Straddling the equator of the second decade of the new millennium, 2015 has been a banner year for professional photography gear. From lighting equipment to computers, specialty lenses and even bags and cases, manufactures have stepped up to the plate to hit grand slams galore. Likewise, photographers of every stripe have worked with paralleled passion to eagerly raise their creativity to newer and greater heights. Excellence begets excellence. For pro photographers and those with the chops to shoot like a pro, B&H has proudly selected 15 gear choices designed to make your coming year the best yet.
Let There Be Light
Photographers who believe good things come in small packages will find the Profoto B1 500 Air Battery-Powered 2-Light Location Kit an absolute revelation. While this may sound like hyperbole, the specs speak for themselves. It’s a wish list fulfilled; the monolights are firmware upgradeable, TTL capable with Canon or Nikon cameras, recycle in 0.1 to 1.9 seconds, have a quick-burst mode, recharge quickly, feature flash durations as short as 1/19,000 second, enable previewing the light with an LED modeling lamp, and more. The icing on the cake is that these monolights are compatible with Profoto’s extensive line of umbrellas, reflectors, and softboxes. Waxing rhapsodic is easy with a kit that includes two flash heads, one fast charger, one car charger, two lithium-ion batteries, two plastic transport caps and a padded backpack to store, protect, and transport it all.
If you're looking for something even more compact, Profoto's B2 250 Air TTL Location Kit is a viable alternative to the B1 lineup, especially for on-the-go and location lighting scenarios.
Sometimes Going Big Means Going Small
Jewelry, cosmetic, tabletop, video shooters, and photographers who prize the ability to successfully light small areas with control and precision are quick to recognize and embrace the unique abilities of the Dedolight Basic 3-Light Kit. A generous kit, it includes a 150-watt power supply, three universal 100-150W spotlights, three compact light stands, three eight-leaf barndoor sets, three power cables, six DL150 lamps, plastic accessory box, and a sturdy DCHD heavy-duty transport case. Using these constant source lights on set is the best way to truly appreciate them. Limited only by your imagination, the controllability and quality of light expand the boundaries of what you can accomplish with your Dedolights.
Seeing is Believing
Before one can believe in the magic of digital photography, one must see it at its best. To this end, there’s nothing quite like viewing your work on an Eizo ColorEdge CG318-4K 31.1" Widescreen LED Backlit IPS Monitor. Professional monitors are integral to color management, and a necessity for accurately viewing, adjusting, reproducing, printing and sharing imagery. Easy to use, the ColorEdge CG318 features a built-in self-calibrating color sensor, a 4096 x 2160 resolution, enhanced pixel density, and can reproduce 99 percent of the Adobe RGB color space with corner-to-corner uniformity. Cinematographers will appreciate the broadcast and cinema presets. Multiple DisplayPort / HDMI inputs connect the monitor to a variety of computer configurations. Flicker-free viewing at all brightness levels and an included shading hood help reduce eye fatigue and block ambient light from reflecting from the screen.
Time is Money
Photographers who value faster raw and batch file processing and improved image-editing software performance will wonder why they didn’t get an Apple Mac Pro sooner. Arguably, the computer will pay for itself in time savings and improved productivity alone. Some of the reasons this computer is so fast are the 3.5 GHz Intel® Xeon™ E5 six-core processor, 64GB of memory, 1TB flash storage, dual AMD FirePro D500 graphics cards, and six Thunderbolt 2 ports. Anyone stepping up from an older desktop will appreciate the considerably reduced noise and blazing fast boot-up of the Mac Pro, as well as its sleek form factor that can reside on your desktop.
Complementing the speed of the computer and color-correctness of the monitor, you can round out your post-production needs with an equally well-performing printer like the Epson SureColor P800. Perfect for updating your portfolio during the off-season or making exhibition-worthy prints, this model handles media up to 17" wide and uses a nine-color ink set to output prints at 2880 x 1440 dpi.
You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat
When Roy Scheider’s character, Chief Brody, saw the shark in the film, Jaws, he uttered the now famous line, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” Archiving today’s large files and copious amounts of data requires a similar mindset. How much storage space do you need? The answer to this question is, “How much have you got?” Those who subscribe to the belief that there’s no such thing as too much storage space will adore the Drobo 20TB (5x4TB) Drobo 5D Kit. Drobos feature a beautiful desktop enclosure and combine large data storage capacity with hot-swappable drives, fast transfer speeds, and a battery backup.
Stay Ahead of the Curve with the Latest Software
Despite the tendency of growing comfortable with earlier versions of software, such as Photoshop, there are many critical reasons for updating as soon as possible. One of the most important reasons is compatibility with other software and the ability to work with raw files from the latest cameras. The advantage of surrendering to the inevitable is that you’ll become comfortable with new menu options and functions and benefit from them sooner. In addition, an Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan offers cloud-based storage for multiple devices, up-to-date camera support, and even an extensive library of how-to videos.
Have the World on a String
Photographers new to the world of tethered shooting, and those upgrading to a faster laptop and improved peripherals, might feel as though they have the imaging world on a string. Some of the reasons for this feeling of elation are the computer-sized preview screen, variety of controls for white balance, focus, image-processing, storage, file naming conventions, curves, and more. The nucleus of tethered shooting is, of course, a lightning-fast computer, such as an Apple MacBook Pro that’s capable of saving and displaying large files as fast at they’re shot. Located inside the center of the nucleus is the heart for harmonizing the beat of the shutter with the gigahertz of the computer—namely, Capture One Pro 8 software. And last, but not least, are the arms and limbs that support the computer and connect it to the camera, more formally known as the Tether Tools Pro Tethering Kit with 15' Orange SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Cable. This kit includes a laptop table with mounting hardware, external hard drive sleeve, cable case, accessories, and most important of all—a 15' cable.
Your Eyes are the Windows to Your World
While seeing the world through someone else’s eyes is hard to achieve, seeing through a new lens is easy. Shooting with a lens like the Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4 is all about creating a distinct look that separates your imagery from the pack. Characterized by the selective-focus capabilities of the bright maximum aperture, refined precision due to the long manual focus throw and, of course, the optical excellence that lends a great deal of sharpness and clarity, void of nearly all chromatic and spherical aberrations, the Otus-series is the crème de la crème of SLR lenses.
On the widest end of the focal length spectrum is the sublime Zeiss Distagon T* 15mm f/2.8. Renowned for excellent build quality, Zeiss has endowed this ultra wide-angle lens with superb chromatic aberration correction, an integral hood, and manual focus control down to 9.8". Prized for interior and landscape photography, the broad perspective and well-corrected image quality will be prized by any photographer faced with working in tight locations with challenging angles.
Dress for Success
Photographers wishing to experience the crème de la crème will savor the matching Echelon Attaché/Brief/Roller Kit from Lowepro. This impressive kit includes an attaché for short jaunts that stores a DSLR, two to three lenses and 13" laptop or tablet and accessories. There’s also a brief for digital tech work or storage use that can hold a 15" laptop, tablet, and related peripherals. And for traveling with the whole kit and caboodle, the kit comes with a large roller for transporting two Pro DSLRs, six to eight lenses, accessories, up to a 15" laptop, and more. All three items feature 840D nylon exteriors, leather accents, and superb craftsmanship guaranteed to please the most discerning photographers and clients.
Spread your Wings and Fly
Whether you’re flying on a jet plane or riding in a taxi, you need to know your gear will arrive safe and sound. Balancing the level of protection a case offers with the case’s weight and ease of transport can give you the confidence you need. Cases with wheels, haul handles, central grab handles, and handles that facilitate two-person carries are features worth considering. Clear slip-in exterior pockets for your business card and shipping label are important, too. Possessing all these qualities has made Tenba Air Cases popular with photographers.
One exceptional case for transporting a tripod, stands, umbrellas, softboxes, and grip equipment is the 48" Rolling Tripod/Grip Case. This case features built-in wheels, haul handle, dual straps with connector, business card pocket, exterior accessory pocket, interior storage pockets, and interior straps for securing stands and such.
B&H wishes you and yours all the best in the coming year, and hopes these gear choices will help your business and creativity grow by leaps and bounds.
