“Cameras don’t take great pictures, people do.”
Photo Tips / Gear In My Bag
My Preferred Gear List
“ Cameras don’t take great pictures, people do. ”
It’s true... NO amount of equipment will ever replace a patient and considered approach in photography. So, although this list exists, please don’t consider it a short-cut to great photographs.
Practice, Perseverance and Patience will always bring you greater rewards than new lenses or cameras - they are just tools to assist the photographer.
~
My Top Photography Gear Tips? ...Let's go!
Number 1 - Invest in the BEST glass! It just pays off. (I just love my wide aperture primes!)
Number 2 - Invest in the best Tripod & Head you can afford! And then only Carbon Fibre.
Number 3 - Match the Quality of your filters to the quality of your glass. Never skimp on the C-PL or Variable ND's especially.
Number 4 - Get a GREAT bag/s; Looking at Mindshift / Thinktank Photo, F-Stop Gear, Billingham, Domke and Gura Gear - they are the only real choice out there!
Number 5 - LEARN your equipment then re-learn it, control the light, learn light - become a master of light.
Number 6 - Shoot RAW and only RAW!
Number 7 - Shoot with the lowest ISO you can, I hardly get above ISO 640 and mostly at ISO 64-100 (base ISO's).
Number 8 - Get out of Program (P) Mode!
Number 9 - Edit your work using a great (color calibrated) computer monitor.
Number 10 - Practice, Practice, Practice.
So after more than a decade and a half of trialing & testing what works well (for me) and what does not, this is the equipment I currently like to use :
Cameras, Lenses & Filters
- Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera (46Mpix)
- Nikon ZF Mirrorless Camera (24Mpix)
- Nikon F100 Film SLR (I bought this new in 2001!)
- Olympus TG-6 Tough Compact (Adventure & Beach use)
- Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S-Line
- Nikon Z 40mm f/2 SE (Retro look for the Nikon ZF)
- Nikon 50mm f1.2 AI-S Nikkor (Manual focus)
- Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S-Line
- Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S-Line (a beast!)
- Nikon Z 105mm f/2.8 Macro S-Line
- Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 Plena S-Line (perfection)
- F-Mount Lens Z adapted with the Nikon FTZii
- Sigma Ceramic WR Protection Filters (Mounted on each lens - Nothing tougher)
- B&W XS-Pro KSM Type Polarizer (KSM type are better in humid / dusty environments.)
- B&W XS-Pro ND Filters (2, 6, and 10 Stop).
- Heliopan Vario-Neutral Density Graduated Filter (unlike most this has no color shift!)
- Lee & Haida Filters (150 x 100mm drop-in filters)
- Heliopan Step-down/up Rings (I find their brass rings better than alloy rings)
Other Key Equipment
- Elinchrom ONE Battery Studio Strobe & Elinchrom accessories (amazing lights!)
- Nikon Speedlights - various.
- Phottix R3ii LED Soft Light Panels - Twin Set
- Nanlite 6Cii Pavotubes LED Lights (2x) (So damn useful!)
- Manfrotto 1051BAC Compact Light Stands (2x)
- ProMaster LS-3 Air Heavy Duty Light Stands (2x)
- Gitzo GT2542 Carbon-Fibre Tripod (My go-to tripod for normal daily use)
- Gitzo GT0532 Carbon-Fibre Tripod (For travel and adventure)
- Really Right Stuff TP-243 Ground-pod (tripod)
- Jobu Design Ground Plate (for travel or for table top use - I just add the ball-head)
- Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head (nothing better!)
- Really Right Stuff BH-40 Ball Head (for travel)
- Gitzo 2541 Carbon-Fibre Monopod
- Novoflex VR-Pro II Panoramic Set - for Panoramas
- ThinkTank Photo / Mindshift Accessories - Various
- Mindshift Firstlight 30L & Mindshift Backlight 18L backpacks - Both amazing!
- Billingham Shoulder Bag 307
- Domke Shoulder Bag J-5XC (discreet for travel)
- Lastolite Lighting Reflector's - I love their Tri-Grips
- Pelican 1510 Wheeled Hard Cases (2x) in the Desert Tan Color (better & cooler in hot climates)
- Leica 8x32 Ultravid HD Binoculars
- LaCie 1 & 2TB Rugged Portable Hard Drives (for travel or on the road)
- Samsung T5 & T7 SSD Portable Hard Drives (Ultra portable!)
- LaCie 3 & 5 TB Desktop Hard Drives
- Various CFExpress Cards - 128 - 256GB Sizes.
- SanDisk Extreme Pro Memory Cards (Fastest I can afford)
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Welcome! Hope I can assist you in capturing Lifetime Memories or that Special Image, have a look around and let me know if I may assist you further...