Gear List
Folks often ask me what gear I use. Here's a list of gear I depend on and recommend. Photography gear is ultimately about what works best for you.
I have been a Nikon shooter since 1989. What I love about this brand is that all my Nikon lenses from my film camera, the N6006, work with my latest Nikon cameras. I have purchased used Nikon lenses through the years. I have 35 & 40-year-old lenses that work perfectly with all my cameras. It is one of many reasons I depend on this brand. Glass is expensive. Nothing is more aggravating than upgrading the camera body and discovering your old lenses no longer work.
The Camera - Click on the image to learn more about it.
This full-frame 45.7 MP camera has an amazing dynamic range. I call it my cat-eyed camera. It is my primary camera. It has focus-peaking, silent shutter, focus stacking, built-in intervalometer, touchscreen, Wi-Fi & Bluetooth as well as the ability to digitize negatives.
I use this 24.5 MP camera heavily in conjunction with my D850. It has a maximum shutter speed of 15 minutes. Like the D850, it has focus-peaking, built-in intervalometer, silent shutter, focus stacking, touchscreen, WiFi & Bluetooth.
As an infrared photographer, I prefer shooting infrared with a camera that has great resolution. This camera has a 36.6 MP sensor. It was converted to a full-spectrum infrared. I use this for just about any application, including astrophotography and astrolandscapes as well. The built-in intervalometer is great for time-lapse.
This full-frame 45.7 MP camera has an amazing dynamic range. I call it my cat-eyed camera. It is my primary camera. It has focus-peaking, silent shutter, focus stacking, built-in intervalometer, touchscreen, Wi-Fi & Bluetooth as well as the ability to digitize negatives.
The Lenses - Click on the image to learn more about it.
Glass. I confess I love lenses. I have a variety of glass in my kit. I have prime lenses and a variety of telephoto lenses. All of them serve a purpose and/or specific application. Most of them are auto-focus. Some are fully manual, specifically the 3-rd party brands that I don't have to be concerned about when I upgrade the camera body. The ones listed are the ones I use regularly.
This is probably my absolute favorite lens. It is ridiculously sharp edge to edge. I've been using it for years and it knocks my socks off every time I use it. It is my main glass when shooting astrolandscapes. Outstanding lens. It is one of the "Holy Grail" of lenses.
The second lens of the "Holy Grail" trio. I use this for portraits, infrared, and astrolandscapes. Fast and super sharp.
This lens is great for astro-landscapes. It is fast and sharp. I went through 4 iterations of the lens before I got a sharp one but for the price, it is worth dealing with Rokinon's QC issues. Get one through a vendor that will accept numerous returns. When you get a sharp one, it's stellar (no pun intended).
This is probably my absolute favorite lens. It is ridiculously sharp edge to edge. I've been using it for years and it knocks my socks off every time I use it. It is my main glass when shooting astrolandscapes. Outstanding lens. It is one of the "Holy Grail" of lenses.
The Tripod
A must have for any photographer. My first tripod was a Bogen 3036. A beast of a tripod, rock solid and heavy, I used it for my camera and telescope. I still have this tripod but only use it for astronomy as it's too heavy to lug around on the field. I mostly use carbon-fiber Induro and Benro tripods (Benro now owns Induro). These handle everything I throw at them - landscape, macro, astrolandscape, time-lapse, and everything in-between. Super solid and lightweight.
Tiny and mighty. This holds a full-frame DSLR. It comes with a ball head, but I replaced it with an arca-type one.
There are other gadgets I use in conjunction to the main list here. Filters, external power supplies, and much more can be found on my blog.