Your camera setup: what and why

Lounge
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I thought it would be interesting to hear what everyone is shooting with right now and why.
What do you look for in a camera setup? Are you happy with your current setup? Here’s mine:

What I’m looking for in a camera setup:
I enjoy long walks in nature, where I mainly photograph landscapes and insects.
I don’t carry a dedicated camera bag, my gear has to fit in a regular backpack alongside food and drinks for the day. So compactness and low weight are key.

I’m looking for a three-lens setup:

  • A zoom lens covering at least 24–100mm/120mm (in full-frame terms), where compactness and sharpness matters more than aperture speed.
  • A fast 35mm prime.
  • A macro lens between 90mm and 150mm.

For all three, compact size and weight are top priorities, but I don’t want to sacrifice too much image quality.

My current setup:

Looking ahead:
No concrete plans to switch systems, My GX9 still works well (despite a growing crack in the LCD), and I wouldn’t know what to replace it with right now.
The Panasonic G9 II is too big and a bit expensive for what I’m after. I do like the Panasonic G100D: it has a better EVF than my GX9 and it’s still very compact, but its shutter mechanism limits the use of the built-in flash for macro fill light.

I was surprised by the release of the Panasonic S 100mm f/2.8 macro for L-Mount. It’s extremely compact for a full-frame macro lens. Pairing it with the Panasonic S 35mm f/1.8 or the Sigma 35mm f/2 would actually make for a compelling full-frame setup (if I ever decide to make the leap).

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After an accident, I can not stand steadily or hold a camera without shaking, so I don’t shoot much these days.

Sigma SD9 and SD10 3.4 MP Foveon-based DSLRs with SA-mount Sigma 17-50mm const. f/2.8 and several M42 lenses including a Zeiss-Jena 20mm f/4 Flektogon, a couple of Helios 44 swirlies, a 400mm and a 24mm Takumar.

Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 with Vario 12-35mm Mk. II. Dual IS quite handy. 80MP pixel-shift option.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 full spectrum modified by LifePixel.

Panasonic Lumix LX-1, native 16:9 CCD sensor. Pocketable.

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I have the GX9 and the 12-60mm PanaLeica, but I mostly prefer primes. I think that given your criteria, you have a perfect setup. Keep it as is and have fun taking photos.

FWIW I mostly use the Panasonic 25mm f/1.7, 14mm f/2.5 and Olympus 45mm f/1.8 primes.

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My “serious” shooting is railroad subjects, kind of a gritty environment, so I don’t want to change lenses. Accordingly, Nikkor 24-200, an OK super zoom. If I’m going to take dimensions from a photograph, i will switch to my more performant 24-70 for better pixel peeping (I also throw a couple of foot-sticks into the scene for calibration)

I also use the 24-200 for travel, makes a light single- lens kit for photos that’ll never be regarded larger than on a computer monitor.

I also use the 24-70 for family snaps, better in low light, although I’m using the flash more and more.

All this on a Nikon Z 6, chosen for DR. I hardly ever use my denoise tool since i procured this camera…

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I am not shooting much anymore due to eye problems. When I try to use a DSLR, I have to take off my glasses and put them back on, over and over. It is very discouraging. I take most of my photos with my iPhone, and they are pretty much not worth a damn. If I had one generation newer, I could take 48 MP images, but I’m stuck with 12.

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If I’m going on a walk, or am out with friends/family, photography is not my primary concern, so I often want something lightweight just in case, and where I’m not bothered if I don’t actually take any photos. For that I have a Sony RX100, which sits on my belt or in the bottom of my bag, and I barely notice I’m carrying it.

If I’m going out for a photography day (where capturing images is my primary purpose), I will take as much of my kit as I feel I can get away with, but varies depending on what I expect to be photographing. I tend to shoot street/architecture but more often I just wander around looking for interesting compositions. My kit will almost always include one or two of the following:

  • FujiFilm X-T2 converted for infrared, with a selection of small prime lenses covering 16-55mm
  • FujiFilm X-T4 with a 16-55mm zoom lens or the aforementioned primes
  • My RX100

For example I recently had a few days in London and took both FujiFilm bodies, all my primes, and my zoom, and I used all of them, a lot. The prime+zoom setup stops all the awkward swapping of lenses between camera bodies while still covering my preferred focal lengths with both.

I also have some LensBaby selective focus lenses for my Fuji, and a 70-300mm zoom. Those will generally come out for dedicated photo trips and will usually be the only lenses I take with me, perhaps alongside my RX100. I do like the LensBaby lenses but they take some adjustment so I really have to concentrate on getting that look to the exclusion of everything else. Similarly the telephoto is nice for wildlife but I need to concentrate on just that to get anything decent.

Having previously come from Canon, I’m pretty happy with where I am now and I think my GAS might have finally gone :slight_smile:

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Well… I’ll start out with saying I love megapixels. Those of you who say your camera has enough, I disagree (though I hope I’m satiated by my latest purchase :eyes:)

If I’m going for an exercise walk (and not a photo walk) then I take the Ricoh GR III. It fits in my fanny pack (don’t like things in my pocket while I’m walking). Great lens, great contrast. Not enough megapixels obviously but size over everything else. I also use this as my travel camera if the trip is not a dedicated photo trip.

I’ve been a Nikon shoot for a while, so I have a Z7ii (previously D850, D750, but those are gone now) and I like prime lenses so I have the following:

  • Voigtlander 15mm f4.5
  • Nikon Z 24mm f1.8
  • Nikon Z 50mm f1.8
  • Nikon Z Macro 105mm f2.8
  • Nikon Z 100-400mm f4-f5.6

As I said I like megapixels, so last month or so I got the Fuji GFX100S II, and have the following lenses:

  • 23mm f4
  • 55mm f1.7
  • 100-200mm (can’t remember the f-stop offhand)

So far I am liking the Fuji a lot. I am super happy to have Zebra stripes for still images (Nikon lacks this for all cameras currently, sort of blows my mind why they don’t have it, though I’ve recently started using a custom picture profile that turns clipped highlights black, but they don’t blink). I also like having an RGB histogram on the Fuji. The files are beautiful.

I think/hope that my kit is filled out (save the upcoming GR IV which I will likely just preorder when I can).

EDIT: I completely forgot about my IR converted Fuji X-T20 with the 23mm f2. I need to get out and shoot more IR.

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I always had a camera as long as I can remember. But my first big camera was a Nikon DSLR, that I ended up with somewhat randomly. When my first kid was born, I wanted something lighter to carry with me. Honestly, I can’t remember why I picked Fujifilm for that, but it was a good choice that I’m still happy with.

For a big vacation, I later wanted a smaller sidekick camera. After much research, I bought a Fuji XF10, and a Ricoh GR. The GR series is my second love, that I’ve stuck with as well.

These days, I’m toting one of three kits:

  • a Ricoh GR III
  • a Fuji X-T5 with the 23 f/1.4 or 16-80 or 70-300
  • a Fuji X-M5 with the 27 f/2.8 or 15-45

Each of these I am very happy with! I love how tiny and unobtrusive the GR is, and how I can shoot it blind with one hand. I love how the X-T5 can be fully configured without switching it on or raising it. It fits my hands well, and I enjoy its tactile ergonomics. The X-M5 is merely a good compromise between bulk and capability. But it serves its purpose well.

There’s also a Sony a5100 with the Viltrox 25 f/1.7 that runs continuously eight hours every workday as my work-from-home webcam. It’s terrific for that purpose, but I don’t use it for anything else.

My shooting habits are a bit odd. I like to focus on being there, and minimizing my interactions with the camera. As such, I set everything up beforehand with good default values, previsualize, and only raise my camera to the eye at the very last moment, then immediately drop it again. I like to have the camera at hand in a sling or sling bag. I’m thinking about a capture clip as well, but haven’t tried it yet.

A Laowa 65 macro lens and Valoy Easy35 are in occasional use for digitizing film. I shoot film on an old, cheap, Agfa Optima, which is cute and small, and a bit unreliable. But fun, which is what I want from a film camera.

As for the future, I’ll most likely get the Ricoh GR IV the day it comes out, and most likely upgrade my X-T5 as well when the time comes. As for lenses, I don’t foresee any major changes, although the 16-55 II isn’t entirely unrealistic.

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I am about to go on a three week camping safari to Africa. I have to travel light. The camera I have chosen for my many travelling adventures is a Canon R7. I actually prefer crop sensors over full frame for non-professional use. I like that crop sensors have more affordable lenses and bring out the most of telephoto lenses. What I like about the R7 is the inbuilt stabilization of the body to compliment the lens stabilization. I like the high pixel density for post shoot cropping. I also like the fact it is as much a still camera as a 4K video camera. But, I want to travel light and expect at one instance I will want to capture a wide landscape and the next second I want to zoom in on wildlife within the landscape. I don’t want to juggle multiple cameras or change lenses in harsh conditions which will include deserts. So I have become the proud owner of a Sigma 16-300mm zoom lens and look forward to seeing how it performs in the real world. I considered the Tamron 18-400mm but review suggest the Sigma is the sharper lens.

I often set up my camera with a selected shutter speed plus aperture and use auto ISO to get the correct exposure, but because the light meter is not always right I compliment this with exposure bracketing set to 1.6 EV. This method works most of the time very well to allow spontaneous shooting of the unexpected while travelling but I also like a slower and more considered approach when time permits.

I will also take my beloved and ever faithful Canon G16 compact camera. It slips in my pocket and is great for street photography especially at night when the 6.1mm wide angle lens and f1.8 aperture has a hyperfocal distance of about 3 m. So I can just manually set the focus to 3m and everything from about 1.5 is in focus. Turning on autofocus for more close up shots. The camera gives beautiful A4 enlargements which is all I need.

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I have a Canon R10 that I use mostly for macro with a Laowa macro lens and the RF 35mm lens that I sometimes use for flowers or just general stuff.

I have a IR converted micro four thirds camera and a zoom lens that really just has that specific use.

I also have a Lumix GX7 that I use for travel type stuff. I have the Panasonic 20mm, the OM 17mm, and some Olympus zoom lens.

I’ve found for myself it is better for me to go out with one camera and lens with a specific intention in mind than it is to try and prepare for any eventuality. When I’ve taken more than one camera and several lenses, I usually don’t end up using it all anyways. If I start shooting macro stuff I’m not going to be looking for interesting IR subjects, and vice versa.

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Having a bad back, I’ve switched to m43 gear. MY standard kit is an OM1, 12-40 f/2.8, the plastic fantastic 40-150 R, and a lenscap fisheye. I have lot’s of primes, which I use from time to time, but don’t travel with. This all fits in a small Lowepro bag, and weighs in at 5 lbs.
Some photos here:
https://lensandsensibility.substack.com/p/traveling-light?r=509ip7

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I use an a6500 and an IR converted a6000. Both are on semi-permanent loan. Lens’ are 18-105 f/4 G, E70-200 f4-6.5(?), and 18-55 kit.

If I had my druthers, I would remodel my home to have a darkroom/printing studio and shoot almost exclusively on 8x10 and 4x5 view cameras. Then I would use the digital cams for holiday and family snaps.

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I am currently shooting with a Fuji X-T5 and a Pixel phone. I only use the latter because it’s with me almost all the time. I do not enjoy shooting with it at all, although it’s quite capable for snapshots.

If I had to categorize myself, I would say I’m primarily a landscape photographer, but that would also include urban environments, which some might call “street photography”, even though the purists wouldn’t. So, my X-T5 is an all-purpose camera to fulfil the needs of most outdoor environments. I really like it, although I’m finding I don’t always take it with me because it’s not especially small. I’m very happy with the images it produces, and I love the dials. However, I’m not particularly impressed with its durability.

For the X-T5, I primarily use the following:
16-80mm f4
70-300mm f4-5.6
27mm f2.8

I also have some manual lenses for occasional playing around.

Over the years, I have started to realize what my priorities and usage habits are, so I can see myself gradually migrating to the following:

Serious ILC camera: small, lightweight, weather sealed, durable, nice grip
Pocket camera: truly pocketable, better than phone

Right now, the above means I’m leaning towards OM System, probably the OM-1, for my serious camera. I think it will tick most boxes, if not all (hopefully future bodies will be a bit smaller).
And for my pocketable camera, it will be either a Ricoh GRIV, or a Sony RX100 successor if they ever make one. I’m also keeping an eye on Canon who are rumoured to be making more Powershot cameras and not necessarily vlogging focused.

I’ll always keep an eye on Fuji although I’m not convinced about the direction they’re heading. The X series seems to be their lifestyle line now, and the GFX line is for more serious enthusiasts/professionals.
I’m not brand loyal, so I’ll keep an eye on the whole market for future purchases. Right now, FF and medium format don’t really fit with my needs, although I’ll obviously consider them if the lenses start becoming more compact.

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With these requirements, I’m surprised you haven’t mentioned OM System as a possible future setup. Aren’t some of the computational features a bit better than Panasonic for things like macro and landscape?

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I mostly shoot nature and wildlife so I tend to shoot things that are very close or are far away:

Canon R7
Canon RF 100-500L
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 (non L)
Godox TT 685C with an AK Diffuser, and a Raynox DCR-150 recently added

I also have the RF-S 18-150 kit lens, and an EF-S 10-18

I have come to respect the capabilities of the R7 much more over the last couple of weeks as I’ve been pushing the limits of my macro photography. It has a few burbles, but then again they all do. My only real challenge is that the macro set up is pretty heavy and I fight with the weight obtain focus with paper thin depth of field.

I’m looking to add a new camera body so I can take some photos of other scenes because I hate changing lenses while outside. This is going to sound nutty, but I’m considering either an Olympus MFT set-up with a new lens and flash (…the thing is soooo lightweight!), or I may go the opposite direction and get a Canon R6 which gives me a full frame capability. Too many choices and decisions!

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I mostly shoot landscapes, with a side order of wildlife. When I get a chance. Because I don’t get to go out and shoot as often as I would like, I like to be prepared for anything and everything when I do go out, so my bag has my Fuji X-T20 and these lenses:

  • XF10-24mmF4 R OIS WR (I like it)
  • XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS (the old kit lens, I’m so-so on this one)
  • XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR (love this thing)
  • Sigma 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Contemporary (haven’t had it too long, but so far so good)
  • Rokinon 12mm f/2 NCS CS (so far, just used for night photography, the jury is out)

I just grab the bag and go. No customizing what goes into the bag on a particular day; it’s already all there. So if I go out thinking I will be shooting some intimate landscapes and I happen to see a hawk high in a tree, I can switch gears and go for a close-up on the hawk. The pack isn’t particularly light, but it’s super comfortable and distributes the weight well.

When going on a family vacation where photography isn’t a focus, I take the X-T20 and the 18-55 and make do with that. It doesn’t always work out well because so much can be out of that lens’s range, but it fits OK in the average hotel room safe.

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Currently using:

Nikon D7200 w/ 18-140 and 40 mm macro. I like the sturdiness, image quality, physical buttons and feel in my hand. The zoom suits most of my needs and distortion is corrected well in RT. The macro is not my preferred focal length for macros, but I bought it mostly to use with the Nikon ES-1 slide copying adapter. Speaking of that, I need to get back to digitizing my massive reams of old Kodachromes.

Olympus TG-5. I bought this at the same time as the D7200 (in 2017) before our trip to Ireland. I wanted something waterproof and light–given the glorious rain over there (not sarcasm; I LOVE rain). It does not get all that much use these days, but I do like the macro mode and small size. Sometimes I use it to digitize documents that I am too lazy to scan.

Nikon Z50 w/16-50mm. I LOVE the light weight and feel of this camera. I bought it in 2023 before our trip to Spain, because the weight and bulk of the D7200 had become burdensome in previous trips overseas. We walk a lot in Europe and this rig seems feather light, yet offers much the same feel and control as its big brother D7200. EVF is very nice.

Nokia XR-20 cellphone. I enjoy this when I like to be unobtrusive, as with street photography. Results are mostly pretty good with straight jpg shooting. I do not like phones, and could not care less about how many newer features I’m missing out on. What I really want to do is just wipe everything, completely de-Google, and maybe switch to Graphene OS or Lineage OS.

I am thinking of my next camera, possibly to replace the D7200 (which is still working fine). Kind of a waste in some respects, but I am tempted by the Z7 II.

…In my professional work/research as a biologist, I have used various scanning and transmission electron microscopes by Hitachi, JEOL, etc., dual beam instruments for in-situ extractions and imaging, as well as a Cameca NanoSIMS 50 imaging mass spectrometer. A sampling of my images is below. Note, NanoSIMS images are false color and pixel dimensions are limited to 512px due to the nature of the ion beam and data collection procedure.

KJCarpenter_2011_MicrobeCover
KJCarpenter_2011_MicrobeCover1101×1451 848 KB

KJCarpenter_2013_MicroscopyAndMicroanalysisCover
KJCarpenter_2013_MicroscopyAndMicroanalysisCover599×791 90 KB

KJCarpenter_2014_BookCover
KJCarpenter_2014_BookCover477×648 187 KB

NSF_CellMembrane
NSF_CellMembrane1088×491 513 KB

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I’ve just found one very near me on Marketplace, and I’m seriously considering it. It’s 300 Canadian dollars. I was thinking it would be good to have something indestructible just to shove in my pocket and give to the kids when out and about. Would you recommend it?

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Unless it is unused or in absolutely mint condition with a decent warranty, I think 300 may be a little steep given that the TG-5 is now eight years old. The current model, the TG-7 (from 2023), sells for about 500 USD new.

I do like the camera for what it is, basically a very tough waterproof point-and-shoot camera with limited manual controls, and relatively small sensor. It has excellent macro modes, a useable zoom, and is very small and light. Some claim it has compromised optical quality due to a folded path, but I was happy with prints up to 8x12". If that’s what you want, I have no reservations recommending it.

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Yes I did think it was a bit steep but it seems to be the going rate on eBay for Canada. Our used prices always seem to be higher than in the US, probably because we’re a smaller market. It also comes with 4 batteries, a telephoto lens, wide angle lens, and a bunch of filters. I don’t really need all those but it’s probably why it’s priced the way it is.

I like the idea of it although I am wondering if it’s going to be too expensive for what it is. I imagine the image quality is no better than a phone or action cam.

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