[quote=digitalfailure]
Hmmmmmmmm,
I'm not sure you should be posting about such things on here
QUOTE]
Ummm... OK
Here are some quick and nasty images of my basic kit - D2x taken on my
other D2x:
One thing to bear in mind: the two Joint Media Operations Teams represent the forward edge of military photography (and video, but who cares about them?). When we make reccommendations to manufacturers, they do act on them as the potential sales losses would be catastrophic.
The British Army uses Nikons. Because of that (we lead the Defence School of Photography at RAF Cosford in the W Midlands, in terms of purchasing power), so do the RAF and Royal Navy. Because of that, the US military all use Nikon, as do the rest of NATO, the Australians, Kiwis etc. Almost all UK and US Police and Law Enforcement agencies use Nikon.
UK Armed Forces lead the way in terms of photographic imaging in the defence arena and because of that, other Nations take notice of what we do. Despite our relatively small numbers, we wield enormous influence, as we have to cover all avenues of photography, from simple Page Ranking (groups, parades and portraits) to macro and photo-micrography (defects and SOCO), War photography and Surveillance work. And we have to be able to teach it as well.
Note the green cloth tape holding the battery cover onto the SB-800's auxiliary battery unit - we found that they fall off at the slightest knock and feedback to Nikon will result in a re-design (we've been told).
The LowePro Dryzone DZ 200 backpack is pretty good also with the caveat that the single fastex clip (center-top of the bag with yellow tape on it) is insufficient to hold the outer flap closed: the strap comes loose. We've asked for two clips and thicker webbing to prevent it loosening with heavy loads.
The other team photographer has just sent his back with a broken waterproof zip. We found that when gunged up with the sort of fine, floury dust encountered in Afghanistan and Iraq, the silicone lubricant dries up and jams the zip. We've asked that they make them stronger also.
And in case you think we're being picky, bear in mind we're only talking about jobs lasting 3-6 weeks. If it can't last that long, what's the point?
We may also specify a concealed pocket to contain a 9mm pistol and four clips of ammo for jobs where we don't wear uniform - that's yet to be decided and probably won't happen.
The Freecom 20Gb Mini HD attached to the laptop will be replaced in due course with a LaCie 250GB HD for added storage capacity - this one just holds my MP3 files so I can listen to 70's punk music while I work.