My Camera Gear, Over the Years

I’ve been asked about cameras and gear many times over the years, so here’s some info…

Somebody gave me a “110” film camera when I was a child, and I moved up from there. I had a couple of other Canon point-and-shoot film cameras when I was a teen, and in my college years, started to really learn about photography and equipment. I bought my first 35mm SLR, an all-manual Pentax K1000, and went from there. However, taking pictures for years with no expectations of ever selling anything, I always tried to get something reasonably good without spending too much.

The last film cameras I used were a Canon Elan IIe SLR and an underwater Nikonos V. Then, I made the switch over to digital, initially with a surprisingly good Nikon CoolPix 5.2mp. I still had several Canon 35mm/SLR lenses, though. So, I bought a Canon 10D 6.3mp DSLR in 2003, shortly after they came out. LOVED it!

Then, I started working on putting together a set of higher-quality lenses, without breaking the bank. One by one, I retired my older lenses, and ended up with a Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM, a 50mm f/2.5 Macro, and a 70-200mm f/4L USM. These were all great, and did a pretty good job of covering the spectrum from wide-angle to telephoto.

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Next, was moving up from the 10D to a Canon 30D 8.2mp DLSR, which was about like going from an iPhone 2 to an iPhone 4. It wasn’t a huge change, but everything the 10D did, the 30D did better.

The next thing to do was get an underwater housing, since I figured I’d be using the 30D for several years, at the least. So, I got an Ikelite custom underwater housing and DS125 strobe (flash). I also replaced the 50mm macro with a 60mm f/2.8 Macro, which focuses much faster (better for taking pictures of moving fishies), and added a relatively enormous 100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS II, to the collection, too. A fantastic lens for shots of birds and other wildlife!

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Still, the 30D didn’t shoot video, and there was no such thing as a GoPro “way back then”. High-quality dedicated underwater video cameras were far more than I was willing spend, too. So, I did add a Canon Powershot S100 to my collection, along with an underwater housing. It shot decent HD video, and became my underwater video camera for several years.

Next, I got a Canon 80D 24.2mp DSLR, skipping all those models in-between it and the 30D. Within a couple of days, I was posting bug pictures on Facebook and claiming this camera had alien technology in it. It also shoots full HD video, and does it well.

However, I did not buy an underwater housing for the 80D. The housing for the 30D was over $1,500 (yes, just for the housing), and only fits that specific model. Getting one for the 80D would have been closer to $2,000, and the 30D was still working just fine. So, the 30D became my dedicated underwater camera (and still is), and the 80D my dedicated land camera.

Still, for an underwater video upgrade, I picked up a GoPro Hero 7 Black, a GoPro underwater housing for it, and a Backscatter Flip7 filter kit to help with color correction while shooting. The camera shoots 4K video, does a pretty good job of it, and is all I need for my purposes. It’s also really small and exceptionally easy to use, which are big pluses when diving with the “big rig” 30D in its housing along with the strobe.

Aside from these cameras and lenses, I’ve also got a Canon Speedlite 470EX flash and a Canon Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX II flash that clips onto the end of the 50mm and 60mm macro lenses. For close-up pics, there’s no substitute for a ring light like this. I’ve got a nice Manfrotto tripod, and a Manfrotto monopod, too.

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And that’s it! 😊