Good evening, photographer friends, and I hope your week is off to a wonderful start!
I wanted to share my NEW gear that just arrived today, because I'm genuinely so excited, I feel like a kid on Christmas morning!
Introducing: my new Nikon D850! 😍
Here, I have it paired with my Sigma 35mm f/1.4 art lens and let me tell you, it is beautiful. I went through an extended period of debating whether I was ready to upgrade to a Z (mirrorless) Nikon body, and for a variety of reasons (such as already being significantly invested in F glass, not wanting to deal with a clunky adapter, limited selection of Z lenses on the market, and wanting to wait until I can afford the Z9), I decided to stick with the DSLR, for now. And this is arguably one of the best on the market.
From left to right, my new Nikon D850 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4, Nikon D780 with Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3, and Nikon D810 with Rokinon 14mm f/2.8.
I am normally not immensely focused on gear, but for me, this is a setup that I have been dreaming of for years. It feels very surreal to finally have it.
I am a storm photographer, and I have found that having multiple cameras at your disposal for multiple purposes while photographing storms is extremely handy. For example, I could have one camera on a tripod with my attached lightning trigger to capture lightning, while I have another camera on another tripod shooting a timelapse of the storm, and the 3rd camera is handheld, offering me the freedom to maneuver and compose as I please.
Storms are constantly in motion, and some move awfully fast, so I may not always have time to set up all of that gear in the field. But other times, storms can remain nearly stationary for an hour or more, and offer all the time in the world to capture a wide range of incredible imagery and video.
It is a challenge though. For this particular storm, I made sure to bring my workshop guests a good distance ahead of the storm to allow a little more time for tripoded images. But it just isn't always possible; you're at the mercy of the storm, trying to capture the best quality shots of it while not letting it race away from you (or on top of you!)
It will be interesting to see what opportunities having multiple cameras provides in the field this spring, when storm chase season ramps into full swing. I am curious if it may feel like too much of a hassle to deal with so many cameras in the high-stress, high-pressure environments that exist around storms. But I am hopeful that it will only serve to expand my reach of what I'm able to capture and create.
We'll see what the season offers! The possibilities are truly endless now that I have finally acquired my dream equipment setup!
It would mean a lot if you'll consider following my journey!
Cheers!
~ Jess
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I'm no photographer, but your storm pictures are amazing 😎
Thank you so much, I really appreciate that!
Amazing photos Jess! So excited for your new gear! I need a camera body so badly! I can't wait to get the Canon R5 once I make some money from NFTs this year (hopefully).
Thank you so much Brynn, I hope you can get that new body soon! Putting all the good vibes into the universe for more sales to come your way soon!
Awesome Jess! New gear is always exciting and I'm excited for you.
What will the new camera be tasked with?
Thank you Kieran, it truly is! I have a feeling this will me my handheld camera, while my D810 will be my tripoded lightning shooter, and the D780 will shoot timelapse! Assuming I can manage all of that lol!
Beautiful storm photographs Jess!
I am a fellow Nikon photographer and currently have a D750. I spend a lot of time wondering what I would upgrade to next. If the Nikon Z range didn't have a different lens fitting, it would be a no brainer to stick with Nikon. But if I wanted to go mirrorless then it would be almost be as easy to swap brands and buy new glass. Thankfully I'm an amateur and I have a perfectly good camera, and so most of my daydreaming about cameras will remain just that. I wont have to make any tough decisions for a while if I don't want to. From what I've heard, the D850 is an amazing camera, and I am very jealous of your camera setup! :)
I understand those feelings Cath! I am curious about the newer adapter that Nikon just released that should allow all our F lenses to work with the Z bodies, but I just wasn't brave enough to take the leap and find out yet! I know at the end of the day it's not the camera that makes the image, it's the photographer.. but I hope it will serve me well to boost my image quality! The D750 is a fantastic camera too and no need to really upgrade unless you have to!
Ooooh! I didn't know that Nikon had a new adapter out. I'll do a bit of research on that. Thanks for the intel. More food for thought when I am fantasy camera shopping.... Enjoy your D850!
Great gear… it gives you a lot of flexibility.
Stunning photographs. 😎
Thank you, I really hope it will!
New gear is always super exciting! Congrats Jess!
Thanks so much Caleb, truly can't wait to put it to work!
So exciting. I need to get some new year in the next couple of months also. Wondering if to stay cannon; just have so much glass it makes it hard to change labels ;-)
Robert, that is exactly how I feel! I know so many people are switching over to Sony mirrorless, but I'm too invested in Nikon (both financially and emotionally lol) to even consider it! Hoping the Nikon adapter will make the change to mirrorless fairly seamless in a few more years.
Yep. I had shots published in Nat Geo traveller from an old Canon 6D mk I . Camera bodies are over rated; its all about the glass.
I definitely can agree with that!
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Always exciting getting a new camera!
It really is!!
How much does a 150-600 lense cost more or less if I may ask
Depends which model you get! I have the Sigma 150-600 and it was $900 when I bought it.