Everyone getting ready to go skydiving should make absolutely sure that they have the appropriate gear. You will want to look into your own comfort while sky diving, but also, the essential is the safety equipment used. All of this appropriate skydiving equipment is what makes the differences between being able to enthusiastically tell the story of your skydiving experience for many years to come. The right skydiving gear will turn the trip into an exhilarating experience that you will never forget.

Buy at AllPosters.com

In order to go sky diving in style, you will need everything from a suit to boots and head gear.  Skydiving is an activity that often times warrants renting equipment instead of purchasing it because of the sheer cost of buying everything that is needed for an activity that you’re going to do only a couple times a year.

In fact, most companies that offer their services for taking people up into the sky and advising them on the moment to drop include the price of equipment rental in their fee. It is only logical that sky diving gear should be provided by the company who is taking you sky diving.

On the other hand, some people are die-hard fans, and if you are a serious sky diver and really want to do more and more of it, purchasing the necessary skydiving gear is not out of the question. In fact, it could make the skydiving adventure that much more enjoyable for you. For the basic skydiving gear, you will want to focus on comfort. You don’t want to have boots or clothing that will hinder your movement in any way.

Always make lots of movements when trying on new gear. Just because it fits you when you are standing up straight this does not mean that it will feel good when you crouch down, for example, just like you will do before you make your jump. When buying gear, look for materials that are resistant and durable, but make sure that the fibers that will be in contact with your body are going to be fibers that feel nice on your skin. Any sort of wool blend is usually not a good idea.

Check and double check the company’s history with concern to their planes and everything inside them as well as the jumper’s equipment from parachute to head gear. Though ultimately, this is the company’s responsibility, every jumper should take the importance of safety and proper skydiving gear into their own hands. When in doubt, seek a second opinion, and always get more recommendations for a sky diving company than you would for a hairdresser.

Please browse through our eye-catching selection of Skydiving Posters and Prints

Telephoto lenses prove invaluable when you can’t get near enough to the subject you’re photographing, as in most sports, where you have to shoot from the grandstand or sidelines.

It’s useful to think of telephoto lenses as telescopes for your digital SLR camera. Like a telescope, a telephoto lens enlarges your subject, bringing it closer and making it appear larger in your viewfinder and on your camera’s digital sensor.

The longer the focal length of a lens, the greater its magnification. Thus a 100mm telephoto lens gives twice the magnification of a 50mm standard lens, while a 400mm lens gives eight times (x8) the magnification of a standard lens.

Prime v Zoom Telephoto Lenses

Telephoto lenses fall into two main categories:

1. Fixed focal length, or prime, telephotos
2. Zoom telephotos, offering variable focal length

1. Prime telephotos offer optimum image quality because they have fewer lens elements, so fewer compromises have to be made. Their main disadvantage is the fixed focal length, limiting your options when composing the shot.

When photographing fast moving subjects, as in a football or soccer match, you can find the subject suddenly looming too large in the viewfinder. Fixed focal length telephotos can also be large, heavy, and expensive.

They are nevertheless the first choice for professional sports photographers because the image quality can’t be beaten and they offer wider maximum apertures than zoom lenses of equivalent focal length.

This allows for shooting in low light conditions, which is often a necessity for professional photographers when shooting sports under artificial lighting at night, or at indoor arenas;

2. Zoom telephotos are hugely popular because of their versatility and often affordable price tag. Lens technology has improved dramatically in recent years and today’s top-of-the-range zoom lenses compare favorably with prime lenses when it comes to image quality.

For all-round usefulness, combined with affordability and very acceptable image quality, telephoto zoom lenses make an excellent choice for sports photography as it costs a lot less buying one zoom lens rather than two (or three) prime lenses to cover the same range of focal lengths.

Popular zoom telephoto lenses include:
* Professional quality 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto zooms (See Canon L lenses for more).
* 80-400 or 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 telephoto zooms (See Canon telephoto lenses for more).
* More affordable 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 telephoto zooms (See Canon zoom lenses for more).

Whether you opt for a more expensive prime telephoto lens or the versatility and affordability of a zoom telephoto, some form of tele lens is essential to capture those special sporting moments.

Cape Town, South Africa
Buy at AllPosters.com

If you’re looking for a digital camera to take on your travels, here are three important considerations to help you select the most appropriate one for your needs.

1. Nature of Travel

a) Fully organized tour — you can safely carry a larger, more costly camera, or camera bag, as you will be with a group, providing greater security.

Suggested: high-quality digital compact camera with at least a 3x zoom lens, but preferably a 10x zoom for greater flexibility. For more serious photographers, a digital SLR with a couple of lenses.

b) Independent traveler, using trains and buses — security is a consideration plus you need to travel light, carrying as little as possible.

Suggested: small, compact digital camera with 3x zoom lens that can safely be kept in a pocket or hand-bag.

c) Back-packing, staying in hostels — you’ll be carrying the bare minimum, with theft a risk.

Suggested: small, inexpensive, compact camera you can carry in a pocket or fanny pack together other valuables. No need for the more exotic features, but should have 3x zoom for some flexibility.

2. Type of Trip:

a) Holiday to a seaside or resort hotel — security should not be a concern, so can carry a larger camera or a camera bag with your gear.

Suggested: majority of pictures likely to be on the beach or at the pool, plus photos of people, so a big camera with 10x zoom not essential. Better to opt for a 3x or 5x zoom that covers a wide focal length for scenic shots. If within your budget, a digital SLR with a wide angle or standard zoom lens — although this set-up can be a hassle to carry around.

b) Focus on sightseeing and historical sites — flexibility important, so need a big zoom range offering wide angle to telephoto.

Suggested: digital camera with 10x or 12x zoom so can zoom out for more expansive pictures of large buildings and zoom in on smaller details. Would also be suitable for street photography, where you can take pictures using a range of focal lengths without having to move around.

c) Great outdoors — if mainly hiking, then weight is crucial, but less so if going on an African safari.

Suggested: for walking or hiking, a light, showerproof compact with a 3x or 5x zoom lens for scenic pictures plus informal people shots. For a safari vacation, if you want to photograph the resident wildlife you’ll need a compact superzoom (10x zoom or more). For more serious photographers, a digital SLR is the preferred option — but try to limit your lens selection because of space/weight constraints.

3. Your Interests:

a) Historical sites, architecture — need wide angle capability for exteriors of bigger buildings and for interiors where space is tight.

Suggested: digital compact with built-in flash, plus capability to shoot at higher ISO for available light pictures. Image stabilization will be a plus, allowing slow shutter speeds in low light conditions. Must have a 3x zoom at the minimum, as wide as possible on the wide end.

b) People, candids, reportage — need good telephoto so can shoot unnoticed from a distance.

Suggested: compact digital camera with 10x to12x zoom or compact digital SLR with one or two lenses that cover from wide angle to tele.

c) General countryside, landscapes — wide angle will be more important than telephoto.

Suggested: digital compact with 3x to 5x zoom should be adequate.

Of course, whatever digital camera you buy for your travels will ultimately be governed by price and your budget. However, if you’re going on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to a far-off destination, then push that budget to the limit and get the best you can, as you may never have the opportunity to capture those special events, scenes, and situations again.

My preferred travel gear is a Canon EOS 450D as it’s a light and compact for a digital SLR, plus one or two Canon EF-S lenses, including a Canon wide angle lens for landscapes and scenic shots.

When shooting wildlife pictures, a telephoto lens is essential as you can’t normally get close enough to the animals to use a standard lens. You wouldn’t want to try getting too close anyway, not only for your own safety, but also for the wellbeing of the animals.

In the picture above, a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM telephoto zoom lens was used at its maximum focal length of 300mm. As the lens was fitted to a Canon EOS 400D digital SLR camera, the equivalent focal length was in fact 480mm because of the 1.6x crop factor resulting from the smaller, APS-C size sensor in the camera (See Canon Crop Factor for an explanation of this).

It’s extremely difficult to get sharp pictures when hand-holding a lens of 480mm focal length and for the above shot, the camera was placed on a beanbag resting on the side of the game drive vehicle for additional support. However, what has made a huge differerence for wildlife photographers using long lenses in situations where it’s not possible to use a tripod is image stabilization (IS).

IS lenses help combat camera shake, making it possible to hand-hold tele lenses at slower shutter speeds than is possible with non-IS lenses. To find out more about image stabilization, its benefits and how it works, see Canon IS Lenses and for the full range of Canon lenses fitted with this technology, see Canon IS Lens Lineup.