I'm not a gearhead. I think it's important to have quality equipment and to use it well, but I don't obsess over gear and I think too much emphasis is placed on it. I think only now have the cameras gotten to the point where nothing is lost by switching from slide film to a digital SLR. For anyone interested here's what I carry in the field and use for post-processing.
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Canon 5D Mark II
21mp digital SLR camera with low noise up to 1600 ISO. The 5D2 creates clean, sharp photographs with accurate color reproduction, with enough image data to make prints up to 12x18in. (30x45cm) at 300dpi.
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Canon 40D
Backup camera. I had a Canon 50D as well but found the 40D to be much better in terms of noise and sharpness. Before switching to digital I shot with Canon 35mm and Fuji 6x9cm film cameras.
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Canon 400mm f/5.6L
Fixed focal length super-telephoto lens with small glass elements due to its maximum 5.6 aperture, this lens consistently delivers outstanding quality at all apertures. Perfect for flying birds.
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Canon 17-40mm f/4L
Super wide-angle lens providing extreme focal length on film cameras, and standard wide-angle zoom on digital SLRs that have a focal length multiplier effect. High quality when stopped down a couple stops.
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Canon 70-200mm f/4L
A tried and true favorite of photographers across the spectrum, the 70-200 delivers superb image quality in a small, light form factor. Even with the f4 aperture, the lens delivers beautiful background blur.
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Canon 85mm f/1.8
A general purpose and portrait prime lens with solid quality and an extreme 1.8 aperture for low light shooting and very shallow depth of field. Small and lightweight making it good for travel.
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Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro
A small, lightweight true macro lens offering 1:1 magnification and a 2.8 maximum aperture. The Tamron 90mm macro is sharp, but doesn't provide a very generous working distance.
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Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash
Canon's top of the line external flash, with a guide number of 138 ft. (43 m) at 50mm and 190 ft. (58m) at 105mm, it provides powerful illumination for fill flash on distant animals, and excellent diffused fill flash on close up flowers, plants, insects, and reptiles and amphibians.
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Canon Speedlite 270EX Flash
A smaller hotshoe flash that provides a dramatic improvement over the pop-up flash built into Canon bodies, or on the 5D2, which has no flash. Provides stronger illumination, can be tilted for bounce flash, and can be used in conjunction with the off camera shoe cord.
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Bogen Tripods & Ballheads
They really aren't that well-made, and I've been through about five of them in my career, but they're plenty stable. I have regular size metal legs and mini carbon fiber legs for travel. I almost always shoot on the tripod, with mirror lock-up and self-timer. When shooting from a car I use a pillow.
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Canon 12mm & Kenko 25mm Extension Tubes
Extension tubes increase the distance between the rear lens element and the sensor or film plane, allowing for close focus. They produce a dramatic effect on wide angle lenses, and are very useful on telephoto and super-telephoto lenses for flowers, insects, and other subjects.
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Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter
Magnifies the zoom, allowing for super-telephoto photography of distant subjects. Used for small and medium birds in wild environments. The only teleconverter that retains consistent full-time autofocus with the Canon 400mm f5.6 lens.
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Flash Diffusers
I use a variety of flash diffusers to soften flash, including the Gary Fong Lightsphere, but my favorite device is the Photoflex LiteDisc. Its large surface area combined with the ability to handhold it and easily change the angle and distance make it an excellent tool. |
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Tamrac Pro 13 Shoulder Bag
A monstrous shoulder bag that can hold pretty much everything I own, although the resulting weight is a bit much. Much better than popular "sling" bags in that it has a rain cover, tripod straps, far more room, a laptop compartment, and it can be securely locked.
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Lowepro Trekker Pro Backpack
A big sturdy bag that will last for years of rough use in the field before it begins to have any serious issues. Mine has been to hell and back ten times. Lots of compartments and a good, comfortable harness make it useable as a backpack, even on long hikes.
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NEC P221-SV LCD Monitor
A properly calibrated, high-quality display is a critically important part of the photographer's toolkit. Without it you are not working to any kind of standard, and all of your photos can be "off" in terms of color and tone. The NEC P221 provides internal hardware calibration for reliable color.
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Adobe Photoshop
Still the standard for fine tonal and color correction, Photoshop is indispensable for dodging and burning (although not with the actual dodge and burn tools), complex masking, and spot removal. Many of its other functions have been superceeded by Lightroom.
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Adobe Lightroom
An excellent program for sorting and prepping digital photos, Lightroom is a revelation for photographers, with a toolset that supplants much of Photoshop. Lightroom features fast, powerful tools for sorting shoots, assigning metadata, and tonal and color correction.
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