My photographic equipment

This information is outdated, the most important change being that I have now a Canon EOS 5D Mark II body, in all its digital glory. I'll update this page sometime in the future...

Even if it's true that "the camera doesn't make the photographer", some times it's good to have a reference of the equipment used to take a picture (at least to know about what you can do with it). In this moment my equipment consist of:

Canon EOS 30 Body, film SLR Yes, I haven't switched to digital yet. This is a semi-pro body, with the right balance between features and size. The second point is really important when you're going to carry it the whole day in the mountain, and this camera fits the job pretty well. It feels solid and sturdy (and it is), but it's still light enough to hold it in your hand for hours. Add to that a very decent 7-point autofocus, selection between single and continuous shooting, and several customization functions and I would put this camera as one of the best film SLR for a serious amateur.

More info: Canon Europe

Canon BP-300 Battery grip The purpose of the battery grip is two-fold: cheap power and better handling. Using 4-AA Ni-Mh rechargeable batteries I can get rid of the expensive native batteries of the EOS 30, getting also a better behaviour at low temperatures. The camera feels more balanced, and I win an extra shutter release button for vertical pictures. The obvious downside is the added weight, but it's a fair trade.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens This is my all-purpose lens. It's attached to the camera 90% of the time mainly for two reasons: it has a great focal length range for almost every situation, and it has image stabilization (which is a bless, I tell you). Not too big, not too heavy, it's the perfect non L-class lens to match the EOS 30. The quality of the pictures is good, although closing the diaphragm at the longer side it's always advisable. Its main problem is its low light performance, having a pretty small maximum aperture. Image stabilization can compensate a little, specially for landscapes, but in the end there isn't much more you can do about it.	More info: Canon Europe The Digital Picture
Canon EF 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM Lens Surely the weakest point of my setup. There aren't many good lenses in the telephoto range, and even with all its shortcomings this is probably one of the most decent you can get without leaving a kidney in exchange. Good below 200mm, it gets very soft near 300mm, at the point of being almost useless for big printings (at least without some digital sharpening). Nevertheless, it does the job and has two nice qualities: it focus really fast and it's conveniently light. Small maximum apertures means that I can only use it hand held in sunny conditions though.	More info: Canon Europe The Digital Picture
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens The jewel of the crown. The quality of the images taken with this lens is amazing, very sharp at every condition. Lots of light to play with and the stunning world of true 1:1 macro photography only add to my love for this lens. I've used it to peek at the world of bugs, to make portraits and outside in the big wild world, and I've always came back delighted at the results (at least of the pictures that weren't ruined by the operator of the camera...). The only reason I don't use it as frequently as I'd like is its fixed focal length that constrains me a little when I go to new places and I need more versatility. On the other hand, going out only with this lens is a nice challenge to your creativity...	More info: Canon Europe The Digital Picture
Canon EF 25mm Extension Tube Match the already excellent macro capabilities of the previous lens to an extension tube and you'll be ready to see a world you've never seen before. The smallest details come to life beyond 1:1 magnification and gives you a unique view of a hidden micro-world. Beware though: lots of light are required at such levels of magnification and the deep of field gets as narrow as it's possible, which makes the system difficult to use.	More info: The Digital Picture

Several filters I have a rule: never ever go out without a filter in front of the lens. I normally shot in the nature (or in the concrete jungle...), were there are dust in the air, dirt, wind, bushes, flying bugs... well, you get the point. I certainly prefer cleaning a filter than the front element of a lens. All my lenses have permanently attached a UV filter which, besides protection, provides some haze-cutting capabilities. For the 28-135 I have also a circular polarizer (very very useful in sunny outdoors photography) and a 'warming' 812 orange filter (some use in portraits and cloudy 'blue' light).

More info: The Digital Picture

Canon CanoScan 8800F Flatbed scanner I still use film, so I need to take those beautiful negatives to the digital world; and having a 'happy' right finger means that leaving the digitalization in the hands of the people at the photo lab isn't economically viable. The solution is a flatbed scanner with film adapter. This model in particular has two advantages: it's really fast (not at professional level, but faster than the average scanner), and Canon's FARE dust-and-scratches removing technology works great. Including post-processing, it takes me around 2 hours to get a 36-exposure roll of film ready for upload. That's scanning at 1200dpi, which is my standard quality to see the pictures on the screen; scanning at 3200dpi takes a lot more time and it's only reserved for shots that need massive croping or that I want to print.

More info: Canon Europe

Previously I've also owned a Canon EOS 300 body, a Canon EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 II lens, and a Canon CanoScan 4400F scanner. Although not always, I usually shot Fuji Quality II 100ASA or Kodak ProImage 200ASA negative film. In the EXIF and/or IPTC information of each picture you will normally find the particular data for that image.

(esta entrada en español)