Depending on your geek-level, you may or may not have heard of Loyd Case. If you have not, suffice it to say he is a legend to a lot of the geek community and if he says something, I will be listening.
He recently wrote a blog post (My Camera Bag is Complete) and I could not help but think that he meant ‘for now’.
Any camera bag is a work in progress. Let me qualify that: the contents of your camera bag can reach the ideal mix of items, for what you are shooting now. That ‘mix’ will be specific to the stage of your life, your expertise, or the subjects you shoot.
I’m excluding people that have every lens ever released, more money than sense, or professional photogs. For these people, their bag is “set”, other than waiting for new releases.
But for the the rest of us with a limited budget, growing families, and limited resources, the target is constantly moving.
Take my bag for example …
After a long hiatus, I jumped in to digital photography. I tried Nikon and Canon DSLR’s for feel and looked at the range of lenses available for each and the capabilities of the two platforms. The Nikon felt better to me and I went down that road. I purchased a D70s with an 18-70mm (Nikkor AF-S 18-70 f3.5-4.5G ED) and 70-300mm (Nikkor AF 70-300 f4-5.6G). I still have and shoot with this kit and the 18-70 lens is still my walk-around choice. No regrets.
I shot college sports (soccer, football, and rowing) and company events with this kit. At the end of the football season (2005), we ended-up in the National Championship at the Rose Bowl in California. At this point I knew enough to know that without f2.8 the trip was going to be almost a waste of time. So I added a 70-200mm (Sigma 70-200 f2.8 APO DG HSM). This was in my budget and has performed faultlessly ever since.
I also got two extenders. The Sigma 1.4x (to make it a 98-280/f4) and Sigma 2.0x (for 140-400/f5.6). And I added a battery grip. And a monopod.
For the next season I added to the camera bag again: a Nikon D200 with battery grip. A 50mm also snuck in (Nikkor AF 50 f1.8D) together with an SB600 flash and a Tamron 24-70mm/f2.8. Now I could carry two bodies on the sidelines, ready with the 24-70 and 70-200. If you have shot sports you know that this is the only way to be ready!
Another season, another upgrade. This time a used Nikon D2H (with a WT-1A wireless transmitter). The D2 bodies are absolutely tough as nails. Shooting sports at 8 frames per second (fps) … well … if you have not experienced it, it is amazing. Shots that eluded me in the past were now attainable. It is true that 4 megapixel (mp) images are not as crop-able as larger ones, but you work with what you have.
Somewhere in the middle of all this a second SB-600 appeared.
Then I started thinking about a D300. But then I decided that a used Nikon D2Xs would be next, for about the same cost. The high-speed crop would give me extra reach with my 70-200 and I really like those D2 bodies! The downside was that the D300 would have been better in low-light. I really enjoy the D2Xs though. I bought a reconditioned WT-2 wireless transmitter and an SB-800 flash. And I sold my D200 and the Tamron 24-70. Of course the D2 do not have commander mode for the flash. A dilemma.
So, is my camera bag complete? Yes, for now.
But a collection currently offered for sale (D300s, Nikkor 17-55/f2.8, Sb-900, 50/f1.4) is calling me. Loudly. And I’ve been lusting after the Tokina 11-16/f2.8. More on that next time!
(Here is some video from a home game featuring my very own D70s. Holding the camera is a friend who I loaned the camera to for the game. Storms in the area affected the TV reception. Copyright ABC Television. This was Kansas at Texas, 12 November, 2005).