Can you identify these pros' gear for me?

[stsinner]

I was in Boston for a day of photography and enjoyment with the family, and I came across a wedding photo shoot. Check out the size of the lens this lady has-not just length but the diameter-it's huge!! I'll bet that was some serious money!

The guy had a camcorder with some kid of neat prop that went town to his waist and over his shoulder.

Just curious about all the gear this girl has-can anyone list it? Thanks!

 

[AlexColeman]

I am not as familiar with canon gear, but it is a L telephoto, probably a 300mm.
I have no clue what he is using, some sort of steadicam.
She is also using a waist belt like from tamrac.
Sorry if I am not a ton of help, but I am not familiar with either videography or Canon.

 

[Village Idiot]

Canon 70-200 f/2.8L. Most likely IS.

 

[stsinner]

Canon 70-200 f/2.8L. Most likely IS.

Good Lord!! That baby is $1,488.00 on Amazon.

Her battery grip looks huge, too. Is that an expensive flash, as well?

 

[AlexColeman]

Probably a higher end speed light, but when there was a break, she switched lenses, or you had the courage you could just ask, all photographers are friendly, just look at this forum, and she would be glad to help.

 

[Big Mike]

Yes, that looks like the 70-200mm F2.8 L...probably IS.
I bought that lens this year...I think it was $1649 or something like that.

I can't tell which camera body she is using...but it looks like it either has a battery grip or is one of the large 1 series bodies (which look like they have a built in battery grip). I think she also has something else on the bottom...maybe an external flash battery pack.

I don't know about the flash, doesn't look to be a Canon...with that big Z on it. She is using a Stofen Omni-bounce on it though. But shooting outdoors like that, the omni-bounce isn't doing anything but robbing power from her flash. A lot of photographers mis-use those things like this.

 

[stsinner]

Yes, that looks like the 70-200mm F2.8 L...probably IS.
I bought that lens this year...I think it was $1649 or something like that.

I can't tell which camera body she is using...but it looks like it either has a battery grip or is one of the large 1 series bodies (which look like they have a built in battery grip). I think she also has something else on the bottom...maybe an external flash battery pack.

I don't know about the flash, doesn't look to be a Canon...with that big Z on it. She is using a Stofen Omni-bounce on it though. But shooting outdoors like that, the omni-bounce isn't doing anything but robbing power from her flash. A lot of photographers mis-use those things like this.

I thought that about the diffuser, but being a novice, I thought, "She's a pro-must know what she's doing." Does the Stofen have anything in it to diffuse and send the light in different directions, or does it just mute the light and make it not so harsh?

Probably a higher end speed light, but when there was a break, she switched lenses, or you had the courage you could just ask, all photographers are friendly, just look at this forum, and she would be glad to help.

Did you see the look she is giving me when she notices me photographing her? LOL If looks could kill....

Canon 70-200 f/2.8L. Most likely IS.

Damn rich people..

 

[inTempus]

Judging by the shape of the housing, it looks like a Canon 1D that she is holding.

If that's the case, that's a $6k camera.

 

[bigtwinky]

The thing the guy has with the camcorder is simply a brace that he uses to steady his image.

They sell equivalent things for cameras, and they typically replace a tripod...or as they are not 100% steady, replace a monopod.

 

[tsaraleksi]

Judging by the shape of the housing, it looks like a Canon 1D that she is holding.

If that's the case, that's a $6k camera.

The 1D mark III's only $3.7k, but if I was going to put money on it that's a 1D mark II or a 1Ds mark II, not a III, given the rounding on the mirror hump (if you compare, you'll see that the mark III has much more of an 'edge' on the hump). I think that she's got some kind of screw on battery pack for the flash underneath, which is what is making it look so huge. This is confirmed by that wire that is running down the left side of the camera from the flash.

Also I think it's a for-sure that that is the IS version of the 70-200, given the gold letter that you can make out in one of the shots.

I haven't the faintest idea about the video camera other than that it's a Canon.

edit: I swear I don't spend all day looking at pictures of cameras...

 

[Big Mike]

I thought that about the diffuser, but being a novice, I thought, "She's a pro-must know what she's doing." Does the Stofen have anything in it to diffuse and send the light in different directions, or does it just mute the light and make it not so harsh?

The Omni-bounce is made to break up the light and send some of it out in all directions, while allowing much of it to go though...to be bounced (off of a wall or ceiling). The idea being that when you are bouncing the light it might still be coming from a single direction, but when you break it up, it can hit the subject from different directions, getting rid of shadows and giving the look of soft light.
The problem is that when there is nothing to bounce off of, it still sends the light out in different directions...which is wasted light.

Many people assume that by putting something opaque in front of the flash, they are making the light softer. The only way to make light softer, is to either enlarge the size of the light source or move it closer to the subject. The omni-bounce is not much bigger than the flash head, so it doesn't really make the source bigger...and it's not closer either....so it does not (on it's own) make the light appreciably softer.

I think that a lot of photographers keep them on, all the time, because it's just easier than taking it off and putting it back on when necessary. That's understandable, as a wedding is a hectic time and the less you have to think about with your gear, the better.

Still, I've seen plenty of photographers using them outdoors, with the flash pointed up at 45 degrees, as if they are still bouncing...now that is truly a misuse of the product.

 

[Michael P. Harker]

The replies you've received are correct as to the equipment she's using. She probably has one more zoom lense in her camera bag that would cover the 18-70mm range; so she can handle every standard wedding photo with her equipment. If you can afford the high price of her gear, then you will be optimizing the end results. But I have a suggestion: Start with a Nikon D80 and get two lenses for it from eBay - a Nikon 18-70mm Digital Lense and a Tamron 28-200mm film lense. All of this will cost about what she paid for her 70-300 Canon lense and will deliver outstanding sharpness and quick autofocus.

The Tamron 28-200 film lense when used on the Nikon D80 converts to a 55-480mm lense, which means you will have an 18-480mm range with just two lenses. For a flash, I recommend a Vivitar 283 with a Quantum battery pack (good for 350 images on one charge), and you'll need an accessory hot shoe with a pc post. Get a three foot pc cord so you can use the flash off camera.

Hope this helps!

Michael

 

[tsaraleksi]

Based on my own experience she's probably got a 16-35, a 24-70, and a prime or two in those pouches-- if she does it's most likely a 50/1.4 or an 85/1.2. That said the "18-70" range is not something that professional lenses tend to cover, especially because she's quite likely got a full frame camera (for the record, that would have been $8k new)

 

[stsinner]

The replies you've received are correct as to the equipment she's using. She probably has one more zoom lense in her camera bag that would cover the 18-70mm range; so she can handle every standard wedding photo with her equipment. If you can afford the high price of her gear, then you will be optimizing the end results. But I have a suggestion: Start with a Nikon D80 and get two lenses for it from eBay - a Nikon 18-70mm Digital Lense and a Tamron 28-200mm film lense. All of this will cost about what she paid for her 70-300 Canon lense and will deliver outstanding sharpness and quick autofocus.

The Tamron 28-200 film lense when used on the Nikon D80 converts to a 55-480mm lense, which means you will have an 18-480mm range with just two lenses. For a flash, I recommend a Vivitar 283 with a Quantum battery pack (good for 350 images on one charge), and you'll need an accessory hot shoe with a pc post. Get a three foot pc cord so you can use the flash off camera.

Hope this helps!

Michael

That was quite a helpful post.. Does the D80 have a focusing motor built in? I guess I could answer that question for myself online... There I go being lazy again.. That's one thing I love about the D50.

 

[Peanuts]

I don't think it is one of the 1D lines, the battery pack at the bottom looks like a grip. I am almost positive it is the 5D as there does not appear to be a pop-up flash either.

That being said, I would be entirely creeped out if I was her LOL