I'm slowly building up my gear for some work in portfolio building, street & event coverage and possibly true photojournalism. I've had a camera virtually tethered to me since the 1970s and now that I've retired from the USAF I hope to finally become a working photographer.
Here's is my small collection of tools...
D70
D70s
Nikkor 18-70mm 3.5-4.5 ED - good for a kit lens
Sigma 100-300 f/4 EX IF - 3 lb constant f/4
Manfrotto 488 RC4 MIDI Ball on 3001 legs
Nikon SB-800
LowePro CompuRover AW - not ideal for this
Oh, and a Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED that will be in my hands tomorrow.
With the 70-200 2.8 arriving I'm thinking about selling the Sigma to fund my next upgrade.
As I see it, on the short list is either a 17-55mm 2.8 or 14-24mm 2.8. The wide angle zoom would work better for our vacations to mountainous regions of the world. I'm also tempted to pick up a D200 body but can't afford to build this up quickly. The next purchases will be spread over time so I want to make sure to make the right calls.
Given the areas of work that I've sited, what would you say my next purchases should be in priority.
Most of the equipment I now have came naturally by looking at a job and discovering that I need a ______ to do it with.
As you evolve as a working photographer so will your equipment. So unless you just really want something sit back and start a cookie jar fund so you will be ready when you discover the next item you need. It might not even be close to what you are thinking about now
I freelance for a few papers and I find that I can shoot 75% of my assignments with (sorry, it's Canon, but you get the idea of focal lengths and such) a 17-40 f/4 and 70-200 f/2.8 on a 1D Mark II and a 1D. If I had to change anything in there, it would be to make the 17-40 a 16-35 f/2.8. I also have a 50mm f/1.8 to fill the gap.
I really like Think Tank's line up of belt packs/shoulder bags - I currently have the Speed Racer and the shoulder strap is very comfortable, and holds all my gear. The waist belt is excellent as well. Also, REI outlet.com has the Mountainsmith Tour and Day bags on sale for 50% off - great small bags as well. I think the TT bag could fit all of your gear except the Manfrotto - maybe not needed on every assignment?
Amen on the cookie jar fund if you don't have a specific need, however.
It's nice to hear from someone in the field. The 17-55 2.8 will likely be my next equipment buy unless I'm led to upgrade a body first. I sometimes feel outgunned walking around with a couple of D70s but no one has complained about the images thus far.
Your post is the second I've seen on the forum mentioning the Mountainsmith Tour bag. That's a regular hiking specific waist pack. It happens that I have one I bought for hiking at least 8 years ago; probably more like 10. What's the story behind its use in the photo arena?
I like it a lot when I need to just carry an extra lens or two, some snacks, and extra batteries/cards to a remote shooting location and I have my lenses/bodies out already. You can add a Domke lens insert if you are so inclined, but I tend to have small items loose in the bag. There are a few good articles on sportsshooter discussing it: http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/1493 http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/1432
I would also go for the 17-55 2.8 if I were you - wide and fast, perfect for PJ. No worried about D70's - I shot with a single 20D for nearly a year. However I do feel that my photos, especially the sports have improved with the better AF from a body upgrade. I actually upgraded my bodies before getting a wide zoom, and I managed, but I really like my 17-40. However, you already have something wide (18mm) while I had 28mm as my widest at the time.
Hmmm, I'm kind of a pack collector; I wonder what else I have sitting in the storage room.
That's funny. Thanks for bringing this up. My bag didn't come with the shoulder strap but it has the attach clips for it. While I'd prefer a true shoulder bag, I'll work with this until I find out what the local PJs use and why. This is snow, ski and crowd country. With the cold, the steep and the I-70 corridor, I'll be interested to learn the routines.
