A Post for Photographers ~ Our Gear!

Since starting La Brisa Photography a little over two years ago, I've been incredibly, incredibly blessed with success, support and encouragement! For those of you who are photographers and married, you know that the #1 supporter of your hobby/business MUST be your spouse. I definitely would not be where I am today without my Brisa. She puts up with my countless hours spent in front of the computer, my wild spending sprees and my constant weekends away from home and she always welcomes me with open arms!

Anyways, over the past two years, I've had numerous photographers ask me about my equipment and miscellaneous gear and so I thought on this gloomy and overcast Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn, I'd share with all of you! Plus, it's my first weekend off in several months!

Here's what Brandi and I are currently rockin with! :)

@ La Brisa Photography:

• Apple 24" iMac - I went back and forth for a long time between Mac/PC and Laptop/Desktop, but the size and ease of the iMac has greatly increased my productivity and stress.
• Apple 13" Macbook Pro - My go-to computer these days for traveling and editing. so light and portable and powerful enough for what I need
• Seagate Freeagent Desk 1.5TB External Hard Drive (2) - with RAW files and backing up our data, they work as advertised which is all we need.
• HP D5460 Printer - We use this to print directly onto printable CDs/DVDs for my clients. Love the look and crispness of the discs. Amazing value for the quality.
• HP D7560 Printer - We use this to print directly onto printable CDs/DVDs for my clients. Love the look and crispness of the discs. Amazing value for the quality.
• Adobe Lightroom 3 (LR3) - All of our images are organized, edited and exported through LR2. We never use Adobe Photoshop for any of our images because we don't feel like we need it, but I can definitely see the value of using it!

Camera Bodies

• Canon 5D Mark II - the latest and greatest in Canon's line of full frame camera bodies. A workhorse body with fabulous weather sealing AND full HD capabilities! So look for a little more examples of "Fusion" from us!
• Canon 7D - Brandi's newest addition to our lineup! Fantastic, fantastic ISO capabilities, autofocus and not to mention full HD capabilities in 24p to give you that cinematic feel to our videos! Can't wait to see what she can do with this amazing camera!
• Canon 40D (2) - this camera body has quickly become the best value of the "prosumer" camera bodies because Canon quickly replaced it with the 50D and so the prices of the 40D precipitously dropped especially for used versions! We buy all of our used equipment through the "Buy & Sell" forum on www.fredmiranda.com ~ great site for information, assistance and inspiration.
• Canon Rebel XTi - I linked to the current T1i model because the XTi is outdated, but they are similar enough. This was my first camera and is now used as a backup for us. For those of you interested in photography, but not into starting your own business, the Canon Rebel series of cameras is absolutely amazing in terms of quality, output and performance for the price!

Camera Lenses

• Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 - unbelievable ultra wide angle lens for landscapes or being super fun and creative.
  
• Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II - fabulous ultra-wide lens with outstanding quality! Use this lens for my wedding formals.
• Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L - Chris' walk around lens: fast, ridiculously sharp and just plain awesome.
• Sigma Normal 50mm f/1.4 - this was a recent purchase for me as we needed something faster than 2.8 as well as we wanted a better portrait lens. f/1.4 is unreal!
• Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS - proven, solid and reliable telephoto zoom lens that is amazing for back of the church wedding photos.
• Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro - fabulous for ring shots and details. excellent value!
• Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L - a recent addition to our lineup and a stellar performer! The sharpest lens that we have ever used. Unparalleled bokeh and clarity!
  

Camera Flashes/Memory Cards/Accessories

• Canon 580EX II (3) - super powerful flash and also serves as my "master" trigger for when I do off camera flash.
• Canon 430EX - first flash that I ever bought was recently upgraded to the 430EX II version. Great consumer flash for those of your aspiring family/hobby photographers!
• Manfrotto Air Cushioned Light Stand 8' (2) - Solid bases to hold the flashes when utilizing off camera light.
• SanDisk 8GB Extreme III CompactFlash Card (6) - solid, reliable, work every time. I even washed a card and ran it through half the dry cycle before realizing what I did and the photos were still on the card!
• SanDisk 4GB Extreme III CompactFlash Card (6) - again, reliable, work as advertised. Don't think I'll ever try another brand because of my success with SanDisk so far. Plus, SanDisk is ALWAYS offering rebates!
• SterlingTek Camera Batteries - I buy all of my additional batteries from SterlingTek. They are about 1/4 the cost of the manufacturer's batteries and last just as long! I believe they sell batteries for all manufacturers and cameras!
  

Hope this helps any of you! You may notice that all of the links go towards B and H Photo Video. Adorama offers fabulous deals too so definitely shop around when you know which product you want!