New gear for 2019 ?

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
Its getting near the end of the year, have you any plans for new gear purchases, i will again look to replace my old Sigma 105mm macro, and i need a flash for macro on the D500.
 

dlwilliams48

Senior Member
Right now I am struggling with whether to purchase items to allow me to quickly change from a gimbal head to a ball head on my tripod. Conversely I could just leave the gimbal head on my "good" tripod and put the ball head on my "old" tripod. Other than that, since I just got a new D500, I probably will not be getting any other new gear in the immediate future. :)
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
I don't see any major gear purchases in my immediate future. Of course Godox keeps releasing really cool, innovative stuff (I just picked up round heads for my AD200's, which I'm loving), and MagMod as well (specifically their "Magbox"), so there could be some lighting modifiers in my near future.
 

hark

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I don't see any major gear purchases in my immediate future. Of course Godox keeps releasing really cool, innovative stuff (I just picked up round heads for my AD200's, which I'm loving), and MagMod as well (specifically their "Magbox"), so there could be some lighting modifiers in my near future.

Did you get an early release of the MagBox? It definitely looks like a great product.
 

hark

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There isn't anything on my list (yet) for 2019 with the exception of a Think Tank Emergency Cover in a medium size. I bought the small size back in October and decided to also get the medium. My local store was out of them so I'm waiting to hear when it's back in stock.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...40619_emergency_rain_cover_medium.html?sts=pi

1537242568000_1431015.jpg
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Did you get an early release of the MagBox? It definitely looks like a great product.
Sadly, no Magbox for me at the moment. :(

Just for fun I checked around and found Adorama has Magbox kits listed as available for pre-order. Unfortunately, assuming the $500 price tag Adorama is showing is accurate, that's more than I'm willing to shell out, by a fair stretch.
 

Woodyg3

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Other than a sensor cleaning gel stick. I have no plans for purchasing anything. Maybe a memory card or battery, but nothing big. Time to save some money and just go out and shoot with what I've got. :)
 

hark

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Sadly, no Magbox for me at the moment. :(

Just for fun I checked around and found Adorama has Magbox kits listed as available for pre-order. Unfortunately, assuming the $500 price tag Adorama is showing is accurate, that's more than I'm willing to shell out, by a fair stretch.

And then if you get any of the accessories, the prices goes up even more! B&H has several options listed. The Pro Kit is $200 more than the Starter Kit. But the Pro Kit comes with a diffuser and a case, or they can be purchased separately.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=magbox&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=

After I saw the MagBox video a few months ago, I began looking at Parabolic softboxes. :shame: I dunno what I want yet. I have a 47" Godox softbox to use for now. ;) And it's no where near the price of the MagBox!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017R3DRVQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
And then if you get any of the accessories, the prices goes up even more! B&H has several options listed. The Pro Kit is $200 more than the Starter Kit. But the Pro Kit comes with a diffuser and a case, or they can be purchased separately.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=magbox&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=

After I saw the MagBox video a few months ago, I began looking at Parabolic softboxes. :shame: I dunno what I want yet. I have a 47" Godox softbox to use for now. ;) And it's no where near the price of the MagBox!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017R3DRVQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Yeah, still too rich for my blood. It seems to me you're paying a LOT for what amounts to convenience.

Godox has a nifty little collapsible softbox I'm mulling over and it's only $45.

I've not had a chance to work with any true parabolic modifiers, but I'd love to.
 

Nero

Senior Member
Definitely plan on going full-frame. Already finished with my lenses, now all there is is the camera itself.
 

Andy W

Senior Member
Originally Posted by Woodyg3
Time to save some money and just go out and shoot with what I've got. :)



Same here. Robin and I accumulated a lot of gear in the last fourteen months or so since we were almost starting from scratch.


Well that didn't last long, I fell off the wagon. Made it two days though.
 

Andy W

Senior Member
Uh oh. What did you get?

I wanted to get Robin a second camera for landscapes and portraits, so I got her a D7100 for Christmas. After using it a few days and some discussion we determined a full frame might be better for her. The local camera shop had a used D810 with a 538 shutter count. I returned the D7100, traded in three DX lenses, got the D810 and gave her my AF-S 24-120mm f/4G ED VR. That left me needing a lens. They had a used Tamron 24-78 f/2.8 G2 lens that I thought would serve my needs so I picked that up. When I got home I noticed that the Tamron has a tiny scratch on the front element that I hadn't seen. They don't have any more used ones, so I'll return it this morning and get a new one.

If you know anybody looking for a Belgian Browning Sweet 16 let me know, I have one for sale.

 

hark

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I wanted to get Robin a second camera for landscapes and portraits, so I got her a D7100 for Christmas.

I wondered how the D7100 was working out for her. The D810 is definitely a much better body than the D7100 so glad you returned it! Why not go with another 24-120mm f/4 lens instead of a 24-70mm f/2.8? I am loving my 24-120mm f/4 and haven't missed the option of shooting with an f/2.8 lens. The lens still focuses well enough in the low light situations I shoot. The extra reach is an added bonus for me. Now I don't have to change lenses so often. But...the lure of an f/2.8 is calling you, and it would prevent both of you from having duplicate lenses. ;) Have fun with your new gear, Andy! :)
 

hark

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I think it's a little bit of both.

I have a Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8. It lacks any type of OS/VR but yields sharper images than other copies of this same lens. Last summer as I was putting it away in my bag, it slipped and dropped about one-inch into my padded camera bag. Afterwards the AF wasn't working consistently although eventually it began working normally. Prior to that, I was already looking at options in case something happened to it. But the thing is I never found a suitable replacement. I didn't want the size and weight of either Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 and really wasn't tempted by the Tamron or Sigma lenses that have vibration reduction.

Eventually I started to take a more serious look at the images posted here from the Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR and decided to give that lens a try. After using it, I have no plans to move back to any 24-70mm f/2.8 lens because this one fulfills all my needs. And my Sigma works fine now although I've not gone back to it since buying this one. This Nikon zoom can focus in the low light situations I shoot although I don't shoot where it's REALLY dark. Had NO issues shooting hand held during my church's candlelight portion of our Christmas Eve service. And I fully expected for the lens to struggle with its AF. But it didn't.

If I need to shoot in really dark situations, I'd either focus manually or switch to one of my f/1.8 primes. The size/weight of the Nikon 24-120mm is about the same as my Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8. The only difference there is my Sigma takes 82mm front filters while the Nikon takes 77mm (and I already had 77mm front filters from other lenses I own).

But everyone has their own personal preferences to fulfill their wants/needs. Good luck with whatever you choose. And if you choose the Tamron, no doubt you will love it. I am looking forward to seeing pics taken with your new gear. :)
 

Andy W

Senior Member
I was completely satisfied with the 24-120 but didn't want two identical lenses, so I wound up getting a new Tamron 24-70 G2. I'm sure there will be times that the extra focal length will be missed but hopefully the extra low light capabilities will make up for it.
 

Andy W

Senior Member
I must have gotten a bad one. Saturday morning I took a bunch of shots of a test chart with the camera on a tripod, VC off, remote shutter release and some of the results weren't good. I thought that I should try it in actual use, so Saturday afternoon I drove around taking shots of various things. The results weren't very good at many different settings; my 24-120 f4 vr is much better.
 
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