Markw
No longer a newbie, moving up!
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2008
- Messages
- 4,057
- Reaction score
- 230
- Location
- Baltimore
- Website
- www.outsidetherainbow.com
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos NOT OK to edit
Hello everyone! I'll be backpacking through Iceland mid-July to mid-August, 2012. My plan is to produce the following while I'm there:
For the Sigma vs. Nikon 17-50(55), This is purely for price. If I have enough money in the end, I will go with the Nikon. If not, I will go with the Sigma. No biggie here.
For the Nikon 300/4 vs 80-200/2.8, I'm just undecided. For optical quality, I really think the 300/4 wins. I just can't really see why I would need the variable focal length over the extra reach. As far as Icelandic wildlife goes, there's not really much to say. There's puffins (among 74 other bird species), reindeer, arctic fox, and sheep. MANY, MANY sheep. So, I think I will need the 300/4 over the 80-200/2.8. What say you? As for the 80-200 vs 70-200, this is purely a cost deal as well. If I have the money to, I will go with the 70-200. If not, I will keep my 80-200.
For the Sigma 50/1.4 vs 85/1.4, this is a price issue as well. If I have the money for the 85/1.4, I will go with that and bring my Nikon 50/1.8 as well. I wouldn't be totally against selling my Nikon 50/1.8 and 35/1.8 to bring both the Sigma 50/1.4 and 85/1.4 (if I had the money for the 85/1.8 to begin with). But, that seems a little redundant and unnecessary. I'm not completely adverse to the Nikon 85/1.8, either. It just adds another wrench in the system. So, any advice you could give me here for interviews, I would greatly appreciate it. It's tough because I don't know if I will have an FX or DX camera to be working with. So, this is what I have to work with: Nikon 35mm F/1.8, Nikon 50mm F/1.8, Sigma 50mm F/1.4, Nikon 85mm F/1.8, Sigma 85mm F/1.4. I currently own the Nikon 50/1.8D and 35/1.8G. I hate the bokeh on the 50/1.8D stopped down. So, I really don't want to bring that one. I want something that I can easily blur the background with, but still keep good sharpness on the subject. I'm not against any old, off-brand, fully manual lenses for video purposes, as long as it's not nearly as expensive as any of these lenses (might as well buy them if that's the case), and I can buy a suitable mount adapter.
As for the Tripod, I will be using the tripod for mainly the video portions of the documentaries. So, I will have a fluid head on it. I have the Manfrotto 055xb right now. This weighs 5lb. If you could recommend a tripod that would save on both weight and folded size, I would be forever grateful. I would like it to either be able to go low enough for macro work, or have a reversible center column. It doesn't have to extend very tall, but I would like it to be able to get at least 5' tall. The taller the better, of course, but it's not a necessity. So, please feel free to recommend any legs you think may work. Please try to stay under $450 if possible. It needs to be rugged enough to be slammed around (There's alot of rocks in Iceland, and sh** happens.
), and light enough to not break my back.
The audio is the hard part. I have never worked with any kind of externally recorded audio. I honestly don't know much about it, and am starting to do my research now. So, I'd like your help finding a suitable microphone type and sound recording device. I'm thinking a shotgun microphone would be best, as it's awfully windy for the most part in Iceland. So, I'm thinking some sort of shotgun mic and a rabbit's foot (I believe it's called). But, like I said, I'm not very experienced in this dept. For the sound recorder (what the sound gets saved to), I have no idea where to start, or what the differences are between most of them. So, any help here will be greatly appreciated.
So, I think that about covers it. If you've made it this far, I thank you, and assume you can give me advice
. If there's anything you think I've missed (besides batteries and memory cards, of course, please let me know that as well. For the record, it will be myself and two other people (non-photographers), so the gear can be split between the trio of us to carry if need be.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Mark
- Documentary on the population of Reykjavik, and a few other cities
- Documentary/Travel log of our trek, including some voice
- Photo series documenting the landscapes, etc, etc
- Nikon D300s/D400/D800 (depending what comes out between now and then)
- Nikon D60IR 720nm
- Tokina 11-16/2.8 (will still work splendidly on the D800 in DX mode if it's indeed 36MP)
- Sigma 17-50mm F/2.8 OS or Nikon 17-55mm F/2.8
- Nikon 300mm F/4 or Nikon 80-200mm F/2.8 or Nikon 70-200mm F/2.8
- Sigma 180mm F/3.5 or any 100-105mm F/2.8 Macro to save space in the bag
- Various Filters
- CPOL
- Grad NDs
- Variable ND (see justification later)
- Tripod*
- Sigma 50mm F/1.4 or Sigma 85mm F/1.4
- Variable ND (justified)
- Some sort of microphone*
- Some sort of sound recording device*
For the Sigma vs. Nikon 17-50(55), This is purely for price. If I have enough money in the end, I will go with the Nikon. If not, I will go with the Sigma. No biggie here.
For the Nikon 300/4 vs 80-200/2.8, I'm just undecided. For optical quality, I really think the 300/4 wins. I just can't really see why I would need the variable focal length over the extra reach. As far as Icelandic wildlife goes, there's not really much to say. There's puffins (among 74 other bird species), reindeer, arctic fox, and sheep. MANY, MANY sheep. So, I think I will need the 300/4 over the 80-200/2.8. What say you? As for the 80-200 vs 70-200, this is purely a cost deal as well. If I have the money to, I will go with the 70-200. If not, I will keep my 80-200.
For the Sigma 50/1.4 vs 85/1.4, this is a price issue as well. If I have the money for the 85/1.4, I will go with that and bring my Nikon 50/1.8 as well. I wouldn't be totally against selling my Nikon 50/1.8 and 35/1.8 to bring both the Sigma 50/1.4 and 85/1.4 (if I had the money for the 85/1.8 to begin with). But, that seems a little redundant and unnecessary. I'm not completely adverse to the Nikon 85/1.8, either. It just adds another wrench in the system. So, any advice you could give me here for interviews, I would greatly appreciate it. It's tough because I don't know if I will have an FX or DX camera to be working with. So, this is what I have to work with: Nikon 35mm F/1.8, Nikon 50mm F/1.8, Sigma 50mm F/1.4, Nikon 85mm F/1.8, Sigma 85mm F/1.4. I currently own the Nikon 50/1.8D and 35/1.8G. I hate the bokeh on the 50/1.8D stopped down. So, I really don't want to bring that one. I want something that I can easily blur the background with, but still keep good sharpness on the subject. I'm not against any old, off-brand, fully manual lenses for video purposes, as long as it's not nearly as expensive as any of these lenses (might as well buy them if that's the case), and I can buy a suitable mount adapter.
As for the Tripod, I will be using the tripod for mainly the video portions of the documentaries. So, I will have a fluid head on it. I have the Manfrotto 055xb right now. This weighs 5lb. If you could recommend a tripod that would save on both weight and folded size, I would be forever grateful. I would like it to either be able to go low enough for macro work, or have a reversible center column. It doesn't have to extend very tall, but I would like it to be able to get at least 5' tall. The taller the better, of course, but it's not a necessity. So, please feel free to recommend any legs you think may work. Please try to stay under $450 if possible. It needs to be rugged enough to be slammed around (There's alot of rocks in Iceland, and sh** happens.
), and light enough to not break my back.The audio is the hard part. I have never worked with any kind of externally recorded audio. I honestly don't know much about it, and am starting to do my research now. So, I'd like your help finding a suitable microphone type and sound recording device. I'm thinking a shotgun microphone would be best, as it's awfully windy for the most part in Iceland. So, I'm thinking some sort of shotgun mic and a rabbit's foot (I believe it's called). But, like I said, I'm not very experienced in this dept. For the sound recorder (what the sound gets saved to), I have no idea where to start, or what the differences are between most of them. So, any help here will be greatly appreciated.
So, I think that about covers it. If you've made it this far, I thank you, and assume you can give me advice
. If there's anything you think I've missed (besides batteries and memory cards, of course, please let me know that as well. For the record, it will be myself and two other people (non-photographers), so the gear can be split between the trio of us to carry if need be.Looking forward to hearing from you.
Mark
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