DIVE INTO LOUISE’S KIT BAG
1 Nikon D800 New price: £N/A MPB price*: £604 (Good condition)
I’ve shot everything from wildlife to weddings with this camera, and it’s still just as reliable as the day I bought it. I got my D800 second-hand to save on cost and it has held its value well – especially considering that it’s a nine-year-old camera! It’s starting to show its age now, as the shutter will begin to lag if it’s been used all day. However, it’s still a fantastic camera.
2 Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8G New price: £209 MPB price*: £129 (Excellent condition)
Ah, the ‘nifty fifty’. This is one of the best value-for-money lenses a photographer can buy, no matter what brand you shoot with. However, I have a soft spot for my Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8 G. As a standard lens, it’s the perfect focal length for portraits and still-life images. Meanwhile, its wide maximum aperture of f/1.8 will bring beautiful bokeh to any photo.
3 Fujinon XC 15-45mm f/3.55.6 OIS PZ New price: £239 MPB price*: £149 (Excellent condition)
No-one could ever claim the XC 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 is Fujifilm’s best lens. However, considering that it usually comes bundled with the X-T200 as a kit lens, it’s really rather good. Offering an equivalent focal length range of 23.5-67.5mm in full-frame terms, this lens produces sharp, good-quality images – but if you want decent bokeh, look elsewhere.
4 3 Legged Thing QR11 L Bracket New price: £49 MPB price*: Check for stock
I usually shoot in portrait orientation, as this is ideal for both Instagram and TikTok. While most tripod heads can easily be manoeuvred into this horizontally faced position, it’s less stable than if you were shooting in landscape orientation. This L Plate from 3 Legged Thing fixes this, as the tripod head remains vertical, with your camera above the tripod.
5 Fujifilm X-T200 New price: £649 MPB price*: £494 (Like New condition)
If you were going to sum up the X-T200 in one word, it would surely be ‘nifty’. With a 3.5-inch articulating screen, 4K video and a compact, body, the X-T200 is great for both photos and video (which is ideal for those creating content for social media). As it’s an APS-C camera, the photos it produces won’t have quite as much image resolution as that of a full-frame camera.
6 Manfrotto Element MII New price: £97 MPB price*: Check for stock
A good tripod is definitely a self-portrait photographer’s best friend! When you’re out shooting on windy cliff tops or gusty beaches, a stable tripod is a must if you don’t want to turn around and see your camera lying lens-first on the ground. I like the leg angle selectors, which enable me to position the legs between a 50-80º angle to keep the camera low.