What gear to do you use? 2020 edition

[satinsilverem2]

The last time we started such a thread was almost a year ago. I know I’ve made a wholesale change in all my gear since then. Maybe you have too, so I’m reviving it! You can list as much or as little gear as you’d like, as I’m sure some shoot with various gear or have collections too vast for the internet’s fiber lines.

Primary gear:
Body: Olympus E-M5 mark III
Lenses: 9mm BCL, P14mm f2.5, O25mm f1.8, O45mm f1.8, and the O40-150mm f2.8 with MC-20 (2x) teleconverter
Hardware, edits, and DAM: 2020 iPad Pro 12.9” and iOS Photos with iCloud storage.

In a pinc
iPhone XR or iPad Pro for photos. Mac mini 2012 for edits.

Primary gear:
Body: Sony A6000
Lenses: 16-50mm, 18-55mm, 50mm, 55-210mm all Sony.
Hardware: 2020 IPP 11", 2016 MBP 13", 2014 MM, iPhone X.
Software: Apple Photos (2TB iCloud), Luminar 4, Affinity Photo.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Wow, that must be soooo frustrating! You don't have any of the new lenses native to the R6?

I don't have any of the RF lenses, just EF up to 400mm, and a Tokina 16-28 wide angle for FF cameras. A lot of people are in the same situation as I am (waiting for the adapter). However, I will probably buy the 800mm RF lens since it is relatively cheap at perhaps $900.00, and maybe the 85mm f/2 (around $600.00). The EF to RF adapter works well with older Canon cameras such as the R, plus the R6 and R5. Thats the reason for the high demand for it.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I don't have any of the RF lenses, just EF up to 400mm, and a Tokina 16-28 wide angle for FF cameras. A lot of people are in the same situation as I am (waiting for the adapter). However, I will probably buy the 800mm RF lens since it is relatively cheap at perhaps $900.00, and maybe the 85mm f/2 (around $600.00).

I just looked up that 800mm lens. I'm impressed by the relatively light weight, though the length seems a bit cumbersome. I assume that's a "safe distance" wildlife lens?

 

[Clix Pix]

I have to admit I sat up and did a double take at the mention of an 800mm lens for only $900 or so..... HUH?!!!! Prime lenses of that length are usually in the thousands! So I ran a fast Google search and saw that yes, indeed, there IS an RF lens available for that low price at that 800mm.....but, and to me this is a big BUT.....it's f/11!!!! I can see how in good lighting and such that this wouldn't be an issue, but a lot of times wildlife tends to drift into the shadows and that makes it more difficult to get a decent shot. This lens would need to be on a tripod anyway, which helps significantly. So, yeah, for an 800mm prime lens at under $1000 USD, it's worth experimenting with, anyway!

 

[AlaskaMoose]

I have to admit I sat up and did a double take at the mention of an 800mm lens for only $900 or so..... HUH?!!!! Prime lenses of that length are usually in the thousands! So I ran a fast Google search and saw that yes, indeed, there IS an RF lens available for that low price at that 800mm.....but, and to me this is a big BUT.....it's f/11!!!! I can see how in good lighting and such that this wouldn't be an issue, but a lot of times wildlife tends to drift into the shadows and that makes it more difficult to get a decent shot. This lens would need to be on a tripod anyway, which helps significantly. So, yeah, for an 800mm prime lens at under $1000 USD, it's worth experimenting with, anyway!

I would not use this lens if the camera was my 5DII, but it does an excellent job if used with the Canon R6 and R5. There is plenty of sunlight (daylight) in the interior of Alaska during the summer months. For the local sled dog races I use a 7D with a 200mm L prime. Photographing the Auroras with a 5D II/Tokina 16-24mm lens, most times I use 800 ISO. The 800mm lens will be only used occasionally. The following video points out the negatives and positives about the 800mm f/11 lens:

 

[Clix Pix]

That's all you need, good sunlight and you'll be in business! I just was out on my deck shooting Hooded Mergansers with my 100-400mm plus 1.4x TC (which then limits it to an aperture of f/9) and was happily shooting away at f/13 anyway because the ducks were obligingly swimming around in the sunshine. That f/9 limitation with the TC hasn't been as much of an issue as I had feared when I first got it and mounted it on the lens.

 

[steveash]

I'm just going through the biggest shake-up of my photography life. I traded in almost everything with regards to cameras and lenses (I still kept lighting/grip) and simplified down to one camera and three prime lenses. I realised that I had a lot of equipment sitting around depreciating when while work is slow I can hire backup and additional gear when required. I now have two big empty camera bags! It feels great to cut down to the essentials and free myself of excess clobber.

 

[rex450se]

Body: Sony A7III and A6300
Lenses: Sony 16-35 2.8GM, Tamron 28-75 2.8, Sony 70-200 2.8GM, Sony 200-600, Sigma 85 1.4 Art, Sony 50 1.8, Minolta 50 1.7, Sigma 16 1.4
Computers: 2020 iPad Pro 12.9", 2019 MBP 16", Custom desktop PC w/i9, 128Gb Ram, 2@1TB nVME, 4@2TB SSDs, 2080Ti

Looking to pick up the Sony 12-24 and both teleconvertors and I think I'll be done buying until the A7IV comes out or I can justify buying an A9II.

 

[Clix Pix]

I'm just going through the biggest shake-up of my photography life. I traded in almost everything with regards to cameras and lenses (I still kept lighting/grip) and simplified down to one camera and three prime lenses. I realised that I had a lot of equipment sitting around depreciating when while work is slow I can hire backup and additional gear when required. I now have two big empty camera bags! It feels great to cut down to the essentials and free myself of excess clobber.

I can definitely relate to this! Yes, it is a weird and sad feeling trading in pretty much all of one's gear and returning home with one camera and just a few lenses!! Been there, done that -- almost a year ago now, in mid-November 2019. Now as I'm coming up on that anniversary, I am so, so happy that I did do it, did make the big change in systems, and I have loved the choices I made on the day I came home with one camera and three lenses!

Since that day I have truly appreciated the lenses I have gradually added as I felt they were needed, as I have taken my time and really assessed whether or not I really needed that lens and its particular focal length or fast aperture or whatever..... I've been far more picky and selective than I had been in the past. No more bags of unused lenses or other gear sitting around in the other room; now I open my armoire, pull out the camera body and the lens that I want to use for a particular situation. (With COVID-19, obviously I haven't been making too many excursions with a camera bag filled with body and several lenses). It is quite freeing not to have a bunch of unused gear!

 

[AlaskaMoose]

I can definitely relate to this! Yes, it is a weird and sad feeling trading in pretty much all of one's gear and returning home with one camera and just a few lenses!! Been there, done that -- almost a year ago now, in mid-November 2019. Now as I'm coming up on that anniversary, I am so, so happy that I did do it, did make the big change in systems, and I have loved the choices I made on the day I came home with one camera and three lenses!

Since that day I have truly appreciated the lenses I have gradually added as I felt they were needed, as I have taken my time and really assessed whether or not I really needed that lens and its particular focal length or fast aperture or whatever..... I've been far more picky and selective than I had been in the past. No more bags of unused lenses or other gear sitting around in the other room; now I open my armoire, pull out the camera body and the lens that I want to use for a particular situation. (With COVID-19, obviously I haven't been making too many excursions with a camera bag filled with body and several lenses). It is quite freeing not to have a bunch of unused gear!

I can sympathize, because I do have lenses and camera gear piling up around my home. It gets even worst when trying to keep up with the "newest and greatest" camera, regardless of brand. The thing is...that getting "hooked" buying more bells and whistles not only makes it expensive, but it leaves less time to learn how to use the toy one has just replaced. Well...I can't complain since I sometimes do it, and years later end up donating the old stuff.

The bottomline is that I already know that the new toy won't make me a better photographer, just easier to photograph

 

[Clix Pix]

Exactly! I don't think I'm suddenly a better photographer because I went with Sony after having used Nikon for many, many years.... The difference is more about the fact that this time around over the past year I've purchased native lenses offered by Sony that I knew from my past experience were ones I'd actually use a lot (a couple of macros, a couple of fast lenses, etc., in the same or nearly the same focal ranges as previously), plus a couple of lenses which have expanded my horizons significantly, going beyond the longest lengths I'd had in Nikon, which had been a 300mm prime lens and an 80-400mm zoom.

After having used my Sony RX10 M4 for a while, since 2018, a bridge camera with a rather amazing zoom range from 24mm - 600mm (equivalent) on a 1" sensor, I was spoiled. I wanted that long reach right out to 600mm again, this time in full frame. As it happens, Sony does provide not only very expen$ive prime lenses in the longer focal lengths but also a couple of fairly affordable zoom lenses (100-400mm, 200-600mm) -- and the latter have suited my needs and desires perfectly. In some situations I am now able to capture images that I was unable to get before.

That in and of itself, though, doesn't make one a better photographer, though, but it is a factor, especially with new technology in the newer camera bodies and lenses. Current lenses are much more optically refined, sharper, and for the most part free of some issues which plagued lenses of the past. They make it easier, indeed, to get the kind of images one wants. In addition, the editing software programs that most of us use for post-processing our images in the computer have improved quite a bit, too, making it again easier for me to get better results than I got several years ago.....and that, too, is satisfying. I may not be that much better a photographer than I was a year, two years, five years, or ten years ago, but I do find the process a bit easier and still a lot of fun!

 

[baypharm]

I am giving away my Leica M10 Monochrom and 35mm lens to a local school for their photography program on Tuesday. Friday is the day my new Q2M is arriving. I love shooting B/W and, for me, this will be the perfect compliment to my lovely Q2 that I just adore.