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3 x 650Watt tungsten theatre lights with Fresnel lens, barn doors and in-line dimmers.Studio equipment (ie mine – I also rent studio time however I almost always take my own lights – the Lencarta SF600’s are much faster than most regular studio flashes). Lee 150mm holder (SW-150) for 14-24mm lens only.Lee 100mm filter pouch – with belt loop.Giottos travel tripod with Benro ball head.Induro CLT303 tripod with BH元S superheavy duty, low profile ball head.Yongnuo YN622N receivers and YN622N-TX flash controller.Zeiss Flektogon 50mm f/4 (Pentacon 6 med.SJCAM SJ4000 action cam (wide BTS video).One of the things I came to realise a while back is that there is no one solution for everything – immediately rendering all those “which better x type of camera or y type”, or “x light vs y light” articles in magazines or online redundant – eventually, you need various types of camera, lenses, and lights for various jobs :. That said, here’s what I’m currently using – it’s just a list of some gear and can give you an idea of what’s involved, however for each thing I use, there are probably ten to a hundred alternatives that will work just as well. Of course, better lighting trumps both of those – so invest in your lights first, then camera and then lenses.
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You can put the newest, best ever lens on an old digital camera, but it will be blown into the weeds by an old kit lens on a new camera with the latest sensor. The camera makes a much bigger difference to your shots than the lens. It may have been true in the days of film, however if I look at images I shot using the same lens, but with a 5 year old body and sensor, there’s a world of difference in the technical quality. There’s an old adage in Photography circles that better cameras will not improve your photos and you should invest in lenses instead. A lot of this you can make, or improvise. Of course, for some creative shots, especially in the studio, you do often need something, to do a specific job, such as continuous lights, fast flash, sound or light triggers, gobos etc. I’m not about to tell you you can get any shot you like with your shiny new auto-only compact. Mostly though, better gear makes things easier, technically “better” (sharper, less noisy perhaps and so on, and in some cases – possible). Sure if you’re a sports shooter, you really do need a fast telephoto, and a fast body.
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Mostly: artistic vision, seeing the shot, creative talent are all more important than the exact kit you use. Any photographer with a reasonable amount of experience will almost always tell you the gear doesn’t matter, and it’s true.