Comments on: Scott’s Photographer Holiday Gift Guide

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:56:45 +0000

Thanks, Dave. I guess I should put my gear list together, too. I must admit, I’m in the process of downsizing.

By: David

David — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:52:30 +0000

Sorry to hop in so late here, but I thought the Canon shooters out there might be interested in my gear. This is the stuff that I truly own and use. These are the lenses and camera bodies that work best for me as a professional outdoor sports photographer with a limited budget. My Camera Equipment

By: Ten Great Gifts for Photographers for Under $100 | TheLightroomLab.com | Written by Scott Rouse

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:01:37 +0000

[...] mentioned my favorite portable external hard drive, the somewhat-more-pricey LaCie Rugged Drive in my previous Holiday Wish List post, but I also carry one of these Western Digital Drives to use as my Time Machine backup drive on my [...]

By: Links - Holiday Gift Guides for the Digital Photographer | User 40.0

Links - Holiday Gift Guides for the Digital Photographer | User 40.0 — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:00:16 +0000

[...] TheLightroomLab.com – Scott’s Photographer Holiday Gift Guide [...]

By: marj

marj — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 01:01:29 +0000

Or I guess I could join a gym! Thanks Scott. Save me some sore arms and some moolah too I’m guessing.

By: Scott

Scott — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:16:57 +0000

And, yes. I’m quite jealous!

The AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED or AF Zoom- NIKKOR 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D IF-ED would probably work out well for you. 35oz and 13oz respectively. That 18-35mm would save you some sore arms.

By: Scott

Scott — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:13:14 +0000

UWA=Ultra Wide Angle

By: marj

marj — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:04:24 +0000

Oh yeah, what’s UWA?

By: marj

marj — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:02:58 +0000

Wow.Lots of great input! thanks to all and I love Seshu’s site! OMG! I cant wait to go back and really look at it, ( I am certain I was Indian in a previous life) I am, and don’t hate me Scott, shooting with a D700. I figured, WTH. I will definitely grow into this camera, not out of it. I want to be able to do professional interiors and architectural as well as funky portrait work. I wanted to see if speed on a wide angle (when I can use an iso of 1600 easily without much grain) is really necessary. I do figure it will be used on tripod for interiors but for evening wedding receptions, it will be my bare hands. They are, by the way, having difficulty holding up a d700 by the end of the evening so weight of lens is a consideration, not a deal breaker, just a consideration. All these lens purchases are now business decisions so I am wringing my hands about spending 1600 to make income if I can make the same income with a less expensive lens. Comments appreciated.

By: Rested Traveler

Rested Traveler — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:20:41 +0000

Mine is the Sigma 10-20mm EX DC. It’s a whole lot of UWA bang for the buck.

By: Jeff Cross

Jeff Cross — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:50:56 +0000

Thanks, Scott! Every shot in the set you linked to above was shot with the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L. I love this wide angle, short range zoom and have it on my camera 90% of the time... The other 10% I am shooting with the Canon wide angle EF 28mm f/1.8 USM. Jeff

By: Pete

Pete — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:21:03 +0000

Really depends how wide you need to go and what body you’re working with (ie crop sensor or full frame) but I’ve been using a Sigma 20mm f/1.8 for the last few years and it’s my go to wideangle lens. However as I’m using an EOS 20D I’ve been investigating the Sigma wide zooms for the extra range. Both the 10-20mm f/4-5.6 and 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 seem well regarded from the reviews I’ve read as is the Tokina 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 if you don’t mind trading range for speed.

There’s quite a lot of choice in this end of the market so it’s best if you decide what your range, speed and price perameters are and then go review hunting (fredmiranda.com being a good place to pick up consumer reviews of lenses)

By: John Harrison

John Harrison — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:12:17 +0000

Scott – thanks for posting the question on twitter!

I use the Sigma 10-20mm DX lens with my Nikon D300 so the effective range is 15mm-40mm. I have been VERY happy with it – great price/performance range. The Nikon 12-24 would be great but it is 2X the price. Of course, if someone wants to give me a Nikon 14-24 or a PC/tilt shift lens, I will gladly except it!! Wide angles are great for distorting near perspective subjects. Here is one good example. [http://www.jharrisonphoto.com/photos/289942249_yxo4s-M.jpg]

Cheers,
John

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:51:24 +0000

Thanks, Jeff. All are welcome…Canon, Nikon, or other! I’m not sure I remember which brand Marj shoots.

Loving the saturated, high-fashion look of the shots on your site. These are my favorite.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:48:47 +0000

Thanks, Mike. The example images are a big help. They look great!

By: Jeff Cross

Jeff Cross — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:47:12 +0000

Coming in from this tweet and now I see this is probably aimed more at Nikon users, but even on the Canon side, I use the Canon 17-40 f/4L. Not as fast as the f/2.8 lenses discussed here but I normally shoot with multiple strobes. Anyway, the 17-35 f/2.8 sounds like a great piece of glass! Jeff

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:43:47 +0000

Thanks, Seshu, for the input. By the way, people, have you seen Seshu's wedding photography? Very nice! Check it out at http://www.seshu.net/.

By: Mike Panic

Mike Panic — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:39:18 +0000

My current wide angle lense of choice has be rather spoiled, 12-24 Sigma mounted on a 5d, so yes, I get 12mm with nearly no vignette on a full frame sensor. Examples can be seen here: http://www.mikepanic.com/bee/ – many of those were shot with the 12-24, the rest were shot with 70-200 f/4L IS

One day I’ll afford and buy a 16-35L lens, for now, I really enjoy the Sigma.

For the Nikon users out there, it’s really hard to beat the 14-24 f/2.8 lens, I had the chance to shoot it strapped on a D3, photos are here: http://www.mikepanic.com/skateboard-sequence/

By: Seshu

Seshu — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:35:14 +0000

I use the 17-35mm f/2.8. Yes, it is heavy and is quite a workout, but that’s the price you have to pay for great glass to create great images. I don’t like to skimp on quality gear. Would love a D700 but for what I do the D300s are extremely good.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:25:44 +0000

As a Nikon shooter, I'll just cover the Nikon realm. Maybe Dave will chime in with his suggestions for the Canon shooters out there. My wide angle zoom is the Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8 AF-S ED-IF lens. It's priced just shy of $1,500 from Amazon.com or B&H Photo. I was very happy with it when I had my F100 film body, but on my smaller-sensor D2x, it just doesn't go wide enough for me. Many people have solved this issue with the "digital-only" Super Wide Angle AF 12-24mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom. It's around $850 from either Amazon.com or B&H. The problem here, of course, is that it will only work on Nikons with what they call their "DX-Format" sensor. The new larger sensor on cameras such as the D700 and D3, the "FX-Format" sensor, is the same size as 35mm film so these DX lenses won't work properly on them. One of the other problems with the 17-35mm f/2.8 is that it's pretty heavy. I went all out years ago and bought a D2x, 17-35mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f2.8, and 70-200mm f2.8. That combination has proven too heavy for me lug around. I'd really like a full-frame Nikon D700 and a lighter, more versatile lens such as the AF-S VR Zoom 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED. It's less than $500 at Amazon.com. It's not a really wide angle lens, but I think it would make a nice travel lens. I haven't really kept up with the third-party market lenses such as those from Sigma and Tamron. Both of these companies have some high-quality products and will be something I'll seriously consider when I'm ready to purchase. Hope that helps. Anyone else? Feel free to chime in with your favorites. -Scott

By: marj

marj — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:42:53 +0000

So what would be/is your wide angle zoom of choice????

By: David’s Holiday Gift Guide for Digital Photographers | TheLightroomLab.com | Written by David Marx

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:04:34 +0000

[...] set out to write a simple holiday gift guide like the one that my buddy Scott Rouse posted recently. I started out trying to make a list of goodies that any serious digital photographer might want, [...]

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:03:43 +0000

The D3X looks cool, but I’m looking to downsize. I’m tired of carrying that giant D2X around!

By: Arno

Arno — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:54:53 +0000

Heh… Not going cheap, are we?
D700… Pfff!
How about…

http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/15/24-4-megapixel-nikon-d3x-dslr-in-the-works/