gear – JWNPhoto.com

Articles Tagged with: gear

JWNPhoto Gear Sale

I’m selling a bunch of my gear in order to fund newer gear and to clear out equipment that I’ve long since upgraded. While I was listing these products on eBay, I started adding images I made using said gear and I thought I’d share those here as well.

I’ll link to the listings before each image if you care to buy any of this equipment (or if you know someone who’s in the market this holiday season).

Here goes. First we’ll start with my Nikon D40 – My first ever Digital SLR! Check out this image:

Then we have my Nikon D90 – I really pushed this camera to its limits and then some:

My street/travel camera, the Nikon Coolpix P7000 is up for grabs. I made this image with it:

All right folks, now we’re going to get real serious here. My flagship camera, the Nikon D800 is currently up for sale!!!

OK, so let’s talk about lenses. I’ve got some DX and FX Nikon mount lenses for sale.

The Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 is a wide angle beast. Here’s one of my all-time favorite images, which was taken on my D90 with the Tokina:

**SOLD** The Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 is a fast prime lens that I used to make this image (it’s also a full-frame lens that works on DX cameras as well):

The Nikon 55-200 DX lens is a steal for what it can do:

**SOLD** The Nikon 55-300 DX lens goes a little farther. It’s like it goes to 11!

**SOLD** You can’t beat a nifty 50, and the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 D lens is a great choice (and it also works on full-frame Nikons as well as cropped sensor ones):

A 50 is nifty, bbut on a cropped sensor camera, the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 DX is where it’s at:

**SOLD** And finally, the best DX lens you can buy for under $50 is the Nikon 18-55 VR:

Please share this post with anyone you know who’s interested in getting some Nikon gear because there’s stuff here for every level of shooter! Have a great Thanksgiving everyone.

MeFoto Travel Tripod First Impressions

It’s been quite a while since I’ve talked about gear on the blog, so in light of my recent obsession with my Fuji X-T1 camera, I asked my wife to get me a new tripod specifically meant for smaller cameras for my birthday. She delivered with the MeFoto BackPacker Travel Tripod – And she made me this awesome raspberry-filled almond wedding cake too:

Anyway, I took a closer look at the tripod this morning and this thing is pretty awesome for what it is.

It’s only 12.6 inches long when folded up, and it expands to 51.2 inches. It also only weighs 2.6 lbs. While I prefer a much taller and heavier set of legs for my Nikon, the whole point of the Fuji is to minimize your gear. It’s a camera that makes you want to always bring it with you. So for traveling, I can take a tiny tripod like the MeFoto and fit it in my bag without really noticing it.

It has twist locking legs, which I prefer because with one twist of my hand I can unlock all 4 joints on a leg. They also minimize the bulk of the whole thing. The ball head has an Arca-Swiss style compatibility quick release plate, which is cool because you can get an L-Plate without changing out the base. That’s a great thing on such a small ball head for shooting in portrait mode so the camera’s weight can remain centered and balanced. There’s also a little bubble level built into the head, which is always a time saver when setting up a landscape photo that you want to be level. Sure, the X-T1 has a level built in, but this saves you time while setting up before you even get the camera mounted.

Hold on, I just remembered that there’s still cake in the house…

YUMMMMMMM!

OK, so the other thing that really impresses me about this set of sticks is the versatility of its design. Because the legs fold up over the ball head, you can invert the tripod to get down low!

I was a little concerned about the overall height of the tripod, as one of the reasons to want a travel sized tripod is to take self & family portraits while on a trip. I setup the tripod fully extended and stood as close as I could to fill up the frame from waste-up. I think for this purpose, the angle is flattering enough, and if I were standing in front of something that I’d want included in the photo, it would work. Please take no notice of the 14 year-old trying to photo-bomb this shot – f/1.4 FTW!

MeFoto A0350 Travel Tripod Selfie Test Shot

My first impression of the MeFoto BackPacker Travel Tripod is that this thing is loaded with great features and the only compromise is its height, which for what it’s designed to do isn’t a deal-breaker. You wouldn’t want this as your main tripod for professional work, but if you’re someone who leaves the tripod at home because it’s too inconvenient for you to lug a giant pro set of sticks around, then something like this is the way to go. I’ve yet to try it out with any long exposures, but I was impressed to see that it does feature a retractible hook to hang a weight (more than likely your camera bag) to help keep it steady in the wind. Also, in theory the lightness of the tripod shouldn’t be a problem with a mirror-less camera for long exposures since there’s no vibration caused by a mirror flipping up.

Now, I think there’s still more cake left…

Walking With The D800

21st Century Photography Group Photo Walk

Warning: Nerdy Photographer Talk Below

After Nikon announced the D800, I started watching for the D700 prices to fall enough to where I felt justified in purchasing a previous generation body. But the day after I rented a D800 from CharlestonAVGear for a wedding I found myself placing an order for Nikon’s newest (and IMO finest) camera.

Then I started reading the various photography forums and panic started to creep in because it appeared that I might not get this camera until August!

I had a delivery estimate from Amazon, and then early last week the estimate vanished and was replaced with “unknown”. Gahh! I started following this thread on NikonRumors because some posters were letting people know when various retailers had stock available. I got lucky on Tuesday morning because someone posted that NikonUSA.com had them listed in stock. I quickly ordered one and moments after I placed my order they were listed as out of stock again. Regardless, on Wednesday morning I had the new camera in hand! The funny thing was that I got a notice from another fine camera retailer, Robertscamera.com, later in the day on Wednesday that they had some in stock, so I shared that info on the Nikonrumors forum that helped me out and some other shooters were able to get D800’s from them. Paying back on the forum that helped you is a good recipe for internet karma. And as of now it seems that a lot of people are getting the camera’s they’ve had on back-order for months, so I am assuming that the supply is reaching the level of demand to some degree.

So, I was itching to go out and use my new tool, since it’s a very different animal than my previous body. The local photography group, the 21st Century Photography Group, was hosting a photo-walk at the College of Charleston on Sunday. A perfect opportunity!

I brought my son Kegan along, who was shooing with my P7000.

Unfortunately it was quite hot and he was not feeling the whole walking part of the photo-walk. He did get a box of crackers to snack on, but even that couldn’t sooth the savage Kegan 😉

I’ve been shooting with a cropped sensor for so long now that switching to a new full-frame sensor is introducing a whole new way for me to approach the things I am used to. The focal lengths are now properly represented, so my 50mm lens is a true 50mm instead of the 80mm equivalent on a cropped sensor camera. This means I’ve got to get closer! That has the effect of decreasing the available depth of field, so focusing properly is crucial. The 36 mega-pixel sensor in the D800 also brings another challenge: The resolution is so high that it is not forgiving at all if you have bad technique hand-holding the camera. You can see the effects of camera shake when you view things at the full resolution. Luckily, most people aren’t viewing your images like that, but I think it’s a valuable thing because it challenges you to improve your technique!

It’s not easy changing the class of bodies either. My D90 is laid out very differently than the D800, so I’m constantly hitting the wrong buttons because they’re not where I’m used to finding them. That’s OK, it’s only a matter of going out and shooting as much as possible that will quickly remedy it. I did have some moments of panic when shooting a wedding with it, but I’ll talk more about that in a future post.

I can’t wait to shoot some studio stuff with this camera. The resolution is so amazing. I’ll be sure to write another post soon about that experience. For now, I’m buried with post-processing from previous shoots. The good news is that my computer seems to be dealing with the giant NEF RAW files from the D800 quite well, so one of my biggest fears has been put to bed. It does take a tremendous amount of time uploading the full resolution jpegs to Flickr though, but that’s something I can happily deal with 😉

On a side note, I checked out one of Apple’s new Retina Display MacBook Pro’s this afternoon. Holy Balls. My D800 photos look even better on that thing than I could have imagined. It looks like I’m going to need to book a bunch of these real soon!

Gear Porn

Photography is all about capturing moments, interpreting scenes, and showing images of the world with your own unique vision. Lets face it though, every once in a while you just like to drool over some technological smut.

I’ve been talking so much about my new Nikon Coolpix P7000 lately that I thought I’d share some pics of it. Here it is all tricked out with a Nikon SB-400 Sppedlight and a Joby Gorillapod Tripod.

The diffuser on the SB-400 is a Sto-Fen Omnibounce. That flash/diffuser combo works so well indoors that I use it more than my SB-600 for indoor on-camera flash!

I love the addition of the optical viewfinder. When it’s sunny outside that thing is a life saver! The level is pretty cool, and so is the built-in ND filter effect. You can see that I have a very busy LCD screen, but that’s no problem because all I have to do is press the shutter halfway and it goes away. Alternatively, I can press a button and it shows me just the scene I’m framing.

The physical dials and buttons are what makes the camera truly attractive to me. I like being able to control the settings while I’m composing, not before. Every movement of the camera alters the exposure because the direction, volume, and quality of light changes, and I don’t want the camera to make all of the decisions for me all of the time. If I have to go into the software of the camera to change important settings, the moment will most likely be lost!

I also recently ordered the Nikon case for the camera. While I was shooting at the Archers of Loaf show a couple of weeks ago, I noticed the effect of dirt on the lens covers – they get stuck! This case lets you use the camera’s straps (I use the Domke Gripper strap) and is quite minimal – something I cherish with this camera.

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Gear Porn! No SD Cards were harmed in the making of this post.

Lucky Man

The more I read photography and gadget blogs to keep up with the latest technology, the more I dream about the ultimate rig of camera bodies and lenses, or the most eclectic lighting system, or how I would load up a computer to do the things I do at breakneck speeds. I admire how far we advance technologically with each passing year and pine over the newest of the shiniest electronics. Who hasn’t wondered what a 65″ TV that’s less than an inch thick would look like over their fireplace?

I often will price out the ultimate photography setup – from lighting modifiers down to the fastest glass money can buy. The number isn’t pretty either, so I usually end up pricing out the budget versions of the same equipment just to see what it would cost. I know I will eventually move to a full frame camera and get the Nikon 70-200 F/2.8 VR II as well as the 24-70mm f/2.8. In fact Adorama has a great kit of a D700 with those two lenses, but I just can’t justify that price (yet).

For now, I’m more than happy to use the tools that I’ve got. In fact, I’ve played with a 70-200 f/2.8 and compared the shots with my much more affordable 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G and the results are identical when shooting with adequate light. My Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 is the DX equivalent to the 24-70mm, and it performs perfectly well. Ever since I got that lens it’s been the one that stays on my camera the most – it’s a versatile workhorse. Sure I’d like a 50mm f/1.4 AFS lens, but my classic Nikon 50mm f/1.8 that my wife bought me for Christmas a couple of years ago works like a champ. I could go on an on – don’t even get me started about lighting gear!

The point is that I really want this stuff but I don’t really need it. I’ve never found myself thinking that I couldn’t create something because my equipment wasn’t the top of the line stuff. Prestige is a very slick thing. It makes you desire the stuff you think you need, but you really only desire it because of it’s forbidding price or scarcity. Sure that full frame camera that shoots clean files at ISO 6400 coupled with that fast zoom lens that lets in a whole stop of light more will let you get shots you just can’t get with the cheap stuff, but the masters of years before got the job done with much less gear and relied on their skills to make things happen – not their wallets.

This all comes down to a simple fact about life. If you’re in a position where the things you dream about are not critical to your survival, then you are in a really good place. My mind goes back to our most recent event at the children’s hospital. I asked a mother if she would like to get her picture taken with her child and she said, “I don’t know if I can – it’s been a really rough week”. Well, little did I know at the time that her precious child had been diagnosed with the big C just four days earlier. This was all fresh to her and here she was, trying to cope and be strong for a child who was still all smiles and as sweet as can be, wishing that she could have a healthy child again. That’s a dream worth pining over. It’s moments like that that make me realize that I’m a lucky man ’cause I just don’t need what I want.