.

Lexar 8GB 300X UDMA
Compact Flash Card
I really have come to like and trust Lexar's cards. Faster speed cards like this are good if you're going to shoot your camera set to RAW + a Large jpg file.
SanDisk 8 GB Extreme III
Compact Flash Card
You can't go wrong with high end SanDisk cards. Ans since it's one of the biggest memory card manufacture, there's a lot of SanDisk cards for sale.
Lexar Professional UDMA Dual-Slot USB Reader Compact flash and SD Memory Card Reader
I like using this reader because it's small and compact. The top pushes down and locks to keep dust out when traveling.		  
Rechargable Power

Rechargeable nickel metal hydride NiMH
AA batteries used for speedlite flashes
After years of using and throwing away countless alkaline batteries used in my flashes, I decided it was time to look inter a more earth friendly solution. After doing my homework and reading reviews and testing out some batteries, I came to like Powerex Nickel Metal Hydride 2700 MAH batteries.

 Maha Powerex MH-C9000 WizardOne charger-analyzer for AAA & AA nickel metal hydride NiMH batteries
And if you're going to invest in quality batteries, then don't skimp on what you're going to use to charge them up with.

Light Metering and Color Balance

Sekonic L-358 Flash Meter
I can just hear my college professor say, "don't forget your light meter and gray card" before heading out on your shoot. When I first started using this light meter, I had second thoughts. I'm thinking why don't use the camera's spot meter and adjust with exposure compensation. The great thing about using a meter is that when used right, it gets you in the exposure ball park quickly.

 Lastolite EZ Balance Collapsible Gray Card
In the past I thought that creating a custom white balance on my camera was way too tricky and time consuming. But after some quick practice, I realized it was easy and only took a few seconds to do and saves time color correcting RAW files in post processing. I like this small size because I literally can fold it up and put it in my pocket. I couldn't due that with an old-skool gray card, that's for sure. Lastolite sells larger gray cards and targets, but this does the job and takes up less space in my camera bag.
Collapsible Light Reflectors & Diffusers

Diffusers
I use diffusers all the time with my portrait photography. Sometimes I don't have the luxury of shooting at choice times of the day when the light is soft. Another great use for diffusers is to alleviate dappled light falling onto the subject. When photograping people in harsh sunlight I place the diffuser over the subject, either held by an assistant or attached to a stand using a reflector arm. But keep in mind that whenever you diffuse light you'll need to bounce light back into the eyes with a reflector or piece of large foam core. When it comes to diffusers, get the largest size you can afford, this will give your subject(s) more space to move around in the shot.

 Reflectors
In my opinion the best light for lighting people portraits with is natural sunlight. And to do this you're going to need a reflector. For single person headshots, you can use a smaller size such as 32, 42 or 52 inch collapsible reflectors. And for full body and group shots you'll need a larger size. I use sunsilver in the shade, and white when using in combination with overhead diffuser. I personally own and use Westcott, Photoflex and Lastolite products, but there are all sorts of brands out there to choose from. When used correctly a reflector will light the eyes creating a pleasing catch light. It's difficult to operate your camera and position the reflector, so you'll need an assistant or a lightstand arm to hold it for you.
Light Stands and Diffuser/Reflector Arms
Portable and Compact Light Stands
There will be times when you will have to work alone without an assistant to help you with holding and positioning lighting equipment. And since I'm often working outside on location, I need stands that are lightweight, compact and portable. I know there's tons of stands out there, but I can't say enough nice things about this Matthews light stand. I personal own 3 of them and have been using them for years.		 Diffuser/Reflector Arm
Sometimes you don't have the luxury of having an assistant to hold and position your diffuser and reflectors, so you'll need to do this yourself. And since you'll be busy behind the camera and working with your subjects, you'll need to put your diffusers and reflectors on a light stand. In that case I highly recommend using a Westcott 1100 Illuminator Reflector Arm. They're well made and get the job done nicely. 
Simple Hair And Make-Up
Oil-Absorbing Sheets
Sometimes I have photo shoots that don't have the budget for a hair and make-up person. And when I use reflectors and flash lighting this can make some people's faces look shiny. This shine can be a nightmare to retouch in post processing, so I like to carry around with me these small oil-absorbing face wipes in my camera bag for removing excess oil people's faces if needed.

Palladio rice paper - 40 tissues per pack
Harmon Face Values - 50 oil absorbing tissues per pack
Portable Step Stools
Over the years I've come to learn that having a stepping stool around a photo studio or shoot is really valuable for gaining those few extra inches or feet needed to make the shot.

Mini collapsable one (1) stepping stool (6.75" Tall x 10.75" Wide (side to side) x 9" front to back) 300 Lb. load capacity. I really like this little stool and it's light enough that I actaully take it with me. Folds up quick for travel and stowing when not used.
Steel 3 step high-back ladder with grip (200 Lb. load capacity) This is a great ladder to have around the studio or a on-location shoot that calls for a little more height than just a 1 or 2 step ladder. 

 

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Hello Readers - Thanks you for visiting my site and I hope you find this information useful. If you have questions or info that you think would be helpful, please leave a comment here. Thanks -Chris

 Sunday, May 1, 2011