Camera Equipment

Nikon over Canon

Personally, use a Nikon D800 and my old D80. I chose Nikon initially because of the gold ring on Nikon lenses. I am now so used to the grip and zooming “to the right” that I don’t think I will go with Canon. I heard that Sony and other companies are also making great DSLRs in the past few years, and I am not closed to Trying another kind.

I actually think that my D80 had more natural colours then my professional D800, which I find is a bit too saturated and on the yellow side. Of course, we can change the settings on the camera, but I’ve tried to things without being really satisfied. I believe Canon has a better and more accurate colour settings, but Nikon is awesome for ISO and grain. I prefer in those two cases, to have colour deformation rather than having to reduce grain… especially that I shoot most times in low light.

Lenses

My first lens, and only lens I used at the beginning, was the original 18-105mm 3.5-5.6 that came with my D80. This lens was actually great to begin with, it has a wide range with the vibration reduction and it has got me a long way.

My second lens, that I bought after being frustrated with grain, what’s the 50 mm 1.4 which cost me less than $200 and was worth every dollar. I say it was, because I sadly dropped it too many times and it doesn’t focus automatically anymore. Still, I must have had it for six years now, probably more.

I recently bought a new 50mm, but this time it’s a 1.8, so it's blur is a lot less natural and artistic. At least it’s a newer model, so I’m kind of happy about that.

My third lens, and by far my favorite one, is the Nikkor 70-200 2.8. It normally goes for about $3000 if you buy it new, and I was able to get a used one for 1600$... plus it was in perfect condition. I needed to buy this one, because it was starting to cost me a lot to rent it at every concert I shot. This is the best lens you can buy for concerts or event photography. I absolutely love it, it’s my bazooka, it has been with me at every show since. It's been knocked around and mosh pits, along with my D800 (who cracked in half right before a Rammstein concert by the way), and still manages to work like a charm.

My fourth lens is at 28-70 2.8, this one is not a Nikon lens, it’s by Sigma, another Japanese company that designs different kind of brand lenses. I’m not such a fan of that one, but it’s still better than the 18-105mm and wider than the 50mm… so it’s very useful for portraits or almost any other shoot.

Accessories

I have the Nikon SB 900 Flash that is almost equivalent to a studio flash, I don’t use it very often, but now that I have for my other accessory I will probably take it out more. This flash is very resistant, I am totally impressed. I once bought a D7000… I liked it, had great light, feel, ISO… but it only lasted that one week… let’s just say some waves crashed into it and it died. Surprisingly however, the SB 900 survived and even though it seems a bit damaged by the water, it still works exactly the same way. The wave accident happened in 2011… that gives you an idea over how unaffected it is. Absolutely amazing! The D7000 was checked (briefly) by Nikon specialist and they said there was no way of getting it fixed. Hmm! I still have it to this day and have no idea what to do with it. Lol.

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