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Have you ever bought a piece of kit that really changed the way you thought about your photography?


david_eagle

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<p>Strange question possibly, but along the way, have you bought an item of equipment that really made an impact on your photography (excluding the camera!)? If so what was it and what changes did it make to your photography?<br>

Seems to me that a lot of equipment is bought on a speculation that it will make a difference, it would be interesting to see just what kit has inspired what changes.<br>

My purchase? Not kit, but a photography course, the chance to take different pictures with different people that could offer advice/guidance/critique.<br>

What was yours?<br>

Ps. posting this in the Nikon forum, because I am interested in Nikon kit!</p>

 

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<p>The first item that changed how I "see" things was a Canon FD 17mm lens giving me a whole new view beyond 24mm. (Since changed to a Nikon 14/2.8).</p>

<p>The second was a Canon FD 400/2.8 L which simply provided the best telephoto image quality that I could get having gone through a 200/2.8, 400/4.5, and 300/2.8. (Since changed to Nikon 400/2.8 AIS).</p>

<p>These two lenses have completely changed my photography and made my hobby all that much more rewarding. Of course purchasing a 4x5 body and 65mm superwide is right up there too. </p>

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<p>Other than my most recent camera (D300), I would probably go with my first really, really good tripod and ballhead (with an L-bracket for the camera)--all told, over $600, but it has been an amazing investment and one I use almost all the time when I shoot.</p>
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<p>Well, that just happened to me last year. I was just to shoot with 35 mm and longer on full frame cameras (film) and I had never thought about anything wider. Then on digital it seems than zoom lenses start at 17 or 18.<br>

When the Tokina 11-16 came on sale I wasn't sure about it but since it was NOT ridiculous expensive I gave it a try. <br>

I don't think it has improve my photography but it let me discover what a wide angle lens can do and how much fun it can be.</p>

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<p>Back when I had only 28-80 and 70-300 lenses, I wanted to go wider. Common wisdom at the time was that 24mm was as wide as anyone really needs, and any wider is difficult to use well. I ignored that and bought a 20mm lens and it turned me into a wide angle junkie. That was followed by a 17-35 a couple of years later.</p>

<p>Eventually I'd like to have the 14mm or 14-24.</p>

<p> </p>

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<p>.</p>

<p>Earlier: "... <em>Have you ever bought a piece of kit that really changed the way you thought about your photography?</em> ..."</p>

<p>Yes, a <strong>camera</strong> at all.</p>

<p>Having a camera AT ALL changed my experience of photography.</p>

<p>Then, having my own <strong>printer</strong>, and seeing my images printed big on the same day informed my next day's shooting decisions.</p>

<p>Now, a screen with a perpetual <strong>slide show</strong> fading from tone- to-chrome (grayscale to color) for each image is totally changing, saturating, and enhancing my own photographic view.</p>

<p>So, in that order, these three things changed my experience of photography, MY photography:</p>

<p>- a <strong>camera</strong> -- to capture images</p>

<p>- a <strong>printer</strong> -- to blow images up contemporaneously on demand</p>

<p>- a <strong>slide show</strong> -- to present my images constantly changing every day</p>

<p>Thanks for asking, David -- provoked a surprise awareness on my part.</p>

<p>.</p>

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<p>Perhaps I am merely pointing out the obvious, but the two items that really changed my photography are digital SLRs (the D100 being my first) and earlier auto focus in the mid 1990's. My first AF body was the N8008 from 1989, but AF finally became really useful to me with the F5.<br>

<br />Among photographers, I probably learned the most from John Shaw, starting with his books in the late 1980's to his VHS videos in the 1990s. My wife and I felt that we knew him quite well, but we didn't meet him in person until 2003.</p>

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There have been a few. The F2 and motor drive completely changed the way I was shooting. The 500mm mirror lens showed me reach and compression but it was an MF 28mm/3.5 that truly opened my eyes and forced me to get close. It was an epiphany and I've been pissing off editors with wideangles ever since. Rick H.
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My first rangefinder camera: a Canonet G-III QL17. It was the first time I ever used a fast lens... and I discovered

available light, Leica cameras and lenses, fast glass, professional gear...

 

Of course, my long time with rangefinders kept me away from SLRs. The accidental purchase of an F5 at the auction site

(felt sorry for the seller, who hadn't received a lot of bids for this body), got me back to them. And led me to digital stuff!

 

But definitely, rangefinder cameras.

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<p>85 1.4 changed things a lot for me, going from a fastest aperture of 2.8 previously... the D3 changed my life also, though... it leaps far enough ahead to take high quality photographs under incandescent light without flash, where previously that wasn't really possible.</p>
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<p>A 24" ink jet taught me the value of being able to everyday enjoy big beatiful prints, matted and framed hanging on the walls and not just have tens and hundreds of thousands of images on my harddrives that I occationally would view or print and put in a photoalbum or just store in a drawer. Ironically it has also allowed me to see the real beauty and soul of B&W film as well.</p>
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<p>I second Peter's comment.....having a camera at all did it for me...</p>

<p>I had Brownies, Polaroids, and just pure junk....but the day I bought a 35mm film cam (back in 1973) my whole experience with photography completely changed. Not so much what the camera could do, but that it gave me total control over my images. And that was when they changed from being pictures to being images. I was creating them, not just snapping them.</p>

<p>but, to abide by your request and make this NOT about the camera itself..but other gear...<br>

...a film scanner.............changed my whole photography world.....of course this led to another camera..........DSLR....</p>

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<p>The first big change was buying my first F2 many years ago. It opened up so many worlds to me.</p>

<p>The next big change was two parts......... Moving into digital SLRs and working with PS and now NX2. Instant imaging and total control over the finished product has been completely liberating.</p>

 

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<p>The 24mm Nikkor I acquired back about 1969 or '70. A 28mm was the widest lens I had ever seen and the 24mm gave me a whole new perspective on the world. Even today if I could only own on lens for either DX or FX, it would be the 24mm.</p>

 

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<p>For me it's more recent, and still impacting my way of thinking.</p>

<p>The 85mmPC Nikkor tilt-shift lens. The ability to align the plane of focus with the subject to achieve a desired result is revolutionary (yes, I hear the large format guys chuckling in the background).</p>

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<p>In high school, the first time that I saw an image that I took with a Mamiya double lens reflex, appear in the developer...I was hooked!<br>

In 1980, when I bought my first SLR...a Canon A-1.<br>

But, without a doubt, on Christmas 2007, when my wife bought me a D300, 18-200 VR and Sigma 30 mm, f1.4 prime...WOW! Joining this site was the best thing that I've done for my photography after that.</p>

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<p>I've owned over a dozen cameras, everything from APS or 35mm point n shoots, Nikon F5, Bronica 645, 4x5 field camera, and Nikon D300. No camera has ever made much difference. A camera is just a camera. What has made a huge difference for me has been the radio remote flash triggers (Skyport, CyberSync.) I use these with my 14 portable lights. This have given me the ability to actually create the single most critical thing in any photo--the LIGHT! I don't have to work around the light given me at the scene; I am now in control. This has in turn given me the most in-depth understanding of LIGHT I've ever had, after 25+ years of taking photos. The difference it's made in my photos is like the difference between night & day. Literally.<br>

Kent in SD<br>

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3515/3189056635_0b6374ab82.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="363" /></p>

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<p>When I upgraded from an OM1n with 50 1.8(still in use) to a Nikon F4S with an AF 80-200 2.8. It was like going from a muzzle loader to an Uzi in one fell swoop. I am doing a lot of digital now with a D300, but the finder in DX is a wimp compared to the F4s. I am still to find a camera with the size or clarity of the F4s's finder. No wonder it was the Press's favourite during its production.</p>
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