bruce_stenman2

I wear black to start with and not light colors for several reasons. At the end of the day the black pants and shirt still look great. Second, if I accidentally get into the frame of the second photographer I can be more readily ignored by people viewing the pictures later. Third I tend to disappear into the crowd and this helps people relax and I get better shots.

I avoid cotton in any form. Synthetics wick moisture much better. Lands End has new polo and T-shirts that have a copper interweaving that stops bacteria that would cause body odor in its tracks.

In humid conditions your body cannot remove heat efficiently so it is important to stay out of the sun or wear a hat and although fluids are important, realize that your perspiration will not be nearly as effective in cooling your body in hot conditions.

I shoot the D200 at weddings and my second photographer shoots Mark II cameras. I compare thousands of images under identical lighting conditions. They both are fine up to ISO 1250 at which point noise starts to jump with both cameras. The big difference with the Mark II (and this does not apply per se to the D20/D30 cameras and their smaller sensors and smaller pixels) is that an underexposed image and be pushed much further later in Photoshop than files from the D200 or D2x(ISO 800 max).

The D200 and the Nikon lenses and Nikon flash is far superior to those from Canon. A Nikon 50mm f1.4 is $1000 less than the Canon 50mm f1.2 which is a lot to pay for 1/2 f-stop.

If you want low noise at high iso, get the Canon 5D. If you want high ISO performance and fast autofocus in low light get the Mark III. The 20D/30D are good backup cameras for the 5D. Of course with many Canon lenses like the 24-70mm f2.8 you also need backup lenses as well.

Bruce

Take a look at George Lepp's work and especially his book on poppies. A lot of his images make use of a wide angle lens and an extension tube. A full Kenko set is a lot cheaper than a macro lens and will work better for something the size of most flowers. Even the 60mm macro on a Nikon DSLR performs like a 90mm and this is too long to provide a real 3-dimensional feel.

Bruce

With a 20D the two best choices for wide angle would be the 17-55mm f2.8 IS and the 10-22 f3.5 lenses. It just depends how wide you want to go.

For landscape and other fine art photography you would be better off with prime lenses that are 24mm or wider. Choices from Canon and Sigma.