photoartflightEquipment & Accessories
I use a variety of equipment, lenses and cameras, plus various modified or homemade equipment & accessories (especially for macro)
Cameras
Canon R Mirrorless
Canon EOS 1D MkIV
Canon EOS 1D MkIII
Canon EOS 7D
Micro 4/3 System
Panasonic GH2
Olympus OM-D MkI
Pocket Cameras
Kolara Converted Canon Elf
with assortment of Infra-Red filter options
Panasonic LX-1
Kodak PixPro FZ55
iPhone 11 Pro
Lenses – m43
TT Artisan 7.5mm (Fisheye )
14 -140mm f/4 – 5.6 OIS
100-300mm f/4 G OIS
55mm f2.8 Nikon Manual Focus Macro w/ m43 adapter
200mm f/4 Canon FD Manual Focus Macro w/ m43 adapter
Lenses – Canon EOS & R
TT Artisan 11mm Fisheye
12 – 24mm f/4.5 -5.6 Sigma
17 – 40mm f4 L Canon
17 -85mm f/4-5.6mm IS Canon
24 – 105mm f/4 L IS Canon
Canon Eos to m4/3 adapter
70 – 300mm f/5.6 DO IS Canon
300mm f/4 L IS Canon
400mm f/4 DO IS Canon
Tamron 150-600mm
300-800mm f/5.6 DG Sigma (sold)
Macro Lenses
50mm f2.5 Macro Canon
100mm f/2.8 Macro Canon
MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Macro Canon
150mm f/2.8 Sigma Macro
Assorted Bellows, Extension Tubes, Custom Lens Add Ons and Converters, Diopters, Enlarger Lenses for Bellows, Reversing Rings, etc
Accessories – Canon Infrared Trigger, Slaves, Assorted 3rd Party On Camera Flashes, Slave Pocket Flashes, Light Modifiers & Refectors – Commercial & Homemade
Multiple Canon 1.4X & 2X Teleconverters, Third Party 1.4X, 1.7X & 2X Teleconverters
Canon Ringlight
Canon 580 flash
Better Beamer
Studio Flash – Speedotron, 4800, 2400, 2400, 1200 watt second packs, multiple heads, reflectors, spots, light modifiers, etc.
Neewer 400 watt second monolights
photoartflight 
I am always so happy to see macro photography as well as a photographer that likes to post about his equipment. I also like that you post multiple images with in a post and tell about what you are looking at, as well as where, what, why and when. so to speak.
Unfortunately I have had to Un-Follow many photographers that send out 100 individual pictures as single posts, no description whatsoever. nothing that tells about what you are looking at. Don’t get me wrong, they have beautiful photography, however no substance. Sadly they have not learned that one post with pictures and a good description is worth a thousand words, whereas sending out hundreds of pictures as a single post, is very maddening in the inbox.
Thank you so much for the beautiful photography and descriptions in your blog. One day I would love to get to Longwood Gardens! I live in the Shenandoah Valley near Harrisonburg, Longwood is so close yet so far.
Thanks! Macro photography has always been an interest for me, especially for some of my commercial work. But for my personal work it is always amazing to see ordinary everyday objects in a whole different extreme close up way. Between image stacking and other techniques such as resolution stacking it is amazing as to what you can do. In the future I am planning on doing more on this maybe as small technical how to guide blogs. My favorite images are butterfly wings at about 8X. Longwood Gardens is an amazing place to wander around. In the cold months the Observatory is great for macro subjects. In the morning you can use a tripod, you just have to get a sort of permission tag that goes on the tripod. I believe it is free. My favorite time is in the Spring and going through their large Meadow Gardens. Almost any day though you could fill your day with macro subjects.
Do you prefer APS-C and Four Thirds over Full Frame sensors? If so, is it because of the crop factor? Also, are there any newer camera models that interest you?
Hi David, my main system for my commercial work is a Phase One system. For personal work I use a Canon 1D Mk IV, MkIII and a 7D. I got the Mk IV when the 1Dx came out. But the 1Dx could not autofocus in the beginning with a 2x teleconverter on a 400mm f/4 DO lens, being it was f/8. So that was useless to me for my bird images. I used a Canon 1Ds MkII for full frame. But after thousands of images you learn, yes new cameras are always getting better, but so is your skill as a photographer. Plus my older Canons are like friends, and they can still produce excellent images. New cameras are great, but knowledge and skill surpass the need of newer cameras for me. If you know what you are doing any decent camera produces excellent work. My MkIV has produced panorama prints up to 8 ft wide. For landscapes I use multi-image panoramas. The m43 format was basically my “toy” camera. With adapters I can put almost any lens on it. I use a lot of older manual focus macro lenses on it plus it is small and light to carry, but better than my cell phone. Sorry for the long reply!
When I see photos that are jaw dropping, I immediately want to know what gear was used so thank you for posting that info.
Admittedly, I was surprised that your equipment included older Canon cameras; but it confirms what I have always thought — skill is at least important as the gear.
A better lens can benefit a good camera, but a skilled photographer makes all the difference.
That’s a good lesson for people who think they have to spend a lot of money to take great pictures.
For a newer Camera the Nikon D500 looks interesting with the 200-500mm lens, but I gave up on Nikon years ago.
I was comparing the D500 with the Sony A7 III. Some people may say that’s like comparing apples to oranges since the Nikon is an APS-C Semi-Pro DSLR while the Sony is a Full Frame Pro Mirrorless.
So what is your opinion of DSLR vs. Mirrorless? Both of these models are similarly priced, but the Sony features sensor-shift stabilization although some would argue that lens stabilization is just as useful for handheld shots.
I like both! I am more old school so I like DSLRs. Especially for certain places I shoot at. DSLRs have a battery that would last longer if you do a lot of shooting. My Canons average about 5000 shots per battery. But some of the new Sony mirrorless look very interesting to me. So in the future I might be looking at Sony, mostly for their sensor quality and convert certain Canon lenses to that mount. My main Canon cameras are a 1.3x crop. Adobe Camera Raw has allowed the older Canon bodies to still be very viable in producing quality images.
Crop factor is a big advantage of the APS-C sensor. It effectively extends the reach of your telephoto lens.
On stabilization, it also depends on the focal length. In body stabilization seems to be great from talking to friends that use them. But I tend to use longer lenses that have stabilization. With wider angle lenses, stabilization seems less important to me because of the focal length unless there is not much light in the first place. I guess I have to figure this all out when I finally upgrade camera systems!
In-body stabilization basically stabilizes whatever lens is attached which effectively increases the options on lens selection. This seems to be the design choice of Sony, Pentax, Fuji and Panasonic while Nikon and Canon are big on stabilized lenses.
As cameras went digital it was cheaper to build a stable lens than stable body, and Nikon and Canon simply stayed the course. It wasn’t a question of better design, but cost.
True! But being “Old” school, it really also depends what your Photo subject is, the focal length, the amount of light, your ISO, your shutter speed, etc. I do depend on stabilization, but many times it does not really come into play. In low light, with slow shutter speeds, extreme macro, handheld, yes it is important. It also depends a lot on your financial situation to always be getting the newest and greatest. But that is also what makes it fun and interesting. My Canon MkIVs are a 1.3X crop sensor. Which are what I usually use, my Canon 7D is a 1.6x crop which is my least favorite camera, but it is lighter to carry if I want something better than a pocket camera or cell phone.
The quality of your work is evidence that “old school” techniques can deliver superior results.
Thanks! For over 45 years I have done Commercial work, so nature, landscapes, macro, birds etc. are a relaxing way to still enjoy my personal photography and shoot subjects I like!
Hey, Reed–I haven’t heard from you for a long time. Do you still have the same e-mail address? The Celery Farm is worse than it ever was but sometimes you get lucky. Send me your address and I’ll share some recent shots.
Hi Bob! I still have reedandar@aol.com as my main email. I have a few interesting parks by us so I am lucky to have close places to photograph and wander. Sometimes we go to the Blackwater NWR which is one of my favorite NWR’s to photograph but is a few hours away. Great to hear from you! And looking forward to seeing your images!! I splurged and got a new Mac laptop so I am able to post and work on images wherever I am! It is a beast and is more powerful than my desktop system. Well worth the $4500. Huge multi-image panos take about 5 to 10 seconds to blend!! Again, Great hearing from you and hope all is well!
How do you find the 17-40 canon lens regarding hotspots, I’m wanting a wide angle lens myself but struggling to find one. Love your work
Hi Raymond! It is not a Great lens but actually it is a pretty good lens considering the price. I did not see hot spots on mine. I usually used a slight high pass layer on top of the image to increase the overall sharpness.