7 Oct 09: Standard Kit

Today John talked us through some standard kit we should have plus the contents of his own photography bag.

• camera body
• lenses - need at least one of 28mm, 50mm or 85mm.  These are prime lenses with a fixed focal length.  A 50mm lens has the same perspective as the human eye - with a zoom lens the perspective changes as you zoom in, so sometimes it's better to be closer to the subject rather than zooming.  Telephoto lenses flatten perspective, so can be good for portraits.  (See also below). 
• Flashgun eg speedlight 430EX.  (The model number indicates the flash power eg with the 430EX light will travel for 43m at ISO100 f8).  To support a flash gun you can also get a quantum or battery pack, a filter to soften the flash light and a wireless transmitter.
• Lastolite reflector(s) (www.lastolite.com/reflectors.php)
• Camera bag(s)
• Kodak 17% grey card for meter readings
• Light meter(s) - ambient/flash
• Lens cloth and blower brush
• Torch
• Notebook and pen
• Filters eg polarising/UV
• Memory cards
• Remote shutter release
• Tripod
• Angle finder
• Battery charger

Focal length of lenses:
Different 'standard' lenses will work differently with different types of camera depending upon the camera's picture format.  A conversion factor can be applied to calculate what lens is required to give the same effect on different camera formats:

This explained far better than I can do it in Langford's Basic Photography The Guide for Serious Photographers 8th Edition (Focal Press).