Are You Happy With Your Gear?

There are so many of us here at NPN and each has their unique arrangement of photo gear that is used ot cerate the amazing photography we see here on a daily basis.

Are you happy with the gear that you use right now? If not what would you change and why?

I have all sorts of cameras from pinhole and Large format to 35mm film to P&S digital to high end DSLRs. I have always been happy with the gear I use and I am currently very happy with what I own. My only hope is that film continues to be made for my 4x5.

I'm happy with my gear as well and have a mixed collection like you. I'm fairly certain that LF film will continue to be made, but I'm sad to see Kodak depart the readyload market.

Right now, the only thing I'm wanting is a longer lens for the 4X5, so I've been watching for the right deal. But that isn't unhappiness.

Are you happy with the gear that you use right now?

I have everything I need to do excellent photography in almost all situations. But no, I'm not satisfied with my gear. Who ever is?

I actually am happy with what I'm using. It pretty much does what I want. If it didn't, I wouldn't have it. Over the past five years I have been slowly building up a system using a strategic plan, and that has paid off. I have a system that can take the kinds of photos I want to, day or night, in any weather.


Kent in SD

Yeah, at this point, I'm basically happy...but I should point out that I recently upgraded my D200 (well, one of them anyway--keeping the other as a backup) with a D700 and with the primary move from DX back to full frame (FX) have upgraded a couple of my lenses (14-24 and 24-70 2.8)...so, yeah, I'm satisfied...but ask me again in six months.

Seriously, I expect to be satisfied for quite awhile now.

Not yet. When I upgrade to a camera with an anti-dust sensor and get a good telephoto then I will be happy.

The only part of my gear I'm dissatisfied with is the part behind the viewfinder

Overall, I'd say yes. It does what I need it to, with results that are satisfactory to both me and my customers (user error aside).

But at the same time, I'd love a 35mm based 500 f4 lens, 21-24 megapixels, and some longer lenses for my 4x5, a 44" wide printer, maybe a drum scanner, maybe a ... And a way to pay for it. Realistically, this would be stuff I want, not need.

For what I do, my gear is better than I am.

I'm very happy with my 4x5 setup especially after purchasing my very first "new" camera this year; the Chaminox 4x5. I love the camera and have 5 lenses to cover most of my needs.

But I'm not entirely happy as I need a new tripod and would like to replace my Bogen 3221. It's served me well for many, many years, but the legs are sticky and I'm tired of having to tighten the leg locks.

I would love to have a high-end digital dslr, but it's just not in the cards, I could sell my entire collection of 35mm gear and still not get enough money to get in to digital. But I'm under no pressure to produce so I'm very happy with continuing with the large format.

In the end, I'm not a gearhead. I enjoy the process of capturing images, being out in nature and enjoying the resulting images. How they're captured is moot and I will continue to love "being there."

Lon

I have had the same gear in some cases for 15+ years. As I have always worked on a tight budget through the years the equipment I do own is perfect for my style of work. Over the past 5 years it has mostly been with a 4x5, but prior to and still to this date I have used the heck out of a 6x7cm MF unit too. I have found most steady good shooters adapt one way or another to the gear they have access to. The gear being used is no doubt just the tools of the trade so to speak.

I love the gear I have now. The switch to digital has lightened my backpack allowed me to buy quality equipment that performs orders of magnitude beyond what we imagined a few years ago. I work both above and below the water and enjoy the flexibility of the newer DSLR systems. I only wish they were lighter! I often travel with diving gear which adds 30-40 pounds to a 30 pound photo case. Airlines are exceedingly non-photo friendly.

Then again, it is not the tools that make the artist but how our minds use the tools to create meaningful images. We are blessed with abundance,

Steve Benavides
Ventana al Mar Images
Irvine, CA

I would like my Canon 1DsMII to have auto dust removal, a way lighter weight for my tripod, camera and 500mm lens ;-) and much improvement "behind the lens"! ...wishes for 2009
G

I'm pretty pleased with all my stuff with the possible exception of my wide angle coverage. In my 35mm days I used a 20mm prime fairly often but with my digital bodies its now an effective 30mm. I'm torn between getting a digital WA or a full frame body. Most of my shooting is flora/macro so full frame doesn't offer me as much as someone who shoots mostly landscapes. Plus a good lens is a lot cheaper than a new body. My cameras (Sony) have an anti-dust sensor and anti-shake built into the body which I like a lot. I am lusting after a Gitzo 2542.

Yep, except for upgrading bodies every 3 or 4 years, I could live with my 5 lenses for a very long time. One of the things I like about this group is the focusing on imaging. My only resolution is to shoot more.

I'm lucky in that I will be instructing again at a local University that has a very good fine arts photography program, and I plan on taking a few of the courses and seminars to get out of my comfort zone.

I actually am looking forward to the second generations of DSLR's that have video....and that's when I'll upgrade my current body.

A while back, I sold a camera that I liked very much, a Nikon F100. I wasn't using it anymore. With the proceeds, I bought a super-zoom SLR-like digicam that had gotten a "Highly Recommneded" on DPReview. It should have been the perfect walking-around camera - Lightweight, 12x zoom Leica lens with equivalent 432mm f2.8 at the long end. It took a couple of months of using it, but I grew to dislike it so much that ultimately I gave it away.

Good question, Youssef. I am very happy with my 20 year old cherry Wista, lenses, and Pentax digital spotmeter, all of which I acquired used at a fraction of what they cost new. (I did have to buy the Lee filter bits new... ouch...) The Wista is very happy on my Gitzo 2530 tripod. When my pictures fail, it is not because of my equipment. I can imagine that an Ebony might be a bit more rigid than the Wista, and that there may be a sharper 300mm lens than the Fujinon-T, but I know that there will be a bigger payoff if I just work on the craft using what I have.

I

I am generally happy. Only thing I currently lust for is a new 1 series body to replace my aging 1D Mark 2. I skipped the Mark 3 bodies due to the flap over the AF. I will definitely be an easy sell for the next 1 series body

I am happy with my gear but often struggle to resist the urge to upgrade simply because something new has come out rather than replacing what I'm using because isn't doing the job as well as I'd like or it's bust!

My camera stuff may be creeky but I make it work. My results the last five years since I took off from a 9-5 job have often been epic that has provided me with a huge backlog of strong unprocessed material to gradually drum scan and print. (Oh I now have a 9-5 m-f contract job debugging telephony switches.) So am in no hurry to get new gear even though that would be nice.

I have a museum of old stuff, especially 35mm accessories that will be tossed when I bother to go through that dusty junk heap. A lot of my 4x5 stuff is hanging together with glue and duct tape. If I had $10k to toss around, I could easily spend it quickly and would go with something else like maybe a Canham. Although I continue to get excellent results from my old Wisner Expedition by simply being methodical and careful, it is not mechanically stable. The ball head up atop my big Gitzo is a piece of kr@p. So there is another $300 or so I need to invest on more junk.

On the low digital end, my 7mp Coolpix I use for closeup work though but 4 years old now is rather dated so I will be replacing that. Unlike most here, I'm not too motivated to get into higher end DSLR's as I still see too much turmoil with huge depreciations in just a year or two and for me the lack of an easily color calibrated output is a sore spot. Besides for now the simplicity of a view camera out in the remote field taking a few choice special pics each day appeals to my aging slowing artistic side. Unlike most of you young folks here just getting into all this high tech gagetry, I've been up to my neck in hi tech computers and imaging for over two dozen years here in Silicon Valley and have no sense of missing out in the current noise. All the current high end stuff with their rapidly evolving software tools will mostly just be collecting dust in a few years while my battery-less view camera is ageless.

RE: Are you happy with your gear?

I'll give my answer as a qualified "yes". I enjoy technology, but now try to purchase new cameras only when their technological advances will impart a substantial improvement to my output. As an example, I'm a Nikon shooter and when the D3 came out I judged that it was an essential and necessary upgrade for me. I have been very happy with this decision, and with the camera. BUT, while I love the thought of having a high resolution solution, I can definitely pass on the D3x for now (until they lower its ridiculous price or offer a lower-priced version, like a D700x...). So...I'm happy with where I'm at with camera bodies and feel that I'm rarely limited by what my cameras can do.

And, I WAS happy with my array of lenses, but when Nikon shifted to the full-frame format at least one critical lens was rendered more-or-less obsolete - the 70-200 f2.8 VR (it performs great on their cropped sensor bodies, but gives sub-standard performance on the full-frame bodies). So...I'm left with a critical gap in focal length coverage in quality glass. Sigh...

Will I probably ever have EXACTLY what I want in camera gear? Probably not - but what I have now is INFINITELY better than what ANY photographer had 5 years ago - so how on earth could I complain?? My limiting factor in my growth as a photographer is NOT my equipment!

Cheers...

Brad

I'm really happy for the most part. There are only two changes I'm planing to make. 1. Upgrade my 5D to the 5D2. I want to live view to help me with focusing my MF tilt-shift lenses ans 2. Upgrade my 70-200mm f/4 lens to the IS version. I want this mainly for travel when I can't always use my tripod.

I am pretty happy with my gear, although at some point I'd like to upgrade my Tachihara 4x5 to the more rigid Chamonix 45N, obtain a 450mm lens, and a carbon fiber tripod.

I am new to the digital world as I just acquired a nice D-70 and a 24-120 that fills my need for a DSLR, although I'd like a wider lens, at some point.

I have a Mamiya 645E and four Mamiya lenses that I go back and forth regarding whether or not to keep it. Since I resumed shooting 4x5, this system doesn't see much use. Decisions, decisions!

Hey, well...It's all good!

-P

Now that I have my Chamonix, its extension bracket and my Nikkor 300mm M, I am very happy with my gear.

I only wish that film and processing wasn't so damn expensive. I have purchased a Jobo 3010 and will start developing my own B&W. Using sheet film and processing my own, it should be pretty cheap to shoot 4x5. I will still use color QL's, but just something else in my arsenal.

"Satisfaction" is relative, for me, I guess. Yes, I am satisfied. I have moved to a "less is more" philosphy with gear, winnowing down to just 4 lenses (one gets used 95% of the time), a tripod, and cable release. The ONLY filter I use is a circular PZ. My body is a D200 and I am considering "upgrading" to the D300, mainly for its lower noise sensor capability.

But there will always be something new and just when I think I am satisfied, I'll be coveting something else <g>. I am taking delivery on a new Epston R1900 on Tuesday and am looking forward to that.

Well, no, but not for the reason you might expect.

I feel slightly cursed by my gear. The advent of digital photography, and my reluctant acceptance of it, stunted my photography. As I look through files (okay, boxes of slides, okay 10 or 15 years old). I notice a greater degree of craftsmanship in what I did then. With my digital camera I still strive for technical quality, but I am intoxicated by the "free" photos I make. I suffer the hangover of quantity the morning after, the week after and ever more.

I enjoy the creative aspect more than the "record-ive" aspect of photography. To me, every bit of bits has a potential use. That makes it hard to fill the cull bin. This creates a raging sea of possibilities.

Let's say digital photography never happened. What would I be doing? I'd be photographing the world, for sure, but I would not be increasing my personal image-noise level to the extent that I can't find a signal. I wish I could enjoy this abundance, but I tried stepping aside to the 4X5 wayside, and it wasn't for me. I'm too cheap.

I suppose I should go back to scratching in the sand with a stick.

Pete D.

For me, given what's available out there, I'm very happy with my gear. I do need to add a longer lens, but that's a money issue, not an availability issue.

Of course, from a purely wishful-thinking standpoint, I'd still really like to get a camera with a perfectly clean high-ISO of something like 25600, in-body stabilization, a flip and twist screen, and super fast focusing live view.