Bob Topp: Gear list: Digital Photography Review

Photo gear list

Photographic gear Bob Topp currently uses and / or owns.

No gear has been added yet.

	HP 8750 13"x19" nine color	More than adequate output quality with much lower learning curve than Epson, but equally less flexibility. Cost of use is fairly high at avg $35 per 3-color cartridge. Works quite well with Kodak papers, which are high quality and very affordable.
	Micro 4/3 Minolta MD adaptor and F-mount adaptor
	Nikon 28/2.8 AIS
	Nikon 200/f4 AI
	Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D
	Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D
	Nikon D300	Indestructible, utterly reliable, four years old and still a wonderful performer- I shoot salsa in a club atmosphere about twice a month and several tennis tournaments a year. I've also done several weddings and numerous portraits with it, much to my satisfaction. It is a bit heavy for hiking, but it has been on many a hike nevertheless (GH-1 replaces it there now). Approaching 100K clicks.
	Nikon D700	Picked up a refurbished model from KEH in spring 2012 and have used it extensively since then, up to around 12K clikcks so far. Use it mainly for salsa dancing, some for action tennis. Love the image quality of the images and ability to shoot regularly above ISO 1600.
	Nikon SB-600 Flash
	Nikon SB-800 Flash
	Nissin Di 622 Flash for Nikon
	Olympus OM-D E-M5	Picked up the OM-D EM-5 at Murphy's Camera in Louisville, KY in summer of 2012. Black with 12-50 kit lens. I have enjoyed using the camera, but since picking up the D700 in the springtime, have used the D700 much more. Unfortunately I am somewhat budget limited at present, but would love to add u4/3 lenses. In the meantime, two converters let me use some nice old MF lenses.
	Panasonic Lumix G 14mm F2.5 ASPH	This is a fine lens with the GH-1. It performs surprisingly well doing low-light video in a club atmosphere, as well.
	Panasonic Lumix G Vario 100-300mm F4-5.6 OIS	This is my most recent purchase. With an equivalent 200-600 mm FOV, I hope to use it eventually in some tennis shots, in addition to capturing some nearby eagles.
	Rokkor 35/2.8 MD
	Rokkor 135/2.8 MD
	Sigma 70-200 f/2.8	This is an older design, not image-stabilized, but very solid and reliable. Due to its weight and lack of stabilization, I shoot with it strictly on a monopod, with which I am quite satisfied. Even the stabilized version is heavy enough to need the monopod. I've worn out the 1.4 TC, but continue to shoot a great deal of tennis action with the lens, to the tune of about 24K frames a year.
	Tamron SP 24-75 f/2.8	This is a bullet-proof lens from a by-gone era, all metal and indestructible.
	Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF)	This is my present walk-around lens and gets heavy use shooting salsa dancing in a club atmosphere. I've been very pleased with its performance and see no need for the stabilized version in my applications.
	Tokina AT-X Pro 12-24mm f/4 (IF) DX	Bought this lens in 2008 to take to Yellowstone- have never regretted it. I have not mastered wide angle work by any means, but am always impressed by the sharp results. This lens is quite heavy and bulky, though, so it is a chore to hike with, although I have done it.
	Vivitar 285 HV Flash

Wish list

Items Bob Topp has added to their 'Photo gear I want' list.

No gear has been added yet.

Nikon D400 (?)

Photo gear history

Cameras, lenses, printers and accessories that Bob Topp once owned.

No gear has been added yet.

	Canon PowerShot G2	Still have the G2, but not sure if the battery would still charge. Great images at 4 MP and low ISO, but very unresponsive. A grandchild could crawl away before getting a shot off. Graduated to D70 and never looked back!
	Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF	This was Nikon's original kit lens, much superior to the one offered today as near as I can tell. No complaints, other than a tad slow for low light purposes. Plenty sharp and versatile for snapshots and walk-around purposes.
	Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED VR	Bought this as soon as it came out and used it almost exclusively with the D70s for a couple of years. It was replaced by the Sigma 70-200/2.8 when I sold the D70s, as the Sigma was a better performer for action tennis especially. I got many good shots with this lens- carried it all over Williamsburg for a week and was happy with the range of focal lengths. Lens creep was a nuisance though.
	Nikon D70	Followed Canon G2- very good camera, but suffered green light of death syndrome and a stuck shutter over 1.5 years. Still, it was a great step up from the G2 and provided a wonderful learning tool. Plenty fast enough for crawling, walking and running grandkids as well.
	Nikon D70s	My workhorse until replaced by D200/D300- shot several weddings and some wonderful vacations with this camera, usually carrying the 18-200 lens. Some of my favorite shots were made with this camera, never really surpassed by the D200/300, just not adequate for action shots like tennis and a bit weak in low light.
	Nikon D200	Passed this off to my daughter, who still makes good use of it, along with the retired 50/1.8. Replaced with the D700.
	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1	My son got this one, along with the 14-140 and asked for a 14/2.5 for Christmas. Replaced with OM-D EM-5.