I haven’t done a camera gear post for a while now, maybe this will help you decide if you are tempted to plunge into photography. Those that know me well, know I love the latest tech and gadgets, so my current camera kit and attitude towards it might surprise you! (And me!!)
Almost everything is second-hand, not the latest or greatest, but I love my current Micro Four Thirds gear and wouldn’t have it any other way, it suits my NEEDS. Surprisingly it’s been almost two years since I purchased any camera gear. I am content, I want for NOTHING! Well…
Firstly, the bags. Over many years I’ve tried side bags, slings, backpacks. I still have my LowePro Flipside Sport 10L AW backpack when I need all my gear, but these small second-hand Lowepro snoot bags are the best for me and most of my uses. I swap gear in and out of them, depending what I intend to shoot, keeping things minimal, light and small. The smaller one is almost always taken in my ute, just in case! Below is my standard fit-out – and it all fits in! Well, almost…
On the left is the compact REZO TLZ10 snoot which usually contains my PEN-F with versatile Olympus 14-150mm F4.0-5.6 II lens attached, spare batteries and a few bits and pieces.
The bag on the right is the Scout SH140 which contains my OM-1 and count them, four lenses!!! And some accessories to boot. Crazy right? That’s why I shoot with the MFT Olympus / OM System, I used to lug 8kg of Nikon gear around!
So, what’s not in the top photo? The Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 (second from left above). This is an absolutely gorgeous prime lens, especially for portraits and low light, it provides beautiful smooth bokeh but .. it is my least used lens. I bought it second-hand for $300 and while it’s uses are limited for me, I wouldn’t sell it as it has it’s place. And it’s Leica glass!!
Next is the Laowa 7.5mm f2.0 wide angle lens (left). I absolutely love this little lens, it’s so cute yet all quality metal construction. It shoots roughly 90 degrees field of view with very little distortion, unlike many other lenses that wide, and has a surprisingly large depth of focus and is very sharp, though it does fade off in the corners a bit. It’s only manual focus and the aperture is dialed in on the lens – which I find no big deal. I bought this lens new on ebay for $750 (gulp!). It’s great for tight indoors with low light and astro-photography.
Second from right is the Olympus 12-40mm F2.8 PRO. I actually don’t use it very much and could probably sell it, BUT, that big wide aperture does occasionally come in handy indoors and in low light. It’s heavy and large compared to the underrated 14-150mm which was my first and still my most used go-to lens. If you only get one lens, get that one, it’s also weather-sealed like the Pro lenses!
Moving on, bottom right is the Olympus 60mm F2.8 Macro lens, another ebay purchase for $360. While a prime lens (120mm full-frame equivalent), it takes smashing portraits, longer landscapes and of course, great 1:1 macro shots. Nearly all the fungi pics on this blog have been taken with this lens. It has a focus range dial on the side which has a spring loaded turn to make it 1:1 and then you focus by moving the camera towards or away from your subject. It does take some mastering but with practice you get wonderful images and what can I say, it’s a favorite in the bag!
The remaining lens strapped onto the OM-1, is the Olympus 75-300 f4.8-6.7 II telephoto for a bit of reach, which I picked up locally on Gumtree for $150 – with an EM10II, which I sold for … $150. So it was free 🙂
This is a good lens for birding and animals in decent light and telephoto landscapes and architecture. The auto focus speed is reasonable but not outstanding. It’s the best for ME because of it’s smaller size and lighter weight compared to the Pro series, I really don’t want to carry anything heavier and remember, this is 600mm equivalent on Full-Frame!
And now a few extras …
The Manfrotto BeFree tripod (above) is the best bang for buck (bought used) lightish weight, stable tripod that I found anywhere. I’ve looked again since, and … here’s that WANT … the only tripod I would perhaps prefer is the Peak Design TT (Travel Tripod), BUT, though it folds up very small, it still weighs 1.56kg – and is $699!! The BeFree Aluminium (MKBFRA4-BH) that I have weighs 1.47kg! If you know of another reasonably priced, lighter weight compact alternative, please let me know 😀 I mostly use it for macro, astro and low light landscapes.
Also above, I use UHS-II SD cards which write at 300MB/s, rather than the much cheaper UHS-1 cards that max out at 104MB/s. They have an extra row of contacts. Why did I not scrimp here? Makes no never-mind for single shots, but when taking repeated focus stacked macro shots or sequential action/portrait shots, and video the faster cards means the camera’s buffer has much less chance of filling up and missing THAT shot! There’s less waiting between shots while it saves to card for long exposures too.
Next, a wired remote cable release – mostly for macro and astro. Why Wired? It cost me $3.50 from ebay (Cuely brand) so I don’t care if it gets lost/damaged, and it’s easier/quicker to set up than wireless! The OM phone app lets you take pics remotely but it’s use is somewhat limited and restricted on some things … like focus stacking and can be fiddly to pair and set up!
And lastly, an LED head torch! Pick one that has RED as well as white, so you can use it for astro to see the camera controls without wrecking your night vision. A plain white plastic bag makes for a great (free) diffuser too for macro! I have a few flashes, but honestly, the head torch does 99% of what I can achieve with a flash, with the added bonus, you can see the results through the camera before you take it. Also, you can use it for light painting long exposure night scenes like the one below! Then pop it on your head, so you can get back home 😀
I have discussed the cameras above previously so won’t go on about them again, I still love them both for different reasons and have no desire to upgrade to the recently released OM-1 Mark II … BUT, if OM release a new PEN-F … I’M IN!! You can find out more about my PEN-F here, and the OM-1 here.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope someone gets something from this post, even if your just inspired to pick up a camera and have a crack!
TasView 