The Tools

So what do I carry around with me and why have I chosen the kit I have? On the internet and on photographic forums will spends hours arguing over what kit you should be using and it can get pretty tribal at times. So I do my best to ignore them as much as possible. It's amazing the amount of money you can spend on photography and some people seem to have a bottomless pit of cash and buy more or less whatever they want. I do not! Below is the photography equipment I own and a brief description of why I chose said equipment:

Camera: Canon EOS 400D

This is Canons budget DSLR. I read a number of reviews comparing one make to another and then read on forums to gauge what users thought about it. It's nice and small compared to other DSLR's but thats why I like it. Some of the cameras I've seen are huge and I wouldn't want to carry something like that around. Photography seems to be the only industry where 'big' is good. It's easy to use and didn't take me long to get to grips with all the settings available. Everything also seems to be one or two clicks away which is good (this is the iPod generation!).

Lens: EF-S 18-55, EF 50mm f/1.8 II

I'm using the standard kit lens that shipped with the camera. Again people bitch about it but I'm enjoying using it and I'm pleased with the results. It's obviously not going to be as good as a more expensive piece of glass but for now it will do. I've recently purchased the cheapest lens available to Canon users, the EF 50mm f/1.8 and so far it's great and some of the shots are amazingly clear but to be honest I've not used it as much as I would have liked.