My Photography Gear

I thought it might be fun to do a post about my photography gear.  It's nothing too fancy.  I don't have lots of huge lenses or flashes or strobes or anything like that.  I take pictures with what I have because I think it's fun and I enjoy it as a hobby.

I shoot with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS.  It's a great camera.  Even though it's a bottom-of-the-line Canon dSLR, it's really all that I need in a camera, and I've been so pleased with it in during the five months I've had it.

So far as lenses go, I have an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens that came with the camera.  It's fine for a starter lens, but it struggles in low light because the shutter really can't go fast enough with this lens to avoid blur...unless you want to turn the flash on, that is.

My second lens is the 50mm f/1.8 lens.  This is a prime lens, which means it doesn't zoom, but I love it all the same, and the lack of zooming hasn't been too big a factor.  Sure, there are times when I want a wider view than this lens can offer.  Those are the times I pull out the 18-55mm from my bag.  And there are also times where I'd love to zoom in super close, like 100 or 200mm.  Those are the times I momentarily hope for a telephoto and then settle for the shots I can get with the 50mm.  The amazingly great thing about the "nifty fifty," though, is the fact that it can get a huge depth of field with low f-stops like f/1.8.  You can focus on such a small part of the subject and come up with some cool shots.

But overall, the 50mm is by far my favorite lens, and it stays on my camera most of the time.

So those three things are my main pieces of gear.  I also use Tiffen protection filters, just for peace of mind's sake.  If I were ever to drop a lens on the ground, I'd so much rather have a fairly cheap filter break than the lens itself.

My camera bag is just a plain old tech travel bag - not Canon brand or anything, but it does the job.  Honestly, though, I sometimes just throw my camera (not literally of course!) into a big purse and take it along that way.  Add in a couple fuzzy washcloths for good measure, and you have padding for the camera and an emergency method for removing melted chocolate and other such substances from your fingers, should the need arise.

Now, as you can see, I'm a Canon girl, but that doesn't mean I'm a Nikon hater. :)  Some of my good friends use Nikons, and I really don't think one is necessarily better than the other.  I just like Canon, personally.

So, for all you photographers out there, what is your gear?  What do you use and why do or don't you like it?

I did not take any of the pictures in this post.  They are from Google.