Many of you don't know me, in fact, most likely all of you don't know me. On a whim, I approached the owner of this blog, and asked if he would be interested in adding a team member to the blog. To my surprise, he responded in the affirmative, so from now on, all of the loyal readers will be receiving updates from both of us.
My first official action on this blog is to inform y'all to what gear I have, what I like, and what I don't like. I have listed them below in chronological order of buying them.
- D40 - What I started with. If you can find one, get it! It is cheaper than the D3000, and virtually identical in almost all respects.
- 18-55mm - This is the kit lens that comes with the D40. It is a great first lens, and is very versatile, not to mention cheap.
- 55-200mm VR - This stayed on my camera most of the time until I got my latest lens. It is with every bit of $50 to get the VR.
- SB-600 - This flash will do everything you need and more. I wouldn't get the SB-400, because you can't bounce it in portrait mode, and the SB-900 still has problems, not to mention the larger price.
- D90 - My current flagship. I use this 95% of the time, and I don't have any complaints with it.
- MB-D80 - If you don't have one of these, but you do a lot of shooting, it is well worth it! It works seamlessly with the D90, (although I did have to bend the contacts a bit...) and it allows for days, sometimes even weeks of continuous shooting.
- 50mm f/1.8 - Perhaps the greatest budget lens ever. If you don't have one, get one! They are cheap, they have a great construction, amazing bokeh, and some of the best focusing ever!
- Tamrac 8x Velocity - If you like moving, and don't like sitting down to change equipment, get one of these! They have every size you need, and when you pull the strap tight, your movements aren't hampered at all!
- Sandisk Extreme III 8GB - This is extremely fast, plus it is practically built for the D90. I have heard that it supports over-clocking for up to 30MB/s, and as far as I know, the D90 is one of the few, if not the only camera that offers over-clocking features.
- Gary Fong Puffer - If you can't afford a flash to bounce the light, this is the next best thing. It attaches to the hotshoe, and diffuses the built-in flash very well!
- Zeikos Close-up Filters - I got these because I wanted to get into macro photography without the cost. The only downside is it shortens the depth of field quite a bit, and you have to get right up on your subject. Overall, worth the $20 I had to pay for a set of 4.
That's a quick rundown of all my equipment. I am a Nikon junkie, and really try not to buy anything non-Nikon if I can help it. Obviously, some things you need to stray from the golden path, but for all the main camera equipment, stick with Nikon, and you can't go wrong. They engineer their products so well, and they will last you possibly for the rest of your life.
Another recommendation I have if you are a risk-taker like me, is buy the expensive stuff from Ritz Camera. By doing this, you can buy their insurance, which covers everything except theft and fire. Take it from me, if you are about to get a flash, get insurance on it! The idea of charging something up, and letting it go repeatedly is a bad bet, and I am about to take my flash in for the second time this year to get repaired/replaced. Not a bad bet, as the price of another flash is just about the same as every bit of insurance I have bought within the past two years. So while some people take care of equipment, and might not need to worry about insurance, I think it is better to err on the side of caution, plus it allows me to let my friends use my equipment without having to worry about it constantly.
So now you know a little bit more about me. I am looking forward to keeping y'all updated on the latest goings-on in the Nikon world, and specifically with anything related to the D90.
~unclejoe
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