If You Had to Simplify Your Camera Kit… [DISCUSS]
If you had to really strip your camera gear back to the very basics what would you do?
This question comes after a chat with a friend yesterday who admitted that he now had 3 DSLRs and 14 lenses for them… in addition to several compact cameras and a four thirds camera body with 4 lenses.
I asked him what he’d do if he had to give it all up except for one camera body and one lens and he almost started to hyperventilate but it led to a fascinating conversation about the merits of different gear.
I know not everyone has that level of gear at their disposal but I know many of our readers have acculated quite a bit of gear…. so what would you do if you had to simplify or strip it back to the basics.
Lets say you can only have one camera body and one lens – which ones would you keep?
105 Responses to “If You Had to Simplify Your Camera Kit… [DISCUSS]” - Add Yours
October 12th, 2012 at 5:45 am
My D90 plus either the 11-16mm f/2.8 or the 35mm f/1.8.
October 12th, 2012 at 6:12 am
My D7000 and either my 24-70 f/2.8 or my 18-200mm
October 12th, 2012 at 6:14 am
My Olympus EM-5 and the Olympus 45 1.8 Though I really love my 17mm 2.8 as well.
October 12th, 2012 at 6:14 am
Olympus OMD with my Pana 14-45 zoom. Light and flexable.
October 12th, 2012 at 6:16 am
7D and 24-70L
October 12th, 2012 at 6:17 am
omd em5 and the 12-50 kit lens. why? took it on vacation and it covered most of my needs.
October 12th, 2012 at 6:19 am
5D Mark III and EF 24-70 f/2.8 L USM
October 12th, 2012 at 6:27 am
My D800 with my 14-24 2.8. The main combo i use is that along with a 50 and a 105, but i can live without the 105.
But if it had to be one focal length, i’d say a 28mm f1.4 equivalent is something i can live with forever.
October 12th, 2012 at 6:33 am
I have a Rebel and four lenses (18-55, 75-300, 100 f/2, and 50 f/1.8). I’d stay with the 18-55 for versatility. However, if I had the 24-105 f/4, I would stick to this one.
October 12th, 2012 at 6:44 am
I’d keep my 5DII and probably… 24-105 f/4 for the versatility. I’d miss the wider apertures though…
October 12th, 2012 at 6:50 am
5D mkII & 24-70mm f/2.8
October 12th, 2012 at 6:54 am
Nikon V1 and 10 – 30mm kit lens – based on what I use most as my everyday camera,
October 12th, 2012 at 7:05 am
I experienced this situation recently – making a decision to sell a D700 body and some lenses for the Leica M9. Even with 3 lenses for the M9, my kit is still smaller yet as functional as the D700 (for the most part).
October 12th, 2012 at 7:08 am
Pentax K-5 + Pentax FA31/1.8 Limited
October 12th, 2012 at 7:11 am
My D7000 and Tamron 18-270 PZD. It’s my starter kit. But I would want to keep lens pen and the blower as well to keep it running.
October 12th, 2012 at 7:16 am
Take into account that he said “only have one camera body and one lens ” so you will have to leave your IPhone at home!!!!
October 12th, 2012 at 7:16 am
dSLR + nifty fifty covers the plurality of all the photos I take. I’d miss taking all the photos I need other stuff to capture though.
October 12th, 2012 at 7:33 am
Get rid of all of it and get a single 60mp Hasselblad medium format with a single Prime 50 and a single medium zoom. 1 tripod, 1 flash. with handle.
That will replace everything else because I can now crop to get what I want. Heck you can crop down to 10mp and still print an amazing 11X17 that will make everyone go Oooh and Ahhh.
Granted I need to sell my house and 2 cars to afford the down payment on the camera….
October 12th, 2012 at 7:33 am
Pentax K-5 and Tamron 17-50 f2.8 – although if I had one I’d probably agree with Greg Mitchell on the Limited!
October 12th, 2012 at 7:57 am
Nikon D600, Nikkor 28-300mm zoom, Nikkor 14-24mm zoom, Nikkor 50mm f1.2 lens
October 12th, 2012 at 7:59 am
Pentax MX and the M 50 1.4
October 12th, 2012 at 8:19 am
The challenge was strip your current camera kit to one lens and one camera body and people are listing multiple lenses or saying to get another camera / lens they don’t already have. I guess it goes to show you how tough it is parting with or giving up equipment.
From my own kit – Canon 550D (since it’s the only one I have that supports ML), EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM.
October 12th, 2012 at 8:34 am
I’ve only got one body, a 60D, so I’ll keep that, and I’d have to keep my Tamron 17-50 2.8. I would really miss my nifty fifty, 60mm 2.8 macro and my newest lens, 8mm fisheye.
October 12th, 2012 at 8:39 am
@Spyros I have the same Tamron lens (though the Promaster rebranded version). That’s a great lens for the price. I’d miss the fixed wide aperture, but I prefer more flexible focal lengths.
October 12th, 2012 at 8:46 am
Pentax K5 and Sigma 70-200 f/2.8
October 12th, 2012 at 8:47 am
Although, as a sports and wedding photographer I’d be fired if that was all I had haha!
October 12th, 2012 at 9:08 am
I only have the one camera body, so I’d keep my 7D and 28mm f/1.8
October 12th, 2012 at 9:18 am
D700 + 85mm f/1.4
October 12th, 2012 at 9:42 am
D7000 with 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G II, it is sometimes all I carry, with a small Lowepro bag, if I want to travel light. I even made a multilevel list with what to pack if I do not want to carry my rather full Lowepro Stealth Reporter D400 AW.
Here is the list:
Small Bag Packing Levels
Lowepro Rezo 170 AW
• Level 1
? D7000
§ EN-EL15 Battery
§ 8 GB SD Card (2)
§ RRS Plate BD7000-L
§ Luma Labs Loop Strap
§ BS-1 Accessory Shoe Cover
§ BM-11 Monitor Cover
? AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
§ Lens Hood
§ 72mm Lens Cap
• Level 2
? Lens Pen
? SD Card Case
§ 16 GB SD Card
§ 8 GB SD Card (2)
§ 4 GB SD Card
? Spare EN-EL15 Battery
§ Cover
? Microfiber Cloth – Yellow
• Level 3
? Carabineer
? ML-L3 Remote
§ Case
? Spyder Cube
• Level 4
? SB-600 Speed Light
§ Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce
§ AA Batteries (4)
? Flash Stand
? Tamrac Filter Case
§ 77mm Nikon Circular Polarizer II
§ 77mm Fader ND Fliter
§ 52mm to 77mm Adapter
§ 72mm to 77mm Adapter
§ 77mm Nikon Lens Cap
§ Flash Filters
• Level 5
? Pocket Wizard FlexTT5 (2)
§ AA Batteries (4)
? PW Cable
October 12th, 2012 at 9:49 am
My canon 1000D, Tamron 28-27mm f2.8 and a battery grip for stability.
October 12th, 2012 at 9:50 am
5D mk III and 35mm f/1.4 L
October 12th, 2012 at 9:50 am
* Tamron 28-75mm f2.8
October 12th, 2012 at 9:51 am
If I had strip everything to bare bones, it would be just my Leica M3 with 50 summicron or a Fuji X100
October 12th, 2012 at 9:53 am
My D7000, 35mm f1.8G… and the SB700!
October 12th, 2012 at 10:03 am
These……
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lendog64/5108211290/
October 12th, 2012 at 10:21 am
Canon EOS 5D MkII and Canon EF 24-105L.
October 12th, 2012 at 10:49 am
Canon 60D and Canon 17-55 f2.8
October 12th, 2012 at 11:56 am
My Nikon D5100 and a 35mm 1.8G glass.
October 12th, 2012 at 12:05 pm
My D7000 and 35mm F1.8
October 12th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Fuji x100
October 12th, 2012 at 1:05 pm
5D II with 24mm TS-E. I think something like 80 percent of the photos I shoot on that, a 24-105 and 16-35 end up shot at 24mm anyway, and it’s gloriously sharp when you get it right. Plus a tripod and careful shifting and stitching later provides MF-esque depth of field and resolution.
That said, I bought an X Pro 1 with a 35mm recently and it’s such a charming camera to shoot that if there’s not a specific reason to pick up the 5D I find myself taking the Fuji more and more often… so I may in fact have to toss a coin
October 12th, 2012 at 1:11 pm
Nikon D300s with a Nikkor 18-200mm zoom lens. Then I’d cry cause I didn’t have my other lenses. lol
October 12th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
My D7000 and 16-85VR Lens
October 12th, 2012 at 1:41 pm
Fuji X100
October 12th, 2012 at 2:10 pm
I’d keep my Nikon d800 and a 16-35 f/4 lens.
The camera body is an easy choice. Not only did I just purchase it, but its the best camera I’ve yet to put my hands on and it’ll get e through any situation. The lens is a perfect choice because at 35mm, it does great environmental portraits, at 16 it does great wide angles, and somewhere in the middle I am sure there is a middle ground. The other two obvious lens choices would be the 14-24 or 24-70. I feel the former is too landscape-only oriented, while the latter isn’t wide enough. The 16-35 splits the gap and stays in my kit.
October 12th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
D700 with Nikon 24-120mm f4 VR zoom.
October 12th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
Easy. 5D Mark III and 50mm f/1.2. Sure would be hard to give up my 85mm f/1.2L and 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro though. 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II would be 4th on the depth chart.
October 12th, 2012 at 3:24 pm
d800 + 28mm 1.8G
October 12th, 2012 at 3:34 pm
Canon 7d with canon 24-70 f/2.8…
October 12th, 2012 at 3:34 pm
Olympus OMD E-M5 and 17mm (35mm equivalent FOV) lens.
October 12th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Hmm, probably the 1D Mk IV and the 24-105 f/4.oL.
October 12th, 2012 at 5:14 pm
Good post! This is the kind of information that should be distributed on the online community. I would like to read more of this.
October 12th, 2012 at 5:14 pm
I only had a 60D and a Sigma 30/1.4 for two years and it was great. I recently added a Sigma 105/1.8 and a Tokina 11-16/2.8 to complete my trinity but my original combo did almost everything I needed (except macro/tele and ultra-wide, hence the two new additions). Coupled with a Nissin Di866 and a Benro CF Travel Angel, I have an outstanding kit
October 12th, 2012 at 5:35 pm
I would keep my Nikon body and my Nikkor 85/1.4 and 20-35/2.8
October 12th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
I would keep my small Sony compact – not the best of the bunch but has the advantage of being in the car or with me all the time. You never know when a camera is handy.
Now that looks an interesting sky out there this morning – excuse me folks…
October 12th, 2012 at 7:19 pm
Canon 50D + Canon 35mm f/2 lens
October 12th, 2012 at 8:32 pm
Canon 1000D + EF-S 17-55/2.8
October 12th, 2012 at 9:58 pm
Canon 500D + 50mm f1.8
You should sum up the results Darren and see which lens comes in first
October 12th, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Canon EOS 60D & Tamron 17-50 VC or the Tamron 28-300.
October 12th, 2012 at 11:44 pm
Couldn’t part from my 60D and Tamron 17-55/2.8.
October 12th, 2012 at 11:54 pm
Pentax K-7 (only have one Dslr body) and Tamron 17-50 f2.8
October 12th, 2012 at 11:57 pm
D600 with the Nikon 28-300mm lens. It covers virtually everything…wide-angle, zoom, portrait, etc. About the only thing it doesn’t really do is macro…but I’m not doing macro photography anyway.
October 13th, 2012 at 12:27 am
i would keep my rebel 2ti with my 50mm 1.4 canon lens as a tear rolls down my cheek
October 13th, 2012 at 12:37 am
Canon 7D with my 70-300 b/c I cd do portraits, and I love compression even in landscapes … plus if I was allowed to use my Kenkos i could do killer macros.
October 13th, 2012 at 1:52 am
Canon EOS 5D MkIII and the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 IS L
October 13th, 2012 at 1:53 am
Leica M9, 35mm 1.4 Summilux FLE
October 13th, 2012 at 1:56 am
I would keep my old, faithful, Rebel and my awesome 50mm 1.8. I know all the strengths and quirks of this combo and can concentrate on becoming a better photographer (hey, why don’t I just do this for a month? Thanks Darren!)
October 13th, 2012 at 1:57 am
Canon 7D and 24 -105mm. I had my 3rd and biggest cancer surgery in June and HAD to scale down. Haven’t touched my 70-200L.
October 13th, 2012 at 2:24 am
Rebel T2i and the nifty fifty. It’s all that I use anymore. Everything else is just sitting in a lowepro bag in my office. Need to put some stuff on ebay…….
October 13th, 2012 at 2:38 am
Nikon D800 + Zeiss 35/1,4 Distagon
It’s a heavy setup. But i really couldn’t ask for much else.
(the funny thing is i have this set up RIGHT NOW with me >__<
… sure going to miss my 24/1.4G though T__T)
October 13th, 2012 at 2:56 am
Nikon. F5 and 50mm lens
October 13th, 2012 at 3:48 am
Canon Rebel xti + 50mm F/1.8 (aka nifty fifty)
October 13th, 2012 at 3:49 am
My D7000 with 35mm 1.8. Worked fine last vacation.
October 13th, 2012 at 5:34 am
Panasonic Lumix G3
Panasonic Lumix G 20mm F1.7
October 13th, 2012 at 7:14 am
I have a Canon 7d. Yes I know that they are expensive tro buy new, but I bought mine second hand on ebay. A fantastic camera, I wouldn’t be without it. But you need to take it off the auto setting and use it to its full potential. But even a basic camera can take great photos. Before you upgrade your camera, consider upgrading your lenses first. Good quality lenses are a better investment than upgrading your camera in many cases.
October 13th, 2012 at 7:52 am
I would keep my 5D mII with my 70-200 2.8L II.
October 13th, 2012 at 11:10 am
I have a NEX-5N (and 2 DSLRs). I would keep the NEX-5N and 16-50 lens for versatility.
October 13th, 2012 at 6:21 pm
I own all the standard G Nikon lenses, but maybe the 28mm f2.8 AIS with my D700 would cover most bases… One more? 85mm f1.4 G
October 13th, 2012 at 6:24 pm
Fuji X100 also… Classic!
October 14th, 2012 at 2:58 am
My Canon 7D and Tamron 20-300mm. Hope to replace this lens with an IS lens in the near future.
October 15th, 2012 at 3:34 am
My trusty Nikon D80 and my 50mm 1.4D.
Then again, i would probably leave my kid at home and have my tokina 11-16 2.8 take his place instead!
October 15th, 2012 at 7:42 am
I do not have a problem with limiting my gear. I prefer shooting natural light, so studio equipment is always at home. Sometimes, if I plan do something fun, I will take a flash with me. Usually, I go out with one lens, 18-200 mm zoom. When I need to shoot indoors, my prime 35 mm (it is 50 mm equivalent for cropped sensor camera) goes with me so I can open it to f/1.4. All of this makes me think what I can do with the gear I have with me, and is neither helping nor hindering my creativity.
October 15th, 2012 at 1:46 pm
Nikon D700 & the Noct-NIKKOR 58mm f/1.2 (I don’t own either of these but that is what I would choose)
October 15th, 2012 at 7:12 pm
What i have : D5100, 35mm f/1.8g, 18-55mm vr kit lens, 2 china made lightstands, 3 YN560. That’s all i have… perhaps you can donate unused equipment to me… ;D
October 15th, 2012 at 7:36 pm
canon 50D and sigma 17-70mm f2.8 is my everyday gear
October 15th, 2012 at 11:59 pm
d800 and the 60mm macro covers the normal , macro and you can crop the image as needed.
October 16th, 2012 at 3:27 am
5DMK3 and 35mm 1.4L
October 16th, 2012 at 2:12 pm
5d mark II 24-105l speedlite 600
October 16th, 2012 at 9:01 pm
I live in Africa so wildlife and landscapes are my life. Nikon D300s and 18-300mm covers the range with a 2x converter I van shoot birds as well. I would like to sneak the 50mm into my pocket as well.
October 16th, 2012 at 10:27 pm
D7000 and 35 f/1,8 G
If I could choose the kit I want; D800E with 50 f/1.4 G
October 17th, 2012 at 5:00 am
Camera: 5D mk3; Lens: Canon 24-105mm L. I give talks on Digital Outdoors (shooting in the wild) and I call that lens my “juggling bear” lens. If I have it on the camera I know I can get it, if the juggling bears walk out of the woods. I would say the 100-400mm L, but they could be too close and too dark. Love both of ‘em.
October 17th, 2012 at 7:10 pm
My Nikon FM3a and a 50/1.4 ai… ups sorry, wrong post :p What I really meant was a Nikon D5100 and an AFS 35/1.8G cheers
October 18th, 2012 at 8:36 am
NIKON D7000 and 35 mm f/1.8
This is what I use for all my experiments!
October 19th, 2012 at 1:51 am
If only one…. Leicaflex SL with 50mm Summicron-R.
October 19th, 2012 at 2:25 am
7D and Tamron 28-75 2.8, although the 50mm 1.4 prime would be awfully hard to give up.
October 19th, 2012 at 6:17 am
My D7000 and Nikon 24mm f/2.8
October 19th, 2012 at 10:11 am
I have begun using a Pentax Q – a very small camera with great capabilities. i have even shot some video with it to good effect. It is so small it is useful in places a bigger camera might be a problem. The camera’s own options provide an interesting challenge, but you can use it fully manual to great effect though the focus takes time to get used to. It does not replace my main cameras But it’s my everyday camera now.
October 19th, 2012 at 10:37 am
Canon EOS 550d + canon 18-135mm lens or 50 f/1.8
October 19th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
My Pentax K-r and the 35mm F2.4 lens is all need really.
October 19th, 2012 at 6:03 pm
My Canon 5D mark II and the 85mm F1.8.
It’s light and works well for what I do most (portraits and street photography).
October 19th, 2012 at 11:00 pm
Leica M6 + Noctilux 50 mm
October 20th, 2012 at 9:33 pm
My Nikon D7000 + Nikkor 18-300 mm lens
October 21st, 2012 at 11:12 pm
Nicon3100 +Nicon 35mm f-1.8
October 22nd, 2012 at 9:59 am
Lumix GX-1 and the 20mm (40mm eq) 1.7 Prime lens. The kit and power zoom lenses are more versatile but the prime lens stimulates my creative side more.
And I wouldn’t go bigger with the camera because the GX-1 is light for hiking to the back-country or small enough to be clandestine on the streets of the city.
March 22nd, 2013 at 8:58 am
A390 & 50mm F/1.4 lense
Leave a Reply