I Simplified My Gear and It's Fantastic
Too much stuff in the old camera closet?
I’m just going to go ahead and say it: I like gear. It’s true. I like camera gear, I like buying camera gear, and I like having camera gear. But admittedly, over the last few years, I accumulated too much of it.
Like many photographers, I decided to experiment a bit during the height of the pandemic. For me, that meant trying different focal lengths in the field. Since I wasn’t really traveling anywhere, I was pretty much just shooting around the city where I live (Austin). And I like shooting in cities, but had gotten a bit tired of shooting the same old things in the same old ways.
Thus, I decided some new lenses were just what the doctor ordered. Nothing like a completely different focal length to switch things up, right?
Well, perhaps I went a little overboard because I ended up getting a lot of lenses over the last few years (this actually started before the pandemic though - the pandemic just made it a bit worse). And in full disclosure mode, these were not top-of-the-line expensive lenses. These were 3rd party lenses that were very affordable, so adding quite a few over time didn’t really sting the old pocketbook.
But when it came time to go shoot, I ended up being confused about what to bring. My old favorite, which I know I will love shooting with? Something new that I bought recently and need to try out? Something that I rarely used but I have had for a little while? And how do you really get good with a lens unless you shoot with it a lot?
You see, I like the idea of having choices, but honestly having too many choices is a bad thing. It leads to confusion, and inexperience with some of the lenses, and that’s not good. And I had something like 12 lenses sitting on my shelf. It was getting ridiculous! So, I decided to simplify.
I am an avid Sony shooter, and since I have no plans to change that, I decided to sell a bunch of that other stuff and stick with Sony (I also sold a couple of barely-used Sony lenses). Their cameras are fantastic, and their lenses are amazing.
This all coincided with the recent release of their new 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II wide angle lens. I had the v1 and loved it, and used it all the time (especially for landscapes and broad cityscapes). But the new version is smaller and lighter, and since it is probably the lens I use the most, I wanted to upgrade.
But I also was interested in their new-ish 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II midrange zoom as well. I had the original f4 version of that lens years ago, and used it a lot back then, but sold it years ago and have been using a variety of lenses in its place. I went back and forth between their 20-70mm f/4 lens and also their 24-105mm f/4 lens (I had acquired both, so yeah, I guess all my lens purchases weren’t inexpensive 3rd party options). And both are great lenses, it’s just that I wasn’t using them quite enough, and they didn’t quite cover me in every situation.
Neither one of those ever felt like it was exactly what I wanted, mostly because they are both f/4. And I don’t mean that from a snobby point of view, but rather a practical one - I just like to wander and shoot handheld a lot of times (especially in cities), and often in lower light. I just need the f/2.8 for that more often than not. And the 24-70mm zoom range is nearly perfect for me, most of the time.
So I unloaded about 8 lenses, acquired the two new Sony lenses mentioned above, and haven’t looked back.
Now I am down to 6 Sony lenses and feel great about it. Here’s my current lineup:
That’s it. Well, that may still be a lot, but I do love prime lenses and it’s a lot less than I had a few weeks ago LOL.
The only thing that may be missing is something like a 70-200mm lens. I honestly don’t have a need for much beyond 70mm most of the time (I tend to prefer a wider view, most of the time), so next time I feel like I need that I may just rent it. I rented their 100-400mm for Iceland back in August (had to capture puffins!!) and it was perfect for that. Renting would certainly be cheaper! Plus, then I don’t start accumulating more lenses that end up just collecting dust around here.
I want to actually use what I have, instead of just look at it.
And that is a key point here. I want to be really comfortable with my lenses, and know how to use them in various situations, without having to think about it. When you have 12 lenses, you just can’t really master them all. I prefer to have a few solid choices that are amazing, and use them frequently vs just have a nice collection of stuff sitting on a shelf. Sure it looks pretty, but what’s the use of them just sitting there?
So I’m going to try and stick with this lens lineup for a while. They are all amazing lenses, fantastic quality and all that. And they more than cover what I shoot 99% of the time. Feel free to ask me in about 6 months and see if I am sticking to it!
p.s. I have all my gear listed on my gear page (and it’s now updated) if you want to take a look: https://jimnix.com/gear
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