We have threads for our PC and server setups, so what is with cameras?
I still have some of my old cameras, a 1930s Dacora camera with an 80mm f1.7 lens, which I inherited from my dad.
My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic, but that is long gone. I still have a Praktika MTL3 SLR from the 70s. This was my first SLR, I have the 50mm lens that came with it, plus a 28mm wide angle and 2x and 3x teleconvertors, which gets it up to 300mm. I also have 2x and 3x macro rings. I learnt more about photography with this camera than any other, because everything was manual and film was expensive, so you learnt quickly to get just the right shot framed and metered.
I bought a Canon EOS500 at the end of the 90s, with a Sigma 28-250mm lens. I never really achieved the level of photos that I achieved with the Praktika. I gave this away to a friend a couple of years ago, who couldn’t afford a new lens for her Canon, so she got an extra body and the Sigma lens.
I had a Olympus Camedia and a Canon SureShot S1 as digital compact/bridge cameras and a Canon Ixus. All are now dead and recycled.
I then got a Canon EOS550D, with the same Sigma lens. I’ve passed that onto my wife.
I now have a Sony Alpha 6000 mirror-less system, with 50mm f1.8, 18-105 f4 and 55-210mm f4.5 lenses, and Walimex Pro macro converters. I also have a decent Kuhlmann tripod.
I’m embarrassed to admit I have way too many cameras: a Canon 5d Mark IV with all kinds of L lenses, a Leica M3 film camera, a Rollei film camera (both the same age as me), a Leica Q, several Sony Alphas including the most recent A7RIV with quite a few GM lenses plus an amazing Leica Summicron APO 50mm lens I use with the A7RII with a Vogtlander adapter. None of them have made me a better photographer, alas.
On this trip I’ll be taking the A7RIV and the A9 (for Lisa) with the 24, 16-35, 135, and 24-70 GM lenses. I’m also taking a lovely Zeiss 50mm f1.4 for my nifty fifty. I carry my cameras in a green canvas Think Tank Photo bag which I fancy makes them look less valuable.
I also have a a Gitzo tripod and Manfrotto monopod which I think I’ll leave at home this trip. If the amazingly compact Peak travel tripod were here I probably would take that, but it’s not done yet. I do use Peak straps on all my cameras and the RIV has a very nice Peak handstrap, too.
I’m also taking Andy Ihnatko’s cute little LightPix Labs radio flash, and the new Sony digital shotgun mic.
As I said, I wish the quality of my images were proportionate with the cost of my equipment. But it’s not. I’m also taking an iPhone 11 Pro Max and Pixel 3 XL. Dollars to donuts my best images with be with the camera phones.
So, when you travel, which do you enjoy more. The scenery, seeing the way others live, the food, or the challenge of making all your tech work away from home?
Nikon here, preferred the handling years ago and stuck with them so far. A lovely FM3A was my first ‘decent’ camera. Sold that (shouldn’t have, sigh) to fund a D80, which served me well for 10 years, then a D7500. Lenses I still have my manual Nikkor nifty fifty off the FM3A (f/1.8), 35mm f/1.8 DX prime, and a couple of ‘do-it-alls’ for travelling and wildlife, 18-200mm and 18-300mm both with VR (was going to sell the 200mm, but it sits on the D80 as a spare).
As I said to @ant_pruitt recently, the D7500 sat in the drawer for ages, I’d kinda got lazy and just used a smartphone everywhere and Google photos. Now enjoying using it again, and the pics I’m getting are worth it
One of my first tests with the Walimex macro rings on my Sony.
I also have a LowePro Slingshot case (backpack with one cross-strap, which you can just slide around, to make a platform in front and take the camera out and directly hang it on your neck. Likewise, easy access to lenses etc. directly underneath the camera, so it is very difficult to drop anything.
Olympus E-M5mk1 IR converted (still haven’t really played too much with this)
Olympus E-M5mk2
Olympus PEN-F
Generally used with the O17/1.8 and O45/1.8.
Also have the O75/1.8, O25/1.8, PL8-18, PL25, O40-150/2.8, P12-35/2.8, O60/2.8 Macro
And have a Richo GR that I love the idea of, but don’t really love using
I love the small and light setup despite the downsides. Though, part of me wants to switch to Fuji (or Sony if they get compact 2.8 primes), but I also know it won’t improve my photography, lol.
I am definitely a novice photographer but I love being able to take some good photos. A few years back before going on a trip to Europe (England & France) I purchased a Sony NEX-3N with the 16-50 kit lens because I wanted a decent camera that was small enough to take with me. I’m really thankful that I got this camera and I was able to take some amazing pictures while I was there.
If you don’t want to carry around a tripod, check out Platypod. They are great for areas that don’t allow tripods. It’s small enough to fit in your ThinkTank bag with all your gear.
I know it might sound like a strange thing to say, but reading your list of cameras makes me think you’d really enjoy the Fujis. They have the tactile, old-school feel that you might get with the Leicas - and vs the Sonys they’re just so portable and enjoyable to use.
