As photography for fun begins to open up for you, it will become obvious that
you need to expand your kit. However, camera gear of good quality is never
cheap, so what are the ‘essentials’ and what can you easily do without?
The first essential is a good digital SLR, from a good
manufacturer, and one that takes multiple lenses, from that manufacturer (we can
deal with after-market lenses another day). Choose carefully and be prepared to
spend upwards of B. 30,000. Ouch!
A mini tripod.
Handle all the cameras that you think you might like. Some
look great, but don’t fit in your hand as well as they might. I was once tempted
by a Pentax 6x7 medium format camera, but after one roll of film, I knew it
wasn’t for me!
When I worked in professional photography I used Nikon in 35
mm - bullet proof and quality lenses. Others such as Canon, Pentax, Olympus,
etc., are also excellent brands, all of which have interchangeable lenses too,
so your basic system can be enlarged upon over a period of time, and your
original lenses will still be good.
The SLR is the center of your equipment. It is this camera
that will allow you to be creative in your shots. It is this camera that will
win you awards and recognition. As mentioned already, it will be expensive, so
choose wisely.
Now you look at lenses. The “standard” lens that will come
with your SLR will most likely be a 50 mm. The next lens you buy should be a
wide angle lens. Around 28 mm or 24 mm is good, or even 20 mm for very dramatic
shots, but the distortion problem can be a little much at this wide angle.
The next lens you should buy should be around the focal
length of 135 mm - the ideal lens for portraits. The 24 mm gives you the ability
to take dramatic photos, the 135 mm allows you to take glamorous portraits.
No zooms? No, I personally do not like zoom lenses. The
sharpness is not as good as “prime” lenses (though the manufacturers say they
are much better these days), but even more importantly, zoom lenses make for
lazy photographers. Instead of walking in to compose the subject, the
photographer zooms in. The depth of field is lost, the flash is too far away and
the chance of a perfect shot is lost. I realize that the very latest zooms from
the parent manufacturer may be excellent, but because of their advanced optics
they are very expensive.
You should also have a Point and Shoot compact camera in your
camera equipment. Again, stick to the better brands if you want to get something
which will last, and even more importantly, one that will return crisp images.
Olympus makes some very good small point and shooters, with excellent lenses.
This camera is for those situations where you don’t want to lug all the gear,
when you need something light and pocket portable. Get one with a 24 or 28 mm
lens and built in flash which can be turned off.
The next item is a tripod. Now with all the super-fast ASA
ratings available in a D SLR these days, a large Manfrotto, such as I lugged all
over the world, is not so necessary. My Manfrotto lives in the cupboard, but a
small fold-out tripod lives in my camera bag.
The next items are small and very cheap, but are
indispensable. These are stepping rings to bring all your lenses to the same
diameter so you can screw filters, etc., on the end, and not duplicate them with
different diameters. I have standardized mine on 62 mm. Sometimes this may take
two stepping rings coupled together, but just end up with the same diameter on
them all.
Now buy a few filters. Look in the catalogue to see what
sorts of effects you like - but don’t overdo it! And one you must have is the
Skylight 1A you leave permanently on the end of your lens to protect the
expensive glass.
The final item is the camera bag. Get a good waterproof one.
Tropical storms can come unannounced!
