My Gear #20 - David Delmar

Hey everyone, my name is David Delmar, from Seattle, WA.

- Nikon D7000

- Nikon 50mm f/1.4G, 85mm f/1.4G, 105mm f/2.8G VR Micro

- Singh-Ray Vari-ND

- Tenba Messenger

- Ape Case camera strap

(not shown)

- Lenspen FilterKlear, small blower, second battery, spare lens cap (prefer Tamron)

- Manfrotto 055XDB + 128RC tripod in Giottos bag

I do video production (including sound for video) and photography in my work, but this is my home kit and I'm speaking of my "labour of love" projects here.  My primary uses are: a) music photography and video, including live shows at clubs and recording/performance sessions around Seattle for my Ocean Tone site (http://www.oceantone.com); b) flora and fauna (with the macro lens), much of which I've done on trips to the Philippines; and c) family/portraits. 

Camera

I've been shooting since 2005 and recently upgraded from a D80 (after about 50k clicks) just to do video... I had no idea the performance of the D7000 - color, focus, low light - would be that much better for stills as well.  And the video quality is unbelievable; I prefer it to the full frame Canon 5D Mark II I'm using professionally... although some of it could be in the saturation settings, I just love how the colors render on my Nikon.  My gripes are: you should be able to use the magnification button for adjusting focus while recording video, and of course adjust the aperture.  Having to stop the camera means you lose audio sync... I'm looking into loupes but I'd love to see that in-camera.  And I'd appreciate focus points in the corners/edges.   I considered full frame cameras for the low light performance, but on top of the cost I like shooting close, so 1.5x is an advantage (notice I'm not carrying wide lenses).

Lenses

Aside from the footage looking amazing for concert videos, it's fun to manual focus and to pull in and out of focus while shooting.  I love the out-of-focus rendering of each lens so I intentionally shoot a lot of that.  All three lenses have good manual focus rings - the 85mm is the smoothest - but I would love to see them built as smooth as a Zeiss.  (Can't live without auto-focus for pictures of my toddler though).  I hope with more people shooting video the well-dampened rings will resurge, but in reality I think we'll see more advancements in the camera's autofocus.  For lens performance, the 85mm focuses astoundingly fast on the D7000, whereas the 105mm tends to hunt even with the focus limiter engaged.  However the 105mm is incredible and much more than a macro lens... beautiful portraits, beautiful Bokeh... I've heard people say VR diminishes the quality of Bokeh but personally, on this lens, I find it to be out-of-this-world.  I've often carried only that lens as my walkaround.  I wish there was a smaller lens hood; it's too big to bother with.  I don't really do true macro, but shots of flowers, many from trips to the Philippines, where the afternoon light and natural setting is spectacular.  Part of me wishes a 50mm would come along with the "gold stripe" quality of the 85mm but I'm glad I'm not tempted to pay whatever it would cost. I do own a 35mm f/1.8G DX for family photos but don't carry it.  My samples of the 35mm and 50mm aren't that sharp above f/2.8, so I'd consider carrying an f/2.8 zoom instead, but it's fun to compose on your feet.  For concert videos I do shoot above f/2.8 and don't mind if it's a touch soft.  The 85mm is sharp wide open.

Tripod

I leave a tripod plate on the camera and typically bring a tripod on shoots.  The fluid head is smooth and so fun to pan around... moving across musicians on a video shoot and smoothly manual focusing is just a whole new level of enjoyment coming from doing stills.  This particular Manfrotto tripod, the legs are wing-nut locks which I don't like, but the head is perfect, and Giottos makes a decently padded, well-fitting bag.  I don't do handheld video with a DSLR but I'll be curious as VR improves.  Even for stills I think tripods are fun; I'll set up on the edge of the playground while my son runs around.  I had a chance to borrow a 300mm f/4 manual focus (that's a 'paparazzi' 450mm on a DX) and, on a tripod, it was great.  When Nikon brings back the 100-300mm f/4 I'm there.

Filters

I own a circular polarizer but rarely use it.  For video, the Vari-ND is *very* expensive but almost essential outdoors if you like a narrow depth of field, and works fabulously.  Fortunately I got it with my first 77mm lens so it's 77mm and I can step up the other lenses... advice to anyone looking at polarizers or high end filters, consider going 77mm. I got some footage of guitar playing and dancing outdoors late in the day with this setup (D7000, 85mm, Vari-ND) and am so pleased.  I had my little Canon VIXIA camcorder running as a second cam and it was just not even close to the quality... handy for moving around or zooms but the DSLR footage is so exciting to watch and hands-on to use, artful, beautiful.

Bag

"Choosing a bag is harder than choosing a camera" I heard a salesperson say and it's kinda true.  This fits me great; sometimes I put my camcorder in place of the 105mm, and the side pockets are large enough for even my SB600, but not padded so I leave it in its padded bag (and usually leave it at home).  My complaints here are: I counted 6 unnecessary zippers/pockets that just seem like places to lose things, including one along the top supposedly for quick-draw which is useless.  Also, I wish the top was padded in case it fell upside-down.  I wish it was grey because black shows lint and looks, well, like a camera bag.  The shoulder strap and the back (against your body) are very nicely padded, contoured and breathable.  The zippers I wish it did have would be as optional security on the pockets (in addition to the velcro closure) and around the main compartment, like for flights where it could tip over.  I have gotten away with this all as my 'extra item' onboard a plane. 

So, that's my rig.  For 'grab and go' trips I just take the 85mm in a smaller bag.  Enjoy my work...

Nature | http://www.oceantone.com/philippines.php

Concert | https://www.facebook.com/oceantone/photos_albums

Video | http://www.youtube.com/OceanToneTV

Thanks for sharing your bag with us David.

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