MY GEAR
MY GEAR
If you have ever wondered what gear and equipment I use to make my photographs then you are on the right page. Whilst there is definitely more to photography than gear I have listed some of my favourite equimenent below. If you have a question about any of the gear I use feel free to contact me and I will do my best to answer your question and explain why I use a particular item.
Just so you know the affiliate links below will take you directly to the product page on Amazon. If you decide to make a purchase I may receive a small commission. This will be at no additional cost to you.
Camera Bodies
EXCELLENT TELEPHOTO LENS
Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 G2
Another top performing lens that is equally as sharp as the Nikon F mount equivalent. I use this lens with an FTZ adaptor on my Nikon Z6 and currently haven no reason to upgrade. I use this lens mainly to pick out distant landscape compositions. Its also a perfect lens for portraits and produces some wonderful creamy bokeh at f/2.8.
VERY SHARP LIGHTWEIGHT LENS
Nikon Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S
This lens is tremendously sharp and offers a very good focal range for a walkabout or everyday use lens. This lens has produced some stunning images. In fact most of my woodland images have been created with this lens.
AWESOME WIDE ANGLE LENS
Nikon Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S
This is the first wide angle lens I have owned and is honestly an absolute gem to use. The lens weighs approximately 485 g and is a pleasure to carry.
CLOSE-UP AND MACRO LENS
Nikon AF-S VR Micro 105mm f/2.8 IF-ED
This is my go to lens for close up and macro work. The 1:1 magnification the lens produces means that the size of the subject in the plane of focus is identical to the image sensor size in the camera. This lens is also an F mount lens meaning I can use it on either my D7100 or Nikon Z6 cameras. The lens does require the use of an FTZ adaptor on the Z6 however this does not affect the quality of the images this lens produces.
BACKUP LENS
Nikon AF-S DX 18-105mm
This lens is the only DX lens in my kit. Its main purpose is to cover from 18mm up to 70mm which is where I would switch over to the far superior Tamron 70-200mm lens above. The lens is only used on my D7100 as a backup and is considered as semi-retired.
OTHER EQUIPMENT I USE
The Best Camera Strap – The most comfortable strap I have ever used. It can be used as a neck or shoulder strap.
3 Legged Thing Travis Tripod – A brilliant light weight tripod with several useful features. I especially like the way you can use a leg as a monopod and remove the centre column to get lover to the ground.
Joby GorillaPod – A great little tripod that easily fits into my bag. I use this mainly on days out where I don’t want to carry a large tripod. The legs are really flexible which allows the tripod to be used in places you would never imagine.
Manfrotto Pixi Mini Tripod – The best mini tripod you will ever buy. Stable, versatile and compact. You will not be disappointed with this excellent value tabletop tripod.
Lowepro Pro Runner BP 350 AW II Backpack – My bag of choice for carrying a lot of gear. This bag easily holds my camera, lenses, laptop, charger, filters etc. Heavily padded and includes a rain cover which makes it an ideal choice for travel.
Arca Swiss L Bracket – A very useful accessory which I use in tandem with my tripod. The L bracket allows me to change from a portrait to landscape composition in an instant.
Lowepro Slingshot – A great all weather bag for traveling light. Perfectly sized for one camera, a couple of smaller lenses and a few accessories.
Cheap Remote Shutter Release – I usually use the shutter delay function built into my camera however from time to time I prefer to use a shutter release. This does the job perfectly without breaking the bank!
Macro Extension Tubes – A great way to experiment with macro photography without the expense of a dedicated macro lens.
Macro Flash Diffuser – A very cheap diffuser for walk about macro photography.
MY GO TO FILTERS
Lee 100 Filter Holder – This holder allows me to use my polarising and neutral density filters..
Lee 105mm Landscape Polariser – An essential accessory for landscape photography.
Lee 0.9 Soft Graduated ND Filter – Perfect for balancing an exposure in camera when the sky is excessively bright.
10 Stop ND1000 Filter – This filter allows me to use slower shutter speeds and be more creative with my photography.
COMPUTER HARDWARE
Apple MacBook Pro – One of the best investments I have made! I can’t believe I stayed with Windows for so long.
Apple iPad 9th Gen – A fantastic all round device for on the move editing and chilling out between shoots.
Western Digital My Passport Portable Hard Drive – An alternative backup drive that is kept well away from home.
Synology DS218 Play NAS Drive – This enclosure is loaded with two hard disc drives that automatically replicate the data onto both drives. You can never have too many backups and only learn after a huge catastrophe.
POST PROCESSING
Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan – I have used Lightroom and Photoshop for many years and usually buy a discounted annual subscription from Amazon. This works out considerably cheaper than paying Adobe direct each month.
Affinity Photo – A great alternative to Photoshop without the need for a monthly subscription. Ideal for post processing single raw files and cloning out dust spots.