Glass is more important than body, this is a time-tested fact of photography. The 70-200 is expensive as heck, but the resolution at 200mm is crystal clear. You might save money on those cheap, plastic 200mm lenses, but your pictures will just suck. Its big and heavy, but it is my primary walking-around lens and I have come to adore it.

Actually I rarely use this lens, and admit that there are more versatile wide-angle zooms on the market. Plus there is no lens filter that will fit it, leaving that expensive glass wide-open to fingers, dust and scratches. But, when I have used it for landscape and architecture, the beautiful shots I get pay for the lens.

I use filters for protection, not effects. Fits the 50mm.

There is no point in owning the D700 without the battery pack. The grip is SO useful, and the extra power will allow you to use the rapid shutter release, which is like a machine gun.

This is the charger you will need for the MB-D10. Nothing else will charge that battery. Bulky, but fast.

Actually, I use the Nikon AH-4 SLR Leather Hand Strap but they don’t sell it on Amazon, so I just put the Janco as an example. I LOVE my hand strap. I think neck straps are so friggin stupid for so many reasons. Check out my images on my Amazon profile page and you will see my hand strap in action.

I used to work at Sanyo when I lived in Japan, and was responsible for writing and proofreading Eneloop cells label and packaging for this very product. But I am being 100% objective when I say that these are some long-lasting batteries with little charge time. Use them with the Speedlight flash.

If you are on the road as long as I am, you will want at least 2 external hard-drives to store your images. I carry one in my day pack, and leave one at the hotel, because storing your precious images all on one single hard drive is suicidal.

I am not an expert on tripods because I don’t like to use them unless I really have to. If I had the money I would get one of those miniature titanium ones, because this size is kind of big for traveling.

I have a love-hate relationship with my 350. Love it because it holds EVERYTHING on this list, about 25lbs in total hanging on my back all day, every day. Hate it because Lowepro really effed up their design: they didn’t use metal zippers, they used string zippers, so you can’t lock the damn thing!

Works like a metal fishing net and fits a size 80 pack just fine. For anyone who has ever been on an Indian train or hotel room, you will understand why I use this.

To be honest, I think a du-rag or tee-shirt are sometimes better than these cleaning cloths, which tend to leave little fibers all over my lens filters.

I completely covered my camera, lenses, accessories and bag with gaffers tape, which is vital for protecting from the elements. Plus I don’t like to show off the brand name of my gear lest any thieves be tempted. Gaffers tape makes my gear look old and cheap and I like it like that.

Just wanted to throw this on the list, but the truth is that I never read this book. The D700 owner's manual that comes with the body is very thorough and also fits in my back pocket. But I suppose you can learn a few extra tricks with this book; seems popular.

600 pages and over 800 photos of life and humanity from the 33 provinces in China. Took me 2 straight years of hard-core budget traveling to complete. It is my hope that this book will motivate others to visit China and see parts of the country that are not in the tourist guide books.