Photography equipment

[GaryS]

Nikon D200 ~£800
Nikon 18-200mm VR ~£450
Nikon 50mm f1.8 ~ £80
Sigma 10-20mm ~ £300
Nikon SB800 flashgun ~ £200
Polarising filters 72mm + 77mm ~ £50
Memory cards ~ £20
Spare battery ~ £10
Tamrac Expedition Bag ~ £90

 

[Rasclart]

You dont have to use a polorizer on all of them. I have a polarizer for my 18-70. Havent got one for the 80-200 or the 50mm

I just use UV filters on the others

 

[ukaskew]

Ok, I will do this properly now, starting fresh...

Nikon D80 - £500
Nikon 50mm 1.8 - £80
Sigma 10-20 - £290
Sigma 70mm F2.8 EX DG Macro - £300
Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX DG Macro - £630
Sigma 2x EX DG Converter - £160
Gorillapod SLR Zoom - £20


That would cover just about everything I can think of.

 

[GaryS]

You don't have to use polarisers on any of them but given that budget I'd have them on the 10-20 and 18-200. You could economise and buy one filter and a step-up ring but changing filters is a pain in the bum.

Nigel, have you tried ebay for filters? The 77mm Hoya/Kenko Pro 1 wideband polarisers are around £26 + post from HK, well they were when I got mine!

 

[Nigel]

Well heres my first draft of a shopping list. Hopefully going to go and test a few of the items this weekend.

-Nikon D300 Body only
-Nikon 50MM f1.8 D AF + Skylight 1B filter + Circular Polarising filter
-Nikon 80-200 f2.8 AFD + Skylight 1B filter + Circular Polarising filter
-Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM + ND Filter (Filters from 80-200 are also the same size)
-Lowepro Slingshot 300AW
-Velbon UP-4000 Unipod
-2 x Sandisk Extreme 3 4gb mem cards (£28 each from Play.com)

Anything you'd change?

 

[unofficialPete]

What ND filter, if its a screw on you'll quickly want to throw it in the bin...

I'd also go for a back pack unless you need v.quick access personally.

 

[Nigel]

I'd planned on a screw type ND filter as it'd only be use ocassionally and the Cokin system seems a lot of money for something i'd rarely use.

I haven't really seen a back pack I like, any recommendations for around £80?

 

[McBunny]

lowpro slingshot 300 aw

 

[unofficialPete]

Your probably better off using a tripod and layer blending than using a screw on grad IMO.

I get all my stuff into a Mini Trekker AW, really like it, can be fiddly to get into though. Looked at the Slingshots but found them to small (100 and 200) and don't think they can carry a tripod.

 

[Nigel]

Bluepete, I notice you have the cokin adaptor, how many filters do you have for it? That mini trekker looks good, it's about in budget isn't it?

Mcbunny are you recommedning the slingshot?

 

[McBunny]

yup i use the 200 its a bit small now for me now but the 300 is bigger

since it just spins around your body your able to use it to steady your self as your elbows will rest on it

 

[Rasclart]

I rock out the 200 as well

 

[unofficialPete]

Bluepete, I notice you have the cokin adaptor, how many filters do you have for it? That mini trekker looks good, it's about in budget isn't it?

Mcbunny are you recommedning the slingshot?

Since you'll be using a 10mm lens, you'll need the Cokin P-wide angle minimum, which only holds 1 filters. Pair this with a Hi-tech soft ND grad 0.6 and you should do ok. If your more serious the LEE system is worth a look but your looking at just under 200 notes for a 2 filter setup + wide angle adapter rings.


Mini AW Trekker
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/?/photo/lowepro/trekker.html#mininew
69.99
Ideally go to a Jessops and try them on, I found the Slingshot 200 to small and the 300 looks to big for the type of bag it is but not tried one.

 

[Nigel]

Thanks for the advice. Insurance vouchers arrived this morning so I'm off to have a play tonight and tommorrow.

 

[Andy.]

I can also recommend the Burton Zoom backpack.

Burton are a snowboarding company so the pack is made to be waterproof and protect your camera. The pack is designed to strap a board or skis onto but it is also perfect for a tripod.

The best bit about it is that it does not look like a camera backpack and the opening is on the back of pack, meaning that nobody can take anything out while it is strapped on your back.

As a bonus, it is seriously comfy too.

 

[Nigel]

Where can I get one of those from Andy? Are they expensive? I'd imagine so being Burton.

Just got back from Jessops, spent ages trying both cameras out, the guy actually knew his stuff. He was trying to steer me towards the 40D, but as with my old 350D it just didn't feel right in my hands. The D300 on the other was completely nataural. Hadn't got a clue how to work some of the functions as the controls are so different to Canons, but even so I could tell it was the right camera for me. They hadn't got any of the lenses I wanted in stock, so I've got them to order them and i'll pick it all up together.

Very excited now, thanks for all the advice, i'll post some pics up when I get it and a mini review once i've been using it for a bit.

:star:

 

[Andy.]

You can try calling some of the larger board shops to see who has one in stock, the usual places that I use have all sold out.

Link 1

Link 2

It is a pretty large bag, but if you have several lenses and a tripod to carry, it might as well be!