One trip, one body, one lens

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These days, when I go out I leave with body and one lens only. I make that decision before I go considering where I am going and what I want to photograph. I do this because it keeps me focused on what the photography itself and not gear choice paralysis.

Some bodies are more flexible and that may give me two focal lengths. The D850 is such a camera body. A 24mm on it is also a 36mm. The 50mm is also a 75mm.

I have no hesitation whatsoever to use both focal lengths. But I generally prefer just the one focal length. For that reason, I prefer taking the D500 if I know I am only going to use the 36mm focal length.

I prefer to keep it simple.

Zone Focusing

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Yesterday I went to a local festival. I had decided to take the D850 with the AI 24mm f/2.8. I chose this lens over my 24mm f/1.4 because I wanted something smaller and more discreet.

Mostly, I set it up at aperture f/8, shutter speed 1/500s, auto ISO, zone focused to infinity, single shot.

The only thing I had to worry about was content and framing. The camera did the rest.

Nothing revolutionary. Just point and shoot. Some cropping, straightening, conversion into black and white in post.

This is the second time out with this lens and first time out with this body. For a first time out I thought the results were not too bad.

D/SLRs, Image Quality, and Practicality

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Images from fifty or a hundred years ago are not worse or better than images of today. They are just different.

Of course, Ansel Adams’s photos images being captured on the large format are as good as any images today in terms of detail and sharpness. But Adams could not go out and do street photography with his gear. There are reasons for why photographers began design long cameras to be smaller. Portability meant capturing images pragmatically different to Adam’s beast. How candid can photographs be if they stick out like sore thumb?

Twin lens reflex and single lens reflex cameras began a revolution in photography, taking it out of the studio and limiting content to set scenes to showing anywhere and anyone.

Today, most cameras either have full-frame, medium format, or small than full-frame sensors. The standard is full-frame since lens focus distances are quoted this format.

The full-frame format gives enough shallow depth-of-field to isolate subjects when need to, while still retaining an easy-to-carry camera body+lens form factor. In other words, SLR/DSLR cameras are balanced for image quality and practicality.

Soliloquy on cameras and photography

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The camera is a tool.

Like all tools they can cost tens of dollars or tens of thousands of dollars. Cameras all do the same job—they capture light to make a representative image. Some do a great job technically. Some do a great job artistically.

So buy what you can afford and what suits your needs. Your needs may be dictated by those who sell cameras or it can be dictated by your own personality. Do not think for a moment the camera will make you a better photographer because ‘better’ is subjective. Nor do you need the latest gear. And sometimes buying old gear could be the better and wiser choice.

So go out there with the camera you have and take photos.

Close up with the 300mm f4E PF

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The AF-S 300mm Nikkor f4E PF lens on the D500 body is a 450mm equivalent while the minimum focus distance is still 1.4m. So the magnification is about 0.36x which is within close up range.

Quite handy when you are walking out and about carry-shooting wildlife but also have flowers to shoot as well.

Avoid Choice Paralysis

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Do not be paralyzed by choice.

Having too many cameras, for example, to choose from for photography as a hobby means you have to spend time deciding what to use. You will be fatigued before you even start shooting.

In other words, decide what is the minimum you need to do the kind of photography you do. Your photographic life will be more enjoyable by placing self-imposed practical limitations. This is a form of efficiency and efficacy.

Don’t Chase Gear

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I find it interesting (read: funny) that photographers who are YouTubers say they love a camera and will use it for at least three to five years.

But if a camera is that good won’t you use it forever? Why would I bother to buy an old film or digital camera if its shelf life is three to five years?

I bought a D850 in 2026. This is a camera which was released in 2017. That is a full eight years. But Nikon still makes it (meaning there is a demand for it) even though we are in the post mirrorless era. The image quality has not dramatically improved though the ability to take more shots per second has. And compromises are made in other areas like battery life, viewfinder experience,, and ergonomics.

So if I am willing to buy a film camera (which I have) then buying older systems like the DSLR and F-mount would not be a far stretch or problem.

I am impressed with the image quality from the D850 and D500 already. So there is no need to chase gear.

So that means no more watching YouTube videos about the latest cameras, or old reviews which are older than the keep rate they mention.

AF-S 24-70mm Nikkor f2.8G ED-IF

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My AF-S 24-70mm Nikkor f2.8G is a good general fast zoom lens. Most moderate lowlight situations f2.8 is enough. In dark concerts or bars, it struggles. The VR is not necessary if you select your shutter speed correctly. The lens is sharp from f4 to f8. Color fringing disappears after f4. If you know you’re going to be in lowlight situations swap to prime f1.4 lenses (that’s what they are for).

Quick notes:

  • Outdoor; daylight; stop down
  • Indoor if bright; f2.8 but change to prime f1.4 if dim

State Of The Kit

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My first experience with photography was probably the Fujifilm disposable cameras in the 80s. Then in the late in the 90s I got a Canon IXY APS camera. Then later my first SLR—a EOS888. In the early 2000s I upgraded to the EOS55. And soon after that my first digital camera a Powershot G3 and put film camera photography on hold. After that I went (in order) DSC-W55, D80, GRD3, X100, Model VI (TLR), D610, D7200, FT, D500, F5, FE, D850. iPhone began playing a role some time before the GRD3. My first photos with my wife and children were taken with the G3. A lot of photos of the kids growing up were taken on the D80.

Now my kit consists mostly of the D850-D500 pairing with four primes and two zooms. The primes cover lowlight, portraiture, macro and reach. All are professional level lenses with one from the film-digital transitional era.

I still have the X100 as my street travel photography/snap camera. And I added the SLR FE with an Ai lens to the kit to get my film fix when I stumbled across it by chance.

My kit is as complete as it has ever been. Partly, this was by accident, and partly by design.

Missing is perhaps film development and scanning capabilities. I intend to add these this year. Then kit will feel then truly complete.