Your way of doing things

[GeoffRG]

We've had lots of comments about using only prime lenses, or only zooms, raw or JPEG, different cameras or multiples of the same one, one brand or several. How do you "do" your photography?

There's no wrong answer and, obviously, nobody's way is wrong.

I want to be able to pick up my camera/s and go out of the door ready for most things. That means my choice of hardware needs to be limited.

• I use only one model of camera, three examples
• Usually carry two bodies with zoom lenses and teleconverter
• Only zooms because I don't want to carry a bag
• Only raw files
• No spare batteries, I check and replace before going out.
• If I travel any distance or stay away from home I take a computer.

 

[Redhenry]

From my mid-teens, I have favoured compact cameras. In film days, your “sensor” was the same whether you used a Konica C35 or an SLR with a bag of lenses, so I generally preferred smaller cameras, although it was nice to have a wide-angle and a short telephoto lens. I tried a Mamiya C330 in the late 1980s. Lovely quality pictures but I found it too bulky. In the digital age, I’ve done some stock photography so always had a DSLR for that, but just take pictures for myself and my wife now. I like my Nikon D40 and will keep that, but generally use my iPhone unless I need a long lens, for which purpose I have a recently acquired Panasonic FZ200.

 

[gary0319]

I have 4 different models of cameras, all from the OM brand. Which camera(s) and lenses I use depends on what activity I’m engaged in. If I’m after birds in flight or am at a rodeo, I’ll use my OM-1 and longer reach lenses. For vacation and general travel the smaller OM-5 gets the nod. For the street and festivals, the OM-3 with its unique color and mono profiles might be the pick. And my grab and go, put in my shirt pocket, TG7 is perfect for family and friend outings where the “camera guy” thing can be a drag on the group.

I do strive for minimal gear so use mostly zoom lenses to keep the bag for each venue to the smallest possible. I will normally add the TG7 to the bag as a tag along point and shoot.

JPEG and Raw since some of the in-camera computational modes of my cameras generate JPEG composite images and having both gives me more flexibility after the fact.

Yup, add in a small 11” computer for long travel trips, and charge all cameras internally via USB.

As always, YMMV.

Gary

 

[ahaslett]

I have multiple cameras across two systems to give me the capabilities and lenses I need.

After a learning period, I know what I’m going to use each for and I have kits sitting in bags waiting. For example, this is my go anywhere EDC kit bag.



I’m a long time RAW shooter, which makes using multiple bodies much easier. My MFT bodies both have a Custom UniWB set in case I have a high DR scene to cope with and I’m used to judging the RAW exposure headroom when shooting “auto” (WB and ISO). Otherwise it’s A for most things, S for moving subjects, and M for tricky things like the night sky or when I know what I want.

I tend to shoot first or second base ISO in A mode, to make the best use of IS and (of course) shoot to histogram.

I tend to use Capture One and upgrade every second or third major release. Not having to upgrade for new MFT or FE lenses is a bonus. I also have PhotoLab for DeepPrime. My use of both is pretty basic. Just like the bodies, I only bother with learning about things I will use, although DPR forums often have good ideas and suggestions. I have a high powered laptop for my consulting, sometimes needs 20 mins for analysing big datasets or 2-3 hours for large GIS problems. Zips through RAW process exports.

Over time, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of understanding lenses and testing them on arrival against a set of standard tests, first to check for faults, and then to learn how to use them.

I’m off for a couple of weeks to a photography rich environment with multiple different use cases - landscape, villages with tight spaces, astro, and wildlife on boat trips, as well as social time with rarely seen extended family.

I’ve enjoyed working out which kit to take and thinking how I’m going to use it. It has been a test of my grasp of what it’s all for. Also interesting to think about what I’m not taking and why. The light tripod is coming but not the heavy one - I hope that’s not a mistake. I can imagine using both but there won’t be room. The T-S lens is staying home too.

I agree with your point that we all adapt to our particular uses and that’s why there are so many different approaches to photography. You may notice that I prefer smaller kit and we all have preferences, needs and constraints.

There was an interesting debate a few months back in the FE forum about the “idiocy” of shallow DoF when shooting people. The Pro fashion photographers pointed out that they wouldn’t get work if they didn’t have the skill to compose those shots and the gear to enable it. I guess the reason that people don’t understand that is that their images look good because of that skill, as opposed to people who shoot shallow DoF without the skill. For the avoidance of doubt - I don’t have that skill.

My composition gaps at the moment are the use of shallow DoF in landscape and shooting landscape at normal FLs - 30-45mm. Just bought a Viltrox 35/1.2 and my early take is that it’s hard but the combination is maybe more interesting to me to work with than 35/8 or 20/2. Time will tell.

If I was mainly interested in action, I think I’d concentrate on multiple copies of a single body. If shooting events, I’d go for jpegs.

A

--
Infinite are the arguments of mages. Truth is a jewel with many facets. Ursula K LeGuin
Please feel free to edit any images that I post

 

[MJ_Photo38]

Generally, when I'm going out, I will try to take a camera that makes sense for the type of thing that I'm going to.

Typically, if that's a night with friends or family, I will generally take with me a camera that is small enough to fit in a very small bag, and one that has an integrated flash on it so that low light situations do not become a bother (I also like the look). Right now it's going to either be my Fuji X100S or my Lumix GF7 if I think I'll need to take portraits (requireing a longer lens) or if I want to carry out a zoom.

If that's a hike, or travel, where I have a bag that carry some gear but I need a versatile, small footprint options because space and weight is limited, then Micro Four Thirds cameras is where it's at for me. My main choice is going to be my Olympus E-M1 mark II + some lenses fitting the situation (for landscapes, I like to use my 12-40 f/2.8 for example). For travel, I need a backup camera in case my main one dies during the trip, so I'll generally carry my E-M5ii as well, which can be a nice secondary if I need a smaller body at one point in the trip.

If that's a more serious shoot, it will either be my E-M1 mark II or my Nikon Z6, depending on what I need to shoot and in what conditions.

When I get out of my house not to go photograph something in particular, but simply to walk and use a camera, then my Fujifilm X-Pro2 is my first choice.

I know I probably have too much gear, but this is what works for me.

I always have a spare battery and memory card on me, just in case, no matter the situation or the camera used.

 

[mujana]

We've had lots of comments about using only prime lenses, or only zooms, raw or JPEG, different cameras or multiples of the same one, one brand or several. How do you "do" your photography?

There's no wrong answer and, obviously, nobody's way is wrong.

I want to be able to pick up my camera/s and go out of the door ready for most things. That means my choice of hardware needs to be limited.

• I use only one model of camera, three examples

2 cameras of a different brand. One fixed lens camera I use only for shooting monochrome images (not a monochrome camera). The other one is my main camera.

• Usually carry two bodies with zoom lenses and teleconverter

Usually carry one camera at the time. If that’s my main camera, then I take 1 zoom and 1 prime. Also on all travels, short or long.

• Only zooms because I don't want to carry a bag

1zoom and 1 prime in small backpack or shoulder bag.

• Only raw files

Same here (although I save jpegs in my second slot, I never use or even watch them on computer).

• No spare batteries, I check and replace before going out.

Always 1 spare for main camera. For my fixed lens small camera, I carry 2 spares (that small camera eats through batteries very fast).

• If I travel any distance or stay away from home I take a computer.

I never, ever take any computer, iPad or external harddrive when traveling. Extra card(s) yes. Travel with only my “main” camera / zoom and prime. That’s it.

 

[Howard V]

My iPhone 16 Pro is always in my pocket. It takes 50% of my still photos and 100% of my videos. I play with a D7100 and Z 50 for my deeper hobby work that is presented in two photo clubs with different photo cultures. I prefer raw + jpeg. Processing raw is very enjoyable when I have the time and solitude for sitting in front of a 27” iMac. I airdrop my results from raw to the iPhone. On the smaller phone screen to be honest, the iPhone output looks as good as anything else I do.

 

[yardcoyote]

I like variety in my shooting experiences, so I have a bunch of different cameras. I almost never carry more than one camera with a lens on it at any one time. Or one real camera and one toy camera.

I love toy cameras and often have one with me .

Primes only, and nothing wider than 40mm. The one exception is telephoto-- I do like a telephoto zoom. A complete kit for any camera for me is 3 or 4 primes between 40 and 90mm, one of which should be reasonably fast, a longish macro lens, and a telephoto zoom like 70-300.

A small, slow. Interesting lens is more fun to use than a big, fast, perfected one .

Jpeg only.

I always carry a spare battery, sometimes 2. It only took one experience with a camera turning itself on in my bag and showing empty when I picked it up to teach me that.

 

[Jefenator]

On longer road trips, I use an APS-C and full frame body that both share the same battery type & lens mount. Since the APS-C is smaller & less valuable, I'll use that in more hazardous conditions, or when I want to travel extra light. It's also handy for extending the reach of certain full frame primes.

Ever since I shot a road trip on JPEG then wished I could have used a different profile after I got home... I've shot RAW. Sometimes when I can't get out I enjoy going over a trip from 10 years ago and re-processing the best of the old RAW files, using my current profiles & workflow.

While on the road I use a card reader to import new RAW captures to my phone. I cull, process & share via the Lightroom app. It's a nice way to kill some time later in the day after I've finished roaming. I like having a backup of my precious captures on my person at all times. It's also nice to have most of the PP work already done when I get back home. (It used to be a little awkward, trying to fit that long homecoming Lightroom session in while catching up with all the work & family stuff.)

 

[Bill Ferris]

I think this is what many photographers desire in their workflow with a camera. Since people have a variety of preferred learning and action modes, those qualities can be achieved in different ways. Personally. I find full manual exposure mode, manual ISO, and manual white balance to be my favored path to simplicity and consistency.

That's how I've configured the two Nikon and one Fujifilm ILCs I own & use. Whichever one I pick up and whatever I'm photographing, I can employ the same workflow to building a shot, selecting an optimal exposure and desirable image lightness.

It works for me.

I was an all-zooms photographer for almost two decades...until last year. I upgraded my wildlife and birding kit and chose a long prime over a zoom. A review in LrC of my favorite photos made since 2015 revealed over 90% were at the long end of my 200-500mm zoom. That lens had been paired with an APS-C body for six years. So, I chose an 800mm prime to go with the full frame body.

90% of the time, that focal length is exactly what I need to frame the subject in its environment. The 10% of the time the subject spills outside the frame, I start thinking like a portrait photographer and looking for a facial expression or a detail elsewhere that tells a story about the subject. I enjoy the creative challenges/opportunities that come with shooting the prime. So, I've added two other, much shorter primes to that kit for landscapes and other genres

--
Bill Ferris Photography
https://billferrisphotography.pixieset.com/arizonaslittleserengeti/

 

[Gato Amarillo]

Two cameras, but one at a time. I like to keep it simple, which includes one camera where I really know the control set and settings with one zoom lens.

I have the largest and the smallest of the Panasonic m43 line -- a G9 and a G100. I have simplified my overall kit as I let my retirement portrait business fade out and have sold all but the two bodies and a few lenses.

The G100 goes with me almost any time I leave the house and there is a chance of an opportunity for a photo. The G9 rarely comes out except for my infrequent paid jobs, where I may need the faster flash sync and like the security of a backup card slot.

Mostly one lens at a time. I have both versions of the Panasonic 12-60 lenses. (That's 24-120 FF equivalent.) The lighter, more compact 'kit' lens goes with the G100 while the larger, heavier Pana-Leica stays on the G9. Sometimes I'll go with just the tiny 12-32 on the G100. I love the size of the G100 with the 12-32 but the lens is just a bit too short to suit me -- I wish it went to 40mm -- so I often carry the compact 35-100 with me.

I have the Olympus 12-100 but almost never use it -- only for a serious job where I expect to need longer than the 12-60. I sometimes use the very compact Panasonic 20mm for candid street portraits, say at something like a fair or cosplay con.

JPEG + RAW but mostly discard the raws. I go to the raw files sometimes for tricky light conditions. With my recent cameras the JPEGs have been so good I rarely feel a need for raw.

I normally shoot A mode with auto ISO but make frequent use of exposure compensation, usually f8 but it can change according to the subject and light. I use the highlight indicator zebras and blinkies whenever I have bright areas in a photo. I keep the contrast and sharpening set a point or two low.

For people I use eye-detect autofocus. Other subjects I'll use zone or single point, but I pay attention to where focus lies. In single point I move the focus point as needed.

For a guy who said he keeps it simple I seem to have written quite a bit. But that's pretty much how I do it.

Gato

 

[GeoffRG]

On longer road trips, I use an APS-C and full frame body that both share the same battery type & lens mount. Since the APS-C is smaller & less valuable, I'll use that in more hazardous conditions, or when I want to travel extra light. It's also handy for extending the reach of certain full frame primes.

Ever since I shot a road trip on JPEG then wished I could have used a different profile after I got home... I've shot RAW. Sometimes when I can't get out I enjoy going over a trip from 10 years ago and re-processing the best of the old RAW files, using my current profiles & workflow.

While on the road I use a card reader to import new RAW captures to my phone. I cull, process & share via the Lightroom app. It's a nice way to kill some time later in the day after I've finished roaming. I like having a backup of my precious captures on my person at all times. It's also nice to have most of the PP work already done when I get back home. (It used to be a little awkward, trying to fit that long homecoming Lightroom session in while catching up with all the work & family stuff.)

I had intended not to comment, so this is a question.

I carry 256GB of cards in two bodies (2 x 64GB each). My phone doesn't have enough capacity to accommodate that much data. So, to what phone do you transfer your images whilst on the road, or are you more abstemious than I am?

 

[Gary Martin]

Since I'm not a pro, my relationship with photography is a lot more about process than outcomes. So I'm constantly switching my gear around: big cameras with lots of lenses, a small camera with just one or two lenses, or even just my smartphone. I've even toyed with the idea of going back to shooting film for a bit. I still feel like I'm figuring it all out, even as to why I'm doing it in the first place. I don't think I'm ever going to settle in with just one approach to photography.

 

[dmartin92]

For me, coming home with the greatest number of good or great images is not the goal. I certainly want to come home with one, hopefully at least a few, but that's not the primary goal. The primary goal is to get outside and get some exercise and fresh air, and enjoy my time.

More equipment would probably increase the number of good or great images, but that's not the primary goal. The extra weight would turn it into work.

Also, I suspect too that if I came home with 10 good images, I might not notice that all ten of them are fine. Nor would I appreciate them all as much. By only having a few to look at when I am home, that makes me take the time to really appreciate the few good ones that I have.

 

[john isaacs]

From my mid-teens, I have favoured compact cameras. In film days, your “sensor” was the same whether you used a Konica C35 or an SLR with a bag of lenses, so I generally preferred smaller cameras, although it was nice to have a wide-angle and a short telephoto lens. I tried a Mamiya C330 in the late 1980s. Lovely quality pictures but I found it too bulky. In the digital age, I’ve done some stock photography so always had a DSLR for that, but just take pictures for myself and my wife now. I like my Nikon D40 and will keep that, but generally use my iPhone unless I need a long lens, for which purpose I have a recently acquired Panasonic FZ200.

In film days, there was a lot of choice in film speed, film color characteristics, and film size. Of course, the camera itself had very little impact on image quality or characteristics. Lenses were somewhat significant. But the main variable was film type.

 

[john isaacs]

We've had lots of comments about using only prime lenses, or only zooms, raw or JPEG, different cameras or multiples of the same one, one brand or several. How do you "do" your photography?

There's no wrong answer and, obviously, nobody's way is wrong.

I want to be able to pick up my camera/s and go out of the door ready for most things. That means my choice of hardware needs to be limited.

• I use only one model of camera, three examples
• Usually carry two bodies with zoom lenses and teleconverter
• Only zooms because I don't want to carry a bag
• Only raw files
• No spare batteries, I check and replace before going out.
• If I travel any distance or stay away from home I take a computer.

I agree with two of your points: only RAW and always take a computer when I travel overnight.

I shoot a lot of different subjects and styles, and select the appropriate camera. I select a camera for infrared, portability, sports/action/wildlife, or video.

I always have a backup camera, but only carry it if I need to change lenses quickly.

I mainly use zooms, but I use primes when I need a faster lens or shallower DOF or just sharper image.

I carry a bag most of the time, and I have a lot of bags to choose from.

I start with a fresh battery, but always carry a spare. Usually don't shoot enough to need it, but I don't want to have to go home just because I ran out of battery.

 

[richj20]

When I started with MFT about 14 years ago, there was no 50mm equivalent lens - my favorite focal length. So I purchased Panasonic's 20mm f/1.7 (=40mm). I became very attached to the slightly wider focal length, and it's my most used lens today.

I like the range finder style camera, and my current ones are Panasonic GX8 and GX9. I use the GX9 with the 20mm. A small and light system. The tilt EVF is very useful when photographing low to the ground.



I normally take the camera with me when I go out, and I use a small unobtrusive shoulder bag.



Once on my way home I passed by a house with flag - one of my "projects." It was early evening with a strange color sky. I was happy to have the camera with me.



Another favorite lens is Panasonic 30mm macro. I use this on my daily strolls around my neighborhood, looking for interesting flowers and insects. By chance one day I saw a leaf-footed bug feeding with its snout pierced into the seed pod. I used flash for this shot and the built-in flash of the GX9 is ideal.The custom modes on the camera permit quick switching between different configurations.





Other lenses I use depending on the occasion, are:

• Panasonic 12-60mm
• Panasonic 45-150mm
• Panasonic 100-400mm with the slightly larger GX8.

When I travel, I take 2 GX9 cameras with a few lenses, depending on where I am going.

I photograph RAW + Jpeg

I bring a laptop to transfer each day's shoots.

That's about it!

-richard

 

[Gato Amarillo]

two of your points: only RAW and always take a computer when I travel overnight.
.................
I start with a fresh battery, but always carry a spare. Usually don't shoot enough to need it, but I don't want to have to go home just because I ran out of battery.

YESSSS!!

 

[GeoffRG]

We've had lots of comments about using only prime lenses, or only zooms, raw or JPEG, different cameras or multiples of the same one, one brand or several. How do you "do" your photography?

There's no wrong answer and, obviously, nobody's way is wrong.

I want to be able to pick up my camera/s and go out of the door ready for most things. That means my choice of hardware needs to be limited.

• I use only one model of camera, three examples
• Usually carry two bodies with zoom lenses and teleconverter
• Only zooms because I don't want to carry a bag
• Only raw files
• No spare batteries, I check and replace before going out.
• If I travel any distance or stay away from home I take a computer.

I agree with two of your points: only RAW and always take a computer when I travel overnight.

I shoot a lot of different subjects and styles, and select the appropriate camera. I select a camera for infrared, portability, sports/action/wildlife, or video.

I always have a backup camera, but only carry it if I need to change lenses quickly.

I mainly use zooms, but I use primes when I need a faster lens or shallower DOF or just sharper image.

I carry a bag most of the time, and I have a lot of bags to choose from.

I start with a fresh battery, but always carry a spare. Usually don't shoot enough to need it, but I don't want to have to go home just because I ran out of battery.

Surely that depends on the camera?

 

[BertIverson2]

...

• I use only one model of camera, three examples
• Usually carry two bodies with zoom lenses and teleconverter
• Only zooms because I don't want to carry a bag
• Only raw files
• No spare batteries, I check and replace before going out.
• If I travel any distance or stay away from home I take a computer.

Pretty much your list:

RX10IV
1 Body and my cell camera (for quick snap shots)
24-600 f4 zoom
Only raws
1 spare battery
Just cell phone with Samsung 2T external SSD T7 and its cable.
DXO PhotoLab (back home)

No pre planning what to take.

Cheers,
Bert