>From my earliest days of photography, I've been financially bound to
not being able to buy the "best" or "most" of anything. Even my
selection of Olympus gear was a compromise since I couldn't afford to
buy Nikon. With the exception of the 35/shift lens, I've never
purchased a top-tier lens. Let's take a look at part of my kit (wait
a second, it's my ENTIRE kit):
OM-2S. I got that because I couldn't afford the OM-4. The A1
purchase was a digital stepping stone and my E-1/14-54 was only
accessable because of a fantastic deal on a refurb. The insurance
company bought my IS-3 to replace a stolen IS-1.
24/2.8. This is my second copy and happens to be blacknosed and
multicoated. My ONLY blacknosed/multicoated lens. The first 24/2.8
was a workhorse and suffered my indignities and much abuse. Is there
a better 24mm lens available? Yes.
35/2.8. Again, a second copy. My first one was foolishly sold.
Thanks to Tom Scales, I now have another silvernosed one in my bag.
This isn't either multicoated nor an F2 version. Yet, there is some
form of magic in that lens which makes it a keeper.
50/3.5. Silvernosed. Of the macro lenses, this is the most pedestrian
of the bunch. Are there better ones? You bet! Does this one do the
job? Yes. Would I replace it with something better? If I could, but
not necessary as I rarely use this focal length. Replacement just
isn't worth the investment.
100/2.8. Silvernosed. My very first Zuiko. Never, ever will I get
rid of this lens. Something special happened the day this lens was
built. Somebody must have mistakenly put the good stuff in it. I've
tried out the 100/2, 90/2 and 85/2. Non of those lenses have the
look and feel of my lens. It's a well-worn old-shoe. Even if I
could afford to go to a top-tier lens, I'm not sure I would. This is
MY lens and has a look unmatched by any other. Call it my signature
lens.
200/4. Silvernosed. This was another lens acquired in a trade.
Again a second lens. The first one suffered from a broken element
and had to be retired.
What am I missing? I really would like a 300mm lens. What else? In
all honesty, nothing really comes to mind. Other lenses have come
and gone through the years, but they just haven't been "keepers".
I'm borrowing my old 35/shift again, which is quite nice of Joel to
lend it to me. A big-honkin telephoto for rare super-tele stuff
would be nice, but those are special-use lenses.
The end result of my kit is that I can carry almost everything I own
in one medium-sized camera bag. (Even the bag is second-tier as I
couldn't afford the nice-stuff). That's an E-1, OM-2S, IS-3 and all
the lenses in one bag. There is no decision making when it comes to
deciding what kit to take with me on an outing. Simple and clean.
Even as minimalistic as my kit is, it's still very elaborate as
compared to what many pros have.
I'm reminded time and again, it isn't about the equipment. It's all
about creating the image. Equipment is no substitute to vision.
Nearly all of my best shots are all taken with pretty average
equipment. There is precious little overlap in my equipment other
than what is necessary for redundancy. I linked to a picture the
other day taken with the lowly Olympus XA. Wow, what a camera. I even
shot wedding pictures with that camera.
Now, as there are newer cameras (digital) and zoom lenses available,
I'll be upgrading or replacing certain things like my IS-3 or A1 or
even the E-1, but the fact remains that I've learned to be
comfortable with my kit and am proud of the results of it.
I have yet to master anything which I currently have. I could settle
in with just one camera and lens and never exhaust the possibilities
with it. As a professional photographer, I need to be able to cover
multiple requirements, which is another story, but from an artistic
perspective, too many choices stunts the creative process.
When I get together with fellow photographers, there are times I feel
like the poor cousin with an outhouse and no running water. My kit
looks beat and in some cases even exhausted. Others show up with
shiny top-tier F2 lenses and cameras which look like they just came
from the factory yesterday. Even my tripod is humble compared to the
Gitzo CFs and micro-adjust heads and RRS QR plates.
Yet, the tripods don't set themselves up by themselves. The best
lenses in the world are worthless if they are kept in the bag or left
at home because it's too much risk to bring along or they are too
bulky/heavy.
One of the best pictures from the Isle Royale workshop was taken with
a lowly pinhole camera with B&W film. Thousands of dollars worth of
equipment between four of us and a killer image was taken with 150
year-old photographic technology.
The point of this post is to not fixate on the equipment. Just get
yourself an adequate selection to cover your bases and that's it.
Being a collector is one thing, but being a photographer is another.
If my entire kit was stolen, lost or destroyed, I'm pretty sure my
replacement setup would be substantially different, but I'd still
want to try to achieve a minimalist kit which I'm not afraid to use
and take anywhere.
AG
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