All images and site content are Copyright 2006 by Jim Kramer. All rights reserved. Images may not be used without written permission.


Ø Equipment & Software ×

Canon 1D Mark II
This is my main camera body. It is a remarkable piece of equipment, and has been a real pleasure to own. It is capable of shooting up to 8 fps for up to 20 frames in RAW mode (40 in JPEG). This makes it a great capture tool for sports and wildlife. In addition, the 45 point AF is extremely accurate (and fast). This is by far the best camera I have ever owned. For complete specs on the 1D Mark II, click here.

Canon IR-10D (IR Modified)
I have had this body for a while, and until I purchased the Mark II, it was my main camera. This camera has been modified for IR use only by LifePixel.  For complete specs on the Canon 10D, click here. If you would like more information on converting your Canon 10D to infrared, click here.

Canon Lenses
I have a few different lenses that I shoot with on a regular basis. My new favorite lens is the 17-40 f/4L Canon. This lens has proven to be a beautifully sharp lens across the spectrum, and it performs equally well when shooting infrared on my 10D. My current lens inventory includes:

  ð Canon 17-40 f/4L USM info
  ð     Canon 28-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM  info
  ð     Canon 50 f/1.8 II  info
  ð     Canon 100 f/2.8 macro USM  info
  ð     Canon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS USM  info

Singh-Ray Graduated ND Filters
These filters are great for balancing difficult lighting situations such as sunsets, and beach scenes as well as a multitude of other difficult lighting situations. Although they can be a bit pricey, they are worth the investment in terms of optical quality and clarity. Don't be tempted by cheap knock-offs... you'll be sadly disappointed by the results. If you would like more information on these filters, click here. My current set includes a 2-Stop Soft, a 3 Stop Soft, and a 2-Stop Hard filter. I may be adding a 3-Stop Hard to the set in the future.

Misc. Stuff
I have lots of other stuff, such as a big heavy Manfrotto Tracker tripod, a Davis & Sanford CarbonLite X10 Carbon Fiber Tripod, 2 monopods, a Canon 550EX, (3) Vivitar 283 Flash units. All the basic stuff you need for day to day shooting.

Photoshop CS2
This is my modern day darkroom. I am so blown away with just how much you can do with this program (and I am sure I have only scratched the surface). When I think back to the hours I used to spend laboring in the dark to attempt to achieve some of the things that Photoshop does so easily... I can't help but smile. Isn't technology a wonderful thing??? Click here for a complete review.

Epson Stylus Photo 1270
My current output device. I am a big fan of Epson printers. I have used HP inkjets in the past, and although I love their laser printers, I feel they are lagging behind in their inkjet technology. My next serious upgrade will be to an Epson Stylus Pro 4800 - this flagship printer uses 8 color UltraChrome ink technology with archival characteristics. In addition, it is capable of printing up to 17" wide by 132' on roll paper. This printer surpasses anything I could have ever achieved in my darkroom with any of my enlargers - even projecting them onto a wall. To see this monster, click here.

Breeze Browser Pro
I have used this program for as long as I have had a Canon digital camera. I love the ease with which it allows me to handle the RAW files from my CF card. I usually pop the CF card into the adapter (PCMCIA) and then dump the images onto the backup drive. I then use Breeze Browser to open the directory with the images in them. Breeze Browser also interfaces directly with Photoshop so opening the files is a "breeze" as well. In addition, the galleries you see on this website are also generated using this program. For more information, click here.

Neat Image Pro
This is the program I use for noise reduction on high ISO images. I think it works really well without disturbing the other aspects of the image. One of the things I like about this program is that it uses individual profiles for each ISO/Camera configuration. This makes it extremely versatile. This image is a shot of downtown Tampa taken at night at ISO 800. The 100% crops can be seen by clicking bere: Without Noise Reduction / With Noise Reduction. I think the difference is clear. If you would like more information on Neat Image, click here.

Genuine Fractals
If you need to enlarge an image beyond the size that comes out of your camera, there is simply no better tool on the market than this one. The image becomes mathematically encoded as an algorithm and the pixels of the original raster image are replaced with a new file structure that stores the entire image and none of the pixels. When you open the image again, you can re-scale it to the desired size and the algorithm will generate new pixels while maintaining sharpness regardless of image size. The results are simply amazing! I have a 13" x 40" enlargement hanging on my wall that came out of a 6MP camera that is simply stunning because of this program. If you would like more information click here.

Nik! Sharpener Pro
In my opinion, the best sharpening program out there. I have been using it for years, and I simply love it. Many have come along since... but I am still loyal to Nik!. Click here for more information.

FM Software Velvia Vision
If you love Velvia film, you will love this plug-in. It makes your digital shots look like they were shot on Velvia. I like the warmth, and enhanced saturation. Complete control over the process, and the ability to lay the entire result in as a new layer makes it even more powerful. This plug-in is also very reasonable in cost. You owe it to yourself to check this one out! If you need more convincing... check out these two shots. The first is un-retouched. The second has the Velvia Vision filter applied. The results are pretty amazing! For more information, or to purchase the plug-in, click here.

FM Software BW Workflow Pro
If you like B&W, you owe it to yourself to check out this plug-in. The control added to Photoshop with this plug-in makes B&W a real pleasure. Before I got this plug-in I struggled with getting my B&W to look the way I wanted. Now that I have this, I love the way my B&W work looks. Once again, Fred comes to the rescue with an affordable plug-in that really performs! For more information, click here.

Canon D30
This was my first DSLR. I paid more for it than I did for my Mark II, and it was only a 3.3 megapixel camera! That's what you get for buying the newest equipment when it first comes out. By comparison, the D30 was very slow to focus, and had a lot more noise than the DSLR's of today. However, for it's time it was a very nice camera. It went to a good home in the UK when I was done with it. Complete specs on the D30 can be seen by clicking here.

Canon EOS 3
The last film based 35mm camera that I owned was also the sweetest. This camera was as close to a professional SLR as you could get and still be in the "pro-sumer" line. This camera had 45 point AF similar to that found in the 1D Mark II with the addition of eye controlled auto focus. I never found eye controlled AF to be that accurate, and left it turned off most of the time. This camera was most responsible for my desire to own a 1 Series digital body. After using the 45 point AF system in this camera, other AF systems just don't cut the mustard. The EOS 3 is still available as a current film body, complete specs can be seen by clicking here.

Mamiya 645 Pro TL
For a short period of time I had the extreme pleasure to own a Mamiya medium format setup including the 645 Pro TL body, a couple of backs, a prism finder, and about 3 lenses. Although I didn't keep this equipment for that long (I went digital within months of acquiring it), the shots that were taken with this setup were absolutely stunning. I can certainly see why medium format (and larger) was so popular for so long. Unfortunately in today's digital world this equipment is extremely niche, and the last time I checked e-Bay you can get this stuff for pretty cheap (sans the glass). The awesome thing is that Mamiya is getting ready to release their own medium format digital setup, which looks awesome! If you are interested, you can click here for more information.

Canon EOS620
This film based camera was my first camera in the EOS line, and I never looked back. It was also my first chance to own an autofocus camera. At that time USM lenses were all but unheard of. This made auto focusing noisy, and quite a bit slower than the lenses of today. Funny though, every time I use my 50mm 1.8 II I still chuckle when the thing focuses... it sounds like a busted chainsaw :o) I sold this camear on e-Bay, and I am quite sure it's still clicking off frames today... it was built like a tank. Click here for a complete review.

Minolta X700
I dabbled in Minotla equipment for a while in the late 80's. The X700 was capable of shooting in Av, Tv, or Auto mode. It was a manual focus film camera, and overall was a pretty well built piece of equipment. I actually owned 2 of these, I usually kept B&W loaded in one of them, and color in the other. Back then I didn't really have the appreciation for OEM glass like I do today, so my lens collection consisted of a lot of knock-offs like Toyo's & the likes. If I would have spent the extra cash back then and picked up some Minolta lenses, there's a good chance some of my old stuff would look a little better than it does :o) Click here for a complete review.

Pentax ME Super
This was my first SLR. I bought this camera in 1981 in Denver, CO. I am not sure what attracted me to the ME Super over any other brand of camera at that time. Maybe a salesman had some bearing on my decision. I know that to this day I am more comfortable shooting in Av mode than anywhere else because of this thing (the ME Super was an Av only camera). I have tons of slides (Ektachrome) that were shot with this camera over the 4 or so years that I owned it. I had one problem with the metering when it was less than a year old, but there was a Pentax service center right there in Denver so it was fixed promptly. I lost track of this camera over the years. It's a shame, because I had a big sentimental attachment to it. I guess it's like your first love, you always remember your first camera. Click here for a complete review.