Kit ideas wanted

Hi all,

Loving the information on the forum.

I am replacing my stolen Canon outfit with Nikon. To get my full pay out I have to show receipts for all the 'camera' money being spent on camera gear and I have about £700 left to spend ($1100) and I'm not sure what to spend it on. Ideas and inspiration welcome.
Bought so far:

D810
Tamron SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD
Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 DI VC USD
Memory cards
Lowepro trekker AW
remote shutter release
ND filters and grads
circ polarizer (82mm plus step down rings so it can go on all my lens)
speedlight YN568
lens pen
extension tubes (I've always wanted to mess around with a set)


So my ideas are to possibly get 2 more yn speedlights and stands/brollies/softbox etc for a home/portable set up
or another lens, was thinking fish eye or good used fast prime lens
or an IR converted D7100 (or similar body)

I don't have a fixed area of interest when it comes to subject matter. I am a member of a camera club and we have monthly competitions as well as longer running ones.

Thanks in advance. Simon

If you're still thinking about lenses there is always a great 50mm, 105 micro 2.8 if you're in to macro which is also a killer portrait lens.. Have you thought about tripods at all??? I didn't see one of those in your list. You mention more speed lights, i'm not really sure your level of experience but if your thinking lighting there is always Alien Bees which are a killer light source, opens up a whole new level of photography, especially in portraits. Good luck in your search.

I agree it depends on what your specific needs are... If you decide you need a good, fast prime I'd suggest the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART lens but a good, portable studio setup with some slaves, triggers, stands, umbrellas, etc. would add a lot of flexibility in how you can shoot just about anything.
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Mooseknux said:

If you're still thinking about lenses there is always a great 50mm, 105 micro 2.8 if you're in to macro which is also a killer portrait lens.. Have you thought about tripods at all??? I didn't see one of those in your list. You mention more speed lights, i'm not really sure your level of experience but if your thinking lighting there is always Alien Bees which are a killer light source, opens up a whole new level of photography, especially in portraits. Good luck in your search.

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My tripod was the only thing the bastar%% didn't steal. Trouble is the shoe was on my camera so I am awaiting a new shoe to get the old tripod back into action.
I have to confess I have realised quite quickly that my knowledge is some what out of date as technology has moved on so quickly. Plus the change away from Canon is a hard one, been Canon since I was 14 and way to close to 40 now lol. I had to look up the make Alien Bees, I don't have studio strobes but I have access to a 3 light set up of Bowens which are old but rock solid. I was think of the speedlight set up for macro, flowers and ease or portability. I have to confess the whole idea of using speedlights off camera via wireless is new but sounds like a dream.

I had the canon 135mm f2 which was a brilliant and versatile lens so the 105 sounds tempting. A lot of my macro work was done with either a reversing ring or a modified lens I had with the front elements removed. I am not sure what nikon fit lenses would lend themselves to having the front elements removed, preferable a cheap kit lens like a 18-55 as the modification basically destroys the lens for anything else.

Horoscope Fish said:

I agree it depends on what your specific needs are... If you decide you need a good, fast prime I'd suggest the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART lens but a good, portable studio setup with some slaves, triggers, stands, umbrellas, etc. would add a lot of flexibility in how you can shoot just about anything.
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I have been reading up on the Sigma ART lenses, they come out really well in DXO testing. Are they a better bet then nikkor prime lenses. I ended up getting the tamron 24-70 and 70-200 because they tested better in most tests than the nikkor ones which surprised the hell out of me.

ditonics said:

I have been reading up on the Sigma ART lenses, they come out really well in DXO testing. Are they a better bet then nikkor prime lenses. I ended up getting the tamron 24-70 and 70-200 because they tested better in most tests than the nikkor ones which surprised the hell out of me.

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The Sigma ART lenses beat the pants off my Nikon prime equivalents (I have both the Sigma 35mm and 50mm Art lenses (or at least I do when I can pry them away from my girlfriend who discovered how much better they are than the Nikon versions)). I have the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 for the same reason... It's simply amazing.

I too remember the time when Nikon glass ruled supreme; when no third party lens on the planet could even remotely compare...

Those days are over. Anyone who ignores third party offerings for top-end glass, does so at their own risk and peril.
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Carl Zeiss has always been better then OEM.
But Tamron for zoom and Sigma for prime lenses have come on a long way, simply amazing.

Where would be a good idea to post for recommendation on IR cameras. I have spoken to pixel life already but would like to hear from users rather than a salesman.

ditonics said:

Where would be a good idea to post for recommendation on IR cameras. I have spoken to pixel life already but would like to hear from users rather than a salesman.

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Do a search here on the forum on "IR Conversion"; we've had a couple people here use Kolari Vision for IR conversions and there are several threads on the topic in general you might find helpful.
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Great set so far
I'd add my voice to the chorus saying get a good prime. I've looked at Siggy's Arts but do not have one. But a fast (1.4 or 1.8) wide to normal prime anywhere in the 20-60mm range might be a nice addition.

Dedicated macro is good, love my 105mm - the 90mm Tammy macro has lots of enthusiastic supporters.

Or consider going either longer or shorter with your Tamron series; both the 15-30mm and XXX-600 (or 500 to save a few shekels) would add to the width or length of your options. I'm not sure if you could get either with what's left though.

I would add a couple more YN568EXs and triggers. That would cover you in the lighting aspect of things.

I also like the idea of prime lenses, and with the D810 maybe something like the 85mm/f1.8 for portraits? You can't go wrong with the Sigma ART lenses either ... I just need to convince myself that I'm shooting enough at those prime focal lengths before I can entertain that cost.