Over the past few years, I've had quite a few emails regarding which lenses I've shot particular images with, which are my "go-to" lenses, and what's in my bag in general. So in the hopes of saving myself time, I'm writing it all up in a blog post, so that when I'm asked that question, I can respond with a nice little link. And probably a happy face emoticon so I don't seem too impersonal :)
(See what I did there...?)
So, without further adieu, I welcome you to the deep, dark innards of my camera bag....
Those latches on the front DO close, I just never actually close them.
Recommendations??
These are my bodies: I shoot primarily with the 5D mark II, and the 5D classic is my backup. I took this picture with a sony point & shoot...because my cameras were busy being models :)
Also, you can see I only have the classic gripped: this is not a personal preference, it is because the grip is not interchangeable between the two, and thus far I have been too lazy to order a new one.
FYI. I do NOT believe that the gear makes the photographer. Some of my very favorite shots were taken with my first DSLR: a canon rebel xsi, circa 2008 (I'm not even sure if I'm using "circa" correctly, but it just sounds so fancy so I thought I'd type it!!)
Then I bought a 50D.
And it got stolen, too. On the SAME DAY I BOUGHT IT. It was inside the previously mentioned camera bag that was stolen in Halifax a few years ago. I literally did not even get to take ONE shot with it. So THEN I bought the 5D, because clearly the 50D and me did not have a good history. I love this camera. I've wondered about trying out the 1D, but from what I've read on it, I feel like the 5D is more suited to my needs. This is where "pricier does not always equal better for everyone" comes into play.
Moving on...
This is my little baby lens. I love it like I love pepsi, and chocolate. It spends a lot of time on my camera, and when I take it off it's usually just because I think my other lenses are getting a bit jealous, and might attack my little nifty 50 one day when I'm not looking. You know...like Jacob's brothers...
I had the 1.8 before upgrading to this one, and they are BOTH fantastic little lenses, especially for the price! I recommend both. Or either. Or the 1.2, which I have yet to shoot with but am sure is as/more awesome than it's baby brothers.
This and my 50mm are my only non L-series lenses, and somehow they're the two that usually end up on my camera. This was the very first lens I ever bought, and it has not disappointed. It takes a SUPER tight shot, and has a 3-foot minimum focusing distance, so it's not my first pick for indoor shots unless I have a lot of space, but it's very sharp and creates the kind of bokeh that makes me drool when I'm working through images after a shoot.
Also among my gear stolen in Halifax was my Sigma 10-20mm wide angle, which was sad because I loved that lens, but I was able to upgrade to this one instead. It opens up to f/2.8 instead of the Sigma's f/4, and has (in my opinion) less distortion around the edges. I love the sharp shots you get with a good prime lens, so I tend to shy away from general shooting with the 16-35, but it's a great lens to round out a shoot with a couple nice wide shots.
What can I say about this lens...except...um, it rocks. It rocks my face off.
Although this one isn't "always on my camera", it's probably my favorite to shoot with when it IS on my camera. Is takes the most sharp, saturated images, and is an absolute must in any shoot where you need to pay attention to tiny details. So...EVERY shoot. Go buy it RIGHT now.
This monster just arrived in the mail last week. I played around with it a bit...and then my arms fell off. It is HEAVY. It's going to be a "45 minutes, tops" sort of lens! So far I don't have much to say about it. For a zoom, it seems very sharp...although it's only the third or fourth zoom I've ever shot with so I really don't have much to compare it too. I have to constantly remind myself that I DON'T HAVE TO 'SNEAKER ZOOM', but I think it'll take a while before my hands catch up with my brain. I also think we will grow to become great friends.
So other than the above, my bag includes super interesting things like hard drives, extra CF cards, batteries, chargers, a pen, lipgloss, hair bands, Tums (yes, I just dumped out my whole bag to find all of this), extra lens caps, a canon 430ex flash that I have used MAYBE twice, hoods, white cards, random filters, and (strangely) a penny. I probably picked it up somewhere for good luck.
OH! I ALMOST FORGOT! This is not technically "in" my bag, but rather upstairs with my props and tripod and other too-big and/or seldom-used stuff...
IT'S MY LENSBABY MUSE!!!
Well that is it! Hope you enjoyed my super boring post.
Next time there will be way fewer pictures of lenses, and way less words :)