I started photography as we nowadays say analogue, with a LubitelII and a 6×6 Agfa camera when I was 13.
In 2005 I bought my first serious digital cam, a Fujifilm finepix S5600. After this, I kept track of what was available and I usually was able to obtain 2nd hand equipment and later sometimes new equipment to keep me updated.
I started tyhese updates first with Canon, the EOS5DII and later the EOS6D and a number of APS-C types. I now have just about all the lenses for that, from wide-angle zoom to tele-zoom and quite a few primes. I also have a few M-series cameras from Canon including a double set of lenses but I don’t really use them because the quality is fine but incomparable with my full-frame and M4/3 equipment. While the capabilities of the M series are less than brands like Panasonic, Sony and Olympus and the portability is about comparable.
Because I also like to shoot movies, at some point I switched to the Sony A7 line in addition to the Canon full-frame cameras that I still use for still photography. I still have my first A7, as well as the 42MP A7RII. I also have a fair amount of lenses for these cameras, but still mostly zoom lenses because the primary use of these cameras is movies. I find (and this is of course very personal) the look and feel of Canon very suitable for quick snapshots and the Sony cameras are too angular imho for that. It’s OK when in a holder with all kinds of extras on it but not as a camera for walk-arounds.
Eventually around 2018 I got hooked on the Olympus and Panasonic setups with the micro 4/3 sensors. I pretty much own the top cameras from those, and with that a substantial collection of lenses. The 2 cameras I use the most are the Olympus OMD-1 MII and my favorite walkaround is the Panasonic DC-G90 with the short OLYMPUS MFT 7-14MM F/2.8 M.ZUIKO on it. This also has built-in flah.
On vacations, I never use anything but my Sony RX-100 MV again. With the extendable eyepiece and the almost unbeatable image quality of the 1 inch sensor, I have found that I never need to take anything else on the road. On top of all this camera also shoots very good video.
In the city I mainly use my Canon RP with the short zoom F4.0 14-35 mm. It’s compact and uncomplicated.
BTW, I always carry the Ricoh GRIII with me, as this APS-C camera with its 24mm fixed lens produces super sharp pictures, rich in details and very easy to carry around in a coat- or trouser’s pocket.
For serious work I like to use my set of Panasonic GX8s. Can take a beating, includes flash and the adjustable eyepiece (viewfinder) is always nice to use, even in bright sunlight. On these cameras, I usually have the Panasonic short zoom lens and an Olympus prime mounted.
The above list does mean that I have about 80-90% of my photography gear unused. I’ve tried to sell everything but it just doesn’t make enough money. So every now and then I grab a set from the loft and use it again, which is also quite fun!
And- recently I got me a Mamiya RZ-67 and an Aptus digital back, lenses and I get it to work properly, heavy and great! Just experiencing now what you can do with this…
