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 Since the purchase of my first Nikon F in 1966 I've been a Nikon shooter. Over the years I've owned F's, a Photomic T and Tn, Nikkormat FTNs as backup bodies, an F-3 which I still use to this day, an 8008, and N-90s's. For lenses I still have, and use on the F-3, the 85mm f 1.8 I purchased in 1967. That was my first portrait lens prior to getting the legendary 105 f2.5. That lens has since been retired in favor of the 105 f1.8. For portraits on the autofocus bodies I use the 105 f2.0 AF DC lens. The Nikon equipment has held up well under constant studio use and as well as demanding location work. Other than cleanings the only repair I've had was to an 8008 that got knocked out of my hand by a surprised photographer at a concert when the lead singer jumped over our heads out into the audience. A replaced top plate quickly put that camera back in business. |
 Photoflex is one of my favorite equipment suppliers. Virtually all of my lighting equipment except the strobes come from them. I use their soft boxes, stands, litedisc reflectors and holders and litepanels. Their construction is very good and the designs well thought out. We teach workshops at the studio 5-6 times a year so we have also have students using the lighting equipment. I do everything from portraits to commercial product shots in the studio so versatility is also important. Doing location shooting I'm big on using reflectors and scrims. I particularly like the quality of the light the soft gold litedisc produces. The litedisc holders Photoflex came out with a few years ago are great for location shooting when there just aren't enough or even any assistants. Check out their on-line photo school. The lessons cover a wide variety of shooting situations and offer information that would take years to learn on your own. |
 For me and my style and type of work monolights are the way to go and the White Lightning Ultras are the best I've used. I've got a mix of 1800's, 1200's, and 600's in the studio. The modeling light intensity adjustment (full, -1, or -2 stops) lets me set them proportionally so that when I adjust the individual strobe intensity "what I see is really what I get." This is particularly important when teaching workshops so that the students can visually see what the affects will be as the lighting setup is changed. On the couple of times service has been needed it was remarkably fast and pleasantly at no charge. The technical people were specially helpful when I ran into a problem after moving into the new studio. It only took the technician a couple of questions to suggest that it sounded like a studio wiring problem, not strobes. Upon checking it out, he was exactly right. After a friendly discussion with the electrician and a little rework, everything is working fine. As it turned out if I'd read the FAQ section of their web site the answer to my question was already there. |
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