About me and my photography

Nikon camera equipment

In September 2018 Nikon launched the full frame Z series cameras with the Z7 and the Z6. They also created a whole new mount called the Z mount that according to Nikon should give Nikon the possibility to produce a range of high performance lenses. As always one need to take the marketing message from any particular company with a grain of salt. I like Nikon cameras but I have always thought that the dSLR camera, especially full frame, have been too bulky and heavy. That made me look at the Fuji cameras that I also use today. They were more light and nimble with great tactile feel.

I therefore found my selves using the Nikon D7200 less and less in favor for the X-T3. But when Nikon released the full frame Z6 I felt that Nikon now had a tool that could be a good marriage between my Fuji gear and Nikon gear. So I decided to invest in the “Z” system to go alongside with my Fuji line up.

• Nikon Z6 (Replacement for my D7200) - Mirrorless camera from Nikon with a 24.5mp full frame sensor. Why did I switch to the “Z” system?

  1) EVF - I have grown accustomed to using a EVF and it's simply amazing. You can see your exposure and its less guessing. You also dont need to cover the viewfinder when doing long exposures for eliminating potential light leaks. You can review your image in the viewfinder on sunny days when its hard to see on the LCD screen. The latter gives you a better sense if the image you just captured works or not because it feels like you looking at a bigger screen.

  2) Sensor technology - Its a step up form the APS-C sensor to the FF sensor. This helps me to get slightly cleaner/sharper images if I would like to print large. For images online though this doesnt matter at all.

  3) Weight - Ill get a full frame body with less weight than my previous APS-C body. The lenses in the Nikkor Z f4 S series are also designed to be small, light and high performing. This is great for landscape photography.

• Nikon NIKKOR Z 14-30 f4 S - Wide angle zoom for Nikon full frame Z mount. A zoom equivalent to the popular Nikon F mount 16-35 f4. This zoom takes 82mm filters and is fairly small and light. This zoom range is the backbone of my landscape photography. The lens has really good sharpness and I find that I work much less with adding extra sharpness to my pictures than before. This is simply a superb lens that delivers.

• Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70 f4 S - Normal zoom for Nikon full frame Z mount. Its small and light and have great image quality. It's a versatile lens thats acceptable sharp corner to corner. Perfect companion for hiking.

• Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-200 f4-6.3 - Nikons new super zoom for the Z mount. Its small, light and have high optical performance. Its virtually on par with the Nikon 24-70 f4 S and it makes for a great hiking lens wherer you want that extra reach. This will be my go to lens for traveling and long hikes.

• Telezoom > 200 WANTED - Im very interested in the focal range of 100-400mm. There are many rumors for what the upcomming telezoom lenses would be in the Z line. One rumor is about a Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-105 S line lens and another is for a NIKKOR Z 100-400mm. Both would be super interesting to have a look at when any of those is released to complete a trinity of lenses covering 14-400mm.

  Neewer® Shutter Release Control YP-880/DC2 - Shutter release cable for the Nikon Z6 etc.

Fuji camera equipment

In 2017 I bought my first Fuji camera, a Fuji X-T1. I really liked the tactile nature of the camera and how easy it was to use. But it never really could replace my D7200 as a main camera. Now there´s a new chapter in my Fuji experience. I have upgraded to the Fuji X-T3.

• Fuji X-T3 (Replacement for my Fuji X-T1) - Why did I upgrade? Essentially it boils down to 3 things:

  1) Sensor technology and Image Quality (IQ) - Higher resolution, better ISO performance and new and improved sensor technologies made it worth the upgrade. The X-T1 never did give me the full comfort that I could use it as the main camera and always come home with the image quality I wanted.

  2) Camera functions - Focus bracketing, exposure bracketing, 15 min (T mode), touch focus, re positioned shutter release jack and better leveling features make landscape photography easier to do and it feels like a more complete camera.

  3) Video capabilities - I'm hoping to get more into video and this camera gives that in spades while still be a highly competent stills camera.

• Fujinon 10-24 f4 - A great and sharp lens. Not cheap but it performs among the best of them. A must for landscape photography.

• Fujinon 18-55 f2.8-4.0 - Considered to be one of the best kit lenses you can get with its high build quality and low aperture range. This lens is not your average kit lens.

• Fujinon 55-200 f3.5-4.8 - Great price/performance value. Its light so its ideal for hiking and travel when you want that extra reach. Fuji´s 50-140 f2.8 is probably an overall better lens but its heavier and much more expensive.

• JJC Shutter Release Cable RR-100 - A cheap remote control that I bought on Amazon. It is simple button that can be locked wich is all I need. I do not need a timer function on the cable release because there is a great built-in solution in the camera. It does not need a battery which is good becaus it gives me one less thing to worry about when im out taking pictures.

Filters and filter holders

I have a mixed feeling about filter systems. I never use graduated filters because I rather bracket my images and blend in post. However, as many landscape photographers I invested in a 100mm filter holder kit combined with three ND filters and it works just fine for my needs. But the thing is that these kind of filter systems are kinda bulky if you want to pack small and light. So I´m thinking of testing out to use round filters instead for my ND´s.

There are some things to be aware of when considering a square or a round filter system. A round filter system tends to be more tedious to put on and of the lens because you mostly screw the filters on the lens. There are also risks that the filter gets stuck and you have a hard time getting it of the lens. That has happened to me a few times with my CPL filter. You also dont want to buy a filter set for all different filterthread sizes because of the expense and that means you most likley are going to use step up rings to your biggest filterthread size. The resulting added thicknes can then create problems with vignetting if you use wide angle lenses.

A great kit would then be magnetic attached slimmer ND and CPL filters that you can stack without getting heavy vignetting. Even better would be if the ND and CPL was combined in one filter where you could get a CPL range from zero to full. KASE and Breakthrough photography have magnetic filter systems on the market where the KASE system seems to be perfect for my needs. They have 95mm filters that would not vignette with my 14-30 mm zoom.

• Formatt Hitech Firecreast 100mm holder kit - Not long ago i bought this holder for the clever CPL attachment. To be honest I was a little dissapointed on that product because of a kinda poor built lens attachment solution. The sliding mechanism that you use to attach the holder to the filter lens ring are not that comforting and it feels like the holder can easily fall off.

• Formatt Hitech firecrest ND and firecrest CPL filters - Great filters but expensive. I use the 100x100mm 3, 6 and 10 stop ND filters. The CPL filter have 82mm thread and attaches before the filter holder. I dont use gradual filters and I prefer to bracket my sceene instead when needed. I believe that using good editing techniques for combining bracketed shots is for the most part better then using a ND grad filter.

• SIOTI 100mm filter holder - This is a great piece of kit. Its cheap, its well built and hold all the filters I need. To improve the ability to withstand light leaks i attached a filter gasket to the holder.

• SIOTI 100mm Square Z series 82mm Adapter rings - I only buy the 82mm rings and use step up rings in order to adapt for lenses with smaller filter threads. In that way i only need one 82 mm CPL filter.

• Lee Lens Caps - Maybe not essential but they are great and fit perfectly to the SIOTI 82mm adapter rings. In that way i dont need to detach the rings in order to attach a lens cap. Unfortunately, these do not fit the Formatt Hitech holder rings.

Tripods and tripod accessories

• Genesis C5 with BH-40 ballhead - A great carbon fibre tripod that have quite a reach. It has a leg diameter of 32 mm with a max height of 193 cm. With a max load capacity of 30 kilo it will hold a big dSLR. I'm perfectly happy with this tripod.

• Leofoto VH-30R - A two-way head developed for, among other things, panoramic photography. The head has an open construction which makes it very light and easy to carry. This is currently my main head for photography.

• SIRUI T-005 with C10 ballhead - This traveler tripod is small and super compact. Maybe a bit to small for what i want to do. Quality vise there are no issues.

• Neewer Tripod Leveling Base - Neewer makes perfectly ok gear and this is no exeption. If you want a leveling base to put under your ballhead this is a great solution. Its well built in metal and will add about 380 grams to your tripod weight when attached.

• Neewer Nodal Quick-Release Plate - I currently use the 140 mm version.

• Andoer PFL-XT1R Quick Release L Plate - This is a must for us landscape photographer. Its mutch more easy to use when shifting from portrait to landscape mode then using the ball head method.

Bags

The Deuter bags I use are very good and have carrying systems that are comfortable for longer hikes. The main bag that i use (40 litre ACT trail) have an front opening wich makes it easy to acces your gear. Inside the bag I use a ICU (internal camera unit) wich protects and help me to organise my gear.

Deuter have another interresting bags that could work very good for photography and thats the Freerider PRO series and RISE series. The bags is made for winter sports and that makes them ideal for attaching tripods. They also have a big rear opening so you easliy can acces your gear. The rear access are probably a bit better for us landscape photographers because then we dont have to put our bag with the carrying straps on the ground when grabbing the camera. Im hoping, when possible, to test those bags out to see if any of them is suitable for my purposes.

• Deuter 70+15 Air Contact Pro - A great hiking bag for when you want to do wild camping and bring all your gear with you such as tent, sleeping bags, sleeping mats and cooking gear etc. It has a front loading compartment that is good for access and I can fit the Koolerton camera insert in the sleeping bag compartment.

• Deuter Rise 34+ - My new bag for all kinds of photography that has an opening in the back. The opening is bigger then on then on the Act trail so its somewhat easier to reach my gear when I want to take an image. It also beneficial that the opening is on the back so I can lay the bag down on its front to not make the carrying system dirty.

• Deuter 40 litres Lightweight Act Trail - Currently my backup bag for all kinds of photography and travel. Because its not a dedicated photo bag i can use it as a normal rucksack when traveling while adjusting the amount of gear i carry.

• Koolertron DSLR Camera Insert - I use this insert in my Deuter bag. Good quality and can be carried separately if you for instance would like to have it as a carry on bag on a plain.

• Lowepro FLIPSIDE TREK BP 450 AW - Well built dedicated photo bag that holds both your camera gear and a day worth of other accessories.