1. Nikon D700 SLR camera
“This digital SLR is expensive, but it’s the finest one I’ve ever used. It’s famous for its ability to take great shots in low light. What that really means is I can shoot in every kind of light without worrying about slow shutter speeds or wide-open apertures.” $2,450 at Adorama.
2. Thermaltake BlacX Dock
“When you take a lot of pictures, you end up with a pile of internal hard drives. I recently picked up this hard-drive dock, which sits on my desk and attaches to a USB port on my Mac. I just pop one of my old drives into the BlacX’s slot for a quick backup or extra space—no screws or lids or wires.” $60 at Best Buy, 1880 Broadway, nr. 62nd St.; 212-246-9734.
3. The BlackRapid R-Strap
“No more hunched shoulders and sore neck trying to keep my camera strap from sliding off. The R-Strap slips on bandolier style, so the camera hangs hands-free at my side. When I want to shoot, I grab the camera and it slides up the strap to my eye. I wore this thing all over Italy, all day long.” $54 at B&H Photo and Video.
4. Sanyo Eneloop AA batteries
“I feel silly getting excited about batteries, but I love the Sanyo Eneloops. They’re called ‘low self-discharge’ batteries because even after a year of sitting around on your shelves, they hold 85 percent of their full charge.” $15 for four at J&R Music and Computer World, 23 Park Row, nr. Ann St.; 212-238-9000.
5. NeoCube
“It has nothing to do with photography, but I’m enthralled by the NeoCube. It’s a toy consisting of 216 little magnetic balls, a silver mass you can squeeze or draw into a string or arrange into stars, a cube, a tube, whatever. I think of it as Silly Putty made of BBs.” $25 at theneocube.com.