The photography enthusiast

Pentax K-5 iis and Pentax 16-50mm 2.8

If I am honest, I would have to admit that I have more cameras than I need. At least my wife reminds of so. But for those of us who love photography as a hobby, as a means for artistic expression, it is very difficult to explain to others where this passion comes from. In my personal case, photography is purely a hobby, I do not make money from it, I just enjoy taking and creating pictures (emphasis on the “creating” part), I also enjoy understanding and learning what it takes to get a good picture, and more often than not I find myself researching a lot on the internet looking to find a camera collection gear balance that would satisfy my needs and wants with photography.

This blog is an attempt to explain my pursue of such balance.

For instance, currently I am at odds. A couple of weeks ago my family spent a few days on the beach, so I decided to take my Nikon AW1 and my first Canon camera, the 5d Classic. Both camera performed as expected, but one thing I noticed worried me after using the both near the beach… the sand. As Canon users know, the 5D has a wheel pad in the back of the camera which I found pretty cool, but hours after leaving the beach I felt the 5D produced a rough noise while dialing the wheel pad, to what I realized had to do with fine sand getting underneath it. Oh, that´s not good. Is the 5D appropriate to bring to the beach? Probably not.

Canon 5D Classic and 50mm 1.8

If I intend to spend next summer on trips around beaches, sea water, salt and sand, I am not sure if the cameras I have can handle that. I am not including the Nikon 1 AW1 because honestly I don´t consider it a serious system, but mainly a fun system for family gatherings and candid photography around swimming pools. Would I risk my Nikon D700 to a trip to Kuna Yala islands? Well, not that I doubt the Beast taking a splash of salty water, but the lenses I own for sure will surely not survive it.

Nikon 1 AW1 with 11-27mm lens

So, if taking pictures of trips and hikes of the sort are part of your plans, would you risk using camera gear that cost you a deal of money if they break or damaged when accidentally get soaked on salty water? Nope, I don’t think so. For a moment, it crossed my mind if this is a reason enough to justify getting back a Pentax systema and the obvious consequence of throwing all my gear balance out of whack (about a year ago I sold my last Pentax camera).

Being a photography enthusiast I cannot just simply justify buying cameras just because. However, I do enjoy the challenge of finding a solution to this use case with my current camera setup, or with minimal disruption. At the moment, this is where I am, researching ideas on how to maximize what I've already got.

Fujifilm X-T1 with XF 18-55mm lens

As a photography enthusiast, I try really hard to make sense of the cameras I got, and honestly I find there are areas of improvement, and what I have been doing lately is trying to categorize use cases, and identify which camera makes sense each case, and for those camera and/or lenses that wouldn't perform as expected, I shall evaluate the possibility to either sell it, or trade it, or just give it away to a close relative.

I am going through such process, and I have arrived at several conclusions:

1. When traveling consider weather sealing. A few months ago my dear Fujifilm X100F stopped working for no apparent reason at the end of a trip to US. Where I live, Panama, the weather is mostly tropical: hot, humid and rainy. It is most probable the X100F couldn't take the super cold weather from those days. I loved that camera for its portability, but it is obvious now weather sealing is very important thing to consider when traveling to a place with a very different climate.

2. Skin tones in pictures are no joke. I did not understand this until I purchased a Canon 5D, the Classic version, and I have learned and accepted that there is some secret sauce in the Canon 5D files regarding skin tones. I'll write a blog about it in the future, but in summary I can say getting the right skin tones takes little effort from the 5D files, just a touch of white balance and a little contrast, and it's done. Not that other camera brands cannot handle skin tones, but getting them right is plenty work, and the 5D is helping me figuring out how to simplify it with other cameras.

3. For sports photography, find a compromise. For outdoor sports, definitely a crop sensor camera with a telephoto lens is enough, but for indoor sports, image quality pays a high price due to the lack of proper lighting at basketball courts and similar places. Either have two camera systems, with the appropriate lenses (a very expensive proposition), or decide what is important and go for it, and in my opinion, it is getting the shot, so a good autofocus systems is in order. In my case, between using a Nikon D750, or a Fujifilm X-T2 for sports, I am considering selling them both and consolidating on a Fujifilm X-T3, whose high ISO performance is very close to a full frame camera.

4. It is very difficult to again justify getting a Pentax camera, but certain use cases demand a truly weather sealed camera, one that can sustain the rigours of the tropics: humidity, rain, sun, sand, beaches, and more rain and sun, plus the possibility to portable enough to carry for family trips. For tough situations, is there a camera/lens system besides Pentax that can take such abuse for real? I am starting to see a possible unexpected solution for this last dilemma on a camera system I haven't really considered at all before…

5. And that system is the M4/3! Currently looking at the first generation Olympus OM-D E-M1 and the 12-40mm 2.8 Pro lens as an option. I have seen people testing this system in similar conditions to those overcome by Pentax cameras, and it appears that, regardless of the sensor size, the quality of images is superb, as long as there is good light. This camera appears to tick many boxes, and able to optimize plentiful my camera collection. I could take it worry free to the beach, on boat trips to the islands (handling water splashes), near swimming pools with my kids, and other use cases. An Olympus system could very well replace my Fujifilm X-T1 and the XF 18-55mm lens combo, which I used when similar cases presented themselves, of course, I have been always worried of damaging my X-T1. Of course, there is the question of acquiring a whole other camera system. Can a hobbyist justify it?

6. Regarding the Beast, the Nikon D700, that camera is staying with me.

Nikon D700 with Tamron 24-70mm 2.8 lens

Well, I am sure I am not alone in these ramblings. At least I hope so. Either I am one of many joggling through these choices, or I am just a clinical case. In the end, this is my belief, the gear doesn't make the photographer, but there seems to be an understanding among passionate photographers that gear can ignite our love for photography, even inspire it. In my case, what I love the most about this hobby of photography is not the destination, but the process of getting there, a process of self discovery.

Feel free to follow me on Instagram: @eruizmiro, or @panamastreetshooter.