Photojournalistic help?

[gumball513]

So, im an aspiring and i was just wondering if you had any advice?

Heres my kit as of right now:
Nikon d60 with standard kit lense
55-200mm nikkor vr lense
Is there any vital piece for a photojournalist?
And is there a 5d equivalent from nikon?

 

[Guido44]

Nikon D300

D700

 

[UUilliam]

Canon 5D vs. Nikon D200
Apparently the d200 is better :/ I call bull****"!!

unless it doesn't mean the 5d mkii

 

[JIP]

It is imperative that you do whatever you can do to acquire as much fast glass as you possibly can. The first one to probably work on and would be a main workhorse is somethinglike a 70-200 2.8 or similar. As a photographer you will be thrown into many different scenarios that will require you to have fast glass.

 

[table1349]

1D MKIII or D700.

16-35 (ish) f2.8
24-70 (ish) f2.8
70-200 f2.8)

Digital recorder with multiple folders.

Standard photojournalist fare in this area. Upper end bodies and a zoom selection with nothing slower that f2.8.

 

[musicaleCA]

Is it just me, or wouldn't two bodies be preferable? Slap a normal zoom on a full-frame, and a tele zoom on a 1.6x crop sensor, and you'd have one hell of a range at your fingertips, being able to switch between both without skipping a beat.

I'm going to toss this out there: Don't let your gear get you down. You can do a lot with the gear you already have. Fast glass should be what you set your eye on right now. Bodies come and go, but good glass can last a lifetime if treated right.

 

[table1349]

Two identical bodies yes. Mix and match, not so good. Photojournalism covers a large area. It's not just the quick pace action in a war torn country but the photo of the person being interviewed because they just saw a UFO for the third time, or the horrific accident on the corner. (ever notice it's the same small group of people that see the UFO's)

1 body with a good lens is enough to handle or get the job done in most situations. Part of the trick is to prepare before getting there and adapt quickly once you are there. It doesn't take long to get the hang of what your restrictions are going to be when you get to a lot of things. You will know how police or fire department will cover off a incident.

If you get sent to cover something like a sporting event, then you grab another body and lens for sure.

Like a prepared wedding photographer it's good to have a backup body if needed.

 

[musicaleCA]

Ah well. Good tips. I'll probably be forced into mixing and matching bodies for this kind of work though, mostly due to budget constraints. (I'm going to start shooting for UBC's newspaper, Ubyssey, this year. Not quite like they've got a 1D MkIII just hanging around to be loaned-out. :greenpbl: )

 

[UUilliam]

anyone know why some of the journalist's put Gaffer tape round their lens?
I was watching a programme on BBC three, quite a few of them done it.

 

[musicaleCA]

Where are they putting it? (Perhaps it's to keep the hood from falling off if it's jostled? The hood on my 24-70 has a tendency to come a little loose sometimes.)

 

[UUilliam]

nahts like where the zoom ring is :s confused me too...
Might just be from the nature of their work, their camera has a tendacy of falling thus cracking scraping etc...

from the topic i got that image from seems the main reason for it is for damage to the lens and hoods

 

[musicaleCA]

Gaffer's tape fixes all.

Especially when it's L glass like that. A new hood needs to be custom-made, because they only make one for every lens. So getting just a hood can be a little outrageous depending on the lens.

 

[UUilliam]

too right... the lens hood for the 400mm f2.8 IS L is almost £400... almost the price of my camera!

 

[Derrel]

There's no problem whatsoever in mixing bodies, such as a FF with a 1.5x; they both take the same lenses,and today's Nikon batteries offer incredible life. Battery life is no longer a worry, like it was back in the D1 days. I see the OP has no speedlight listed...many times you will need supplementary lighting to get the kind of DOF/image quality that most editors want for color.

If I had to use a D60, I would want a faster lens than the 18-55, like the Tamron of roughly the same length,but with an f/2.8 maximum aperture. The 55mm f/5.6 maximum aperture limitation of the 18-55 kit lenses is just way,way too slow for indoor photography unless you're using flash.

A good, fast prime lens like the 35mm f/1.8 DX lens would be useful, and the 85mm f/1.8 AF-D is a good Nikkor lens to have for many indoor events. Myself, I would be greatly tempted to ditch the D60 in favor of a body that is a bit faster in operation and which has more compatibility with the entirety of the Nikon lens lineup.

Being limited by the f/5.6 maximum aperture of consumer-level lenses means you'll need flash under many situations where with faster glass you could shoot ambient light.
In my book f/2.8 is not exactly "fast",since f/1.4 and f/1.8 and f/2 primes exist at 28,35,50,85,105,135,and 200mm. Since you're a beginner, I'd say buy the two most-affordable fast primes, the 35mm 1.8 and the 85mm 1.8,and see what having a FAST lens can do for you. However, compared with the f/5.6 limitation you're under now, even f/2.8 zooms are relatively "fast" lenses.

As soon as you can afford it, try and move to a D700 or other killer high-ISO body. The elevated ISO's of the D700 and D3 are incredible,and in my day we would have absolutely killed to have had the ISO 1600 and 3200 capabilities of a D700. Maybe by the time you're ready for it, used D700's will be really affordably priced.

My advice would be to ask other,more-experienced shooters for a bit of guidance. You'll probably see that many of them are using older, less-high-end Nikon bodies, often with the old 28-70 AF-S on there, while more established and better-payed guys have the new 14-24 and 24-70. Knowing where to stand is more important than what you're shooting,and making sure you work around/not in conflict with the TV crews and other shooters at crowded events is important; being a PJ is not being a low-rent Los Angeles pap. You need to learn how to act professionally and dispassionately and to get the shots you need, while being sensitive to your subjects and their situations.

 

[table1349]

Two identical bodies yes. Mix and match, not so good. Photojournalism covers a large area. It's not just the quick pace action in a war torn country but the photo of the person being interviewed because they just saw a UFO for the third time, or the horrific accident on the corner.

Derrel is correct about FF and 1.5 taking the same photos. I should have clarified the above statement of mine. It's from the shooting prospective of grab and shoot when you have to without having to think about what body you are grabbing. With identical bodies everything is instantly ingrained and you react faster.