What’s in my bag?
I know when I go to other photographer’s webpages I like to see what they shoot with. I thought I would provide the same info. For weddings, I shoot with Nikon Full-Frame digital SLR (DSLR) cameras.
When I’m shooting I’m always carrying the following gear with me. Fair warning: the following video is me geeking out about my gear…
Cameras/Lenses (Current 11-20-11):
Following goes directly to the product at B&H for more information.
Nikon d700 x2 (B&H) – Great Full-Frame camera and likes to see in the dark.
Nikon 20mm f/2.8 (B&H) – Compact wide-angle lens which is perfect for the reception and for scene setting during the ceremony.
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 (B&H) – An amazing performer for a zoom lens. Sharp at every focal length wide open. Super useful for indoor shooting, ceremony and portraits.
Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF-G (B&H) – This little lens is a surprise. I’ve used pretty much every 50mm lens that is made for Nikon and this one is the best regarding the quality of the background blur (bokeh) and sharpness wide open.
Nikon 60mm Macro f/2.8 AF-D (B&H) - Nice standard focal length for close-ups, macro shots and the rings. Also a great backup portrait lens.
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II (B&H) – Basically on my camera the entire ceremony, this is my favorite lens. It focuses lighting fast, the VR allows you to make photos 4-stops in shutter speed below what you should be able to do at this focal length. It’s nothing short of amazing.
Nikon 135mm f/2.0 DC (B&H) – Portrait lens. Fantastic for throwing background out of focus. Also useful for the ceremony and as a backup for my 70-200.
Nikon SB900 x 2 (B&H) – Nikon’s top-of-the-line flashes. They just work. Well.
Think Tank Memory Card Wallet (B&H) - 4 16gb Memory Card (San Disk Extreme)
Lighting / Grip Equipment:
3 x Pocket Wizard TT5 and AC-3 Zone Controller (B&H) – I recently upgraded to Pocket Wizards mainly because they use AA batteries, so I don’t have to worry about carrying around two different types of batteries. I’m leaving the link below for my Phottix Strato trigger-review because I believe them to still be very capable radio triggers.
2 Set Phottix Strato Triggers (my review) – for triggering lights, similar to the Pocket Wizards.
2 60″ Convertible Umbrellas (B&H) – Both setup for bounce, used for formal pictures.
Manfrotto Umbrella Adaptor (B&H)
Stroboframe Flash Mount Adapter (B&H)
Avenger Baby 35 Stand – 11.5′. (B&H) – Ever set up an umbrella in a windy outdoor photo shoot? Get a sturdy avenger stand and a sand-bag. Also this setup keeps little kiddos from knocking your lights down at the reception. Very worthwhile investment.
Set of gels + flags - Very important CTS gel (B&H) to turn the cool light of the flash to match ambient orange light in most venues.
For off-camera lighting I use one of the SB-900s on the avenger stand. This light is triggered by Pocket Wizard TT5 radio triggers. I mount one Pocket Wizard on my camera, and a SB-900 on top of that for my on-camera flash.
Bags:
Shoot Sac (Their Website)
Gura Gear Kiboko – My Review Here
Tamrac 691 Rolling Camera Bag (B&H) – The one in the video is a slightly older model.
Tamrac 328 Padded Location Lightstand Bag (B&H)
Finally, here a set of lenses I’ve reviewed on this site (all Leica or Zeiss for the Leica M8)
Leica 28mm Elmarit f/2.8 M (my review)- Fast moderate wide angle for Leica M system
Leica M Summicron 7-Element Pre-ASPH 35mm (my review)- The standard Leica M Lens
Zeiss Biogon T* 2/35 ZM (my review)- 35mm Zeiss Lens for Leica M system
Leica 50mm Summicron f/2 Wetzlar (my review)- 50mm Lens for Leica M system
Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit f/2.8 (my review)- 90mm Fast telephoto for Leica M system