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My Favorite Piece Of Gear?

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"Tim, what is your favorite piece of gear?"

AHH!

I'm not really sure how to answer that!  Do I go with most useful?  Most used?  Most aesthetically pleasing? The tool that allows me be most creative?  The most durable?

I think I'd have to go with the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VRII lens.  I use it for nearly every shoot (outside, or inside a large hall).  It allows me to be super creative, and is a fantastic tool for making images.  I can certainly attest to it's durability as well...  On July 3rd 2014 I had the D300s with the 70-200mm on my sling strap, and the strap failed.  Yep.  FAILED.  The camera and lens combo hit the asphalt from a 2.5' drop.  No damage whatsoever to the lens - the lens hood was cracked, and the MB-D10 battery grip on the 300s was gouged, but otherwise this tank of a lens stood up like a trooper to some serious abuse.

What I LOVE about the 70-200 f/2.8 VRII is the beautiful way it compresses a background in an image.  I also love the 70-105mm range for portraits as it really produces accurate proportions to people as subjects - and with this lens open wide to f/2.8 the results are gorgeous.  The quality of glass in this lens ensures that your images are tack sharp, and detail is not missed.

You will notice a few missing pieces.  I needed to use
them to make the image above!  I tossed in a production shot
at the bottom with the Ultra 1800 and the PW gear attached :)
I can't help but add my 2nd favorite piece of gear.  And unfortunately its not even a single piece!  It is many pieces...    I LOVE the Pocket Wizard Flex triggering system.  They have phenomenal range, flexibility (via high speed sync), durability, and reliability.  Unfortunately the price is a bit steep if you take into account all the pieces of gear necessary to make this work.... Right now I'm using:

  • 2 Nikon SB900 speed lights  $800
  • 2 Nikon SB600 speed lights  $600
  • 2 Alien bees flash heads  $650
  • 1 White lightning flash head  $400
  • 4x Pocket Wizard TT5 transceivers $840
  • 2x Pocket Wizard Mini TT1 transmitters  $420
  • 2x Pocket Wizard AC3 zone controllers  $220
  • 3x Pocket Wizard AC9 Paul Buff controllers $180
  • 1x Sekonic LiteMaster Pro L-478DR light meter $410
  • Light Stands And Grip - $800ish?  There are so many pieces of grip I use for attaching lights to objects I don't even know where to begin with this number.










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