My Ideal Kit

[cameraguy21773]

While cleaning all my gear the other day I decided to organize some of the stuff I use less often and put it in a trunk I carry in my SUV. Stuff like, cables, rope, clamps, reflectors, tools, tape, …

As I was shelving and cleaning all my lenses I realized that I had been collecting them without a real plan, kinda like I have my collections of antique photographica I’ve been amassing for the last 25+ years.

Since the purchase of my first D70 body I have acquired these lenses:

Tamron
SP 90mm f2.8 Di Macro
70-300 f3.5-5.6 LD Macro

Sigma
EX 12-24 f4.5-5.6
18-50 f3.5-4.5 DC
EX 20mm f1.8
EX 24-60mm f2.8
EX 24-70mm f2.8 Macro
EX 28mm f1.8 Macro
EX 70-200 f2.8
EX 150mm f2.8 Macro
APO 170-500mm f5-6.3
APO 400mm f5.6 Telemacro

Nikon
AF 50mm f1.8D AF
AF-S 24-120 f4-5.6G ED-IF VR
AF 28-105mm f3.5-5.6G
AF 300mm f4D ED-IF (x2)
AF-S 300mm f4D ED-IF

Teleconverters
Sigma EX APO 1.4 TC
Sigma EX APO 2.0 TC
Kenko Pro 300 1.4 DG
Nikkor TC-17e II

On my short list are:
Sigma EX 10-20 f4-5.6
Nikkor AF-S 17-35mm f2.8D ED-IF
Nikkor AF-S 80-200 f2.8D ED-IF
Nikkor 500 f4
Sigma EX 800 f5.6

Looking all this over has made me rethink the idea of acquiring an ideal suite (kit) of lenses that I take with me wherever I go. Here is what I think might be an ideal kit for me. The list is based on my hands on experience with each lens on the list even though it might have been brief.

Sigma EX 10-20 f4-5.6 (or EX 12-24 f4.5-5.6)
Sigma EX 20mm f1.8
Nikkor AF-S 17-35mm f2.8D ED-IF
Sigma EX 24-60mm f2.8
Nikkor AF 50mm f1.8D AF
Nikkor AF-S 80-200 f2.8D ED-IF (or Sigma EX 70-200 f2.
Sigma EX 150mm f2.8 Macro
Nikkor AF-S 300mm f4D ED-IF
Sigma APO 400mm f5.6 Telemacro

Teleconverters
Sigma EX APO 1.4 TC
Kenko Pro 300 1.4 DG
Nikkor TC-17e II

Your comments are invited.

[Glen]

That is quite some collection, Mike! Is there a story behind you and 300mm Nikkors?

[cameraguy21773]

It wasn't my fault ... the made me do it!

I got the first one at a camera shop at a good price and thought that if it didn't work out I could sell it for what I paid for it. The second one I literally stumbled over at a yard sale and bought it to resell. The AF-S version is a recent addition and the one I wanted in the first place so I sold the first two to help offset the price and bought it.

[ozimax]

My ideal kit:

1 x el cheapo Tamron 70-300mm indestructible freebie lens
1 x Pacific Ocean with 3-4 metre swell
1 x nice sunny day with heaps pro surfers doin' their stuff

To quote the great Curly Howard:

"That is all!"

Max PS If anyone has a nice shiny black Nikkor 600mm lens they aren't using...

[hangdog]

{snip}Since the purchase of my first D70 body I have acquired these lenses:{snip}Your comments are invited.

The first thing I thought when I saw it was that someone had put up Birddog's "Lens Lust" list, without the prices!

--Chuan

[petermmc]

How do you decide which lenses to take on a shoot? You have too many to choose from. In my humble opinion, I think you should sell the whole lot and purchase the following (if you have some of these then keep them)

Nik 12-24
Nik 24-120
Nik 70-200vr
Nik 300 or 400
a 2x coverter

Give the rest of the money to the cyclone victims or me. Keep it simple and you will take more photos.

Peter Mc

[stubbsy]

How do you decide which lenses to take on a shoot? You have too many to choose from. In my humble opinion, I think you should sell the whole lot and purchase the following (if you have some of these then keep them)

Nik 12-24
Nik 24-120
Nik 70-200vr
Nik 300 or 400
a 2x coverter

Give the rest of the money to the cyclone victims or me. Keep it simple and you will take more photos.

Peter Mc

Interesting Peter

Here's what's currently in my kit which I consider is at the ideal level:

Nikkor 12-24 DX
Nikkor 24-120 VR
Nikkor 70-200 VR
Nikon TC17E teleconverter
Nikkor 50/1.4
SB800

[nodabs]

ok i'll bite here's what i'd say would be ideal for my shooting

10.5mm nikkor fish
10-20mm Tamron
17-55 2.8 nikkor
50 1.4 nikkor
80-200 2.8 the 2 touch
80-400 nikkor

sb-800

3X vivtar 285's
pocket wizards with 3 recievers

up to the 80-200 is basically for bikes the 80-200 is to be carried with the 17-55 for everything else

the sb-800 is for general flash duties and the vivitars are for sports remotes

that would suit me to the ground

[MCWB]

Mike,

I've been travelling around Europe for the past 6 weeks, and as such have encountered many shooting situations, from a wedding to landscapes to architecture to Formula 1. My current kit consists of:

Sigma 12-24
Nikkor 24-120 VR
Nikkor 70-200 VR
TC17EII
SB800 + LSII
Feisol 3401 tripod + Manfrotto 488RC2 head + Feisol monopod

To be honest, these have performed superbly and with the exception of the wedding (which wasn't pro/paid BTW), I haven't ever found myself saying "oh drat, if only I had <this lens>". What I do need is a portrait lens that's sharper than the 24-120 VR at f/5.6; the 17-55 2.8 DX fits this bill perfectly and is the next lens on my list (you could make similar arguments for 50 and 85 mm primes, plus Sigma/Tamron/etc fast zooms I suppose).

I reckon I can shoot 99% of 'stuff' with this kit; the extra 1% is the 'wish-list' factor (and TBH the 70-200 VR is pretty much 'wish-list factor', Sigma 70-200 2.8 or some flavour of Nikkor 80-200 2.8 would also do fine); yeah I wouldn't have minded a long, fast ($$$$) prime at the F1 (300 or 400 2.8 or something), or a fast wide prime for the wedding, but these are definitely in the 'want' rather than 'need' category. Maybe the Tokina instead of the Sigma 12-24 too, if it's better with respect to flare.

Depends what you're doing with your kit too. I've had to lug mine in a backpack around Europe, and wouldn't want to have had much more with me, but wouldn't have wanted to discard any of it either.