My Camera Gear

Check out what is in Blake Rudis’s extensive photography gear collection.  Click on the pics to take yourself directly to Amazon, only the absolute best place to purchase camera equipment!

Slingshot 200 AW Camera Bag

• #1 Pro: Pretty versatile after you get it modified by a Master Parachute Rigger, like myself!
• #1 Con: I absolutely, positively hate hate hate hate hate hate the design of this bag and all of the “slingshot” bags for that matter.  I really wish I could have loaded it and walked around with it first.  When you put your camera, 3 lenses and a flash in this bag expect to have a very sore shoulder the next day.  I talked to a guy who used this bag religiously and actually had to see a chiropractor because one side of his body was slouching due to the excessive weight of his one strap  around his back!
• Bottom Line: After modifying this bag to have 2 straps, I enjoyed it a lot more.  It kind of takes away from the “slingshot” idea, but this bag gets weighted quickly and it comes down hard on the one side.  I had to completely modify it to my liking.

Olympus E-30

• #1 Pro: 5 Exposure Bracketing
• #1 Con: Horrible noise above ISO 1000
• Bottom Line: I would suggest this camera to anyone!  I love it so much I named it Salina… after the city where my previous camera was stolen.

Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5

• #1 Pro: Highly versatile, it is my go-to lens for almost every application.  As a matter of fact I use it 95% of the time.
• #1 Con: Slight vignetting in low light conditions, not noticeable unless you are HDR’ing.
• Bottom Line: Best lens in my kit, I couldn’t live without it.  Screw the kit lenses, they are horrible, buy the body alone and save the cash for this puppy!

Zuiko 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 Telephoto

• #1 Pro: Very crisp pictures with ideal light.  Very easy to remain steady due to its lightweight even fully zoomed to 300mm.
• #1 Con: Does not have the f/stop capability to work in low light environments.  Almost useless in low light, but you get what you pay for!
• Bottom Line: If you are in the market for a low cost telephoto and you mainly work outdoors in ample light, this is a great lens!  I have taken some stunning shots with it.

Zuiko 50mm Macro Lens

• #1 Pro: Great for portraiture, and also very fun to walk around with as a fixed lens.
• #1 Con: Really needs an extension tube to make it a kick ass macro lens.
• Bottom Line: Highly recommended.  Could quite possibly be one of the best lenses in the Olympus Zuiko line for the money.

Rokinon 8 mm Fish Eye Lens

• #1 Pro: This lens is fun fun fun and the price is awesome!  I would much rather pay 289 for an all manual blast, than 900 for the proprietary lens.  They also make this lens for every camera make out there!
• #1 Con: It is all manual which may deter some people, I love it, it keeps me on my toes!  It is also a Fish Eye, it is only meant for some shots and has limited capability in my world of photography.
• Bottom Line: I think it is a great piece to have, but I wouldn’t say it is a must for everyone’s kit.  For the landscape photographer this one is awesome when you get the horizon on point.

Shoot Timed Shutter Release

• #1 Pro: Great because you can tell it to shoot a 5 exposure HDR, unlike many other shutter release which will only single fire, this one can be programmed to shoot a series of 5 images.  Also great for astronomy time lapse photography from what I hear.
• #1 Con: Mine broke where the wire connects to the shutter release.  The cable split and the wires were exposed.  I Duct taped it and it is fine.  Structurally weak in that part.
• Bottom Line: They make it for all camera makes and models.  The Olympus one happens to be 16.00 but yours may run in the 50′s depending on the camera.

Induro Tripod AT-213 Tripod

• #1 Pro: Very light weight and is rather compact.  Has awesome stability and many versatile positions.
• #1 Con: I always pinch my fingers when I close it.  It is a hellacious pain in the ass, but it is water proof, so I guess it needs that design.
• Bottom Line: I love this thing when the legs don’t bite my fat fingers.  It is multi-positional, I always forget that, I did on my last shoot actually.  I wanted to get the best vantage poitn for an image that just so happened to be at ground level so I disconnected my camera and layed down in wet sand.  I just remembered now that my tripod could have been adjusted for that angle… Idiot!  Great tripod, just make sure you buy a good ball head!

Vanguard GH-100 Pistol Grip Ball Head

• #1 Pro: My favorite piece of gear in my entire kit.  This thing makes me feel pro in so many ways, and not just any pro it makes me feel like a bad ass pro.  I mean come on, they don’t call it a Pistol Grip for no reason!
• #1 Con: I really have yet to find one.  I play with it all the time trying to find one!
• Bottom Line: Buy it, that’s all I have to say.  After searching the world for a kick ass ball head, I found one, and we are now in love.  I have replaced my security blanket with this pistol grip ball head when I sleep at night.

Joby GP-3 Gorilla Pod SLR Zoom

• #1 Pro: You can put it anywhere, I have wrapped this thing around a 1 inch tree branch to get a picture.  It is a great travel tripod because of it’s size and compact shape.  Instead of taking my large tripod I grab my GP-3.
• #1 Con: You have to have a good ball head on it to do what it advertises in the picture.
• Bottom Line: One great tip, many places that do not allow tripods, allow the gorillapod, because they have no idea what it is!  Wait until the guard isn’t looking and wrap it around the sculpture of David’s wrist to get a one of a kind shot of his head!

Gorillatorch Flare

• #1 Pro: Packs very small, but packs a mean punch of LED light.  Great for use with Macro photography.  Just like the gorilla pod it wraps around everything, great for tripod legs!
• #1 Con: While I know this was not intended for photography, if you use it as a light source, it casts a very large spotlight ring around the emission point.  If you are using it for lighting in a pinch make sure your, your focal point does not end up in the ring!
• Bottom Line: This little powerhouse is very useful.  I used it at 5 AM on the beach when my unreliable Pelican Flash Light blew its batteries.  The torch runs off of 3 AA’s, I always have those on hand!

Olympus FL-50R Off Camera Flash

• #1 Pro: Fires like a pro!  This thing recycles faster than my wife with a glass bottle!  You can fire 5 shots a second with this guy in the average ambient light setting.
• #1 Con: All the after market stuff I have bought for it (Pictured next to it)!   While I do love all of the nifty attachments and bells and whistles, this flash thing gets expensive to do it correctly, but I have no functional Cons to report for the FL50R!
• Bottom Line: Consider it bought, or at least you should if you are an Olymous owner.  This is the best portable light you can buy for the Olympus.

Cowboy Studio Continuous Lighting Setup

• #1 Pro: It is lighting and it is portable and light on the wallet.
• #1 Con: It is not the best lighting setup, probably the lowest of the low, well other than a flashlight!
• Bottom Line: Not the best lighting setup, it will not solve your lighting problems.  It is good for portability and maybe as a background light, but do not try to use it as a stand alone lighting setup.  Strobes are your best bet, you need that kind of flash power!  I wouldn’t recommend spending the 70 or so dollars on it.  Put that money towards a strobe, I bought this setup before I knew anything about lighting.

Flashpoint II 320 M Monolight Strobe

• #1 Pro: Awesome light and fast recycle time.
• #1 Con: I should have went the extra mile and bought the 620.
• Bottom Line: This mono-light is perfect for studio lighting, I would suggest buying the 620 though for a main light though.  The 320 works well as a highlight or a background light, I have used it as a main light but found I could have used the extra power of the 620.

Neewer 43″ Reflector (5 in 1)

• #1 Pro: Works just like the $75.00 one but at a mere fraction of the cost!
• #1 Con: None
• Bottom Line: You need one of these guys (sometimes many of these guys) when doing portrait lighting.  Why spend $75.00 on the “pro” version when this one works just as well!