The -=Official=- gear-list / Market Feedback / Sig thread

[off]

Equipment

Canon EOS 5D Mark II / Canon EOS 30D / Canon EF 16-35 f2.8 L II / Canon EF 24-70 f2.8 L / Canon EF-S 10-22 f3.5-4.5 / Canon EF 70-200 f4.0 IS L / Canon Speedlite 580EX II

Support

Gitzo GT2931 / Kirk BH-3 / Kirk BL-30D

Accessories

Sandisk Extreme III 2GB / Lexar Pro 8GB / Hoya Pro1 & B+W MRC filters /WhiBal G6 White Balance Reference / Canon RS-80N3
Bags

Domke J-2 / National Geographic Earth Explorer Medium Backpack

Post Processing

Dell XPS720, Core2Extreme, 2GB, 320GBx2 RAID0, 750GB / Nvidia 7900GTX in SLI / Dell 2407FPW / Adobe Photoshop CS4 & Lightroom 2

[Tareq]

Originally Posted by Snafu

This place is evil. I got my 70-200 2.8 IS 3 weeks ago and it's still in the box.

I got it long time ago and now i didn't see where i lost it.

[Mrselfdestruct]

Complete Gear List as of 4-23-07

Camera:
Canon EOS 400D XTi w/ Canon BG-E3 Battery Grip
Lens:
Canon EF-S 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 II
Sigma 70-300mm 4-5.6 APO DG Macro
Flash:
Quantaray Q-15 w/ Kaiser Off-shoe Adapter
DIY soda can Diffuser (Thanks goes to LordV)

[nicksan]

Body
Canon 5DMKIII
Canon 5DMKIII

Lenses
Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM
Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L II USM
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L IS USM Macro
Canon EF 200mm f/2 L IS USM

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM

Lighting
Einstein 640
Alien Bee B800
Cyber Commander
Cybersync CST x 2
Cybersync CSRB x 2
Cybersync CSRB+
Cybersync CSXCV
Vagabond Mini Lithium x 2
Speedlite 600EX-RT x 2
Yongnuo YN-560 x 2
Pixel Flash Power PackTD-381 x 2
Manfrotto 5001B Compact Light Stands
Manfrotto 175F-1 Spring Clamp x 2
Stofen Diffuser
Demb Flip-it!
Impact 10' x 12' Backdrop Stand
Manfrotto 2983 3 Section Telescoping Crossbar
Kacey 22" Beauty Dish
PCB 35" Octabox with grid

Accessories
Rode VideoMic Pro
x-rite Color Checker Passport
B+W and Hoya UV/CPL/ND/GND filters
Sandisk IV UDMA Extreme 8GB CF card x 2
Sandisk Extreme 16GB CF card x 5
Lexar USB 3.0 Card Reader
WhiBal card
Bogen Manfrotto 3021 tripod
SLIK Pro 614 CF tripod
Manfrotto 680B monopod
Manfrotto 561BHDV-1 monopod
Manfrotto 486RC2 and 488RC4 ballheads
LowePro SlingShot 202AW
LowePro SlingShot 200AW
Mountainsmith Flightpath AT
Domke Shoulder Bag
M-Rock 676
Think Tank Lens Changer 3
Think Tank Airport Antidote
Think Tank Airport Security v2.0
Spyder2 Pro
Lens Align

Computer
Intel i7 920 CPU
Gigabyte X58-UDR3 USB3/SATA6 Motherboard
12GB DDR-3 Triple Channel Memory
A few SATA HDD's
GeForce 9500 1GB Video Card
Apple Cinema Display 30"
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit
WD MyBook USB 3.0 2TB
WD Passport USB 2.0 2TB x 2

Gear previously owned
Bodies
Nikon D3s
Nikon D3
Nikon D700
Nikon D700 + MB-D10

1D MKIV
1D MKIII
5D MKII
7D
5D + BG-E4
40D
30D
20D
XTi
XT
300D
G9

Lenses
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24mm f/1.4G
Nikon AF NIKKOR 35mm f/2D
SIGMA 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM Canon Mount
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Nikon Mount
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM for Nikon
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G
Nikon AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4D IF
Nikon AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8D
Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II
Nikon AF-S VR NIKKOR 200mm f/2G IF-ED
Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E II
Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II
Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-20E III

Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM
EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-f4.5 USM
EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L MKI USM
EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM
EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM
EF 28-135mm f3.5-f5.6 IS USM
EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM
EF 70-200mm f/4L USM
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM

EF 24mm f/1.4 L USM
EF 24mm f/1.4 L II USM
EF 35mm f/1.4L USM
Canon TS-E 45mm f/2.8
EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM
EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM
EF 85mm f/1.2L I USM
EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
EF 85mm f1.8 USM
SIGMA 85mm F1.4 EX DG HSM
EF 100mm f/2 USM
EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
EF 100mm f/2.8 L IS USM Macro
EF 135mm f/2 L USM
EF 200mm f/2 L IS USM
EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Others
430EX I
580EX I
Speedlite 580EX II
Kenko 1.4x TC
Extender EF 1.4x II
Extender EF 2x II
Extender EF 2x III
Nikon SB-900 x 3
Calumet Genesis 200 2 Light Kit
PocketWizard Plus II x 5
Sekonic L-358 Light Meter

[ModernPics]

Gear List

Canon 10d w/ Battery Grip
Canon 100-300 4.5-5.6 Ring USM
Canon 28-135 3.5-5.6 IS Ring USM
Quantaray 28-200 4.5-5.6 AF
Canon Speedlight 420EX w/ Stofen omnibounce
Micro Apollo - Light Modifier
StroboFrame Pro-T & Flip Flash Frames
Manfrotto 680 UniPod / Tilt Ball Head
ACDSEE Pro (WorkFlow & Editing)
DXO Pro Optical & Photo Brush (Post Processing)
PrintRoom, PhotoReflect (Fullfillment)
Mpix & WinkFlash (Lab Services)

[Galaxy99]

My Gear List

Body
Canon 1DS Mark 3
Canon 1D Mark 4
Canon 1D Mark 3
Canon 400D w/ Grip

Lens
EF 16-35mm II f/2.8L
EF 24-70mm F.2.8L
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L
EF 50mm f/1.4
EF 85mm f/1.8
EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
EF 135mm f/2 L
EF 200mm f/2 L IS
EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS
Canon 1.4x & 2 x Extender

Accessories/Lighting
Speedlite 580 EX & 430EX
4 x Calumet/Bowens Travelit 750ws with bunch of accessories
4x PocketWizard II

Software
CS 4, LR 2
Noise Ninja 2

[KirkHMB]

My Gear List

30D Body
BG-E2n Grip
Eyepiece Extender
Angle Finder B
Magnifier
580EXII Flash

EF 85 f1.8
EF 70-200 f2.8 IS USM L
1.4x TC
Tamron 17-35 f2.8 - 4
Tamron 28-75 f2.8
EF 50 f1.8
Whatever I'm renting this week

Bogen 3021 w/ 3047 head
Bogen 679B w/ 484 ballhead

Boatloads of FD equipment

[AJ711]

Body
20D with Grip

Primes
EF 28mm f/1.8 USM
EF 50mm f/1.8 USM with hood
EF 200mm f/2.8L USM

Zooms
EF 24-105mm f/4 IS L
EF 28-135mm f/3.6-4.5 IS USM with hood
EF 75-300mm Mk III with hood

Converters
Kenko PRO 300 DG 2x
Kenko PRO 300 3x

Accessories
Dakine Sequence Backpack
Manfrotto 680b
Novoflex Ball30
(2) Sandisk Extreme III 2GB CF
Sandisk Ultra II 512MB CF
Various UV filters for lens protection

Other Stuffs
Canon PowerShot A95

Wishlist
1.4x Extender (Canon or Kenko Pro DG)
Sigma 150mm MACRO
Canon 300mm L
Canon 400mm L
Sigma 12-24mm
POTN Strap in Black

[sOid]

Camera
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EOS 400D / XTi ++ Canon BG-E3 Battery Grip

Lenses
Canon EF 17-40L f4.0 ++ EW-83J
Canon EF 35L f1.4
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 II ++ Lens Hood
Canon EF 50mm f1.8 mkII
Tokina 400mm f6.3 (MF, M42 screwmount)
Miccador 80-200mm f4.5 (MF, M42 screwmount)

Flash
Canon 580 EX II

Bag
Domke F-802 ++ 720-230 3 compartment insert ++ F-901 pouch
LowePro MiniTrekker AW

Misc
Giottos Q Ball Air Blower
Manfrotto 055DB tripod ++ 486RC2 ballhead
2x 1200mAh 3rd party batteries
Hotshoe Spirit Level
8x Sanyo Eneloop AA batteries

Memory
Sandisk CF Extreme III's

Computer
Apple MacBook 2.2GHz, 4GB RAM, 200GB 700rpm harddisk, leopard
Dell 2007WFP S-IPS
Spyder 3 Pro

Wishlist
Canon EF 85mm f1.8
Canon EF 135L

Previous gear
Olympus E-10
Olympus OM-10 ++ Zuiko 50mm ++ Tamron 200mm (well, I still have these but don't use them any more)

[devil350]

Body:

• CANON EOS 350D;
• CANON EOS 1D Mark III.

Lenses:

• CANON EF-S 18-55mm II f/3.5-5.6;
• CANON EF 24-70mm f2.8L USM;
• CANON EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM;
• CANON EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM;
• CANON EF 100mm f2.8 L IS USM MACRO;
• CANON EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM;
• CANON MP-E65.

Accessories:

• CANON E1 Hand Strap.
• CANON BG-E3 grip;
• CANON Speedlite 430EX;
• CANON Off shoe card II;
• SBM #0106 Supreme Flash Diffuser;
• DELTA Flip Flash 1 Bracket;
• KENKO Auto Extension Tube Set DG (12, 20 & 36mm Tubes);

Bags and Cases:

• Lowepro Orion Trekker II;
• Lowepro Classified 200 AW;
• Lowepro Rezo 190;
• Lowepro Deluxe waistbelt;
• Lowepro Neoprene Neck strap;
• Lowepro Lense case 1S;
• Lowepro Lense case 1N;
• Lowepro Lense case 1;
• Lowepro Lense case 4;
• Lowepro Lense case 4S;
• Lowepro Bottle bag;
• Lowepro filters cases;
• Cokin 7 filters wallet for P series.

Filters:

• Cokin P122 Graduated B1 Blue Resin Filter;
• Cokin P121L Graduated G2 light Grey Resin Filter;
• Cokin P198 Sunset 2 Resin Filter;
• Cokin P007 Infrared Resin Filter.
• Hoya ND 400 in 58mm and in 77mm.

Tripod:

• Velbon Ultra Luxi F;
• Gitzo traveler GT2541EX;
• Gitzo systematic GT3541LS.

Monopod:

• Manfrotto 681B.

Ballhead:

• Manfrotto 488RC2.
• Manfrotto 393 Grimbal head.

Cleaning solutions:

• Photographic Solutions Pec-Pad Photo Wipes - 4x4";
• Photographic Solutions Sensor Swab (Type 2 and 3);
• Photographic Solutions Eclipse;
• Photographic Solutions BRUSHOFF Sensor Cleaning Brush;
• Giottos Rocket Air Blower - (Medium) 6.6";
• Carson Stuff-it Microfiber Lens Cloth;
• Kinetronics Mini StaticWisk Lens Brush - 3/4" Wide.

[steve_r]

Camera:
Canon 5D and Grip

Lenses:
EF 28-135mm f/3.6-4.5 IS - come on admit it how many people started with this?
EF 16-35mm 2.8L
EF 70-200mm 2.8L IS
2x Extender

Accessories:
Speedlite 580EX
Manfrotto legs 055PROB
Manfrotto head 804RC2
Spare slik U9000 ( a bit light weight with the heavy gear on it )
Sandisk extreme III 8gig CF card
Transcend 80x 2gig CF card (x2)
2TB of server space for years of photos in the past and maybe a couple months in the future...
Crumpler the Puppet backpack
Lots of other bits and pieces that i'm too lazy to put on here

[Armin]

Body:

• CANON 5D Mark II
• CANON 1D Mark IV

Lenses:

• CANON EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM IS
• CANON EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
• CANON EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
• CANON EF 100mm f/2.8 USM
• CANON EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
• CANON EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
  

Accessories:

• Canon 580EXII Speedlites x3
• Pocket Wizards
• White Lighting X1600 (x2)
• 32" Photoflex reflectors & diffusers
  
• Canon E1 hand strap
  
• Sandisk Extreme III 4GB CF cards (x4)
• Lexar UDMA 8GB CF cards (x2)
  
• 2700mah MAHA Powerex Rechargeable AA batteries
• Spare BP-E6 batteries
• Giottos Rocket Blower
  

Bags and Cases:

• Lowepro Slingshot 300 AW
• BODA lens bag V3
• Think Tank Photo Retrospective 10
• Think Tank Photo Shape Shifter
• Think Tank Photo Airport Security V2 roller bag
  

Tripods/Monopods:

• Bogen 3021BPRO w/Bogen 322RC2 Grip Action Ballhead
• Bogen 557B Monopod

[Mike Harrison]

Canon Rebel Xti and an old Canon T50
Bronica Etr
Bg-E3 Grip

18-55mm 3.5-5.6 II
55-200mm 4.5-5.6 II USM
50mm 1.8 II
Tokina 10-17mm 3.5-4.5 DX Fisheye


2 Vivitar 285's
3 Pocket Wizards
60' Umbrella
sekonic L358 light meter

1 Kodak tri-pod
2- 8' Calumet light stands

Tenba backpack

various cables and nonsense

Photoshop CS2

[mjm80]

Canon 450D
Canon EF-S 17-85 f4-5.6 IS USM
Canon EF 70-300 f4-5.6 IS USM

[timnosenzo]

I figured instead of just making a list of all the crap I have (because, how does that really help anyone?), that it would actually be more helpful to explain why I have made some of the choices I’ve made. I’ve bought and sold a ton of gear over the years both in an effort to find what I like, and to adjust to my developing style. I hope my experience can help someone else who is making gear decisions. Keep in mind that the gear probably doesn't matter. It's nice to have a lot of different tools available to you, but I've seen people do amazing work with much less stuff. If I had to sell it all except one body and one lens, I'd probably keep the 5D MKII and 50L, and I honestly don't think my work would change that much.

I mostly shoot people, weddings, and landscapes. I haven’t gotten into wildlife much (though I would love to) and I never shoot sports.

If you have questions about any of this, shoot me a PM or email.

Bodies:
Canon 5D MKII: I currently shoot with 2 5D MKII’s as my main bodies. After owning the previous version 5D for a couple of years, I jumped at the chance to order the new 5D’s as soon as they were available. It’s a body that I’m very comfortable with and really enjoy using. I love the flexibility of shooting at super high ISO’s, and still producing clean 21 megapixel files. There have been quite a few complaints about the auto-focus, and while this is an area that can definitely be improved upon, the autofocus in the current model really isn’t that bad.

Canon 7D: Giving this camera another shot, not sure if it will stick around.

Canon 50D: Actually I recently sold this, but leaving up for now because, even though I bought another 7D, my thoughts on this haven't changed. I think I'm on my 3rd 50D. I pretty much use my 5D's for everything, but I like having a crop body for backup and for the couple times a year when I need a little more "reach" or speed. When the 7D came out, I was really impressed by the specs, and I was able to get my hands on one at a nice discount, so I sold the 50D that I had and got the 7D thinking I would work it into my usage more than I had with past crop bodies. Well, not surprisingly, I never used it. After a couple months with it I had only put about 350 clicks on it, so I sold it and got another 50D. I can live with letting an $800 camera sit in the bag, but not a $1700 camera. The 7D is definitely a really nice camera, and if the next 5D is simply a 7D with a FF sensor I'll be a happy camper, but it was just more than I really needed in a crop body. The 50D actually makes a nice backup to the 5D MKII, since they share most features, and they're laid out very similarly. However, it does create pretty noisy files and it's not a camera I would chose for shooting over ISO 800 a lot.

Grips: One word of advice - don’t let people talk you into getting battery grips. I wound up selling mine. Think about whether it works for you--I honestly think that most people get them for looks over function. It's a personal decision, try one out first if you can.

Lenses:
I shot with a 3 zoom kit for quite some time and thought it was all I ever needed. I then picked up a couple fixed lenses thinking I would use them for low light conditions. I then started using them more often, and the more I used them the more I got to appreciate the simplicity, the smaller size, and the DOF control. I now use primes 98% of the time. I definitely do not think that using primes is for everyone, but it has been the right choice for me. So here’s the lineup:

Primes:
Canon 14 f/2.8L II: The 14L isn’t a lens I use terribly often, as I think it could really be classified as a specialty lens. I LOVE shooting wide angle lenses, but I also think it can be easily overdone. For me, there are few scenes where a lens this wide really adds something. I have quite a bit of experience with Canon’s UWA zooms, the 17-40 & 16-35, and this lens definitely trumps them when it comes to IQ. It’s very sharp, even in the corners, and there is very little distortion. The lens is fairly compact, and built very well.

Canon 24 f/1.4L II: I purchased this lens as an upgrade from the original 24L that I had. The II version of this lens is a really nice upgrade. Both the IQ and the build quality were considerably improved in the new version. This is a great lens for shooting people in bars, at parties, weddings, etc, especially when light is low and you want to leave the flash home. Of course, it’s also great for landscape and street shooting. All of that said, if you’re on a tight budget the original 24L is still a great lens.

Canon 35 f/1.4L: Not sure if this lens lives up to ALL of the hype, but it's very nice. IQ is really nice, but the build leaves a little to be desired. I consider the 24 and 50 my primary lenses, but the 35 makes a nice go between, and pairs up with the 85 well. It's a nice prime to take the place of a mid-range zoom.

Canon 50 f/1.2L: The 50L is hands down my most used lens. While I have no doubts that there are 50L’s out there with focusing issues, I can find no fault with mine. I use this lens for everything! The 50L has amazing color and contrast; photos taken with this lens always seem to need less processing than photos taken with other lenses. My typical setup for weddings and events is 2 5D’s with the 24L II on one and the 50L on the other. I will swap out for something longer or wider for a few shots, but I could probably do the whole day with these two lenses and not feel like I’m sacrificing anything. My advice to anyone looking to buy a 50L: when you get it, just go out and shoot with it! Don’t set up a bunch of test shots and start looking for problems. Just go out and shoot with it like crazy and see how it goes. This lens does not go over well with ruler photographers.

Canon 85 f/1.2L II: For the most part, this lens deserves most of the hype that it gets. It’s wonderful. However, it’s expensive, it’s big, and the autofocus can put some people off. Here’s my take on the autofocus: when the autofocus needs to make a full rack from MFD to infinity it takes a while, but in use when making small autofocus changes, it’s really not that bad. If you need a lens with consistently fast autofocus, you may want to look at the 85 f/1.8 or the 135 f/2.

Canon 135 f/2L: I mostly use the 135L for portraits, headshots, kids, but it really is a versatile lens for telephoto applications. It focuses very fast, has beautiful image quality, and its pretty light and compact.

Specialty:
Canon 15 f/2.8 fisheye: Fisheye lenses are very easy to overuse. In my opinion, there are very few applications where the fisheye really works. I usually find it works in compositions where there is some good symmetry. The Canon fisheye, while a very old design, is actually a nice lens. If you can live with the buzzy autofocus and older build design, the lens offers great IQ and is very compact. Here's a tip--the lens cap on these is notorious for coming off and scratching the lens. I keep mine in the pouch that Canon gives with the 1.4X TC and it fits perfectly! Now I can pop it on the bag and not worry about it.

Canon 24 f/3.5 ts-e II: This is hands down my nicest lens. It’s amazingly sharp wide open across the frame, and it’s built like a tank. Obviously it’s kind of a specialty lens, but if you’re looking for a super sharp wide angle lens, this is it.

Canon 100 f/2.8L is macro: The 100L Macro is still pretty new, but in the short time I’ve had it, it holds a lot of promise. Sharp wide open, compact and lightweight. I previously owned a 180L Macro before this lens, and I didn’t use it much because it was such a big, heavy lens and the autofocus was pretty slow. The 100L Macro’s autofocus is fast enough to allow this lens to pull double duty as a macro lens, and a compact telephoto lens. The autofocus isn’t quite as fast and predictable as the 135L in low light, but it is usable if the shots aren’t critical.

Zooms:

Canon 17-40 f/4L: I've had a few copies of this lens over the years, and have always found that they offer a good bang for the buck. I've also owned a couple 16-35 II's, and found that the 17-40 holds up very well by comparison, at comparable apertures. However, the 17-40 is smaller, lighter, and costs half as much. If you don't need the extra stop, buy the 17-40.

Canon 70-200 f/4L IS: I’ve owned all of the 70-200’s Canon has to offer. I’ve owned the f/2.8 IS version twice, and I’ve owned the f/4 IS version three times. Unless you NEED the extra stop, don’t bother with the f/2.8 IS. The f/4 IS is a gem, but for some reason it took me a while to realize that. It’s fairly compact, lightweight, and offers stellar IQ. The f/4 IS is as sharp at f/4 as the f/2.8 IS is at f/4! I know sometimes the machismo get’s the best of us and we think the bigger and more impressive a lens looks, the better it must be, but if you find yourself using your f/2.8 at f/4 or lower, sell it and get the f/4 IS.