Tom Miles Sports Photographer

From Rory McIlroy to Mo Farah, Tom has shot some of the biggest names in sport

1

Nikon D800 (Superseded by Nikon D810, £2350, $3000)

What’s it for? This is my main body for shooting feature images, covers and portraits, although I also use the D4 a lot. It delivers superb image quality in a small body, as well as fantastic video imagery.

Plus points When handled well, the D800 easily rivals medium-format digital backs.

Minus marks It’s pretty unforgiving if you ‘spray and pray’, as 36 megapixels will show up a lot of mistakes.

2

Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED FX

(£1230, $1687)

What’s it for? I probably shoot 70 per cent of my work on it. It’s got fantastic optical quality, and is incredibly well built – I’ve had it repaired three times, but that’s due to my being an idiot rather than faults. It’s big and heavy, but it balances well on my bodies. If it felt lighter I doubt I’d trust the build quality!

Plus points It’s got a useful focal range and a fast constant aperture.

Minus marks Its price!

3

Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4G FX

(£949, $1497)

What’s it for? This lens is the perfect length for portrait work. I used to rent one so often that in the end it just made sense to buy one. When stopped down to about f/4 the image quality is superlative, and it captures a very satisfying shallow depth of field too.

Plus points It’s great in low light, which I need from time to time.

Minus marks It’s bit pricey, but in my opinion well worth the cash.

4

Bowens Gemini 750Pro Monolight

(£590, $1050)

What’s it for? I’ve been using Bowens lights since the 1990s. They’re superbly built and very robust – I had a pair of Esprit 500s that I was using continuously from 1998 until last year.

Plus points Each head can run off mains or battery without any mucking about, and I do so much work both on location and in the studio that having one system that can do both is essential.

Minus marks None that I’ve come across.

5

Nikon SB-800 SPEE DLIGHT (Superseded by Nikon SB-910, £340, $547)

What’s it for? I use flashguns on location. I’ve also got two SB-80DXs and an SB-900, but the SB-800s get the most use as they’re so versatile. Both of mine are in a pretty bad state of repair, but they’re still ticking over.

Plus points Built-in optical slave and CLS modes, and a massive range of manual output.

Minus marks Nikon has stopped making them.