- Location
- Jersey Shore
- Name
- Steve
For the past couple of years I have been thrashing about, trying to decide how to pare down my photographic kit as I head toward retirement and decide what direction in which to head. Well, I have finally made some decisions - and acted on them.
For nearly a decade, I have been operating with three kits: Sony full frame, Fuji APS-C and both Olympus and Panasonic micro four-thirds. I know, it's a lot of stuff - way too much. You'll get no argument from me. But it was all assembled over the course of at least 15 years and gave me a lot of pleasure and satisfaction for a long time.
My pared down kit will still involve all three formats - at least for now.
Essentially, my Fuji APS-C kit will be my main go-to gear. This includes an X100V, an X-T4 and an XS-10. I have sold off all of my Olympus micro four-thirds gear and most of my Panasonic u43 gear. I am keeping my G9 with a few lenses - including the PanaLeica 12-60 and 100-400mm zoom. That's primarily for shooting wildlife. If I find that I'm not using it much over the next 12-18 months, it will go too.
That leaves full frame. I probably don't really need it but I do enjoy it very much for certain subjects and want to keep at least one foot in the format. I've been running a Sony A7III and a number of lenses for a few years. They have served me well but I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said Sony gear is a fun-filled joy to use. It is highly competent but the user interface gets mixed reviews - at least from me.
And there are other things: Sony's camera bodies work well but have never felt robust to me. Weather sealing was a real issue for a long time. Reportedly, Sony has made big improvements recently and I'm sure that's true. But the cameras still feel a bit fragile to me. And then there is Sony's cynical way of marketing its cameras and lenses. It has become clear to me that if I am to stay with Sony, keeping reasonably current is going to be pretty expensive. That doesn't work for me at this point in my life.
With this in mind, I was talking online with Kirk Tuck - he of the Visual Science Lab blog - right around Christmas. Kirk currently is deep into the L-mount system with both Leica and Panasonic bodies. I can't afford Leica anymore and some of Panasonic's full-frame cameras, while excellent, are kind of big and heavy. But Kirk repeated his recommendation of the S5, which is smaller and lighter than my G9 while being unquestionably rugged and weatherproof. When I saw the S5 on sale at a $300 discount, I was sold. I used my Amazon gift card to bring the price down to about $1500. That's even less than a Sony A7c.
I have also picked up three small, light and sharp lenses by Sigma, which is a founding member of the L-mount consortium. I have the 28-70mm f/2.8 zoom, the 24mm f/3.5 prime and the 45mm f/2.8 prime. And that's it. All of it has been paid for by selling off gear with money to spare. And my kit is much smaller than it was a few months ago.
Most importantly, I feel much better now that I have stopped talking and started doing. Thanks for reading this far. I doubt my journey will have much impact on anyone's life and hobby pursuits. But it feels good to write this down.
For nearly a decade, I have been operating with three kits: Sony full frame, Fuji APS-C and both Olympus and Panasonic micro four-thirds. I know, it's a lot of stuff - way too much. You'll get no argument from me. But it was all assembled over the course of at least 15 years and gave me a lot of pleasure and satisfaction for a long time.
My pared down kit will still involve all three formats - at least for now.
Essentially, my Fuji APS-C kit will be my main go-to gear. This includes an X100V, an X-T4 and an XS-10. I have sold off all of my Olympus micro four-thirds gear and most of my Panasonic u43 gear. I am keeping my G9 with a few lenses - including the PanaLeica 12-60 and 100-400mm zoom. That's primarily for shooting wildlife. If I find that I'm not using it much over the next 12-18 months, it will go too.
That leaves full frame. I probably don't really need it but I do enjoy it very much for certain subjects and want to keep at least one foot in the format. I've been running a Sony A7III and a number of lenses for a few years. They have served me well but I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said Sony gear is a fun-filled joy to use. It is highly competent but the user interface gets mixed reviews - at least from me.
And there are other things: Sony's camera bodies work well but have never felt robust to me. Weather sealing was a real issue for a long time. Reportedly, Sony has made big improvements recently and I'm sure that's true. But the cameras still feel a bit fragile to me. And then there is Sony's cynical way of marketing its cameras and lenses. It has become clear to me that if I am to stay with Sony, keeping reasonably current is going to be pretty expensive. That doesn't work for me at this point in my life.
With this in mind, I was talking online with Kirk Tuck - he of the Visual Science Lab blog - right around Christmas. Kirk currently is deep into the L-mount system with both Leica and Panasonic bodies. I can't afford Leica anymore and some of Panasonic's full-frame cameras, while excellent, are kind of big and heavy. But Kirk repeated his recommendation of the S5, which is smaller and lighter than my G9 while being unquestionably rugged and weatherproof. When I saw the S5 on sale at a $300 discount, I was sold. I used my Amazon gift card to bring the price down to about $1500. That's even less than a Sony A7c.
I have also picked up three small, light and sharp lenses by Sigma, which is a founding member of the L-mount consortium. I have the 28-70mm f/2.8 zoom, the 24mm f/3.5 prime and the 45mm f/2.8 prime. And that's it. All of it has been paid for by selling off gear with money to spare. And my kit is much smaller than it was a few months ago.
Most importantly, I feel much better now that I have stopped talking and started doing. Thanks for reading this far. I doubt my journey will have much impact on anyone's life and hobby pursuits. But it feels good to write this down.