AggieDruggist89 said:

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New moon in 2 weeks! Any milkyway attempts?

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I've been thinking about doing some more shots. Would like to find a spot with a decent foreground subject, like an old windmill or such. I may be going to Big Bend next month, will definitely try there if I go.

What do you guys do for insurance for your gear?

Now I've made the investment in a full frame setup, I feel a bit exposed without good coverage for it.

TIA.

If you aren't a pro, just get a rider for your renter/home owner insurance.

If you are a pro, Hill & Usher and Tom C Pickard are the main insurers.

I think it is generally more expensive than it is worth as long as you take care of your stuff and don't do dumb things like leave it unattended in public or in a car.

AG 2000' said:

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What do you guys do for insurance for your gear?

Now I've made the investment in a full frame setup, I feel a bit exposed without good coverage for it.

TIA.

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My renters insurance covers all my gear and much of it is still covered after I purchased it with my credit card.

MBAR said:

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AG 2000' said:

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What do you guys do for insurance for your gear?

Now I've made the investment in a full frame setup, I feel a bit exposed without good coverage for it.

TIA.

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My renters insurance covers all my gear and much of it is still covered after I purchased it with my credit card.

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also, if you buy your gear with American Express, they will extend the warranty up to 1 year and $10,000.

Thanks. My homeowners quoted me the following for adding the camera gear - $38/month to cover:

Nikon D750

Tamron SP 15-30 f/2.8 Di VC Lens

Nikon 85mm

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-120

Feels high.

AG 2000' said:

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Thanks. My homeowners quoted me the following for adding the camera gear - $38/month to cover:

Nikon D750

Tamron SP 15-30 f/2.8 Di VC Lens

Nikon 85mm

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-120

Feels high.

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$450/year? that seems comically high.

Why isn't it already covered by your policy? Seems way to high. At ~500 a year to cover a few thousand dollars worth of equipment, you only cover it if you think you're going to have to replace it due to theft or damage once every 5 years or so. Otherwise you're just throwing money away.

I have a VPP policy with USAA that covers $19,560 of gear (personal use only) for $267/year, for comparison

Also make sure it is replacement not depreciated value.

~3k worth of gear for 450/year - 15% is crazy high

I think you are better off saving $40/mo for repairs/replacement, buying a nice bag with a lock (like Think Tanks) and not being an idiot (don't leave it in your car.)

Thanks guys. Thought it was high (ridiculous actually). My agent offered it as a separate rider, said after the deductible there'd be very little left to reimburse under my homeowner's policy.

The math didn't add up. Think I'll go with Guitar's don't be an idiot plan (what I practice anyway). Just a different area of concern than normal for me - have all my dive gear covered for travel, etc. New frontier to worry about fancy camera gear.

If you are a member of NANPA (North American Nature Photography Association), they offer insurance through a third party that can be pretty reasonable. I checked into it a few years ago, but decided at the time to pass on it. I don't remember the rate at the time, but I'm pretty sure it was less than what you were quoted for quite a bit more in coverage. Just another option to consider.
More info-

http://www.randinsurance.com/site/581886336/Nanpa.asp

http://www.nanpa.org/membership/insurance/

Rokinon FE14M-C 14mm F2.8 Ultra Wide Lens for Canon (Black) - Fixed

Thoughts on this lens?

$225 today with Amazon Prime

It is manual focus and very specific use, but pretty decent. I have the Nikon version and use it a lot. Good for landscape and other special use things.

I'm considering selling my Fuji x100s if anybody is interested in coming to the dark side.

Guitarsoup said:

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It is manual focus and very specific use, but pretty decent. I have the Nikon version and use it a lot. Good for landscape and other special use things.

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Manual focus is certainly a skill that I'm lacking!

Guitarsoup said:

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At 14mm, 5.6, pretty much everything is in focus

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I bet that if anyone could fail at focusing it would be me. I have astigmatism in my left eye and that is my viewfinder dominant eye. So I struggle with MF.

Too late. Deal is over. I have a few bucks in my pocket.

The secret is to not use the viewfinder. Use live view and zoom in on something.

Also there is a little window on the lens that you can turn it until it says it is focusing at infinity.

I'm so used to shooting sports than it is hard for me to remember to use the huge beautiful live view screen on the back of my camera!

I'm learning and have only recently purchased a Canon wide angle lens. I've used it exactly once to take photos at a car show.

UGH! if I had known that lens was on sale I would have picked it up. I've been eyeing it for astro stuff for awhile.

I'm sure this has probably been covered in the last 14 pages, but I'm going to ask anyway.

A few years ago, I switched from a Canon DSLR to a Nikon 1 V1 (their first mirrorless) and have been fairly happy with the change. I had a few nice pieces of glass that I had collected over the years but sold everything to help pay for the Nikon 1 and to pay off some other things at the time.

I'm now toying with the idea to get back into the DSLR world, but don't know where to start. I like the Nikon 1 for travel because it's easy to throw in my bag and it takes nice photos, but there's an intangible that I miss about the dSLR.

For me, photography is purely a hobby and photographs are my souvenirs when I travel.

So, where do I start? I don't need cutting-edge technology with my camera, but don't want to lug around a dinosaur. I'll be buying used and slowly building my arsenal of lenses over time. Which Canon bodies are worth looking at? Which Nikon bodies are worth looking at? Which of these will offer the best bang for my buck?

Thanks for the help!

Can you wait another 1-3 months to make your decision? Things typically get announced in July-Sept.

Guitarsoup said:

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Can you wait another 1-3 months to make your decision? Things typically get announced in July-Sept.

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Yep. In no hurry at all. Just started toying with the idea of getting back into the DSLR game. I imagine that when new things are announced, the prices of used or previous generations will decrease?

Nice work MBAR!

I hope to go out this weekend: New Moon!

MBAR said:

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So I ended up picking up the lens anyway. Got a used one on Amazon for 250. Even though it was cloudy tonight and it's not too dark around here, I took it out to this abandoned building near Hearne and played with it for a bit. Focus was insanely easy as it stops at the infinity point.

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I have the lens... but don't you want to focus right before the infinity point?

Rented 70-200 over the weekend..thing is a beast for sure. I'm not sure how practical it is for walking around. Maybe when the kiddos starts playing sports in several years.... Looking at Nikon 85mm f1.8 or the Sigma 105 f2.8 ; I currently have a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 Thoughts?

Well, guitar hand holds 400mm 2.8.

I sometimes handhold 300mm 2.8 but also use a monopod. I definitely handhold 70-200mm 2.8 but it's also not a walkaround lens.

For indoor sports, I have used 85mm f1.8 and 70-200.

AggieDruggist89 said:

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Well, guitar hand holds 400mm 2.8.

I sometimes handhold 300mm 2.8 but also use a monopod. I definitely handhold 70-200mm 2.8 but it's also not a walkaround lens.

For indoor sports, I have used 85mm f1.8 and 70-200.

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I've been using 70/200 2.8 it as a walk around lens at the gun range. It certainly takes getting used.

I got a shoulder harness so I can let it hang and that helps a lot.

Show off...

I only hand hold the 400 2.8 for basketball. For football, baseball, etc, it is on a monopod.

I hand held a 300 2.8 for football, but would have it on a monopod for baseball since you are just standing there.

I've never used a monopod with a 70-200.

AggieDruggist89 said:

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Show off...

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Nope.

The ground at the range is pretty uneven. I tried a monopod and quickly decided it was just too much trouble and Gsoup gave me some advice on how to properly hold the lens. I was not propping my left elbow against my chest to help with the weight.

AggieDruggist89 said:

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MBAR said:

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So I ended up picking up the lens anyway. Got a used one on Amazon for 250. Even though it was cloudy tonight and it's not too dark around here, I took it out to this abandoned building near Hearne and played with it for a bit. Focus was insanely easy as it stops at the infinity point.

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I have the lens... but don't you want to focus right before the infinity point?

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When I focused with it the best sharpness was after the infinity point. My technique is normally to zoom into a star or light on live view and then get it as sharp as possible.