New Gear for DLWS

dlwslogoIn two weeks I will be at the DLWS in Traverse City Michigan. I am pretty psyched. I picked the location because it was the only event near my birthday they had, and I picked DLWS when I found that two photographers that I read a lot about, Moose Peterson, and Joe McNally would be there.

So, there were a couple of things that I wanted to get. I have been going back and forth on what to do with my Tamron 17-50 f/2.8. In fact, I blogged about that here. I decided that for the trip, I was going to get the Nikon 17-55 f/2.8. Part of my hesitation is when I might move up to full frame, would I still want this lens? Well, I figure that I will keep the D90 as a backup, so I will either need it as a lens for the D90, or I can sell it for not that much less than I paid for it. Now that I have a paying job again, it seemed like a good time to get it.

This lens, and the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 that I have, both take 77mm filters, so I got a Tiffen polarizer for them (was going to get the Nikon, but the store didn’t carry it), and a Lee 4×6 .9 graduated soft ND that Moose claims to hand hold. I still don’t get that. We go to the trouble of putting the camera on a tripod, using a cable release, and then hold a filter up to the lens? I’ll have to ask him about that.

Last item was the MB-D80 battery grip. I have wanted this for quite awhile for taking portraits when hand holding. Not sure if I really need it now for the trip, but I figured I would get it.

I ended up at West Photo for this stuff. I had intended to order from B&H, because they had the lens for a fair bit less. The other stuff seems comparable, but the Nikon stuff seems to go for less in New York. Well, as luck would have it, both B&H and Adorama are closed for Succoth for another week. I was nervous that even with paying for two day shipping that by the time they open, and get to my order, there might not be enough time to get it to me.

Anyway, I will probably have more on the gear as I use it. Anyone want a very good condition Tamron 17-50 f/2.8?