Gear

  • Nikon D5200 - An enthusiast entry level DX (crop sensor) camera with amazing performance. A true "champion". The album 'Venice' was shot entirely with this little wonder.

  • Nikon D750 (new) - Probably the best current offer on full frame (FX) cameras with fantastic dynamic Range & ISO performance.

  • Pentax Q S-1 - A beautiful and very small mirrorless camera with surprising rendering capabilities from a very tiny sensor.

  • Nikon Z6 - Simply what I was expecting from Nikon in the mirrorless space. Ignore all the websites that have affiliation links and promote brand sales. The camera is simply amazing. The XQD / CF Express is super reliable, the AF system works great (especially with the latest firmware) and the Focus Peaking makes the use of legacy lenses a “delicatessen“. The Nikon Z6 / 7 II are out as you read this with further improved specs and features.

 

Lenses (sorted by shortest focal length)

  • Samyang 12mm f/2.8 Linear Fisheye - Great little lens, performs better than Nikon’s own fisheye with much lens distortion. As with every ultra wide, you practically only need to stop down to approx. f/11 and everything will be in focus.

  • Nikon Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G - The newest and the best ultra wide Nikkor up to date. Really fast, rivals the Zeiss in therm of sharpness but lacks its competitor's 3D rendering (micro contrast). Lightweight (355 gr) and portable it's ideal for travelling photography.

  • Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 21mm f/2.8 ZF.2 - A 'legendary' ultra wide angle lens with unbelievable sharpness and color rendition from corner to corner. Amazing craftsmanship and attention to details. A must have for every "connaisseur".

  • Voïgtlander Color Skopar 28mm f/2,8 SL II- An exquisite wide angle pancake lens made in the same factory as the Zeiss lenses (Cosina). * Reviewed

  • Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 Art (sold) - The best lens for any crop sensor camera. Period. Replaces 5 primes with better quality than anything offered year to date from any other manufacturer.

  • Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art - What can I say about this lens that hasn't been said already. This Sigma is simply optically astonishing. It's very fast and has practically no distortion, little chromatic aberration and has superb color rendition that seriously rivals expensive and exotic lenses from other manufacturers.

  • Nikkor 45mm f/2.8 P - Another exquisite little gem that gives the art of photography a nostalgic feel. With its simplistic Tessar design, this pancake offers a beautiful alternative to the ultra sharp modern 50mm lenses. * Reviewed

  • Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 - The fastest and oldest normal manually focusing Nikkor lens. Still today, it's the sharpest 50mm Nikon lens at f2. Produced unchanged since 1981, bought mine brand new in Tokyo in 2014! It's a unique collectible item... update: the new Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2 S was just announced to still the crown.

  • Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 - Probably the first must have lens when upgrading from the kit lens. Quite affordable, it offers fantastic Bokeh (visual quality of the out-of-focus areas) and low light capabilities. Equivalent to a 75mm on DX cameras, it's ideal for portraiture.

  • Petzval 58mm f/1.9 Bokeh Control Lens - Vintage brass construction lens that offers a “nostalgic” user experience and rendition. Based on the iconic Petzval design introduced in 1840, it uses drop-in metallic aperture plates and a focusing knob instead of a ring. Either you love it, either you hate it. I adore it.

  • Tamron 85mm SP f/1.8 Di VC USD - A professional grade lens with weather sealing and image stabilization. Ideal for portraiture, it makes up for the loss of speed compared to its f/1.4 competitors by compensating with a 3 - 4 EV image stabilization. Currently it is the only stabilized full frame portrait lens available on the market.

  • Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro - Amazing lens for an affordable price. Mind that it focuses via the screwdriver so it will autofocus with FX Nikon DSLRs and the expensive DX bodies but not with ILCs.

  • Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/4G ED VR - A new professional and extremely sharp mid range zoom that costs only half the price, size and weight of his f2.8 bigger brother losing only 1 stop of light.

 

Filters

I mainly use Hoya and B+W circular filters with Xume magnetic adapters (a must have!) and Lee & Formatt square 100 x 100mm filters with a Lee filter holder (that also accepts the Singh Ray). Don't mind what people say about color cast, it's extremely easy to correct in post. Mind that the new Formatt Firecrest are super neutral out of the box. Don't by the previous series grads as they have a strange magenta cast that cannot be fixed!

I also use the same high quality brands protection filters in all my lenses. Don't listen to "experts" about image degradation. Yes you are adding another piece of glass in front of your lens but replacing a front scratched element is much more expensive than losing a theoretical 1% in image quality... also cleaning is sooo much easier. Do my photos look soft to you?

  • Hoya ND6 and Circular Polarizer

  • B+W ND10

  • Lee Little Stopper ND6

  • Lee Big Stopper ND10

  • Formatt Hitech Firecrest ND16

  • Formatt Hitech ND Grad 0.3 (3 Stops)

  • Singh Ray Gold n' Blue Polarizer (very expensive! 550€)