Skate Photography on a Budget
Posted on December 18, 2007 @ 4:43 PM
I get a lot of emails from people asking about what cameras to use to shoot skateboarding.
Since a lot of these mails come from people who are starting out or on a tight budget, I thought I'd put together a list of (relatively) inexpensive kit that can produce outstanding skate photos.
First up is the Nikon D40 digital SLR:
The D40 is Nikon's entry level DSLR, Although it contains a modest 6mp sensor (This is easily big enough for A4 prints), the best thing about this camera is that it can sync with flashes at speeds over 1/1000th second. This means you can shoot with inexpensive flashes in the middle of the day, overpowering the sunlight and eliminating motion blur. As far as I know this camera syncs faster than any other on the market, this includes Mamiyas, Hasselblads and £6000 Canon DSLRs. If you don't want to use flashes the D40 looks really good at high isos (these let you use those high shutter speeds you need) too.
Although the 18-55 kit lens that comes with the D40 is ok, the Nikon 50mm f1.8 lens is great for skate photography:
Not only is this lens lightweight and super sharp, it also boasts a fast f1.8 aperture. This makes it easier to use fast shutter speeds, it also helps you achieve shallow depth of field, so the background will be out of focus. Unfortuntely this lens won't AF on the D40, but you're better off with manual focus anyway
For those super close angles you'll be needing this:
The Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye lens. This allows you to shoot full frame 180 degree fisheye photos on any of the Nikon 'aps-c' digital cameras. Although it's pretty expensive, I'd say that this lens is the main reason to shoot Nikon cameras instead of the 'aps-c' Canons (which crop the Canon 15mm fisheye too heavily to make it worthwhile).
For long-lens telephoto angles, this lens:
Is also great, pretty much for the same reasons as the 50mm; small, light, sharp and fast.
For bags, the Lowepro Mini-Trekker:
Is a 'skate-media' standard, it's not too bulky but can carry an amazing amount of gear.
For Flashes I'd recommend a couple of new Vivitar 285hv (some older ones can fry your camera) or secondhand Nikon SB28.
Ffordes have a lot of these right now:
https://secure.ffordes.com/Shop/Store/StockList.asp?Type=secd&Sub=1&code=NK&subcode=AF
Nikon SB800s are great too, although a little pricey to be left on tripods whilst skateboards fly around:
To trigger the flashes off camera you'll need Pocket Wizard radio slaves:
Along with most of this stuff, these seem pretty expensive for what they are. However, having spent years messing around and being let down by the alternatives, I can safely say that they're worth it.
The best place to get them in the UK is here:
http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=1888&PT_ID=453
Obviously if you want to shoot film (and I recommend you try it) you can put together an amazing secondhand kit for really cheap. Most of the gear I've recommended will work great whether you decide to shoot film or digital.
