{"id":46916,"date":"2018-12-21T16:52:16","date_gmt":"2018-12-21T20:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/?p=46916"},"modified":"2026-04-17T02:04:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T06:04:29","slug":"best-photography-purchases-of-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/best-photography-purchases-of-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Best photography purchases of 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Best photography purchases of 2018<\/h1>\n

The regular end-of-the-year post about the\u00a0best (and\u00a0worst) photography purchases<\/a>\u00a0always sparks interest, with many others chiming in on what they bought the past year, whether for fun or professional work. I forever seem to hover between sensible purchases that are necessary to advance … and just sheer indulgence. Here are some of what I think were my wisest investments … all the way down to some dubious side-tracked choices.<\/p>\n

Notably about the gear I purchased, 2018 was the year where I “retooled” somewhat to be able to shoot more video, and also shoot more commercial timelapse videos. This meant … new toys!<\/p>\n

We would all love to hear what you have been up to, and what astute and interesting choices you’ve made this year.<\/p>\n

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Let\u2019s hear from you:<\/h2>\n

To make it interesting, there are three<\/strong> books available as prizes to be given to three randomly chosen comments.\u00a0The winners will be picked via random number generator, as before. Winners will be announced on December 25th. Fancy that!<\/p>\n

Update: \u00a0I was a little slow in wrapping this up \u2013 but here are the winners of the book prizes. I\u2019ll be contacting everyone via email or FB messenger.<\/p>\n

1. irene Irene McGinniss
\n2. Jan van der Maat
\n3. Bill Merritt<\/p>\n

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Shot In The Dark<\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n

Shot In The Dark<\/a>, by Brett Florens. A photographer’s guide to shooting in unconventional locations.<\/p>\n

Wedding photographers are under tremendous pressure to capture once-in-a-lifetime moments. They are forced to shoot in low light in every wedding\u2014whether in poorly lit ceremony and reception venues or, later in the day, when the peak lighting has faded. This presents myriad problems and obstacles to achieving beautiful, artfully executed images of the events of the wedding day.<\/p>\n

If you are interested in the premise of this book, you can order it through\u00a0Amazon USA<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Amazon UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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the other book prizes<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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Portraiture Unleashed<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n

Portraiture Unleashed<\/a>, by Travis Gadsby. \u00a0“A sublime collection of 60 creativity-inspiring images from a range of talented photographers whose styles and photographic techniques vary markedly.”<\/p>\n

The book is divided into five sections, each of which is centered around a particular creativity-enhancing topic: (1) Quick and Easy: Ideas That Can Be Added on the Fly, (2) Location-Inspired Ideas, (3) Wardrobe-Inspired Ideas, (4) Prop-Inspired Ideas, and (5) Creative Lighting Treatments.<\/p>\n

If you are interested in the premise of this book, you can order it through\u00a0Amazon USA<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Amazon UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Boudoir Photography Cookbook<\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n

Boudoir Photography Cookbook<\/a>, by Jen Rozenbaum. This book presents 60 easily digestible sections, (aka the recipes), to discuss essential skills that will help you with boudoir photography. Of course I am a little biased when it comes to this book – Anelisa<\/a> is on the cover.<\/p>\n

While Jennifer covers lighting, wardrobe, and\u00a0other aspects of boudoir photography, the core of those book focuses on posing. The book has a\u00a0targeted look at various posing strategies that will really enhance your subject.<\/p>\n

If you are interested in the premise of this book, you can order it through\u00a0Amazon USA<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Amazon UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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My\u00a0best photography purchases for 2018<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Sony A7 iii mirrorless camera<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tI feel like this was the year that things really tipped towards mirrorless cameras in a big way – Sony brought out the Sony A7 iii<\/a> (affiliate<\/em>), which offered amazing spec for a competitive price. This made it seem like Canon and Nikon were left scrabbling to release mirrorless cameras well.<\/p>\n

When you compare the Canon R and Nikon Z6 and Sony A7 iii to one other, the Sony still comes ahead in features. In its own way this was a ground-breaking camera in 2018.<\/p>\n

Here is my review: Sony A7 iii mirrorless camera<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>

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Sony FE 16-35mm f\/2.8 GM<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tMy intention is to use the Sony A7 iii mostly as a video camera, and use it on the DJI Ronin-S gimbal<\/a> (B&H<\/em><\/a> \/ Amazon<\/em><\/a>). The lens that I permanently keep attached to the Sony Ay iii, is the Sony FE 16-35mm f\/2.8<\/a> (B&H<\/em><\/a> \/ Amazon<\/em><\/a>). It is astonishingly sharp from edge-to-edge, and immediately became one of my favorite optics that I have ever used.<\/p>\n

Check the example video clip in the\u00a0review of the Sony A7 iii<\/a>, where I shot a video of a band using this lens.\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>

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Sony A9 mirrorless camera<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tI really wanted a camera with a silent \/ electronic shutter for when I needed to be even quieter than whisper-quiet. Corporate events where there is someone speaking. Or the church ceremony. All too often I found myself cringing at the loud shutter of the Nikon D5 (which I love dearly still). I wanted, no needed a camera with a silent shutter.<\/p>\n

I first went for the Fuji X-H1 which was a very likable camera, but I found the Fuji f\/2.8 zooms weren’t as sharp overall as I needed my lenses to be. And yes, I prefer my professional lenses to be sharp<\/a>. Nikon was too late with the announcement of their Z6 \/ Z7 mirrorless cameras, so I went with the Sony A9<\/a> (B&H<\/a> \/ Amazon<\/a>). It is just what I needed.<\/p>\n

Aside from a few quirks, the Sony A9 is a phenomenal camera, and it quickly became the camera that I use in available light settings. For anything involving flash, I still prefer the Nikon D5. But the Sony A9 quickly proved to be very useful for my work where I need exactly this kind of camera.\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>

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Sony FE 24-105mm f\/4 G<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tDipping my toes into a Sony system, I didn’t quite want to acquire an arsenal of lenses yet — I’m well stocked up with Nikon optics already — but I still needed one excellent general purpose lens to use on the Sony A9.<\/p>\n

Fortunately the Sony 24-105mm f\/4 G lens<\/a>\u00a0(B&H<\/em><\/a> \/ Amazon<\/em><\/a>)\u00a0turned out to be both versatile and optically really really good. Here is my\u00a0review of the Sony FE 24-105mm f\/4 G OSS Lens<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>

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DJI Ronin-S gimbal<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tMy third foray into gimbals is the DJI Ronin-S<\/a> (B&H<\/em><\/a> \/ Amazon<\/em><\/a>), and I finally have a powerful gimbal that I can use with a zoom lens on the camera.<\/p>\n

I needed a gimbal that is relatively compact, ie, a gimbal that can be used with one hand, and that is strong enough to not start shaking when you zoom the lens out. The smaller gimbals struggle with the redistribution of weight as the lens expands. The Ronin-S handles this really well.<\/p>\n

The Ronin-S is also easy to set up, and has an app for your phone to help with calibration. The slanted design of the rear arm helps in letting you see the camera’s screen. This gimbal really feels well designed and manufactured – it feels and handles like quality.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>

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Here is a\u00a0video snippet that I also showed in the review of the Sony A7 iii<\/a>\u00a0— shooting a music video for the band, Cut Like This, I couldn\u2019t wait to at least show a snippet of what we got – here\u2019s a slo-mo video segment that I love … a close-up of Brian’s guitar work. This was shot with the Sony A7iii and Sony 16-35mm f\/2.8 GM<\/a> (affiliate<\/em>) on the Ronin-S gimbal<\/a>\u00a0(affiliate<\/em>) …. slowed down 4x. Shot at f\/2.8 and 3200 ISO and Auto WB.<\/p>\n