Gear
Photo gear for sale including Nikon 500 f/4 IF-ED Ai-P Manual focus lens
So which equipment
is
the best? This Is a question that occupies the mind of many a
photographer.
The longer you are involved in
photography ,though, the less important
this question seems to become.
Some people will
argue that equipment doesn't matter at all, and that it is the
photographer that takes the picture. There is a lot of truth in this,
but in the world of nature photography equipment is an issue.
My advice would
be to research thoroughly, make the best informed choice you can for
your budget, and then put the while equipment issue behind you - just
get out and create some images.
What
equipment should I use?
It is
difficult for me to give equipment recommendations. The answer to the
question "what should I buy?" is almost always "well it depends".
I have listed below what equipment I use and some brief comments.
I also have a gear review section, and would recommend that you check out my links page for further advice, especially NÆRFOTO Bjørn Rørslett for excellent lens reviews.
Nikon F100 -A recent addition to my bag and still too early
to comment.
Nikon 801s - an excellent camera and my
recommendation to those on a budget who want to start using the Nikon system for nature photography.
24/2.8 AFD - Affordable wide angle lens
with good results, and a
depth of field
scale for setting hyper-focal distance. Also small
enough to carry any
time you have a camera, and light enough to
yield fine results
on a small, light tripod.
50/1.8 AF - Small, light, cheap, fast
and optically excellent. What
more could you want?
Zoom-Nikkor
50-135 mm f/3.5 [AIS] - Covers a useful zoom range,
gives good
performance at f8, and is affordable. Combined with a
prime wide angle
lens this makes a good landscape kit.
75-150 mm f/3.5 Nikon Series E - See above.
AF-ED 80-200 mm
f/2.8 Nikkor
- Big, heavy and expensive, but
good. In
conjunction with a x1.4 teleconverter this lens provides
excellent results
over a wide focal length range in a single lens.
Also provides good
macro performance when used with a
supplementary
lens.
200 mm f/4
Micro-Nikkor MF -
Nikon's AF version of the lens is
superb, but
expensive. The manual focus version though is
affordable second
hand, gives good results and goes down to 1:1
when used with a
reversed 4T supplementary lens. 200mm is often the
ideal length for a whole range of macro work.
500 mm f/4
Nikkor-P ED-IF -
Second hand this lens can be one of the
most affordable
ways to get into the world of bird photography.
However, I suspect
that this may start to change as Canon
photographers start
trading in their old lenses to make use of IS
technology. This
lens from Nikon yields excellent results with and
without a x1.4
teleconverter.
Tamron SPAF 1.4 Tele-converter - This is an important piece
of
equipment for the
Nikon photographer using the 500 mm f/4 P, as it
allows matrix
metering to be maintained on modern Nikon bodies.
Until now the only
option to maintain matrix metering with the
500mm f/4 P has
been to use the expensive TC14b on an F4. Now
with an F100, a
500mm f/4 P and a Tokina 400mm f/5.6 the Nikon
photographer has a
relatively affordable system for photographing
birds, both
stationery and in flight.
Nikon PK-13extension tube - Extension tubes allow a long lens to focus closer and are useful when using long lenses to photograph small birds.
Filters - I only use three types of filter. Firstly, a polariser to reduce glare caused by water on foliage, rock etc and to reduce the effects of "haze" when shooting distant landscapes. Secondly, an 81a to "warm up" images. The third type of filters I use are Singh-Ray graduated neutral density filters. I use two types, a two stop filter with a soft transition and a three stop filter with a hard transition. Properly used graduated neutral density filters are pretty much essential for the type of landscape photography I do.
SB24 flash- Used with a Fresnel lens and a home made flash bracket to provide fill flash when using telephotos over 300mm.
Gitzo 410 tripod - A big, heavy tripod, which provides the perfect platform for a large telephoto lens. A Gitzo 340 series tripod is probably suitable for the 500 f/4 p, especially if you don't extend the legs too much. Best of all would be one Gitzo's expensive, but great carbon fiber models.
Arca Swiss B1 ball head - One of the best ball heads available and suitable for lenses up to 600mm if good technique is used. For bird photography the best option is a gymbal type head, such as that produced by Wimberly. However, like so many things in photography, they are expensive.
Manfrotto 3021 tripod - Excellent value and performance with lenses up to 300mm. Is capable of producing sharp results with a 500mm f/4 P if the legs aren't extended.
Gitzo G01 tripod, Linhoff head 01 and Really Right Stuff quick release clamp- An excellent light weight tripod for when you can't carry anything else. Capable of producing sharp results with prime wide angles, short telephotos and the 50-135mm zoom (if the legs aren't extended).
Quick release lens and camera plates - I use a selection of Kirk's and Really Right Stuff's lens and camera quick release plates. I prefer those from Really Right Stuff, but having to get a foreign currency draft every time I order is becoming a pain.
Cable release - Essential for sharp picture taking in macro and landscape photography.
Lowepro Phototrekker AW - Used for transporting all my gear about. For walking longer distances with gear I prefer to use separate pouches inside a proper rucksack.