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Thursday, 16 November 2023

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Nikon D700 + Nikon D300, which will soon be old enough to vote. They have nearly matching controls which makes it easy.

Early in my photo-life, around 2010, I realized that I was hesitant to change lenses in the outdoors while doing the landscape and wildlife photography that I enjoy. I know some folks are happy with one lens, or even one prime lens, but I was always needing to swap between a wide angle and a telephoto. My eventual solution was to carry both the FX D700 with a wide to normal lenses and the DX D300 with a telephoto lens. Works for me, and isn't really much worse than carrying one DSLR plus 3-4 lenses.

OK, I'll fess up. I have five cameras that I regularly use: A Canon R5 and a 6D2, and a pair of Pentax KPs and a Pentax K-III (not, alas, the Monochrome version). I have struggled for years to condense this to one brand, in search of some elusive version of simplicity. I have never succeeded.

I use Pentax for most of my work, which involves walking around in the woods and deserts of Oregon looking for photos. The Pentax gear is lighter and tougher, not to mention nearly rainproof. The lenses also have a soulful image quality that I prefer to Canon or Nikon.

I have stayed with Canon gear because of its broad utility and lightning autofocus, and to use the amazing EF 100-400 zoom for wildlife. I like the R5 for events and dynamic portraits.

Will I ever reach my dream of living with just one system? Of course not. But then, I probably don't need to.

You probably already got this but here're scans of old photo mags. https://books.google.com/books?id=rzH31j84pn8C&dq=modern+photography+magazine&source=gbs_all_issues_r&cad=1

I come from a photographic family, as far back as darkroom days, and have had many cameras, both film and digital. I theoretically have a three camera kit now. An Olympus EM5iii with an assortment of Olympus lenses. A Sony Rx100vi. And my iPhone 13 Pro.

This seems like a good and logical assortment of cameras for a variety of situations. The Olympus is my serious camera, used when the sole purpose is photography, such as a photo walk around Yosemite Valley. The Sony serves much the same purpose but in a very compact form. And the iPhone is the always with me camera.

But the truth is that these days I have a one camera kit, the iPhone. I'm currently traveling by motorhome through the Southwest, Tucson at the moment. On past trips like this I would have broken out the Oly many times by now (when we were at the Grand Canyon for instance). But I've used the iPhone exclusively.

And I can't say I've noticed a significant difference in the results, which may say as much about my skills as the cameras. But the truth is the iPhone makes an exceptional travel camera for my purposes (mostly shooting in good light, no printing, everything viewed on a screen). Always there, location automatically captured, easy integration with my MacBook. And for reasons I can't explain it seems to trigger a bit more creativity, though that's not saying a lot in my case.

The iPhone's major shortcoming for me is its lack of telephoto range, something that is changing with the iPhone 15 Pro Max and will probably evolve further. So I might still break out the Oly for some bird photography. But that's honestly about it. The iPhone has simply taken over, not by any conscious decision on my part, but just because it works so well and is so easy.

I used to buy a new Olympus EM5 body every time one came out but I'm pretty sure the one I have now will be the last. Henceforth that kind of money will be spent on phone upgrades. Which is why I'd love to see the iPhone 15 review you mentioned awhile back.

If we only count those that are still in use, then it would be four. Leica M11 and newly acquired SL, along with a Fuji X-T5 and ancient X30 that mostly my daughter uses. This is a pretty good number for me, and covers all the bases.

Two. Olympus E-M1.2 and E-M5.2. I consider it very mature of me to own bodies that use the same lenses.

I also have a Canon G12 that I use to make time lapses but I use it so seldom that the battery is invariably discharged when I grab it.

I must have 50 cameras (no exaggeration!) in my house. For the last couple of years, the primary kit for me is Fujifilm:

2 X-T3 bodies are my go-to kit for considered photography, usually with complimentary lenses on each, a pair of fast primes or a pair of overlapping zooms depending on the subject or event.

I keep my old X-T2 in my car as a contingency camera and it gets used for about 25% of my photography.

I have a few X-E class bodies and a X-Pro2 which come out once in a while, but they don't make up 10% of my shooting these days.

My 'kit' keeps changing for no good reason at all. But, currently in my rotation: 1) OM-1 for sports and general purpose photography; 2) Fuji X-Pro3 for when I don't want to look at a screen; 3)X-T5 for nature/landscape--but in truth it's actually pretty redundant since I don't really need 40 mpx; 4) Iphone 15 Pro Max--replaced my Iphone 11. The Iphones are getting better, but until they manage to break physics and put an EVF of some sort in one I'll prefer a 'real' camera.

The truth is that I think I'm a self-indulgent glutton when it comes to cameras and camera gear. The cameras I had 5 years ago could do everything I actually wanted to do with them. I'll work on that.

I'm stubbornly sticking with m4/3, liking the compactness and the large selections of lenses. It feels lonely and eccentric though. ;-)

I've always been a zoom shooter. But recently I rediscover the joy of prime lenses. People are abandoning m4/3 and used prices are getting lower everyday. I have since bought a few used prime lenses. So now, I have a 3-body kit for street and candid photos.

Pen-F + PL15/1.7
EM10.2 + 25/1.8
EM5.3 + 42.5/1.7 or 75/1.8 depending on situations

This is only feasible because of the compactness and the cheapness. The bag still feels surprisingly light. I can't imagine myself carrying three Z8.

Then, I have the OM-1 to use with zoom lenses or for birding/wildlife.

And I have a full-spectrum GX85 for infrared b&w photos.

So, FIVE in total.

I own a number of cameras: digital, 35mm and medium format film, fully mechanical and auto everything. But the only camera I have been using lately is a Leica IIIf. I have also settled on one film, Tri-X, one developer, Rodinal, and a hybrid workflow (shooting film, printing digital).

If you keep using your Fuji X-T1 it until you wear it out, it will die a good death.

Replacing a perfectly good camera, for another one, in this age of 'sufficiency realised', is a bad idea.

This is the decade for good ideas. The bad ideas have had enough time in the sun.

We have moved to an era when we all have multiple "imaging devices". I have a nice Sony smartphone which in theory can take good pictures, but with my distance-optimised glasses on it's more or less invisible, so I never use it as a camera, except for a tiny amount of note-taking. I could also in theory take pictures with my tablet or laptop, but never do.
The camera cupboard contains many specialist devices: underwater cameras, IR conversions etc. They are used for their purpose, but they are not my "kit".
If I decide to "carry a camera" it will be one of three. All are capable of great photography but they vary in size and weight. The smallest is a Sony RX100 mk 7. Fits in the trouser pocket, goes anywhere but it is a "full capability" "big camera", just tiny. That's the option if I want to have a proper camera on me, but it's incidental to other activities.
The opposite end of the scale is my Panasonic G9 (just replaced by a G9ii) with the larger lenses. That's my default kit for serious photography.
However I also have an intermediate option well-suited to social events and city breaks - the trusty old Panasonic GX8 with smaller lenses like the bijou 45-175mm.
Choose your weapon!

I have an Olympus EM-5 (original generation), a Google Pixel 6a.

I am never happy whenever I print from the Pixel, even when I just print photo cards. The image always looks smushed. So I have to use the Olympus for kid pictures. Just in case.

And a Sigma DP2 Quattro. It's basically impossible to shoot in all but the best light, but if it's bright, and I use some telepathy, I can even do candid kid photos with it. It's lost now (airplanes, hiking, life). I've replaced it before, and an airline found it for me once too. But when I think about taking a photograph, the results look like what I get with that camera.

I gravitate (or stay) with prior generation cameras. Excluding my iPhone I have six in my gear closet: LUMIX LX7 (my only Leica) and Canon G11 as compacts and both ofwhich produce some of my favorite images; Fuji X100s which I like but struggle with; Fiji XT1 and XT2 because I always wanted a digital Nikon FM; and a Nikon D7200 because it fits my hands and the menus are intuitive for me. More than needed but I enjoy them all for different reasons.

Three:

The beautiful girl:
Leica M Type 240 Chiyoko (Kobalux 28/3.5, Super Rokkor 50/2, Elmar 90/4)

My version of the Dragoon:
Nikon D810 (Nikon AF 28-105mm/3.5-4.5 D, AF 50/1.4 D, Tokina AF 17/3.5)

My 60th birthday present from this September:
Nikon S2 (Jupiter 12 3.5cm/2.8, Nikkor 5cm/1.4. Nikkor 10.5cm/2.5) Just picked up a 100' roll of Ilford HP5+ to run through it.

Often both rangefinders go out in the same bag. But at least one goes with me every time I go somewhere.

I have others that get semi-regular use (a Rolleicord III, Super Ikonta 6x45, Nikon F4, Nikon N90, Pentax H1a, Agfa Karat IV) but one of those three are the ones I use daily. The S2 has me setting up my developing equipment (mixed a batch of D76 & Fixer last night 👍) but reality dictates scanning rather than wet printing.

Heh heh, my friends joke, "How many cameras have you got now, Pete?" Yeah, at last count 14, I think. Or is it 16?

I confess I love cameras and lenses. All these cameras have been collected over the past 20 years, so it's not a deluge.

My favourite for serious work is the Lumix FZ1000. Crikey, what more do you need? Zoom 24-400, IS, 1" 20Mp, 4K video (you can go down from there, but not up). Every mode I ever need. Reasonable size. No agonising over what lens to bring.

I also have a Pentax K-5 plus six lenses, Contax G1 and G2 with three lenses, Sony RX10 and 3500, Oly OM-D E-M1, several Oly E-PLxs, Fuji S100fs... plus three film cameras, a couple with film still in them! E-6 processing is scarce and costly now.

Oh yeah, I forgot - a Sigma DP1 Merrill 28mm. Very basic, a bit slow to use, hard on batteries (I carry two spares), but very nice images. A bit like your Sigma B&W, Mike. Don't use it often, but I like the results.

As for using a phone as a camera, I simply can't see the screen outside in bright sunlight (which it is most of the time here in West Aust). OnePlus 3T. Maybe an Apple would be better but too expensive for me.

My everyday camera is a Fuji X-T4. I used to use the 23mm f/2 as my walk-around lens, now that I’m living abroad (Surrey, UK) and my brand of street photography has a whiff of the unethical to it, I’ve switched to the 16-55mm f/2.8 for most everyday. I also have an X-T3 with the 55-200mm mounted on it for when I’m travelling so I can just pull it out of my bag instead of having to switch lenses. Seldom used is my Pentax 645 nII, but it’s still in rotation. Knocking around the house there’s still a working (so far as I know) X-T2 and I have some older cameras in storage back in NY. I do use an IPhone 14 for note taking, but sparingly.

Throughout the 1970s I shot exclusively with a Minolta srT101 before upgrading to the XE-7 and, eventually a pair of xd-11s. When I got serious about digital I started with their Dimage A1 and then the Konica-Minolta 7D, which I really loved until it grew wonky and 6 MP was no longer viable

Unlike you, I prefer the XT-4s fold out screen, which turns me off the X-T5, as well as the 40MP sensor, which would entail upgrading my HDs and Mac to keep up.

My everyday camera, the one that I take out for a walk on a daily basis, is my Leica Q2 (currently coveting a Q3 for the articulating rear viewer).

Alongside, I have 4 pinholio's, which I have a fetish for. Mine are a Pinholica (Leica lens cap), A Reality so Subtle (RSS), and a pair of Ondu's, which are art pieces, regardless of whether they are used as cameras.

But I agree with James (above) that the Sigma Foveon cameras are somewhat special. I am guessing that the reason behind this, is that Kazuto Yamaki the owner and CEO of that company is a fanatical B&W shooter.

It is impossible to take a quick snap with one, but they do make lovely (film like?) black and white pictures. I keep thinking about seeking out one or more of the wider editions, mine is a Quattro DP3, 75mm equivalent.

It's either that or a Hasselblad SWC anyway, and currently I am favouring the SWC, I keep looking at the prices, cursing the day that I sold mine for peanuts (I bought it for peanuts too).

The Hassy will see my grandchildren out whilst the Sigma (brilliant though it is) will have been pushing up daisies for years. Trouble is, the SWC prices keep moving upwards, seemingly without an end in sight.

Nikon D750 is my ‘best body’, Nikon 1 V2 for when I want a smaller, lighter kit for walking around, and my iPhone 8+ for noting taking and composition practice if something catches my eye and I don’t have one of the others.

I thought I was trailing edge, but ASW definitely shows me up on that front :~)

My FM2n, FM3a & Nikon 1 AW1 are languishing in a box.

Just two complimentary digital bodies that I use extensively, at the present time, keeping in mind that I shoot a lot of wildlife - Nikon Z9 and Nikon Z8. I tend to get tempted by lenses rather than bodies, so I have more Nikon Z mount lenses than I need. I must winnow it down, if I can get myself to do it. Of course, like most 70 year old photo hobbyists, I have a cupboard full of film equipment (comprising Rollei, Mamiya, Nikon, Leica and Canon), which hardly ever gets used.

This is going to be a popular post for comments....

Like many other people, I use my iPhone for the majority of my photography. In my case it's a 14 Pro Max. I like the fact that there are four real focal lengths available - 15mm (equivalent, in all cases) on the super-wide, 24mm @ 48mp and 48mm @ 12mp (the latter via a crop), and 77mm @ 12mm on a third lens.

Of course, that gives me nothing beyond 77mm, so earlier this year I splashed out and bought a Canon R7 (which is APS-C) and an RF 70-200 f4. That covers me for longer focal lengths. I also still have a 'standard zoom', a Sigma 17-70, which I occasionally use on the R7 via an adapter.

Lurking in my cupboard I also have an EOS 600 (not 600D) - I believe this was named EOS 630 in North America. I've kept this for purely sentimental reasons - it's physically the same as the EOS 650 that I bought in 1988, my first Canon EOS cameras. I can't remember the last time I put a film through it - I don't even have a battery for it at the moment. To go with that I have an old EF 28-105 lens.

I've occasionally had other brands - I had a Nikon D70 for a while, for example - but the mid-sized Canons have always felt just right in my hand, as do the way the controls worked.

Are these my last cameras? I don't know. I'm not happy with what Apple have done with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, with that folded 120mm (equiv.) lens. To me, that leaves too big a gap between 48mm and 120mm, and it seems that next year the iPhone 16 Pro models will all get that 120mm lens (or even longer). So when I replace the 14 Pro Max I may end up using the replacement just for wide angle shots and maybe use the R7 more often.

I've had the Fujifilm X10 and X-T1 since new, love them both. (I'm positive there are comments from me pining for a 'digital Nikon FE2' in your archive, the X-T1 was the first digital that hit the target). The X-T1 sports the Fujinon 18mm 2.0, 35mm 1.5, and 55-200mm, but almost always has a Nikkor 24mm 2.8 pre-AI attached to the front. Until I got interested in film again, this was my main camera. These days I use it mostly when I need color (color film and processing is expensive). I have to take product and lifestyle photos for our business. I also sometimes use it like a 'view camera' by attaching it to a nodal point panorama head and making very large and deliberate color photos that I stitch in Lightroom. The X10 is my favorite digital travel camera. Most recently I dragged it to Florida and used it alongside film cameras.

I have Nikon FE and Nikkormat EL with a bevy of old Nikkor glass. I've been using Nikon film gear since 2000.

Last May, I impulsively bought a Leica IIIc with 50mm Elmar. It was an itch that needed to be scratched, no regrets. It's a fun camera to use because it both makes you think and responds naturally at the same time. I've since picked up the Canon 35mm 2.0 ltm and a viewfinder, because the 35mm viewpoint is the best. Since I got it, the Retina 1b—which had been my small, casual 35mm camera—has been a bit redundant. But I'll never part with it.

My single favorite camera is the Rolleiflex 3.5e2 that's been in the family since new. It's a magical camera that can't seem to help making gorgeous pictures. A Yashica A and an Agfa Isolette L round out the medium formats. The A was my father-in-law's. I don't love the Isolette and I've been kind of thinking it would be fun to have a 6x9 folder instead.

The most fun is picking out travel kits with this gear: (Rollei, Isolette, X-T1) and (X10, Retina, Yashica A) are two I've used in the past year. We're now planning a trip to the Yucatan peninsula (avoiding Cancun and the "Riviera") for January and I'm already ruminating on what to bring.

I have cameras from several digital systems, but currently only use 2: Nikon and Olympus. A third, Sony, is my wife's preferred system.

Of the Nikon and Olympus cameras, my "go-to's" are incredibly archaic: a Nikon D1X and an Olympus E-1. Both are old enough to vote, as someone above put it, and the Nikon is old enough to drink at a bar. They both have pleasing color; they both put out 'film-like' results, and they both "get the shot" with no fuss or muss. Drawbacks? Anything above 500 ISO is unusable.

I tried Micro 4/3, didn't grok the cameras, sold the lot. Used the money to buy a second-hand Nikon D3s, which will probably be my last camera: it can pretty much see in the dark, and its noise at 9000 ISO is less than the noise of the D1X at 400 ISO.

The D3s is 10 years old; it can use all of my 40-year-old Nikkors, has a battery that lasts forever, and has definitely reached a point of absolute sufficiency for me. But I still reach for the D1X, because of the sensor and the 18-200 Zoom-Nikkor, the most perfect walk-around do-anything lens I've ever encountered.

Last weekend, the D1X's LCD panel went on the fritz, after 22 loyal years of service. The rest of the camera still works though, so as long as I can find batteries I'll keep using it.

I have three. There's a Pentax K3 and a K3 iii, with a 16-50mm f/2.8 PLM lens that gets used more than all my other Pentax lenses put together.

The PLM lens replaced my old 16-50mm f/2.8 SDM, which I'd had for 13 hard years before it finally got a knock which threw it out of alignment.

The third camera is a Sony A6000, with the kit lens which is also a 16-50mm, though f/3.5 to 5.6. That's the camera I carry everywhere if I don't have a Pentax with me. It is small and light and lives in my camera/motorcycle bag.

I don't have any other lenses for it, but sometimes I use one of my Pentax K-mount lenses via an adaptor.

I find the standard zooms having the same focal length range to be easier on the brain.

Among those 260,000 comments one of my contributions was about how I went from eight different film cameras to only one digital. An Olympus PEN-F. After seven years it’s still my main device for photography. I also finally got an iPhone last year and love it for having my extensive archive from my iMac now automatically at hand so I can easily share it. It’s nice for short videos as well, but for photography? I tried it last month once again on a trip to Turin and took low light pictures indoors at palaces, museums and churches an I found it shambles. It seems to me that the AI dominates the picture. It pimps the image based on very high contrasts which many mistake for sharpness. The rest is filled in with badly defined blurry tones. Used on small screens this still looks good enough, but for me this limits its use for only communicating with my wife at home when I am not sure what to buy at the supermarket.
The PEN-F images have more detail that anything I ever used in medium format. Like most modern cameras it’s full of über-specs. According to a handbook by Reinhard Wagner there are more than four million different settings possible in monochrome alone. I restrict myself to the standard natural color setting and with the lcd display turned inside it is as if I have the same set up as 45 years ago when I used a Canon F1 with Kodachrome, with the ideal size of my Contax G.
At 71 I have to depend on autofocus and image stabilization. Love the automatic sensor cleaning as well. I also chose the PEN-F for its high-res mode, but I actually never used it.

“Just” three. My OM1 with the 12-100 Pro is my main kit. That’s what’s in the car on the seat next to me when I go out every day. My OM5 with the 14-150 is my walking around camera - it’s light and fits easily in my purse and that range is really amazing. Because I’d shoot every single day, I am an “early upgrader” as I figure I’ll get the new model sooner or later - so why not sooner.

Right after it was introduced I got the Panasonic LX100 MII because we were going to Costa Rica and wanted a smaller camera. It was great on the trip but I didn’t use it much after I got home. I took it to our local camera store to sell it. I said I hadn’t bonded with it. The guy told me to take it home and “try again”. I now love that camera, especially its black & white rendering. It’s no longer reliable so now at a repair place for evaluation. I’d buy another but Panasonic discontinued it - the Leica D lux -7 is still available so that might be an option. It ticks all of my boxes - 4/3 sensor and EVF in particular.

I’ve lost count of the number of iPhones that I’ve upgraded to because the new model has a better camera. I rarely use it.

I use my two Z cameras mostly, a Z7 for color, and a converted Z6 for black and white. My favorite lens for each is the Nikkor 40 f2, the "muffin" lens. My usual mode is that I will use one for a few weeks, and then get a hankering for the other, and switch it up. But I also use an iPhone 15 Pro Max, which is quite nice for local event photography, when you want to do some quick coverage and social media sharing. It's a big jump in quality from my iPhone Xs. Still feels awful in the hand for regular photography, but for citizen journalism it's great. I also have a Fuji XH1 that I only occasionally use, mostly for playing with jpegs.

Three that are "out" in regular rotation:

Olympus OM-1
Pentax K-1
Leica M-9

I tend to choose what to use based on weight, not image quality. I really appreciate the little (former) Olympus if I am going to be out all day.

If folks are coming over for a portrait session, I tend to go for the Pentax or the Leica, with the nod going to more resolution.

There are literally dozens of cameras in the house, though, from an 8x10 down to an original Olympus F half-frame film camera.

I have a five year old Android phone, but I don't use it for pictorial photography unless I am absolutely caught naked and have no other choice. I use the camera on that thing more as an (increasingly necessary) aide-de-memoir.

Well, let’s see: 3 Olympus, 2 Leica, 2 Fuji, 2 Canon, 2 Ricoh, 1 Panasonic and a few film cameras. So, 12 digital and three film (or maybe 4 film, I just moved and some stuff is in long-term storage).

Bought many of them before I moved from the US to Europe and haven’t used them enough, yet.

Plan to cull after I see what I like best.

Because I’m a collector and shooter, I often carry or have close access to two or three different cameras, film and digital. But like many others I also have my iPhone. I have made a concerted effort NOT to take photos on it that need what the phone doesn’t provide easily, like telephotos or selective exposure compensation without the ensuing ergonomic struggles. When I need a total digital camera, I use a Nikon DX. When I need the Norden Bombsight, I bring the F4. The iPhone is an obvious backup for me, since I’m also a film shooter. Experimenting with this, I have found one solution to combine it using my Contax 167m and its offset tripod mount and a Joby iPhone holder with a Bluetooth trigger. The phone camera is clamped on the back flatly using the holder and its lens is offset to the left and the trigger button sits in the flash mount. The iPhone LCD is similar size as the back of the camera. I can still use the Contax’s viewfinder with a rubber eye shade and take both pictures on the camera and phone at the same time. The iPhone’s lens area misses showing the cameras’ lenses as I use mostly short ones. Weird, but it works, somewhat. This combination also works on some other cameras as well, and those having a high-eye point viewfinder are the more successful.

I'm grateful for many things in this season, mostly that I've finally developed the good sense to have only one camera (not counting the iPhone which I find lacking)

In the day, I had too many cameras which meant too many choices before I could even make an image. I had to decide whether to bring the 4x5, my true love, my medium format, a desert island camera, or my small format, admittedly a compromise. Now, like others, I use one digital body and have way too many lenses.

These situations induce decision paralysis which interferes with any meaningful creativity. I've now mostly given up on prime lenses. Very few people can tell or even care about the minuscule differences between primes and zooms at least for the kind of work I do, nature and landscape.

I keep the primes for those situations when I need a fast lens and am willing to compromise on the ability to precisely compose in the camera.

I absolutely agree that people should do as they wish within the boundaries of caring for themselves and their family. Buy as many cameras as you'd like, collect lenses until there's no room in your closet, just have fun.

I plead the 5th, although TOP visitors to my online galleries will probably easily be able to see for themselves what I've been shooting for the past 15 years by reading my image file reference names.

Still, wherever I go there I am. I absolutely love learning and working with all kinds of cameras. But it's almost irrelevant to the frame results, which is where my true goals and allegiances lie. Cameras, for me, are enjoyable means to an end.

Which brings me to the suggestion that TOP readers with similar objectives should -strongly- consider getting and learning to use the best contemporary phone camera system they can find. I echo Jack Mac's enthusiasm for the iPhone 15 Pro Max -- it's an amazing camera! Getting too old to schlep a "real" camera + bag-o'-gear everywhere? Make the effort to -really- learn and practice using your phone camera. There is at least one excellent online course you can take that will teach you features about your camera that I guarantee you do no know. Plus, there's -plenty- you can do to make your iPhone much more ergonomic.

The effort will pay big dividends if your goal is to capture imaginative, engaging images wherever/whenever you are.

For still photography, I'm shooting mostly film:
1) Hasselblad CM, CF 50, 80 and 250 lenses.
2) Canon Elan Eos Elan 2, 50mm f.1.8 lens
3) Pentax Spotmatic (1964 version), 50mm f/1.4 Super Takumar.
4) Sony A73, Tamron 17-28, 28-70, 70-300.

I have a lot of cameras, like 30 and use all af them. I started photographing around 2004 and for the last 13 years I kept most of my cameras.

I seldom view my shots for at least some months and in some cases a year or two.

I like compact cameras and use Canon Ixus 750, the S series like S95, S100 and the small G9X and G7X, Sony RX100 mk1, Nex 7 and the smaller Nikon 1 series, Olympus E-PM2 and others.

I save the files to my computers and if I find some photos I like I work on them.

Fuji X-T4, which with luck will be my last camera (i.e. Thom Hogan's "last camera syndrome."). It does all I need, I'm just a happy snapper hobbyist. I have 3 small primes, 16 f/2.8, 23 f/2 and 50 f/2.

But that said, my most used camera is my iPhone 15 Pro Max, which i recently updated to from an iPhone 11 Pro Max. I find it an awesome camera with 13mm/24mm/28mm/35mm/48mm/102mm options. Easy and fun to use.

Still love my Fuji though. Just having more trouble figuring out ways to use it. The iPhone is always in my pocket, it's ubiquitous. Maybe I'll give B&W photography a go on the Fuji, your recent Sigma FP-M posts have been inspiring. Although, I find B&W much more difficult than color, well, maybe that's a reason to do it, lol.

My go-to is a D810 with a trio of Tamron G2 lenses with SB900 Speedlight in a small Tamrack backpack. I had TamronUSA calibrate the lenses to this body five years ago and i must say: it made a difference in AF accuracy. For long work action/wildlife there is a Tamron 150-600 G2 and D500. I love prints and make a fair number of them monthly; my largest typical print is 20x30 so mid-30mp is a sweet spot for me.

Overall though i am getting frustrated with the weight (i am 69) as well as the lack of some of the advanced mirrorless technologies (e.g., EVF "as exposed" display and eye-AF primarily). Both the cost of doing so and, frankly, learning to use a new set of tools is holding me back.


-- gary ray

Most use, but usually only snapshots: iPhone 7
Equal 2nd: OMD EM5 mkII, Fuji X100T
Occasional, but still enough to count: D700
You can probably tell, but I stopped buying new stuff some years ago. The stuff I've already got works just fine.

Just two cameras thus far; "universal" screw mount and K-mount. When I got interested in serious cameras, Nikon had become known as a favorite of snobby people. My aunt used an old Minolta SR-T 101 and showed me the basic camera controls.

I found a Pentax kit in the classifieds -- when newspapers were still thick and delivered on time. That was an SV model with 35mm f/3.5, 55mm f1.8 and 105mm f2.8 The seller included a hard-sided case, Gossen Lunasix light meter, Honeywell flash with color filters and the "Pentax & Single-lens photography" book.

The 105mm flared terribly with strong backlighting, so I eventually got rid of all of those lenses and traded them in on an MX with winder and a normal lens. I gave the MX and winder to my friend for a wedding present since they were going overseas for their honeymoon.

Digital mostly these days for color; film for black and white for the right occasion.

Pentax K1 II with SMC Pentax-FA* 24mm F2 AL [IF], SMC Pentax-FA 77mm F1.8 Limited, HD Pentax-D FA 100mm F2.8 ED AW Macro.

Film camera:

Pentax SL [https://www.pentaxforums.com/camerareviews/pentax-sl.html ]
with Super Fish-Eye-Takumar 17mm F4, Super Takumar 50mm F1.4 (not the 8-element version), and oddball non-Pentax 28 mm, 85-300 zoom/macro (1:2) and 135 mm.

I may have to replace the third-party 28mm lens because it focuses in the wrong direction, opposite to most Pentax M42 lenses.

My work kit is a Sony A1 and A9II. Backup with an A6600. Sony zooms and primes from 12mm-400mm with the 135mm 1.8 being my current favorite.

I have a Nikon 35mm bag with an FE2, F3, 50mm 1.2 and 28mm 2.8 that I've used quite a bit this year for joy.

I have a Mamiya kit with a Mamiya 7 and a Mamiya 7II along with 65mm and 80mm lenses. I've used this quite a bit this year as well. I also have the 43mm and 150mm lenses with this kit. I'd like to sell the Mamiya 7, 43mm and 150mm.

Lastly, I recently got into the Hasselblad X1D2 system with that body and two primes. I am on the fence on whether to keep or sell that system.

And a new Iphone 15pro!

The camera that is the best extension of my hands and eye: the Sony A1.

I won't go into my whole arsenal of cameras, but I'll tell you the two I use most often: the Lumix DC-GX9 coupled with the Leica DG Summilux 15MM F/1.7 and the Panasonic LX3. My wife gave me the LX3 14 years ago for my 70th birthday; it's a great little camera.

Cameras have always been in my family, and I still have glass plates from the 1800's that my great-grandfather shot.

I don't have his camera, though.

After my dad died when I was 16, I inherited his Leica IIIg and Ig and 6 lenses. I sold the 6x9 folder and Yashica 44LM I had been using and carried one of the Leicas with me every day to school, to University, on trips and always. That tradition I've retained, but the IIIg and Ig are long gone.

Over the years photography has remained my passion and also a second profession. So. I still have way too much gear, having sold most of it. Still hanging around are a number (5) of 4x5's, some MF stuff including Noblex and Roundshot and various 35mm film cameras for reminiscing as well as using.

I do still use a Mamiya 6 and its lenses along with an SWC, but rarely. A Leica M2 and M6 get more use.

My 'kit' includes a Leica M10M (my favourite camera) that gets support for occasional colours from an iPhone, some m43 gear for travel and wildlife that usually is based on an OM-1 or Pen-F and a Sony A7rIV that is really only used for digitizing and some other specialized tasks.

Hi Mike..
Two cameras. The first OMD. I suspect it’s ten years that I have it, and a Ricoh GR two, that was to be my ‘walk the city with my wife camera’, but now it’s my monochrome camera because health issues keep me from walking Manhattan streets.
Fred

I have lots of cameras that I use regularly: Nikon D850 (my all time favourite), Nikon 800e in underwater housing, Canon G7X in underwater housing, Olympus EM5 in underwater housing, Olympus EM5 converted to infrared, Olympus TG6 tough camera, 2 GoPros, Insta 360 X3, DJI Mavic 2 pro drone, iPhone 15 pro max. I’m tossing up getting a Nikon Z8 with an underwater housing and retiring the 2 Nikon DSLRs but haven’t quite got up the courage yet! Don’t get me started on lenses, a lot have come and gone over the years but present favourites are Tamron 150-600 on the D850, Nikon 8-15 fisheye zoom and Panasonic 12-32 on the OM5s.

I thought that the Fuji X100V would be the perfect camera to have around all the time but I just sold that today (along with an X-H1 and a Sony FF lens). I keep trying small cameras and find while they're easy to carry I just don't shoot that well with them. I tried with the X100F and way back when with the Contax G1 and G2 but never did mesh with them. I had some luck with the Mamiya 6 and X-Pan but I would like them in digital. At 74 and retired, I need to thin down my gear anyway but before I even cash my check from selling the gear today, what do I do but order an X-T5...

I currently only have one real camera (plus the phone). That feels weird; before this, I haven't had only one real camera (at a time) since, I guess, 1982.

Multiple cameras means faster access to more focal lengths (the zoom era has made that less vital, except that it turns out that having 24-300mm FOV is darned useful and that's more than one lens even in zooms), in the film era it meant access to different films (fast and slow, or color & B&W), and of course backup in case something goes wrong. Two of the three reasons still apply.

Uh oh! I've just weakened due to DPReview's article today on Best Mirrorless. Amaz-on has the Sony 6100 on special at US$598. I weakened and bought.

I want it because about a year ago I bought the Shoten adapter for Contax G lenses, which gives AF and full auto aperture control on a Sony E-mount body. These are quirky AF lenses - there's no focus ring, it's AF only on the G bodies. Since I'm not shooting film any more, they sit wasted. Now I'll be able to use them properly.

But APS-C means 28mm=42mm, 35mm=52mm, 90mm=135mm. These are not my preferred focal legths, but I hope the lens quality will make up for it. Hmm, 42mm, there's your favoured number, Mike, so I'll get to use it. Delivery from the US is 7 December.

I follow the advice that has appeared already more than once in this thread -- never sell a good lens, but move camera bodies along. Long ago I had to choose between doing science or photography, one for a living and the other mostly for fun. I stuck with the science side, and the photography has been a lot of fun, sometimes quite useful. I started with a Leica M2 and two Nikon F's in the 1970s. The F's and their lenses are long gone (I miss the old 105/2.5), and I still have the M2 and use its gauzy collapsible Summicron 50. The darkroom, which had been packed up for a while, was donated to the San Francisco Parks Dept.

I went digital with some early Olympus and Nikon point'n shoots, then got serious with an Olympus OM-1 and a Leica M8. I still do film on occasion, but scan the results. Olympus and Fujis have come and gone, but Leicas remain. M9, M10, currently two M11s are what I use for events and walkabout shooting, and most of the time one carries an APO 35/2.0 and the other a lovely 20 year old 24 Elmarit. But I have a lot more lenses and some SL2s which do other things (like video) that the Ms cannot. And I've put almost 10,000 pictures up on Flickr as skirkp963, plus an unknown number on Pbase before that.

During slow periods, I have picked up used Hasselblads (a 500 and a Superwide, plus an early Phase One digital back so that they are useable) and I even once owned Michael Reichmann's old XPan. It didn't focus right, so it's gone and I got another that does.

I have Panasonic GX8 and GX9, both range finder style.

The GX9 is my everyday camera with small lenses such as Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 pancake, and 30mm f/2.8 Macro.

I use the GX8 with Panasonic-Leica 100-400mm for wildlife.

I do not own a smartphone.

Richard

Ricoh GR III - always with me
Canon Elan 7 with Porta 800 - preferred walkaround camera
Canon 80D - still prefer optical finders
Canon M6 II - sports
I enjoy the convenience of sharing lenses across the Canons.

Digital:
Fujifilm X-Pro3
Fujifilm X-Pro1 (x2)
iPhone 13 mini

Film:
Canon G-III QL17
Olympus 35RC
Minolta XG-M
Pentax K1000
Leica M3
Canon AF35M
Bronica ETRS
Minolta Autocord
Fuji GA645

I ought to cull the herd. That's way too many.

Mike, I'm jealous! I'd like to be settled and content as you are. But I'm trying to simplify my kit and find my "last camera and lenses", and while all pieces of the puzzle are there, they never assemble in the same mount !

Partly because of my peculiar "want" : 35-135mm equivalent range covered in one lens, but not a huge one (because hiking, sorry Tamron) nor mushy in the corners (most superzooms). Current dream kit : Nikkor Z 24-120mm mounted on a Fuji X-T5, with a couple Fuji primes added to the mix for good measure. Not gonna happen.

Oh, I am ready to make compromises. I couldn't care less for video features for one. And I don't ask much from the AF or fast frame rates. But these are precisely the areas all camera makers seems to concentrate on, at the expense of feel, haptics and "enjoyability". Which is probably why I can't find a camera I see myself happy with, where there is a lens kit I'd like.

In truth, I am cheap like you once were with Leica. I could buy the A7RV and be done with it, but I can't stomach the price yet. But this post has definitely opened me to considering 2 cameras (2 mounts) alternatives.

Nikon D7100 and three lenses ranging from 11 to 210mm, Canon S95 as a pocket camera now slowly being replaced by a Google Pixel 8pro.
The Pixel is amazing but the dedicated cameras are more of a pleasure to shoot with.

All these posts make me feel better about the six or seven cameras I have. The Panasonic GX6 and the Fuji X100 (the original one that doesn't focus) could probably be given to Oxfam, though the GX6 I keep because of some nice small lenses I own - I keep thinking I "need" to get another m4/3 body but can't quite muster up the courage to lay out the cash. The camera that takes the best pictures (that is, I take the time to use it properly, the colours are beautiful and it works well at higher ISOs) is Nikon's Z6 but it looks and feels horrible in the hand. Phone camera photos never quite work so all in all I mostly end up using an XPro 2 when I am out taking photos just for my own pleasure.

My main camera is a Fuji GFX 100S. It rides on the back of one of two digital view cameras. One is an Arca-Swiss F-Universalis and the other is a homemade one that is much lighter and easier to transport. I have a single Fuji GF lens, which I almost never use. The lenses I use the most on both outfits are modified Mamiya 6 and 7 lenses. I have a few others to fill in gaps. I also have a Fuji X-T2, which is still a really good camera. I just don't use it for considered work.

Late to the party, apologies. I have a Fujifilm X-T2 (love the shutter sound!) plus the kit 16-55 zoom, 90mm macro and 35 f1.4 mm prime, which is a beautiful lens.

However my main camera is a Ricoh GR3X. I love the colours it gives me, especially the positive film sim. This replaced a (heresy alert!) Fuji X100T which I couldn’t get on with at all. I guess I’m allergic to the 35mm (equiv) field of view. Also use an iPhone 13 Pro which is surprisingly versatile.

I have two main cameras:

(a) For architectural photography, a Cambo Wide RS ('WRS') technical camera with a Phase One IQ4 digital back, together with Schneider Apo-Digitar and Rodenstock Digaron lenses. I switched over to this digital kit from my trusted 4x5 film cameras most reluctantly due to new airport CT security scanners and 7kg carry-on weight limits.

(b) For people and casual photography, a Fuji GFX 50R camera with the GF 45mm and 63mm lenses. I occasionally adapt a few Pentax 645 and 67 lenses to it via adapters.

These two cameras are working well for me. The 50R might eventually get replaced by a 100S for the IBIS-assist for handholding at slow shutter speeds.

My wife isn’t on here, right?

The everyday default is a Fuji X100V. If I’m going out to make photos for me, there’s a pair of X-Pros (a 2 and a 3) with 16, 35, 50 and 90 in the bag.

If I’m going out to work (which, well, is a debatable phrase as I teach photojournalism and don’t make a living at it anymore), it’s a pair of Canon R6s.

My 'Holy Grail' kit is as follows:

Sony A7iv body
Voigtlander 35mm F2 APO (manual focus)
Voigtlander 50mm F2 APO (manual focus)
Voigtlander 65mm F2 APO Macro (manual focus)

Always two, identical if possible. 35mm and either 85mm or 135 mm lenses. Rare for me to carry anything else. Only owned a 35mm and a 135mm for about 3 years, only used HP5+ for at least 5 years.

Pair of Canon F1N bodies until I needed AF as the eyes aged.
Then Three Canon RT bodies.
Then a pair of Canon 5D bodies.
Then a pair of Canon RP bodies.
Now an R8 and an R6mk2 because. I needed one with IS, but same sensor.

Nikon Df DSLR with all my Nikkor lenses from my film time. I understand these lenses are now referred to as Vintage Glass. Well, I guess I’m a Vintage Guy shooting with Vintage Glass.

Fujifilm X100F. I really wanted to love this camera. I wanted it to be the camera I sling over my shoulder every time I leave the house. But I just don’t. The viewfinder jammed on electronic viewfinder mode, which I hate, and the repair was $700! So I don’t trust it. I want to trade it in for a Leica M10. I still have my father’s M4 and lenses (more Vintage Glass!).

Hasselblad 500CM with 50, 80, and 150 Zeiss lenses. Among other projects, I use this for an ongoing experimental series of infrared photography.

A hand built pinhole camera that shoots 4x5 film. It produces lovely, dreamlike images.

By the way Mike, I went to Ithaca College in the mid 1970s.

I almost always have 3 cameras with me, currently a Canon R5 with 100-500mm lens, an Olympus TG-6, and a Samsung cell phone (which I'm only counting as one camera, though there are multiple sensors/lenses).

For me, going back 25+ years, photography has always been in a mutually reinforcing relationship with my interest in exploring and following my curiosity about the natural world where I live (95+% of the photos I take are within a few miles of my home).

The cameras I carry reflect (and shape) the things I tend to photograph.


White-winged Crossbill with R5 and 100-500mm

The 100-500mm lens is because birds and insects don't always wait around for me to change lenses. Since the lens is already on the camera, my skyscapes and landscapes are often telephoto shots as well.



Thick-horned Nudibranch with Olympus TG-6

The Olympus TG-6 is great for photos of small to very small things, both in and out of water. With focus stacking built into its capabilities, it's also handy for getting images with more depth of field than I could get otherwise.

The cell phone is a generalist that allows for a more streamlined workflow (I'm an avid user of iNaturalist, and many of my photos end up there). It also works well for quick documentary shots I don't expect to work on and/or print.

There's not much that's more frustrating to me than not being able to get a shot of a new-to-me or especially cooperative bird, or other aspect of the natural world that I might happen upon. In response to repeated frustrations, I developed a near compulsion about having my three cameras quickly accessible whenever I go anywhere.

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