Comments on The Shaved Gorilla Speaks ...: What photo gear would you buy for $10,000?

Primes always seem to come up nice and sharp for m...

2010-02-06T23:05:32.390+10:30

Primes always seem to come up nice and sharp for me, however, the good L-lenses also share that same quality. I do love all my lenses, but the sheer excellence of the photos produced by the 50 f/1.8 make me consider the 50 f/1.2. It really is an amazing little lens.

I thought about the IS, but in the end I listened to a couple of friends and found they were right: I'd rarely, if ever, use it. If I'm in a situation where I need to go hand-held with it, most likely I'm in a situation where I'd need a tripod anyway. Shooting at f/2.8 ISO800 during the night works quite well and is still very usable on the 5D2. For those few situations where I could have perhaps used IS, it's involved shooting people at night - and in the end, no amount of IS is going to make people sit still!

You can have more budget if you convert to US$ and...

2010-02-04T21:17:44.893+10:30

You can have more budget if you convert to US$ and shop at a US store (and ignore shipping costs).

What I need to research is the qualitative difference between a prime lens and a zoom lens at the equivalent focal length. While shooting at the cycling I found the fixed lens restrictive in composition and pined for a zoom (as I mentioned previously). But, had I had that zoom lens, would my photos have been of lower quality (not that my photos were great of course ... shooting sport is hard).

Thanks for your list. Interesting that you went for the non-IS 70-200. A trade off to have more money for other lenses? Flashes and filters and remote triggers and ... are a side of photography I haven't really entered and as a result didn't really know what to choose.

That's some excellent kit there. All very droo...

2010-02-04T11:27:39.341+10:30

That's some excellent kit there. All very drool worthy. If I were to delve into this game, with my shooting preferences, I'd still be quite close:

5D2 Body: $2947 (that's about $500 cheaper than what I paid!)
24-70 f/2.8L: $1689
70-200 f/2.8L: $1637
50 f/1.2L: $1867
17-40 f/4L: $1067
430 EX II: $388

Total: $9595

With the remaining $405, I'd get a small diffuser for the flash and some filters (plus filter holder etc...) for landscape stuff. A couple of NDs (grads and straight), that sort of thing.

There is a LOT of fun to be had with all that kit, but I'd also pine for a nice tripod and perhaps the 100mm f/2.8L Macro. Can I have more budget please?