bix02138 Asks About Photography!

On his LJ, bix02138 asks us photogs about our gear. The reply actually didn't fit in the max character count of the reply form, so I decided to post my answer here. Enjoy!

I have a lot of equipment. As a matter of fact, now that I have a new bag, I was going to do a bag porn shoot, but I'll give you a preview (sans pics, as I'm at the office). In general, I shoot in natural light, but I've been recently bitten by the Strobist bug, and I've been shooting with one or more off-camera strobes.

So what's in my kit:

Canon 5DmkII
It's awesome because it's a 35mm sensor, 21+ megapixels, and does pretty damned good 1080p video with manual controls. I also have the battery grip, which is capable of housing two batteries at once for extended shooting. However, the most important aspect of the grip is the additional 2" or so it adds to the height of the camera. Perfect for my large hands. To the grip, I attach a wrist/hand strap (I don't use a shoulder/neck strap).

Lenses:
EF 16-35mm ƒ2.8 L
EF 28mm ƒ 1.8
EF 50mm ƒ1.4
EF 135mm ƒ 2 L
Each is awesome in its own way. I prefer prime lenses because they're sharper, and they have a wider aperture than zooms. When I shoot indoors (most of the time), you need to have a fast, sharp lens. These lenses are some of the best Canon makes. With a 35mm sensor, wide angle lenses really are wide angle! Smaller sensors only show the centre portion of the image, so, for example, a 28mm lens becomes something akin to a 48mm lens. It's not just the field of view that changes, the effective aperture changes as well. ƒ1.4 on the 50mm on my 5DmkII has a much shallower depth of field than the same lens on a small-sensor body. I'm all about the shallow DoF.

Strobes:
Canon 580EXII
(2x) LumiPro LP160s
While Canon's imaging R&D is second to none, they actually SUCK at strobes. They're expensive, they are feature-poor in comparison to not only Nikon (Nikon's flash kit is the high water mark), but to most other strobe manufacturers, and some models (like mine) are EMF-noisy. They are however, very bright, have amazingly fast recycle times, and have some handy smarts built-in, such as ETTL, where it will flash at an appropriate intensity based on all the light coming through and hitting the lens. This means you can have several strobes set up, and each will scale power to properly expose the image. While this is very cool, I've found I like to keep my strobes set to manual. With the Canon kit, you can actually set the manual controls via the camera, even if the strobe is off the hot-shoe. That's pretty rad.

In contrast, the LumiPros are amazing in every way the Canon kit is not, and many of the ways it is. The LP160 is just as bright as my 580EXII, has amazingly fast recycle times, but is a totally manual strobe. It's also cheap as hell (about 1/3 the price of the 580EXII), and comes with a remote trigger port. It's also electrically quiet, which means it won't interfere with radio-based remote triggers. The only real down-side is that they have 1 supplier, as they're the ones that make it. The LumiPro is made by Midwest Photo Exchange, and their website (or storefront) is the only place you can get them. They really love the Strobist community, and it shows in the design of their 'Strobist kits'. If you're just starting out, check out what they've got here.

Triggers:
PocketWizard Mini TT1 remote trigger
(2x )PocketWizard FlexTT5 remote trigger/receiver
While PWs are crazy expensive, they're also ROCK. FUCKING. SOLID. The new TT series does something no other remote trigger is able to do: send TTL information via radio! With these triggers, you no longer need to be stuck with an on-camera flash if you want ETTL.

There are plenty of other triggers available, at a much cheaper cost. However, those Cactus/eBay triggers were never able to stack up to the reliability of the PW… until their latest model, the v5. The v5 is roughly 1/5 the cost of the PW triggers, and seem to have matched reliability. They do however, use the very 'busy' 2.4GHz frequency (phones, wifi, etc use this band, so expect interference). If your range is only a few metres, it shouldn't be a problem.

Tripod:
Gitzo GT2531 Tripod
Arca Swiss P0 Ball Head w/ Slidefix quick release
You can get a cheaper tripod, but don't bother. Seriously. Buy a Gitzo, and you won't ever need another. Rock solid, super light weight, and able to hold a very heavy camera with grip, and heavy lens without a problem. Bogen, Manfrotto, et al have gone to the dogs. Don't bother with them.

The P0 is a lovely ball head. Super strong. It even has an unlockable panning mode. I however, am not super thrilled with the Slidefix QR mount. They took their classic QR mount design, changed it, and patented the new design. The result is the Slidefix QR system. It is fussy, and the camera will slide until it reaches the stopper, which doesn't inspire confidence. AS makes fantastic gear. I'd choose any of their ball heads, as long as I can get the old QR mechanism.

Various Light Modifiers
I own a few umbrellas, diffusers, soft boxes and some home-made DIY grids, snoots, and barn doors. Of all these, the one I use most often while I'm shooting at an event is my LumiQuest Softbox III. It's basically a mini softbox that attaches directly to your on-camera strobe (or off-camera if you choose). Suddenly a normally harsh, directional light, is soft and pleasing. It's cheap as chips, and nothing else out there quite does as well. You could probably DIY it, but it's cheap enough that it makes sense to just buy it.

Things That Are Awesome:
Ball Bungies and Gaffer's Tape
I can't recommend these more highly. There will come a time where you will need to use these. If you pack them, you will have them. Don't not have them. 

So that's my kit. I do have another camera. It's my vintage iPhone (1st generation). I used to have a Canon G9. a friend borrowed, and broke it. He paid for it, but I realised I simply wasn't using it, so I kept the cash, and didn't bother replacing it. I use my iPhone to take snapshots, and instantly share them. You can't do that with the G9.

bix02138 Asks About Photography!

On his LJ, bix02138 asks us photogs about our gear. The reply actually didn't fit in the max character count of the reply form, so I decided to post my answer here. Enjoy!

I have a lot of equipment. As a matter of fact, now that I have a new bag, I was going to do a bag porn shoot, but I'll give you a preview (sans pics, as I'm at the office). In general, I shoot in natural light, but I've been recently bitten by the Strobist bug, and I've been shooting with one or more off-camera strobes.

So what's in my kit:

Canon 5DmkII
It's awesome because it's a 35mm sensor, 21+ megapixels, and does pretty damned good 1080p video with manual controls. I also have the battery grip, which is capable of housing two batteries at once for extended shooting. However, the most important aspect of the grip is the additional 2" or so it adds to the height of the camera. Perfect for my large hands. To the grip, I attach a wrist/hand strap (I don't use a shoulder/neck strap).

Lenses:
EF 16-35mm ƒ2.8 L
EF 28mm ƒ 1.8
EF 50mm ƒ1.4
EF 135mm ƒ 2 L
Each is awesome in its own way. I prefer prime lenses because they're sharper, and they have a wider aperture than zooms. When I shoot indoors (most of the time), you need to have a fast, sharp lens. These lenses are some of the best Canon makes. With a 35mm sensor, wide angle lenses really are wide angle! Smaller sensors only show the centre portion of the image, so, for example, a 28mm lens becomes something akin to a 48mm lens. It's not just the field of view that changes, the effective aperture changes as well. ƒ1.4 on the 50mm on my 5DmkII has a much shallower depth of field than the same lens on a small-sensor body. I'm all about the shallow DoF.

Strobes:
Canon 580EXII
(2x) LumiPro LP160s
While Canon's imaging R&D is second to none, they actually SUCK at strobes. They're expensive, they are feature-poor in comparison to not only Nikon (Nikon's flash kit is the high water mark), but to most other strobe manufacturers, and some models (like mine) are EMF-noisy. They are however, very bright, have amazingly fast recycle times, and have some handy smarts built-in, such as ETTL, where it will flash at an appropriate intensity based on all the light coming through and hitting the lens. This means you can have several strobes set up, and each will scale power to properly expose the image. While this is very cool, I've found I like to keep my strobes set to manual. With the Canon kit, you can actually set the manual controls via the camera, even if the strobe is off the hot-shoe. That's pretty rad.

In contrast, the LumiPros are amazing in every way the Canon kit is not, and many of the ways it is. The LP160 is just as bright as my 580EXII, has amazingly fast recycle times, but is a totally manual strobe. It's also cheap as hell (about 1/3 the price of the 580EXII), and comes with a remote trigger port. It's also electrically quiet, which means it won't interfere with radio-based remote triggers. The only real down-side is that they have 1 supplier, as they're the ones that make it. The LumiPro is made by Midwest Photo Exchange, and their website (or storefront) is the only place you can get them. They really love the Strobist community, and it shows in the design of their 'Strobist kits'. If you're just starting out, check out what they've got here.

Triggers:
PocketWizard Mini TT1 remote trigger
(2x )PocketWizard FlexTT5 remote trigger/receiver
While PWs are crazy expensive, they're also ROCK. FUCKING. SOLID. The new TT series does something no other remote trigger is able to do: send TTL information via radio! With these triggers, you no longer need to be stuck with an on-camera flash if you want ETTL.

There are plenty of other triggers available, at a much cheaper cost. However, those Cactus/eBay triggers were never able to stack up to the reliability of the PW… until their latest model, the v5. The v5 is roughly 1/5 the cost of the PW triggers, and seem to have matched reliability. They do however, use the very 'busy' 2.4GHz frequency (phones, wifi, etc use this band, so expect interference). If your range is only a few metres, it shouldn't be a problem.

Tripod:
Gitzo GT2531 Tripod
Arca Swiss P0 Ball Head w/ Slidefix quick release
You can get a cheaper tripod, but don't bother. Seriously. Buy a Gitzo, and you won't ever need another. Rock solid, super light weight, and able to hold a very heavy camera with grip, and heavy lens without a problem. Bogen, Manfrotto, et al have gone to the dogs. Don't bother with them.

The P0 is a lovely ball head. Super strong. It even has an unlockable panning mode. I however, am not super thrilled with the Slidefix QR mount. They took their classic QR mount design, changed it, and patented the new design. The result is the Slidefix QR system. It is fussy, and the camera will slide until it reaches the stopper, which doesn't inspire confidence. AS makes fantastic gear. I'd choose any of their ball heads, as long as I can get the old QR mechanism.

Various Light Modifiers
I own a few umbrellas, diffusers, soft boxes and some home-made DIY grids, snoots, and barn doors. Of all these, the one I use most often while I'm shooting at an event is my LumiQuest Softbox III. It's basically a mini softbox that attaches directly to your on-camera strobe (or off-camera if you choose). Suddenly a normally harsh, directional light, is soft and pleasing. It's cheap as chips, and nothing else out there quite does as well. You could probably DIY it, but it's cheap enough that it makes sense to just buy it.

Things That Are Awesome:
Ball Bungies and Gaffer's Tape
I can't recommend these more highly. There will come a time where you will need to use these. If you pack them, you will have them. Don't not have them. 

So that's my kit. I do have another camera. It's my vintage iPhone (1st generation). I used to have a Canon G9. a friend borrowed, and broke it. He paid for it, but I realised I simply wasn't using it, so I kept the cash, and didn't bother replacing it. I use my iPhone to take snapshots, and instantly share them. You can't do that with the G9.