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The Gear

I’m a big believer that it’s not the camera that makes great photos, it’s the photographer. That being said, I still wouldn’t give up my Nikon gear for any of that silly Cannon stuff :) I’m still trying to fill it all in with photos, but here’s a listing of what I use to take photos. (I’ve included links to reviews of the equipment if applicable)

Updated: 2008-05-08

Camera: Digital SLR: Nikon D300: Purchased April 2008. Solid semi-pro camera and a big upgrade from the D70. I am working on an in depth comparison of of this and my older camera. D300

Camera: Digital SLR: Nikon D70 : (No photo) A good solid DSLR with over 25,000 photos taken. Replaced in 2008 after 3.5 years of service. Now it’s a backup camera until I find a new home for him.

Camera: Film SLR: Nikon N80: Yes I own a film SLR. Mostly because every now and then it’s fun to shoot film. And the N80 is almost identical to the D70 so it’s just a easy to use. And I got a hell of a deal on it. N80

Lens: Nikon 18-70mm AF-s DX: The lens I keep on my camera 75% of the time. Great quality glass with a fast focus. Only thing that would be better was if it was 2.8f. 18-70mm ED

Lens: Nikon 50mm 1.8f: The low-light super lens! Super quality glass and a really big aperture. And all for only $100 USD. Now if only they made a more expensive version with a HSM motor in it. 50mm F1.8

Lens: Nikon 70-300M VR: In 2008 I replaced the 70-300mm G lens with this one. The VR in this range is fantastic. Shooting it wide open and close focus gets you a nice shallow DOF.  450mm equivalent on my D300 isn’t bad either.

70-300mm VR

Flash: Nikon SB800: Possibly the best battery powered flash in the world. Loads of power for a small package. Compatible with the wireless Nikon CLS control in both the D70 and D300 (and most other modern Nikon DSLRs). SB800

Support Staff: Two sizes of beanbags made by my friend Lee (one in Tips from the Top Floor colors) and a Joby Gorilla-pod SLR. Not pictured is a Manfrotto 679B monopod and a generic crappy tripod. Support

Power and storage: I’ve got an extra battery for the D300 (and D70). Generally I can run a full day on one battery, but up here in Minnesota, batteries don’t last as long during the long cold winter. For my SB800 I have 16 rechargeable AA batteries that get rotated through in sets of 4. At the moment I have 12GB of compact flash cards (2x4GB, 1x2GB, 2x1GB) and that’s more than a full day’s worth of shooting with the D300 . The plan is to replace the 1& 2 GB cards with another Sandisk Extreme IV 4GB card. Power & Cards

Filters: I do have a few filters. The UV filter is on my 18-70mm lens all the time. The cheap set of +1,+2,+4 macro filters gets a fair bit of use too. The other only on occasion. Filters

Misc Gear: Also in my camera stash are: Film (color and B&W), Giottos Rocket Blower, Lenspen, homemade shoe-mount bubble level, gels for flashes, light stands, pop-up reflector, umbrella, camera wraps, lens sleeves, memory card holders, battery chargers, DOF guides, gray cards, white balance tools and a bunch of other stuff that makes my camera bags heavy. Misc Photo Stuff