What’s in my bag?

The gear post. Every photographer’s gotta have it, my time was due. Here we go.

50mm 1.2

While the other lenses do good work, this one hustles my best shots in most circumstances, and I can always count on her to bring me the money shots. She’s solid for low-light, headshots, photowalks, and when it comes down to it – it’s my favorite focal length. She keeps things real. She *does* have a little bit of a chromatic aberration at 1.2, but the client – like the honey badger, DGAF (youtube it). The clients just love that background blur. And while there may be little problems like CA or distortion with each lens out there – this post is going to merely touch on practicality purposes. “Does it give me what I need it to?” I’m not one to get super technical on my gear, so if you want that – I’d suggest dpforums.

16-35mm 2.8 II

I used to use this guy a lot more, but lately, I’ve been on a depth-of-field kick & have been leaning towards my 24 1.4. The 16-35 is great for shooting-from-the-hip shots & quick focusing, but I’m just not-to-keen on the distortion these days. In the future, I likely see him being there for venue shots & photowalks, maybe some good candids since he’s so great at quick focusing. *Note* – big difference between the original & the new version…sharper edges & better side focus points – spring for the extra dough and get the second version, it’s worth it.

24 1.4 II

This guy was a recent addition to my setup just prior to my euro trip, and I *almost* sold him after I returned. I didn’t find myself using it for many shots – not great for portraits and it doubles up on focal length with the 16-35. I decided to give him one last whirl on an event & fell back in love all over again. The depth of field for detail shots is un-paralleled. I used to have the 28 1.8 – (and that got pretty close focusing range) but this one just stomps on it. The bokeh, the sharpness, it’s all just pretty…well…BOMB. I wouldn’t be devastated if I didn’t have him in my bag though, sorry pal.

85mm 1.2Boomshakalaka. I neglected this focal length like an illegitimate grandson. Never thought it would do much for me the past few years, and I mean, COME ON – $2000+ for a lens? Jeez. But yeah – turns out she’s allll worth it! I used her a ton on my trip out to vegas, and the distance for candid shots is perfect. The bokeh is sweet as silk, and the sharpness gives images that *pop* everyone talks about. Slow focusing at times, but I’ll tell you how to work around that a little later in this post :)

80-200 2.8LYeah, that’s right. The “black magic tube”. Originally discontinued prior to the release of the 70-200L, this beast was the hoss that carried the long range shots for most photogs. I like to think of myself as Denzel Washington in “Training Day” with this lens, and tell my assistant to grab “the bitch.” She gets the ceremony shots and the long distance photos with ease, and the bokeh is pretty solid too. Not the best natural contrast, but an awesome substitution for the 70-200. Hell of a lot better price for it too, check & see if you can find on ebay.

It’s also pretty sweet that it’s black – not that ugly cream color the new ones have. Bad-ass.

24-85 3.5The photobooth lens. I’ve never ventured out to get the 24-70, and I feel pretty good about that. This little hog does quite a good job for what I need him for, and that’s versatility. With photobooths, I’m usually shooting at around F8 or F9, so there’s no need for a wide aperture. For around $150, it’s nice to have this little battle lens for when people are gettin loose and having fun in the booth. He’s had his share of champagne spilled on him, and he’s still goin strong.

The 100mm 2.8This guy kind of gets on my nerves. His depth of field is suuuuuper shallow and it’s tough to get a good shot in low light with no flash. The contrast is somewhat dull, and I really only use it for ring shots, (or “what’s in my bag” lens posts) – but that’s about it. Well, not true. Sometimes I’ll use it for close-up abstracts of food at events. He’s a little hoss – I’m glad I have him.

The ST-E2 transmitterTHIS GUY!  For about $150 or so, you can add this on to help your off-camera flash setups (which I use in nightlife stuff), but it has shown me a side benefit working with the primes to give them some extra quickness (*Edit – you can also do this on-board your camera using an existing flash – just go to external speedlight control -> off). I feel like he’s my little sidecar bandit – couldn’t pull of the job as well without him. Big asset, totally worth having in the bag.

(If you’ve seen this movie, 20 points in my book. My brother’s currently working on my birthday gift so I can have my very own bandit hat – stars & everything.)

In addition to the set up above, I’ve got some external lighting including a couple 580EX II’s, but they weren’t feeling too photogenic today (they have velcro all over) and some White Lightning X3200′s for my photobooth rigs. I use a tamrac backpack the majority of the time to lugg my gear around, and it does quite lovely if I do say so myself. For all my stuff, I’m running 5D mk ii (with backup ’cause you never know!)