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Year Years Eve game - what would you choose?

Tim

Active member
Being a bit of a gear head I sometimes think I have too many cameras and too much gear. Seeing how its New Years Eve soon (Happy New Year to all) I though it may be fun to play the old "one camera, one lens" game. Rather than consider only owning one camera, as this seems too hard and unlikely for all of us let me propose this silly thought game....


"If you could only use one camera and one lens for the next year, what would you choose?

Yes, you can go out and get your combo of choice and then start your year so if its something you don't have you can acquire it, but what would you choose? A D800 and 24-70 f2.8 zoom may cover most needs but you have to lug it everywhere!! :eek: ... How about the Sony RX-1. That could be liberating?



Of course this is just a "thinking game". I don't expect any of you to stick to this - in fact I would be disappointed if you do.
For me I think I'd go with my OM-D and add the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8. It would cover many needs but remain lug-gable.

What will you choose?
 
V

Vivek

Guest
[Apologies in advance if I am being a bad sport]

I have more than enough gear. Anything I have if I carry with me will be fine.

As always, I would only wish for a blank mind.* Photography to me is like meditation. Sometimes, it is there. Most of the time, not.

* I will shamelessly admit that I do not "pre-visualize" images before I snap them. My imagination is far more limited than the reality.
 

Tim

Active member
[Apologies in advance if I am being a bad sport]

I have more than enough gear. Anything I have if I carry with me will be fine.

As always, I would only wish for a blank mind.* Photography to me is like meditation. Sometimes, it is there. Most of the time, not.

* I will shamelessly admit that I do not "pre-visualize" images before I snap them. My imagination is far more limited than the reality.
No bad sports here.. its only a silly "what if" scenario game. Perhaps I long to simplify things. I don't know about you but I struggle to shift between operating systems on differing cameras.

I rarely have a creative idea for a photo. I am more a hunt and try and see type of image maker. Lately I have been leaning heavily on the gear head side to entertain me.

My image taking has been poor. I need a muse.
 

Mike Woods

New member
For me, I think it would have to be the M9-P partnered with the 50mm Summilux (hmmm, or maybe the 35...:deadhorse:)

Mike
 

Shashin

Well-known member
The great thing about this thread of choosing a single fantasy camera and lens combination is I already own both of them--an RX1 and Pentax 645D with 55mm.
 

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member

In general I'd say that in order to 'get closer' I often like to have a bit of "reach".

So I would choose a 24x36mm format DSLR plus a good 85mm autofocus lens (I don't have any, or plan to have any, 24x36mm format zoom lenses as I prefer primes).

That said, having to survive with just one lens for 12 months seems like quite an ordeal ... :shocked:
 

Maggie O

Active member
Last year, I more or less exclusively used the Fujifilm X100. The M8 was on the fritz and the X100 fit in my saddlebag purse, so it got to see a lot of duty.

For the purposes of the game, I'm gonna go with my new favorite rig, the M9-P and the Zeiss C Sonnar 50/1,5.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
I rarely have a creative idea for a photo. I am more a hunt and try and see type of image maker. Lately I have been leaning heavily on the gear head side to entertain me.
My image taking has been poor. I need a muse.
Hi Tim....I swear, you could be describing me exactly! Wish I know where I could find a muse for 2013.

For those of us with way too much gear, answering this hypothetical question is particularly difficult.....since I'm going to choose from amongst the cameras I already own, instead of picking something I might then want to buy in 2013. :eek:

Since I don't mind lugging around a DSLR, I think I'd go with my D700 and the 24-120/4 VR lens. For some reason, I've really bonded with that camera, more so than my D800e.

Happy New Year to all!

Gary
 
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Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
The great thing about this thread of choosing a single fantasy camera and lens combination is I already own both of them--an RX1 and Pentax 645D with 55mm.
One day, I'll figure out how one can own a single camera, both of them :ROTFL:

It ain't easy being a gear addict :chug:
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Sorry, I'm a multiple personality with no one personality being dominate. So to avoid going mental :loco: ... here's the choices from me,:) myself :rolleyes: and I :cool::

For Vivek's "blank mind"; Tim's "Hunt and peck"; "I'll know it when I stumble across it"; "Take with, because you never know"; Steen's "Not good enough=Not close enough"; "Decisive Moment"; "Content and Light above all else"; "Partner in crimes against photography" scenarios ... my choice is simple and involves no other possibilities:

Leica MM and 50/1.4 ASPH.

For "Make believe"; Dream it up then make it real"; "Museaholic ramblings"; "Neverland ideas scribbled on scrapes of paper and napkins"; "Two days of thinking, two days of prep, two hours of shooting"; .02 seconds of actual time captured ... I'm conflicted ...

Either a Hasselblad H5D/60 & HC/50-MK-II or Leica S2 w the same lens ... in either case it is the lighting kit that is more important.

For the "Make money to pay for all the stuff to do the above", "Need two of everything"; "Ambivalent tool", "Couldn't care less which brand it is ... put them all on a wall and blindly throw a dart over my shoulder"; "No love or hugs for the Orphan"; "Fondle free bag of stuff"; "Accountant over my shoulder"; "Practical do all, be all, bored to tears"; "It's just business" tool ... it is:

Any recent FF 35mm DSLR with a middle range zoom ... currently the Sony A99 with Zeiss ZA 24-70/2.8.


Forced (at gun-point) into a Haiku lifestyle in the Himalayas, forsaking materialistic addictions ... with the exception of a beggar's bowl, Saffron robe, and any one camera: The Leica MM/50mm combo. ... which I'd sell for an obscene amount as a "Special Enlightened Edition" to the first rich A-hole seeking redemption from their bad karma. :)

-Marc
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
Hassy 503cw with the Makro-Planar 120mm.

or maybe the Nikon D800 with a good copy of a 50mm 1.4 which I have yet to find

or maybe a Wista RF 4x5 :rolleyes:
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
... but what I'm taking with me for tonight's dinner with a couple of good friends is the OM-3 and the Zuiko 35mm f/2.0 with Tri-X exposed at ISO 800, so maybe that's the direction for the new year?
 

emr

Member
OM-D and Zuiko 75/1.8
Seriously? One 150mm equivalent prime lens? That does not sound too versatile.

I tend to like normal or slightly wide lenses, so I'd get something in the league of 35-50mm equivalent. A compact camera body with a sensor no smaller than APS-C. RX1 might be great if it had a built-in VF.
 

D&A

Well-known member
Since we are restricted to a single camera and lens (which I would instantly become conflicted as to which ones I would pick,), I'd have to base it on a pairing that would be conducive to the following:

1. Allow sufficient resolution for a reasonable size large format print.

2. Small enough camera/lens combination to take and use in virtually any environment without being obtrusive but keeping in mind the future option to change lenses (after the year is up). That unfortunately eliminates one of the many "fine" fixed lens P&S's.

3. Light enough (relative to what I often use) to never deter me from taking it on a moments notice.

4. Relatively quiet enough to use for those times where shutter noise and shutter recocking would be both an annoyance and a hindrance for unfettered use and lastly...

5. It's use does not look out of place to such a degree that being noticed spoils both the shooting ambience for potential imagery and/or simply becomes an annoyance to what many might deem to have an unduly physical size, considering where it's being used and that it might even require a use of a tripod.

For myself, this ideally comes down to a Leica (film) rangefinder but since I would want the convenience of digital, I would have to forgo some of the quientness of a film advance and therefore would then pick the M9 for it's 35mm full frame format and future lens interchangeability. Here's the really hard decision, the lens! Either it would be the 50mm Lux asph for all around generally versitility in framing, it's speed and relative compactness and of course ultimately its level of performance. As an alternative, I might pick one of the many M mount 35mm focal length lenses for a slightly wider framing that I often find preferable, while also incorporating some distinction by the way some of these 35mm lens's "draw".

Permit me to note, I will lament during this year in not being able to use a number of other camera/lens combinations for their own unique contributions that allow me to capture what I envision or what I'm possibly required to shoot. I too want Marc's three distinct and diverse "photographic" personalities, so I can then have at least three separate camera/lens combo's at my disposal and therefore, problem solved! LOL!

Dave (D&A)
 
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Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Seriously? One 150mm equivalent prime lens? That does not sound too versatile.

I tend to like normal or slightly wide lenses, so I'd get something in the league of 35-50mm equivalent. A compact camera body with a sensor no smaller than APS-C. RX1 might be great if it had a built-in VF.
Perfect for street portraits. If I didn't have to make a living, I'm sure I could do street portraits every hour of the day for a year or so :)
 

Shashin

Well-known member
One day, I'll figure out how one can own a single camera, both of them :ROTFL:

It ain't easy being a gear addict :chug:
Well, it is simple. I have this one and that one. One times one is one. One divided by one is one. One squared is one. The square root of one is one. I am having a hard time getting any other answer.

It is just a pity my wife does not see logic as clearly as I do...
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
Well, it is simple. I have this one and that one. One times one is one. One divided by one is one. One squared is one. The square root of one is one. I am having a hard time getting any other answer.

It is just a pity my wife does not see logic as clearly as I do...
Since it is a complex issue then you have 1 +1i
-bob
 

Shashin

Well-known member
Since it is a complex issue then you have 1 +1i
-bob
Ah, no. I am not thinking an additive function is really right in this case. If the answer is clearly 1, but if 1 + 1 = 2, then there must be something fundamentally wrong with addition as the function. It is best to follow a scientific method of coming up with the right answer first and then finding the appropriate proof. Societies around the world haves thrived with this method--the Aztecs, Romans, Druids, the White Sox, etc...

My wife has difficult with these fine points of reason too...
 

Ben Rubinstein

Active member
5D3 with 50L. I'm buying the former soon and if my legs are going south as fast as they seem to be, I'll be selling some gear for the latter in the next 3-6 months or so. I could easily live with a single FF camera and a very nice fast 50mm for a year. Been doing it for a while already outside of event shooting and that seems to be dead anyway due to my physical condition at present.
 
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