My Camera Bag
My Camera Bag(s)
*GOOD NEWS! I'm no longer using my purse as my camera bag. During my recent trip to Dallas for the I ♥ Faces workshop, I was smitten by a beautiful bag offered at an incredible discount by Arlington Camera.
She's even prettier in person. Arlington has this Jill-e bag listed on sale for $259.99, but I got it for around $185. That's more than I've ever spent on a bag, but I'm glad I got it.
I also saw another lady at the workshop who had a really cute bag and found out that it came from Wal-Mart! I can't find a picture of it online. Basically, it's a smaller bag, but it fits 2-3 lenses and the camera comfortably along with accessories. It is black, has adjustable sections and cute polka dotted lining. It was around $35...perfect price and perfect size for everyday use.
Now on to what is inside my camera bag!
1. Canon EOS Rebel XSi
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It’s not a bad lens, but I have actually bought another lens that has a wider aperture with a similar range of focal lengths.
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3. My “nifty fifty” ~ Canon 50mm f/1.4
Oh, how I love this lens. For anyone who is looking into buying a lens, I always recommend this lens if you’re dealing with low-lighting situations indoors or the 85mm f/1.8 for outdoors. There’s probably no need to purchase both. Just consider which setting you’re more likely to be using the lens for. I really needed one for indoors, and the 50mm length works better indoors.
If you’re on a budget, buy the cheaper 50mm f/1.8. The biggest difference with this lens is that the build is not as nice. You have to be very careful not to bump it. As far as photo quality goes, though, I hear it also produces amazing pictures. Not bad for a lens around $100!
4. Canon 55-250mm 1:4-5.6 IS
This is a great lens, especially for outdoor photography. I have also found that it takes some great macro shots. It’s highly reviewed and inexpensive. If I ever replace it, it will be solely so that I can get a wider aperture. This lens came as a package deal from Best Buy when I bought the camera.
5. Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8
I ordered this a few months ago, and so far, I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. I love the wide angle on it, but I don't think it does very well indoors. It may be the lens, or it may be me. One thing I do know is that since ordering it, an image stabilized version of this lens has been released. If I had it to do over, I would have waited for the image stabilized version. I talked to a Tamron representative, and he blamed the poor quality pictures on my "worthless" lens filter. I have taken the lens filter off. He also said that a tripod is necessary, which I haven't been using. Hopefully my next indoor shoot will produce better results.
6. Light Scoop
Let’s face it. Sometimes you have to use flash or never get the shot. I personally HATE the look of flash shots. The eyes always have pinpoint light, the skin takes on a strange hue, colors get washed out, huge shadows loom behind the subject…it just isn’t ideal.
In certain situations, the Light Scoop can solve all those woes. It take the flash and bounces it off a wall or ceiling to create a much more natural lighting situation. It is only helpful in situations where there is an average height light-colored ceiling or lighter color walls. In situations like this, you’ll be amazed at the difference the Light Scoop can make. Plus, it’s only $35. Kind of a no-brainer!
7. Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash
I’ve come across enough situations where I’m not able to use the Light Scoop. As Angie’s “back-up wedding photographer,” I bit the bullet and bought an external flash. There are many photographers that have adopted the policy that “all flash is evil.” My opinion is that external diffused flashes are necessary. With all honesty, I have nothing good to say about on-camera flash, but with the use of a Light Scoop or an external flash, some amazing pictures can be taken in low light situations. Now the challenge is to learn how to use this puppy!
8. Tons of memory cards
Not all memory cards are made the same. I used to buy the cheapo ones that were like $9 for 2GB. Then I discovered that taking a bunch of quick, consecutive shots was near impossible. That is because the rate of transfer from the camera to the card is very slow. Sometimes my camera would stop and spend quite some time getting the image on the card.
When buying a card, check for its rate of transfer. In this case, it’s 15 MB/s. If you can’t find it, it’s probably a SLOW rate of transfer. (even if the claim is that it's fast) This rate has worked out very well for me. There are even higher rates of transfer out there also!
9. Several batteries
Some people advise against this, but I buy generic batteries on ebay. I haven’t had a bad experience yet, and they are so well-priced. You should always have at least one additional fully charged battery on hand.
10. Lens cleaner
I have a microfiber cloth and lens cleaner in my bag. You really don’t want to use your clothing or tissues to clean a lens. It’s really not worth the risk of ruining a good lens. Also, make sure you have a lens cap for each lens.
11. UV filters
UV filters are cheap. Lenses aren’t. Keep one on each lens. A filter that gets scratched is easily replaced and keeps it from being your lens that is scratched. I thought I had a really good filter, but the Tamron representative told me differently. I now use my UV filter to protect my lens, but I take it off when taking pictures. I probably should go out and buy a $40 filter, but I hate to spend the money!
Other goodies:
1. Canon PowerShot D10 12.1 MP Waterproof Digital Camera
There are locations that you don’t want to bring your big fancy camera into. For example, I recently went to an indoor water park with my family. We rarely used my camera because I was so afraid of ruining it. This led to me purchasing this little number:
Obviously, it doesn’t take as good of pictures as an SLR. (If it did, why would I spend the big bucks?) The pictures it takes, though, are really quite good. Plus, it goes up to 10 meters underwater. It is so much fun to take underwater pictures and video. You should see the looks I get when people see me take a camera into a pool! 2. Canon Selphy CP760
Do you notice a Canon theme here? Typically, I would get my pictures developed online. There are times, though, when you want a picture NOW. That’s where this printer comes in handy. (I snagged this for $40 on Amazon! Granted, it’s pink, but that’s the sacrifice a penny-pincher makes!)
The Selphy prints 4x6 photos, postcards and 4x8 cards. I usually buy the big pack that comes with paper and “ink” for 108 photos. I put ink in quotes because this printer doesn’t use the typical ink that most printers use. The cartridge is a roller film that has a series of colors ~ cyan, magenta and yellow. It also has a protective coating that it adds at the end. The printing process it uses is called dye sublimation. I love that you know exactly how many pictures you will get from the cartridges. The quality of the photos is excellent. It’s easy to use and very compact. Printing can be done from the computer or a memory card.
Negatives -
Not many editing choices – This is not a deal breaker for me because I edit in Photoshop.
Occasional blotches of color – Usually about one time in a roll, I’ll get a picture that has a blotch of color on it. It doesn’t happen very often though.
Not true to size – The 4x6 print isn’t exactly 4x6 so a little bit of the image gets cut off. Usually, it’s fine, but for some pictures it cuts off an important part of the picture.
Overall, though, I think this printer is great. It was cheap, and the ink, although more expensive than online printing, isn’t going to break the bank.
3. Photoshop Elements 7
I love this photo editing program. It’s a cheaper alternative to the full version of Photoshop. If you know a college student and can get the discounted Photoshop, go for it! If not, go for Elements. It really is a great program.
4. Photoshop Master Collection
I pretty much own it all now. I still use Elements for many things, though, and use it exclusively for my Fix-it Fridays.
5. Microsoft LiveWriter
I use this program for all my blog posts. It is an absolute time-saver! Oh, and did I mention that it’s free?
6. Imagenomic NoiseWare
I use the free community version for a long time, but recently bought the full version. The free version is an external program and is limited. The paid one is a plug-in to Photoshop and Elements. It makes it much quicker to use.
Wish list:
If I ever started doing photography as a business, this is a small sampling of what I’d still want to purchase.
1. A pro camera like the Canon EOS 5D Mark II
3. A really good telephoto like the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L
4.
