What's in the Bag

Introduction

Hello welcome back all to my new blog post. So you might me wondering what is this post all about? What is the new concept I am going to talk about? and you might have many more questions in your mind after reading the title. So let me clear all your doubts. In this post I will be talking about what all equipment do I use, why do I prefer using them etc.This post not just about what all things I have in my camera bag but also about what other do I use in the field of photography. I got this concept from one of the photography blogger and decided why shouldn’t I start writing these type of posts? This is a fun blog where you are going to know what all things I use for photography, post processing, caring for camera etc. I have decided to posts these type of post once in a year, so that you will get to know what all equipment I have changed, what new things I have bought etc. This will also help you guys to decide what equipment to buy and will also clear some of your confusions. What I expect from you guys is that after reading the post do let me know how was the blog, was it helpful for you and also write down to your opinions about whatever I wrote about the equipment.

Vangaurd ZIIN 39 –

So this is actual home for all my equipment. Yes, the camera Bag! So you all might know that Vangaurd is one of the leading brand in manufacturing good quality of camera bags and giving excellent protection to you gear. Few months back when my small camera bag (Shoulder bag that comes with the camera) was too small to keep all my equipment, I felt the need to buy a new camera bag. I was confused which bag to buy. I searched online but I was not sure, because I couldn’t know the quality of the bag until I touch it. I couldn’t take a risk in investing money and not getting a quality protection for my bag. So I decided to buy the bag from a local camera dealer. My budget was less, he showed me few local brands but I was not satisfied with the quality. Then he showed me this bag and I was happy. Best quality, well know brand, enough space to keep my equipment etc. Originally the MRP is something around 4000/- Rs but that bag was on sale so the price 2500/- Rs. I must say this is perfect bag for beginner as well as professionals. The bag can accommodate around 1 camera with lens attached,3-4 extra lenses, a flash gun,10” tablet and other accessories . I have also written a review about this bag in one of my previous blog post. The link for that blog post is here. Click on the link to read the full review about this bag.

This bag is also available online, you can check and buy this from the following link

Cameras –

Nikon 5200 –

This is my first DLSR and still using the same to photograph my subjects. This camera I bought around 1 year ago. That time was confused between Nikon D5200 and Canon 700D. This comparison battle between canon and Nikon is very common among people planning to buy new camera. My budget was tight at that time and was too confused about which camera to buy. After lot of study, paper work and discussions I decided to go for Nikon. I was already a Nikon user and I could rely on Nikon, its quality and perfection. This camera is best at this price. Crop Sensor camera but giving excellent results to me so far. I have no issues with this camera so far and is my one of the most used equipment. The camera provides 39 focus points, so that you can focus anywhere in the frame.

Specifications –

Sensor - Crop Sensor

Megapixel - 24-1

Processor - EXPEED 3 engine

ISO - 100 – 6400

Max. Shutter Speed – 1/4000

Min. Shutter Speed - 30 sec.

Focus Points – 39

Nikon L840 –

This is a point and shoot camera from my kit. I purchased this around 3-4 years back when I had just started in the field of photography. This is an old version of Nikon point and shoot series. This camera kick started my photography. All my initial photographs were clicked from this camera. This camera has always given me excellent results. It comes with 38X optical zoom. I still use this camera sometimes for macro photography or when my DSLR and 70-300 mm is not enough to zoom till my subject. The camera is equipped with tilt screen which helps to shoot low angle as well as high angle shots. The camera also supports Wifi and NFC connection to quickly transfer photos to your mobile phone. You can also use your phone to capture images from camera without touching the camera.

Motorola G5s Plus –

Everyone now-a-days are into mobile photography. Mobile brands provide various kinds of features in their camera’s that attract people. I personally don’t like mobile photography. I use my phone very rarely to photograph things. I use my Moto G5s plus. Earlier I used to use Asus Zenfone 2 laser which I sold on one of the online website. But I liked Asus more rather than Moto when it comes to mobile photography. But Moto is also not that bad. They recently brought few updates to their camera, which includes portrait mode, panaroma, text scanning, selective colour etc. What I like about Motorola is their slow motion video feature. It gives excellent video quality even in slow motion videos

Procus Go Rush –

As you all know that now-a-days trend of using an action camera has come into being. I also thought of buying a new action camera and this time I wanted it to buy with my own savings. Therefore, I was low on budget and max I could spend was 10 thousand. For those who think Action camera means Go-Pro, you people are wrong. There are many action camera out there and they are good! So I searched for various action cameras in my budget and the product that got fixed in my mind was Procus Rush Action Camera. The camera’s design is simple but great. 170 degree camera angle gives you best wide angle photos and videos. The 16 mp camera does well at taking photos but lacks a bit in colour quality. The camera supports 4k video recording at 30 fps and 1080p at 60 fps and Slow motion at 1080p 60 fps and 720p at 120 fps. Burst mode allows to to take photos at 10 photos per seconds and comes handy while shooting sports. The camera also supports timelapse video. The led screen is ok and also doesn’t support touch screen gestures. You can download Procus app from playstore and then connect your mobile phone to camera. When your camera is connected to phone you can use your phone to remotely control your camera. You can use the phone as a screen to view what’s going on the screen. You can change settings of your camera with your mobile and control I from a distance without touching it. Overall this camera is packed with lot of exciting features which are very useful in different situations.

Lenses –

Nikkor AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5 VR GII –

The most criticized lens as per I know. Whether Canon or Nikon, I have heard people saying that 18-55mm is the most useless lens. This is not true. This is one of the most useful, fantastic and budget lens so for that Camera brands offer with the camera.This lens comes with VR GII and a minimum F stop of 3.5. At first I was also disappointed by this lens in the initial stages. But then I decided to use this lens single for next whole month without changing the lens. This helped me to know the lens more and more. I got to know the real use and power of this lens. This lens is wonderful in capturing portraits, street photography, abstract photography, architecture photography etc. This lens has amazed me and is one of my favourite lens of all times.

Tamron AF 70-300 mm f/4 LD Macro –

I have recently purchased this lens and sold my old Nikkor 55-200mm. I have purchased this lens around 1 month ago so I can’t tell much about this lens but yes I would say this is a great budget zoom lens. I have the non VR version of this lens but still it is a wonderful lens and has a built in macro mode. I am into bird photography and this lens is good budget lens for me. I would be writing a review about this lens soon. Stay tuned to my upcoming blog posts for this review.

Tripod

Amazon Basics –

Amazon basics is one of the leading brand in manufacturing various products in each and every field. Camera and accessories is one of them. I searched for many tripods. I was low on budget and wanted to buy a good tripod. Amazon basics tripod is the one I choose. Though it can’t hold the weight of heavier lenses like Nikkor 200-500mm or sigma 150-600mm but still it’s good for basic lenses. They also have higher versions of tripods which can hold heavier lenses etc. Check out Amazon website or mobile app for more info.

Lens Hoods

Lens hoods play an important role while it comes to protecting your lenses. Whether protecting lens from harmful sunrays or protecting the front element from scratches, damages etc. lens hood are always important for our lenses. You can read one of my previous blog post ‘All about Lens Hood’ for more information on lens hoods. So the lens hood that I use right now is ‘Slick’ flower lens hood (Local Brand) for my Nikkor 18-55mm, Kamron Reversible lens hood for my old 55-200mm and Tamron’s original lens that comes in package with Tamron 70-300mm.

Macro Filters

I started learning macro photography about a month ago. Buying a macro lens at this beginning stage is not that affordable. I searched for various equipment online. There are many things in the market. But choose Macro filters. They are cheap in price and I first wanted to explore macro photography field, whether I like it or not and then decide to buy a good equipment. 1 thing about macro filter is that the edges become little distorted but still, macro filters have given me some nice results. I will be writing a review about these newly brought macro filters in one of my upcoming blog post.

Camera Cover

Last year when It was time to go for ‘Vitthal Wari’ procession, I was worried how I am going to shoot if the rainfall occurs during the event. I searched on internet for various camera rain covers, but I wasn’t satisfied by the quality offered and the high prices. I thought of making a camera cover myself. After thinking for a long time. I decided to use my old raincoat hood and cut it to fit the camera and made a camera cover out of it. This is something made from waste, durable, free of cost and handy.

Flash Diffuser

This one is also made by me which I made in the last week. I had a white sponge sheet that came with my Wacom cover. After observing the material carefully, I thought this can be used as a flash diffuser. I tried out few clicks by keeping the sheet in front of my camera flash and the results were fantastic. So by using that sheet, elastic etc. I made a flash diffuser that fits on the lens and on end on the flash mount. This diffuser I use for indoor portraits, macro photography, product photography etc.

Product Photography Light Box

Product photography is another thing that has always attracted me. Again after lot of internet surfing, I got to know that none of the light boxes were in my budget and those who were in budget were poor in quality. Amazon basics were offering a light box for around 10,000/- rupees. So I thought to make it on my home. I used some old aluminium rods, wooden strips, fine cotton cloth, LED light strip etc. to make my home made light box. I completed it just 2 days ago. I haven’t done any shoot using the light box yet so can’t show you the result photos yet.

These are all the things that I personally use at this moment for my photography. Apart from this I have Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop and Wacom Intous Art that I use for my photo editing. I prefer to use Adobe Photoshop and Photo director for editing my photos. Hope after reading these things you will be able to make your own decisions while buying the equipment. If you want more information about the given equipment please do write to me and I will make sure that all your doubts are solved. Also write to me how did you liked this blog and was this a useful one. For those who were curious to know what all thigs I have in my bag and what all other things I use for photography, I hope this was a fun blog for you all.