Best photography purchases of 2021
The past year was definitely an improvement on 2020, which was a strange year with businesses shutting down. Things started to turn around when vaccines helped a sense of normalcy to return. For me, like many photographers, 2020 came crushing down, but in comparison 2021 was crazy-busy as all the events postponed from 2020 started to be added to the 2021 calendar. As far as the Tangents blog goes, posts have been relatively scarce — in 2020 I wasn’t busy enough to really have anything new to write about. And in 2021, I was just too busy to have much time to expand on the material here, as much as I wanted to. Some weekends I photographed 4 weddings and other events in a row. Just a hectic pace, which I hope will continue into the new year.
All this is some context to this regular year-end reflection as we discuss what photo gear bought in 2021 to augment our photography hobby or career — this year’s edition of best photography purchases.
We would all love to hear what you have been up to, and what astute and interesting choices you’ve made this year. There is a $50 Amazon gift card for a comment posted here which will be picked via a random number generator, like before. Winner to be announced on Jan 7th.
My best photography purchases for 2021
Upgrading my infrared camera
Why infrared? It is something very different from my usual work, and allows me to explore New York with a fresh outlook.
You can see some of my infrared photography here on the Tangents blog: infrared photography; as well as a dedicated website just for this topic : infrared NYC
I originally started with a modified Canon 5D mk2, but the live-view autofocus was limited with just the single AF point, and no flip-out LCD screen. Then I went with a infra-red modified Fuji XE-2 … but Fuji lenses are plagued by central hotspots when shooting infrared. Then the past year I upgraded my infrared camera to a modified Sony A7ii. It was modified to “deep infrared” by by Life Pixel.
Why mirrorless? Well, mirrorless cameras make most sense with infrared photography compared to DLSRs, because the live-view autofocus of mirrorless allows you to better pick a proper exposure and quickly get sharply focused images.
The photo at the top was taken at the Edward Tufte landscape sculpture park in Connecticut. A surreal enough place to match up with the surreal rendition of infrared photography.
The lens used was the superb Sony 20mm f/1.8 G (B&H / Amazon) which has just the right field of view for dramatic landscapes.
Sony A1
It is one of those cameras that offer everything: high resolution of 50 mpx; 30 fps shooting rate (with specific lenses and image settings); and up to 8K video … and a slew of other features. You might very well not need most of the features, but there are so many improvements over current cameras, that even the sum of the incremental improvements make it a compelling camera. I don’t need 8K video, but 4K60 with eye-focus is very useful.
Oh, another disappointment — the camera overheats in video mode. It happened to me even before the camera was recording. I was still setting up the microphone and lighting in the studio, with the camera on standby (in 4K mode), and then it overheated. That’s just crazy.I did set the heating control to ‘High’ afterwards to help avoid this. But still.
I finally decided to pull the trigger on the Sony A1 during this photo session shown in the timelapse clip below. I had rented a high-megapixel Sony A7iii to photograph this huge group of realtors … and then at the start of the shoot the camera started to misbehave. The final straw. I sent out my assistant to go buy me a Sony A1. It is embarrassing to struggle with gear in front of a client. My equipment needs to work in a predictable manner.
The image quality out of the Sony A1 is amazing – the level of detail, and the surprisingly good high-ISO noise at 3200 ISO. The responsiveness of this camera is also a joy to experience. The controls respond with the same speediness as the Nikon D5 that I am used to. Sony has overcome that lag to the controls that the Sony A9 still has. I love the Sony A1, but I am not committed enough that I won’t properly consider the Nikon Z9 once it hits the shelves of the rental houses.
This timelapse video shows what went into the taking of a big group photo on the day.
Portable studio lighting, a ladder, and a very tall tripod were part of the setup to make this photo work. We carefully positioned people in the frame, and since I shot (wirelessly) tethered to the laptop, the images could immediately be viewed by my client. This made it easier to change people’s positioning and posing to make sure we get the photographs my client wanted.
A really tall tripod – the Robus RC-0888
For a tripod that’s tall enough that I can stand under it when it is fully extended, it is surprisingly light-weight and relatively compact. And yet, sturdy. Just what I needed for scenarios as shown in the timelapse clip above. Highly recommended.
As the basic ball-head for this tripod, I matched it with the Robus RT-1050 Triple Action Ball Head (B&H). It has that similar feel of quality as the tripod.
Sony 35mm f/1.4 GM
As much as my 24-70mm f/2.8 lens have always been my workhorse lens, as explained in this article – the need for fast prime lenses in your camera bag – there are times where you really need the ability to shoot in low light with a decent shutter speed — then these fast prime lenses are essential.
This 35mm lens neatly fills that gap in the focal range.
Other purchases I am very happy with
- An extra large canvas from Gravity backdrops
The canvas backdrops I had in the studio were smaller and more suited for individual portraits. I lacked something to photograph small groups and families against. Until now.
- Helicon focus stacking software
Expanding the capability to successfully shoot table-top items that need more depth of field than f/22 or f/32 will allow, you need focus stacking software. Helicon works like a charm!
- Westcott Optical Spot system
Still unused in my studio, I bought this to replace the Profoto Spot attachment that I had bought in 2020. With the quieter winter months, I’ll start playing with this in the studio.
- Various Nikon lenses (and another Nikon D810) for time-lapse photography.
I needed more compact zoom lenses for the longterm timelapse housing. Here is one of the projects that I worked on in 2021 – The Harry Potter Store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan. It was a 10-week long project, during which I also had to photograph the advertising mural being painted on the side of a building: Time-lapse photography: Harry Potter store, New York. This particular part of the timelapse project only took a few days.
Your turn!
That’s it for me. Now it’s your turn. Add yours to the list of Best / Worst Photo related purchases, by posting in the comments section.
What photo gear did you acquire which you believe will make a difference to your photography and your business in the upcoming years? Post your replies in the comments.
To make it interesting, there is a $50 Amazon gift card, to be given to to a winning comment picked via random number generator. The winner will be announced on January 7th.
Related articles
- Other best photography purchases, listed by year
I think for me the best purchase was the Nikon Z9. Not because of the camera as such, although it’s a great leap forward, but because after taking a pounding for a couple of years, the work’s started to return and it’s like a defiant ‘lm back in business’ statement. Who knows what the future is going to hold but I felt like I had survived. Also I upgraded my booking and client management software which I needed to do.
Good to see you posting as well!
James
I am working the new Elinchrom One strobe heads into the ELB 500w workflow. It’s nice to have the battery pack inside the head. It won’t take the place of any strobe where f14+ is needed to overpower the sun but should be a nice addition otherwise.
Are you happy with the Elinchrom One? I moved from elinchrom to Profoto just for the battery powered heads, even though I actually preferred the Elinchrom modifiers. But at half the price if Elinchrom puts out more battery powered heads I’d switch back in a heartbeat. How do you find the built-in battery life, that’s the only thing I don’t understand is their decision to integrate the battery.
Bausch & Lomb-Zeiss Tessar 385mm f/4.5 lens. For my wet plate portrait work. A beast of a lens but is going to produce some wonderful collodion portraits come Spring!
Decided to wait another year to transition to mirrorless and get another year out of my Canon 5d IV’s.
I purchased a CamRanger 2 wireless tethering system for $395. Best purchase I have made in years. It is lightweight, versatile and the company offers excellent customer service. I shoot wirelessly to my iPad and review photos with the client throughout the session. It is an important part of my workflow, both in the studio and on location.
I replaced my two aging Sony A9 bodies with two Sony A9IIs. Basically the same camera as the A9 except there are lots of little improvements which I enjoy. I also got the Sony 16-35 2.8 – selling my Sony 35 1.4 in favor of the lighter Sony 35 1.8.
Neil,
I always love seeing whatever you are able to send out in the form of a newsletter.
All the best,
William Perrelli
Perrelliphoto.com
The dream is always the same…
My wife and I traveled to Munich to help her brother pack up and move to Berlin. Knowing that I’m an avid photographer, he gifted me with “a backpack full of old photo gear” that he inherited from a dear friend. Among the items in the bag were two Leica M3 bodies, a 1938 Leica III, and ten Leica lenses (including a Summilux 50mm, Summicron 90mm, Summicron 35mm, Super Angulon 21mm, and Summiron 35mm with goggles)!
I made a point of helping him understand how valuable this is. He gave it to me anyway with the caveat that I’m not to sell it, but rather put it to use making photographs.
My best purchase of 2021? The Doomo Meter S cold shoe meter, several five packs of Kodak Portra 400, Ilford Delta 400, Ilford Delta 100, and the Plustek OpticFilm 8100 scanner that I’m now using to explore film photography.
It’s funny to read that you had the same problem that I had. I needed to photograph a family of 4 against a backdrop and the 8×6 scenic backdrop I had chosen was really only good enough for maybe 1-2 people, 3 tops. I ended up using it anyway as there was no time to get anything else before the shoot. I managed by extending the backdrop in post but what a pain. Right afterwards, I bought a 12×10 backdrop so I can photograph families without worrying about fitting everyone in and squishing them together.
Oooo, and I bought a black foam thingie!
I bought the Light and Motion CLX10 continuous light. I love it. However, on full power it’ll only last about 50 minutes.
Interesting, I was considering this! Thank you
I spent a lot of money in 2021 on gear, and narrowing down my “best of” is tenuous, at best. Thankfully, it’s not a “one and done” selection.
Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens. I often accompany my wife on her wildlife excursions, and see some of the most amazing moments that she’s not watching (because she has a longer lens and is focused elsewhere), and this lens gives me the opportunity to capture those things without trying to distract her.
Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM Wide-Angle Zoom Lens. Much of my work in 2021 (and 2022, etc.) will be filmmaking. I have frequent need for closer angles and wider shots that I can manipulate later. Thus far, this has already paid for itself with a new gig in 2022.
Samsung Odyssey G9 49″ curved monitor. While a dream editing medium for films, it has also proven to be the ultimate visual tableau for Lightroom and quick edits. Because it pairs nicely with the NVIDEA GFORCE video systems, I have a very fast refresh which is excellent for the high-res film editing.
The rest of the things include bags, field monitors, cables (endless cables), a gimbal, drives, and cleaning gear.
I got EOS R6s and a Fuji X-T4, and although it is a far worse camera I prefer the Fuji.
I did want to shoot personally with it but what it actually did was make me re think my wedding priority. My Canon 28-70 f2 is the best lens of all time and it never misses a beat (including dark dance floors where it is every bit the equal of a 1DX2 or a D5, on an R6). But it is heavy, and the bokeh, whilst better than a 24-70, isn’t a prime. Canon’s recent efforts are similar to a Sony and Nikon; they are optically phenomenal but they lack soul.
I’ve loved my Fuji for showing me that photos are more than sharpness and dreamy bokeh. But … I shall sell all of it soon – the Fuji on a dance floor is bloody horrid!!
Some new equipment such as….
Nikon Z6ii
Nikon Z7ii
Nikon 24-70 2.8 S Lens
Nikon 70-200 2.8 S Lens
Nikon 85 1.8 S Lens
New 27in iMac
Nikon Z9
Trip to the Austrian Alps to do night sky photography 8/21
My best purchase of 2021 was a Manfrotto Ezyframe vintage background system, it filled a gap in my location photo gear, i use it for corporate portraits on location and for when i need to set up the studio somewere. Got a couple of backgrounds to be able to swap, maybe getting a couple more later in 2022.
I also traded the Nikon 24/70 2.8 for the S version to use on the Z bodies, and what a difference ! its worth every cent !
I also got a Tamron 35-150 2.8-4, still undecided about this one, its versatile, but haven´t really used it for work , so the jury is still out about it. It was planned to use on events and reportage replacing the 24/70 and 70/200 combo with this one plus a 35 or 85 1.8 on the second body depending on the venue.
My best purchase of 2021 was the Fuji 50mm f/1.0 lens. Great in low light. Great for portraits. I also shot about 90% of a wedding day video on it. Yes I used an ND filter on it outside. I’m not crazy!
I transitioned completely to mirrorless this year and two of my favourite purchases are the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8S and the 24-70 f/2.8S. So very sharp and wonderful with the Z cameras.
For the past two years, I’ve been striving for a minimalist life and lifestyle, and that includes my photo gear. So, this past year, I sold more gear, including my beloved Sigma 105mm f/1.4 (awesome lens but way too heavy for my wrists nowadays), went 100% mirrorless, and bought two lenses: Nikon Z 24-200mm for everyday use and Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8. I love the 85mm, the everyday lens is an everyday lens…. And, I know, it’s no fancy gear, but I need to keep it simple and lightweight. At least for the time being.
Thanks and Happy New Year!
My best purchase of the year was a Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art lens for my (original) Canon 6D. It’s taken things to a slightly higher level. For portraits I usually use my 135 2.0, but for group shots and general everything it’s all about the Sigma 35mm.
For a recent large group shot I used it for the first time a few days after surgery. 2 in the group were sort of ****s, but figured that going the extra mile gave me permission to **** with them; so I did.
Had some stuff cut out of my face, but thankfully due to COVID it was covered by the mask. Do tip your Plastic Surgeon. Mine’s a genius.
I think that my worst purchase was a shoot-through umbrella. I do like bouncing for large groups, but for portraits a good soft box, from my experience, blows the umbrella away. Maybe it’s me, but will report back next year about my new soft box.
For me, it was the FUJIFILM WCL-X100 II Wide Conversion Lens. I like shooting wide and the “native” 23mm lens is wonderful, but sometimes just not wide enough. This converts it to an 18mm which, while not seeming like much, really makes a big difference.
This combination allows me to walk around with a very lightweight “street camera” with the 23mm lens or, with just a bit more size/weight, screw on the adapter and I can shoot a bit wider.
I feel kinda small and silly with all of these heavy-hitters here – new cameras, lenses, etc.!
My only big purchase in 2021 is a Mefoto Roadtrip travel tripod/monopod. My justification was that it was on super-sale at B&H and I wanted something more compact for a trip to SW Florida gulf beaches.
Well, what a nice surprise! My go-to piece is usually a pretty heavy Benro monopod with a fluid head on it – but this little travel tripod was really useful – great purchase! Used it everywhere and for everything, even with a beastly Tamron 70-200mm lens – stable!
Thank you, Neil, for all the great content on this site, and it’s nice to read all the helpful and positive comments. Happy new year everyone!
Best purchase…purchases actually. I have moved to mirrorless. Sony a9 with primes, 35mm 85 and 135. Add in Profoto A1x and I’m in love. It’s just so easy. Except for events in dark spaces – for that I use my D780. The mirrorless continue to miss the mark (see what I did there…) in regards to AF in dark spaces.
Best purchase gear-wise (other than BFT) is the Z9 and 58mm f0.95 Noct and 50mm and 70-200mm f2.8).
Purchasing a second ELB500 to finally get a third and fourth light source.
Thank you, Neil for your invaluable knowledge on, on-camera bounce. Shooting weddings will never be the same.
Well, I already have quite a lot of Olympus MFT’s gear..
Three OM-D bodies and too much glass! (If that’s really possible? LOL)
Although, I did purchase an upgrade to one of my favorite software packages, Topaz..
So yeah, not much in the way of exciting buys this year..
But, I’ve had tons of fun ‘taking’ photos.. Especially semi-candid portraits of family and friends, at parties, social gatherings, vacations, etc..
Then, with software, ever so gently turning back the clock.. (We are all in our late 60’s, early 70’s)
Removing a few wrinkles, softening the aging effect, but with just the lightest touch..
Maybe adding the missing background to that travel photo taken so many years before?
The tech in gear & software today is brilliant! And it’s only going to get better..
I bought a wescott Optical Spot as well, and still need to really play with it. I ordered my Z9 last year, and it should be arriving soon, so hopefully those two items are my big steps forward.. For once, it was a really low-gear year!
Hi Neil and my appreciation to you for keeping alive this virtual meeting place.
I bought your “Off-camera flash” book nearly 10 years ago hoping to understand something about flash photography, a kind of photography I really struggled with.
I ended up learning to see light.
So it should not be a surprise that purchases I enjoyed the most last year relate to light:
a Godox AD-S85S 85cm/33.5in Portable Softbox and
a Godox AD300Pro strobe
All the best
…and – I forgot – Capture 1
My best purchase was a Profoto B10 (and then another one). I got rid of my Canon and Buff lights and now with the B10’s and a pair of A1s have a complete and compatible system. Profoto lights are obviously the best I ever used and simplifying is a blessing. My other best purchase was a Canon R5. So far it’s meeting expectations for both stills and video. Let me just also say that I shoot a lot of events and your guidance on bounce flash was really the beginning for me of having the confidence to feel like I could shoot in just about any lighting condition. So, thanks for being generous with that technique. You ever show up in Chicago, I feel like I owe you a beer.
My best purchases in 2021 were:
• Canon EOS M50 MK II – I had the original M50 that I loved using as my everyday camera (when I didn’t want to carry my EOS R6). It became indispensable for my magic shows (I’m a professional magician). It’s easy to find someone at the event to take photos for me because the camera isn’t intimidating. I just set everything up for them, let them know what I’m looking for and tell them to take as many photos as they want. I get a surprising number of great photos to use on social media. I, begrudgingly, decided to upgrade to the M50 MK II because of the clean HDMI out. I say begrudgingly because there seemed to be so few upgrades from the original version but I had been using my M50 for my webcam since the start of the pandemic and was regularly having Zoom meetings so I really wanted the clean HDMI. I was delighted to find out out that the improved autofocusing was more than just a slight improvement. The eye AF is much closer to my R6 than I expected. Since I use EF-S lenses on it (with the adapter, of course), I have lots of options when using it. I, also, like the simplicity of it when making videos (I stay with 1080p since I don’t have a need for 4K.)
• Flashpoint xPlor 300 Pro (Godox AD300 Pro) – I’ve been a devoted Godox flash user since I bought my first Streaklight 360 (AD360) in 2015. I have four Streaklight 360 units and four Streaklight 360 TTL (AD360 II) but I was intrigued by having a unit as small as the 300 Pro that didn’t have a separate battery pack (the only thing I don’t like about the 360 units) but was comparable in power. I bought one to use as my quick location flash when keeping it simple and I really liked it. When the Black Friday specials came around, I bought two packages that Adorama offered with two xPlor 300 Pro units in each! Yes, I now have five xPlor 300 Pro units. [Anyone need an original Streaklight 360 (AD360)? I have four to sell!]
• Smallrig L-Bracket for my EOS R6 – I wanted to try an L-bracket and read many good reviews of the Smallrig version, which is surprisingly inexpensive. I’m very impressed with it. It has a nice fit and finish. It was well worth the money.
I brought a G technology G speed shuttle XL thunderbolt RAID to backup my files. An investment but well worth the piece of mind.
… and Vickie Gray earned the $50 Amazon gift voucher via the randomly selected draw:
Z9 is a beast – you’ll love it, but the A1 is great as well