What's in My Bag?

As a photographer, you are asked a lot of questions about your gear. Or you get the novice question "what camera takes good photos?" The answer is: none/all of them. Any camera at any given time can take the most perfect photo. It's not entirely the camera, you know. It's the operator. That simple.

When I first started, I coveted these beautiful Nikon cameras that I knew I couldn't afford. Even if I was super extremely wealthy, I cannot fathom spending upwards of $3,000.00 on one camera. Or $2,500 for the bad a$$ lens. That's just not me. I'm a budget/coupon girl.


Back to the case at hand: what's in my bag?

1.  Nikon D70. Price brand new: $999. And that's just the body folks, no lens. The D70 is a digital single lens reflex camera that was introduced in 2004. I just recently bought mine used (9 years after it was made!) and it's honestly my favorite camera. Now, do you think I paid upwards of $1,000 for it? Heavens, no! I got this beauty from the National Camera Exchange for $125.00. Whether you buy this thing new or used, I promise you will NOT be disappointed. She (of course my camera is a woman!) is an absolute workhorse. Her battery never diminishes and she (along with the few lenses I have) function great in low light situations. It takes about 1.5 hours for the battery to reach a full charge, but when it does, she can photograph days and even weeks without be charged again! But I'm OCD and charge mine before every session.

2.  Nikon D3000. I was given this camera for Christmas one year. The person who purchased it for me ended up paying full price, but it came with the kit lens; which is #7 on the list. The total for this camera purchased brand new 3 years ago? About $600.00. Not too shabby. Considering this was my first DSLR, I loved her. Dearly. And still do. She is great for outdoor portraits where light is abundant, but once indoors, and you try to manipulate the settings for low light = disaster. And trust me, I've used the camera on numerous occasions indoors. The ISO has to almost be turned all the way up, as well as flash and exposure compensation. Don't even get me started on Shutter Speed!
Over the years, through trial and error and massive amounts of internet searches, I've learned to use this little gem like nobody's business. I can operate her in my sleep. She will always be my first DSLR.

3.  Nikon Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8. My first lens purchase one I started figuring things out. I've been using this lens for some time now on my D3000 and when attached to that camera, the lens is a manual focus lens, BUT when I attached her to the D70; BAM - her autofocus kicked in and I did a photographer happy dance...after I set my gear down, of course! I purchased this a while back for well under $100. There is a similar lens out there: the Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 which goes for so much more money, but take a look at the below picture and tell me is there a HUGE MASSIVE difference??

No. There is not. Both of these similar lenses are known for the depth of field that they create and the dreamy bokeh (blurry background)  that all photographers crave and covet. So, simple question...spend $100 and get some bad a$$ quality bokeh, or spend way too much money for almost the same result. I'll let you decide.

4. Wide Angle/Macro lens for Nikon. I just bought this last month and am in love! I just happened upon Ebay late one evening; after pay day of course and typed in wide angle lens for Nikon. This little guy popped up. A wide angle lens isn't a necessity, but it can help you "cram" everything into one photo. The selling point of this lens? You can detach the wide angle portion and it turns itself into a macro lens. Be-still my beating Nikon loving heart. The even better thing? It cost less than $25.

5.  Nikon 55-200mm f/1.4. She is my favorite lens for weddings. I can get up close and personal without actually getting up close and personal. Some people don't like having their personal space violated! And she's great for portraits too...and can create some damn fine bokeh as well! I consider this lens a win/win. Another great thing about this lens? She costs about $150.00.

6. Sigma 28-200mm f/3.5. I just bought this lens at the same time I bought the wide angle/macro lens. The reason I bought this? I know that I like lenses that go up to 200mm; to me, any focal length after that taken by hand will be blurry (or maybe its just my late 20s palsy!) I knew that I couldn't afford another Nikon lens of the same focal length; but I've heard good things about Sigma (especially their prices) and decided I would buy something of theirs on the cheap to see if I would consider using their products in the future. So far, I'm 50/50 on this lens. I like the convenience of the price. But that should never be the main selling point, I'm just on a budget. So far, the lens does well in low light and can capture action shots of the fat dog, Norman. Maybe I'll do another post soon describing the pros and cons of the Sigma lens.

7.  The 'Kit' Lens. This is the lens that pretty much comes standard when you buy a Nikon DSLR: like the D3000,  D3100, etc...A lot of folks speak ill of this lens. And I don't know why. I love this lens. Maybe because it was my first lens, or maybe because of the awesome capabilities it has to focus closer than some of the lenses listed above. It's almost like a macro lens; almost! Another thing: it's made of plastic and is lightweight - a must when you carrying around so much gear!  All in all, this is a good all around lens.




Now that I've gone into uber-detail about my cameras and my lenses; here's a shot of the bag I lug it all around in. Make that two separate bags!

 The above bag is your standard Nikon bag. It came with the D3000. Obvioulsy, I've ran out of space in it, but it still comes in handy.

 This is the newly purchased bag. It's made for the outdoors person; which is something I try desperately to be, but living in a city like Memphis, it's hard to be all outdoorsy!

The Flash: Nikon Speedlight SB-600. She's perfect. I have absolutely no complaints. She works when I ask and takes standard AA batteries; so always make sure you have some extra on hand - not that she drains them, it's just smart to be prepared.





*The prices on the products listed above may have changed since I purchased them. And don't be silly. There is no need to buy everything at once. Baby steps. Buy something once every few months.