I'm always on the hunt for new gear. Why? Well, other than the fact that I'm a girl and like to shop, there are a couple of items that I truly need. For starters, I need a real tripod. Yeah, yeah, I've posted about that before. Can you believe that I still haven't found one? This is going to take some special snooping and research. I can't just purchase any old tripod. Given my past experience with my BestBuy grade tripod, I now know two things: I need a ball head and the legs need to be uber-steady. The hard part is finding a tripod that will accommodate my growing passion. My tripod doesn't have to be carbon fiber. Although I wouldn't mind if it came in pink. Yes, pink would be nice.
Ok, bear with me a second as I need to talk about something that I don't understand. I often read photographers writing "It feels good in my hands," when explaining how they chose a piece of equipment. Quite honestly, I don't understand it. Fried chicken feels good in my hands, too, but that's not how I decide whether or not I'm going to eat it. Sorry couldn't resist. But seriously, I don't get it. I chose my camera based on price and what little I understood about cameras in general. I also wanted to be somewhere between the ranks of 'enthusiast' and 'I can make some money with this'.
So what else do I need? I need a chick bag. I want a bag that looks and functions like a purse to carry my stuff. I'm getting closer and closer to purchasing a bag and making inserts. I'm thinking it's going to be the way to get to exactly what I want.
I also need a lens that gives me f/2.8. Ideally, I'd like to have the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 but I'm leaning towards the Sigma version. Why? Because I am still too new to justify the price. Hubby says he'll get me the Nikon, but I want it now and not around Christmas, Mother's Day, Easter or any other holiday he'll use as a gift excuse.
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Actually, Dee... ergonomics is pretty important. If something doesn't feel comfortable while you are holding it you're going to eventually not use it and possibly resent the fact you bought it.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went looking for my first DSLR I looked at both Nikon and Canon bodies. Both systems take fantastic images so I could have gone either way. It came down to what felt better in my hands, the placement of buttons and menu design. I liked the Nikon body better for its design and I found the menu system to be more intuitive... so I went with Nikon.
For a tripod... you should get something fairly sturdy but don't go overboard with it. I can't see you shooting with any of the real big guns in the near future ;)
A bag is going to be a personal choice, of course. My advice would be to get something that will let you grow into it as you add more gear to your collection.
As for the 70-200... unless you need it brand new, Dee... keep an eye out for a used one. With the new 70-200 f/2.8 VRII coming out from Nikon I can see a bunch of good used ones going on sale as people offload them to get the new version.
A bag is just as important as a tripod, I think!
ReplyDeleteIt is so easy to just get a bag that "will do for now", only to find out in two months time that, we like photography too much, and that camera with one lens and a flash gun, has somehow, managed to create two or three more lenses, filters, cleaning kit, etc...
I am on my third bag bag in one year...yeah! made the mistake twice...bought"for now" and guess what? I need a bigger bag....I don't go out on a specific shooting trip, so I don't know what I am going to need, therefore 9 ties out of 10, I take the whole thing with me.
The tripod I carry myself, so it had to be ergonomic, no two ways about it...
As for the bag, I will take all my stuff to the shop and try out a few of them, just to feel the weight and comfort of them.