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Whats in the bag

A redirect aiming page for those interested, this is the current gear I am using for most of my shootings (as of 1.8.2024):

  • DSLRs: Nikon D850, Nikon D810, Nikon D800ir(IR converted)
  • Mirrorless: Nikon Z8 with FTZII
  • Nikon AF-S G 14-24 f2.8 (excellent 14 milli lens – the S-version is even better)
  • Nikon AF-D 16mm f2.8 Fisheye (good performance at f8)
  • Nikon PC-E 19mm f4E (excellent lens – best 20milli ever)
  • Nikon AF-S G 24-70 f2.8
  • Nikon PC-E 85mm f2.8
  • Nikon AF-S G 105 f2.8 VR Micro
  • Nikon AF-S G 70-200 f2.8E (excellent lens – best 70-200 of all Nikons – same with the S version)
  • Nikon AF-S 300mm f2.8 (mkI) (bread&butter lens, never failed, old but superb sharp and fast)
  • Nikon AF-S G 400mm f.2.8 VR (excellent lens – reference for 400mm sharpness)
  • Nikon TC-E 1.4III (no-brainer! no loss of image quality with this one)
  • Nikon TC-E 2II (rarely used but sometime its useful)
  • Gitzo Systematic Series 3 and Series 4 tripods – with 4 leg sections (I love the series 4).
  • Hoya Filter Holder for ND-filters for 14-24mm and 19mm
  • Aquatech Elite Housing for D810, base-plate modified for D850 and Z8 including various ports for 14-24 to 70-200 lenses, (to be updated to the Edge Max for the Z8).
  • DJI Phantom 4 Pro copter (a bit dated, will be superseded by a Mavic soon)
  • Various L-Plates from RRS or Kirk or 3LT.

Gear that I sold after using it a while:

Irix 11mm f4 (a good lens but I didnt use it much after a while due to missing AF), Sigma 20mm f1.4 ART (for some imaging concepts it was needed – but than I sold it), Nikkor 28mm f2 AIS (nice lens but didnt use it much since usually not wide enough and 28 was never my fav focal length – will be replace by the 24 f2 AIS for some bokeh based ideas only), Nikon 85mm f1.4 AF-D (this one I might regret selling but I always found that its not enough focal length so not enough compression for my use – I want 105mm or 135mm – but maybe I get the 85mm AFS version of the Z mount type or more likely the 135 Plena), Nikon AF-S 300mm f4 (sold for the 300mm f2.8 which was much better (faster and sharper).

Gear that I rarely use but kept for specific imaging concepts: Sony A6000, Lens-Tilt-transformer, Nikkor 50mm f1.2 AIS, Nikkor 35mm f1.4 AIS, Nikkor 20mm f2.8 AIS (never sharp at the edges of the FX frame but nice for the near-far shots!), Nikon AF-D 10mm f2.8 ED DX, Nikkor 180mm f2.8 AIS, Nikon PB-4, Nikon TC-E 2.0 III, Equatorial Mount for Milky Way shootings.

So keep in mind: I do not have a collector kind of approach to photographic gear. Stuff that I never need/use or equipment that is not any more state-of-the-art will be sold – it clearly does not mean that this is always bad equipment – it just means that my style of shooting /domain does not need this specific type of gear.

I always look for new ways to visually express, so camera bodies always change but most of my lenses I keep.