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Get a Grip on Photo Equip!

We really, really, really need to get a grip on our photography hobby.  Buy a camera, sell a camera to downsize then end up buying another one for travel or indoor or to "lighten the load".  The excuses go on and on.  We are both bad at this mind you.  Probably the best part is that we pay cash for the most part.  The items we sell are sold on eBay and I am getting pretty good at getting a fair price.  My seller rating is staying at 100% satisfaction.  That being said,  I will probably never buy anything on eBay.  I don't trust a lot of people.  Especially strangers.

Meet the new members of our photo equipment family:

Lumix DMC-LX100

My first and hopefully not one of many Lumix Cameras.  I bought this for low light photography during our trips to museums as well as our international travel for light (photo) flow days when I don't feel like lugging my Nikon Z-6 around.

Speaking of Nikon Z-6:


My first (and once again, hopefully not one of many) full frame cameras.

My arsenal consists of a 20mm f/1.8 Wide Angle, 24-70mm 4 f4 Zoom and newly acquired 14-30mm f4 lens.

I did a lot of research on the Nikon Z line before selling my Nikon D500 (which was a fucking awesome camera by the way) on eBay to pay for the Z-6.  Glad I made the purchase as the camera is well made, produces tack sharp photos and weighs a lot.  Okay, the weight is not a pro here but I don't have any thing bad to say about the camera.

Oh, wait, there is more!  Besides getting into the field of astrophotography, we are starting to dabble in Neutral Density photography.  Of course, when we decide to broaden our field, the cost is a strong consideration.  Not that we won't end up buying it anyway.  More of which card should I put this on? Just kidding.  We try to pay cash or get 6 month no interest financing and pay it off in two months which has been working out well.

Where was I?  Oh yeah...neutral density.  Like everything else we over indulge on, a lot of research (reading and YouTube watching) is the first step.

I believe we spent a good weekend or so researching ND filters before buying our Lee Filters.  On a $ figure scale of one $ to five $$$$$, Lee is a 6 $$$$$$  Our philosophy is you get what you pay for and we don't settle on crap.  

My current ND line up:


Filter Holder, 6 Stop "Little Stopper" filter, 10 Stop "Big Stopper" filter, a 6 Stop Soft Graduated filter and miscellaneous lens adapters.  Just the stuff to make my camera bag (backpack) that much heavier.  

My birthday is coming up soon.  I still need a 20mm f1.8 Z Series Lens so I can eliminate a valuable space consuming adapter needed to use my current 20mm f1.8 F Series Lens.  Hint Hint to anybody out there reading this and wanting to fund future blog posts.  







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