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PAGE UPDATED: October 26, 2007
THE EQUIPMENT
People ask me what camera, lenses and gear I use. I'm tempted to tell them when they cook a good meal, the pots must be very special. I truly believe the PHOTOGRAPHER makes the image, not the camera and lens. However, using top-quality equipment does make a working professional's job easier and people are simply curious, so I have provided some information about the digital and film equipment I use. I shoot more digital than film but choose the camera based on clients' requirements.
The Canon EOS 1D Mark II is my main digital camera, backed up by a Canon EOS 10D. I make all of my images using the RAW format, which records maximum information on the flash cards. The Mark II is capable of eight frames per second for 21 frames, the 10D, three frames per second for nine frames. I carry a dozen compact flash cards ranging from one to four GB in the field with me and download the images at every break I get. For downloading I use an 80 GB FlashTrax in the field or my HP Pavilion laptop computer.
Although I don't use film very often anymore, my main film camera is my Canon EOS 1V-HS, backed by Canon EOS A2 and Nikon F3 cameras. I also own Hasselblad X-Pan and 500CM cameras and use them occasionally. My film choice is usually, but not limited to, Fujichrome Provia 100F or Velvia 100F. The 1V-HS camera is capable of nine frames per second as long as there is film in the camera, the A2 camera, three.
The EOS-1D Mark II camera has a magnification factor of 1.3x, compared to 35mm film cameras. I usually have my Canon Telephoto EF 500mm f/4.0 IS or Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/2.8 IS lens coupled with the Mark II, and I carry extension tubes and Canon 1.4x and 2x teleconverters for bird work.
I specialize in close-up photography and normally use my Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L macro lens. For extreme close-ups I use the Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x lens, which usually requires using the MR-14EX TTL Ring Lite Flash due to the low amount of light that passes through the lens.
My favorite wide-angle lens is my Canon Zoom Super Wide Angle EF 16-35mm f/2.8 lens. I use it for nearly all of my landscape images and sometimes use it for close-up work that shows the subject in its habitat.
Once I go indoors into my digital darkroom, it's another story. In addition to the HP laptop I use in the field, I have two custom-built desktop computers. The main one I use for images has RAID drives for the current photos I am working with, plus three other internal hard drives. I use external backup drives for storage and portability and burn CDs when the need arises.
I own and use plenty of other equipment, both indoors and out, but prefer to limit the equipment "tech talk" to what is included on this page.
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