Gear List

Here’s a list of photography equipment that we use, not the most expensive but certainly not the cheapest too! My rule of thumb has always been to get decent quality gear so that you wont have to waste money twice as you “upgrade” the same gear later on. And I generally buy my gear online since it’s the cheapest (no tax in most stores yay!)… but be warned, only buy from trusted online companies… these are the ones I buy my stuff from when I buy online: B&H, Adorama, and Ritz Camera.

Camera Body:

• Nikon D90: Very nice camera, produces excellent high quality pictures even in dim light. I still find this camera more user friendly out of the box than the D700. If you just want a very good quality camera for family photos I would recommend the very capable and cheaper Nikon D40 (discontinued… now replaced by the D3000). But if you are more of a hobbyist and plan to do “more” with your photography later on.. the D90 is the great middle ground camera between consumer and pro grade gear.
• Nikon D700: This camera is amazing, it is built like a tank and takes amazing pictures in low light. When you snap pictures with this camera you can hear the difference… it’s like comparing a Honda to a Mercedes Benz. Close the side door on Honda and it makes a clang… close the door of a Benz and you hear the build difference. I am falling more in love with this camera the more I use it. It hasn’t failed me yet, I’ve used it in freezing snow and hot Southern California summers… and I’ve dropped it a few times too! (sorry lil buddy).

Lens:
Buying a good lens is the best way to invest in your gear… even though it can also be the most expensive, the lenses you buy will still be just as good 10yrs from now, while your camera body will have already been “replaced” multiple times. Generally, I try to find “affordable” lenses. Those that will produce good quality without breaking the piggy bank open.

• Nikon 35mm/f2.0: the perfect walk around lens for the general (cropped-framed / Nikon DX sensor) cameras. Nikon just released a new 35mm/f1.8 version of this lens, but it’s strictly a DX lens. That is why I have this old guy instead (I want to build a collection of lenses that work perfectly fine on both my crop-frame DX and full-frame FX sensor cameras)
• Nikon 50mm/f1.8: one of my favorite lens, it’s the perfect walk-around lens for me on the Full-Frame D700. I love prime lens because they are so lightweight and unobtrusive. You can put this on your huge camera and still feel like you’re not invading people’s space.. compared to a huge (heavy) poindexter zoom lens poking at them. You’ll find photos taken with this lens all over this blog.
  Please note: this is an older lens (released in 2002, but still in production today) that will not auto-focus on “consumer level” DSLR models like the D40, D60, D3000, or D5000. These DSLR bodies do not have a built in lens auto-focus motor which only the higher end DSLRs have, they must rely on newer, more expensive “AF-S” lenses which have their own motors to perform auto-focusing. Even so, I still highly recommend the 50mm 1.8D lens. For it’s price, you will be hard pressed to find a better lens. If you have one of the consumer DSLRs mentioned above, aside from having to manually adjust the focus ring, all other electronic behavior will work just like any other auto-focusing lens. It will still show you the “you are now in focus” dot in the viewfinder. Honestly, I defer to manual focusing many times.. especially in dim light environments… but if you must have one of the newer AF-S lenses, you can get the relatively new AF-S 50mm 1.4G lens.
• Tamron 28-75mm/f2.8: this is a great general lens, at 1/4 the price of the Nikon variant. The auto focus on this will be a little bit slower in low-light conditions… but hey you’re paying 1/4 the cost of the counterpart “pro” lens.
• Nikon 18-105mm/f3.5-5.6 VR: This is the kit lens that came along with our D90. We have since sold it because we found ourselves using our other lens more often. It is a good overall kit lens though, covering both a wide and narrow focal length.
• Nikon 85mm/f1.4: Wow, what an awesome portrait lens this is. Pictures taken with this lens will just “pop”. How? This lens is called the “cream machine” for a reason… everything in the background just turns to soft non-distracting cream. It’s expensive, but well worth it.

Lighting:

• SB-400 speedlight: good light to have when you’re on the go and don’t want to lug around a big external flash. It’s for practical use only tho, the biggest downside to this speedlight is that it doesn’t rotate. This means you will not get optimal lighting when used in portrait (vertical) angle.
• SB-600 speedlight x3: nice lightweight portable flash units. Trigger these remotely and it opens up a whole new level of creativity. These lights are awesome, they have more than enough power for me. The only reason to get the more expensive units is if you go “pro” and need to get the most light out of a speedlight and to use battery packs for faster recycle times. The SB-600 does not have a PC connector and does not take a battery pack. I fire these babies wirelessly and don’t need the ultra recycle time a wedding photographer may need so these are great for me (at half the cost of the larger SB-900 units).

Camera Bag:

• Tamrac 3537 Express 7 Camera Bag: If you like shoulder bags, this is a good lightweight bag to think about. It has enough space to hold your camera and 2 additional lenses. However, if you are hiking around all day with your gear, I would advise a backpack instead; it will more evenly distribute the weight of your gear.
• Lowepro Flipside 400AW Backpack: The comfy backpack we put most our gear in when we go on-location. Sometimes though, I’ll pack everything into here and leave it in the car… then use the smaller shoulder bag to roam around in.
• Lowepro Flipside 200 Backpack: A smaller version of the Flipside 400. This is the perfect size for 1 camera + 2 lenses. This is the bag we use when we need to be light and portable.

Accessories:

• Nikon SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander Unit: When firing Speedlights remotely… this guy will save you from deleting so many “they blinked” shots. Without this commander, you will have to use your built-in camera flash to control remote speedlights wirelessly (if your camera has this feature). The problem with using your on-camera flash is that it fires off a flash like normal (even if that flash doesnt affect the exposure at all).. so your subjects will be more prone to blink. However, the biggest benefit of using this commander is that you can control all your speedlights from this one guy. Saves you time from having to dig into your camera menu to change power levels of remote speedlights.
• Impact Digital Flash Umbrella Mount Kit : In combination with the strobes, this will probably give you the most “wow” I can take the same pics as studios do feeling. Definitely something every newbie photographer should think about. In order of progression, I would start off with umbrellas (to give you an idea of “studio” lighting)… then work your way to softboxes (once you’ve fully realized the usefulness and limitations of umbrellas).
• Manfrotto Quick Stack System Lightstand: A good balance between heavy and super light stands. Not too flimsy and not too heavy duty. I like how they click and stack nicely together, makes them more portable than typical light stands.
• Westcott Photo Basics 304 5-in-1 Reflector Kit: A good reflector to use indoors, but I find it tough to hold outdoors when windy. Generally, I think reflectors are great tools when used with flash strobes… but when reflecting natural sunlight it really bothers the subject. The sunlight shines right in their eyes, they will be squinting quite a bit.
• TriGrip Diffuser, One Stop – 30″ (75cm): I use this reflector for outdoor portraits. It is smaller and much easier to handle in the wind. You need to buy the gold/silver/white/black panels separately though (TriFlip Reflector Fabric Set for LR3607)
• Photoflex Lightdome Q39 medium softbox: This is the box we take for remote shoots. Sets up in just a few minutes and breaks down into a small bag. The internal baffle helps spread the light evenly… even our speedlight SB600s work well in this softbox. Note: you will need softbox mount and speedring to use something like this on a lightstand.
• Hoodman Loupe 3: Tired of not being able to see your camera LCD screen when shooting outdoors? This will solve all your problems. See every picture as though you were in a dark room. You’ll wonder how you ever lived w/o it =)
• Radio Popper PX: radio trigger. This allows me to remotely trigger my speedlights. Why do I like radio poppers? I can use it alongside my Nikon SU-800 remote commander… allowing me to control all power settings from my commander. TTL to manual? no problem.. everything is changed on my commander.
• Black Rapid RS-5 Camera Strap: This is the camera strap that your neck is begging you for. Lug around your hefty DSLR camera all day and your neck will be raw at the end of the day. This is a shoulder camera strap that will evenly distribute the weight of your camera across your body. The difference in comfort is night and day. Get one if you are tired of your neck getting beat up all day. This RS-5 strap has additional pockets to hold memory cards and even a cell phone. Get the RS-7 if you want the strap w/o additional pockets.
• Alien Bees Parabolic Umbrellas: For the price, these are the best “umbrellas” I’ve used. They have more ribs than traditional umbrellas giving your more light output than the usual. Their build quality is top-notched too. I use the 64″ umbrella along with the optional diffuser screen for my indoor portrait shoots.
• Sanyo Eneloop AA rechargeable batteries: These are the only rechargeable batteries to get, hands down. Have you ever charged your batteries… then pick them up a month later only to have them dead? NiMH rechargeable batteries by nature slowly discharge as they are stored. These Sanyo ones will not discharge on you after a month, they retain their charge up to 80% after half a year of not using them. I use these batteries for all my speedlights. I can’t recommend them enough.

Recommended Reading:

- Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography Boxed Set, Volumes 1, 2, and 3 I highly recommend buying these books if you are a noob in the world of photography and have no idea where to start, like me (but I suck a little less now after reading and trying out his techniques, yay!). The books are great because they provide clear and concise instructions and tips on utilizing your camera and creativity as means for producing better results/images. The books have been very helpful to me. Just keep in mind they are more how to improve my photography and not dissect my camera features kind of books.

- The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2 Just get the second volume if you are fairly comfortable with using your camera but want to expand your knowledge and try out different techniques for yourself.

Camera Gear Wishlist:

• nice f2.8 tele zoom lens
• carbon fiber Tripod
• really right stuff ball head
• super octodome softbox
• medium sized hairlight / softbox
• boom arm (so I can use a softbox as a hairlight)
• California Sunbounce Micro-Mini