Gear
“Every photographer I admire used a camera. The camera is part of the process.” — Eddie Middleton
In a rather bold move I’ve prefaced this piece with a quote from myself, but my basic proposition is simple: gear matters. Rather than go through my kit bag item by item (but I will mention the main items) I thought it might be more useful to run through how I look at making decisions on kit. Over the years a fair number of cameras and lenses have passed through my hands; I think that gives me an insight into good and bad decisions and that’s hopefully an insight worth sharing. Sadly, at length… strap in.
Objectively I have far more kit than I need. There’s a reason - enjoyment. I like cameras in the same way that some people like cars or watches or stamps. I’m not the only one: James Popsys has an excellent video on the subject, while Barney Britton at DPReview wrote an excellent article on GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).
Myths and Heresy
Before getting into the meat of the page, there are a couple of common tropes that are worth addressing. The first is that the camera doesn’t matter. There are any number of quotes, articles and advice that lean into the idea that it’s the photographer that matters, not the camera. I’m certainly not denying that vision, compositional skills and an understanding of light matter; what I am saying is that any photographer needs the right tools to execute that vision. The wrong kit can be the blocker; birds in flight photography is a disappointing experience on a Fujifilm X100VI.
The heresy is that as far as image quality is concerned, then brand doesn’t really matter. This is not a view that is popular with sellers or reviewers of camera gear. In the main any camera manufactured in the last fifteen or twenty years will, if used with skill, produce superb images. (Newer, higher specification cameras may, however, make it easier). Composition, exposure and processing all have more of an impact on the final image than anything to do with the brand. Put another way, I’d defy any experienced camera club judge to identify the brand of camera used in a blind judging!
Finally, there is no such thing as a perfect camera or lens. Every kit decision is a compromise; functionality, weight, quality and price are just some of the factors that need to be considered. The trick is to work out which factors matter and which you are prepared to sacrifice.
Where kit does matter is when it can narrow the gap between intent and execution, and that’s the lens (pun intended) that I now use when assessing kit decisions. I use this rather than specification sheets or test charts to assess my needs and how the kit will help me achieve my aims. Ergonomics, customisation options, lens support, look and feel all contribute to the experience of photography; if you don’t enjoy the experience of using your camera then that’s probably going to have more of a detrimental impact on your output than burst rate or auto-focus performance.
Foundation - Capability and Resilience
I break my kit into four categories, and at the top of this classification list is Foundation. Foundational kit is the equipment that is there when getting the shot is the highest priority. It removes excuses and allows me to undertake any genre of photography that interests me knowing that any failure is down to me, not a shortcoming in the kit.
The image to the right was taken on my 61MP Sony A7R V with the Sony FE 20-70mm F4 lens attached. I’m pretty confident that I could now shoot the majority of my images using this combination. The lens is the more interesting choice; for the photography I enjoy the 20mm at the wide end is more useful than, say, the additional light gathering capability of a more expensive (and weightier) 24-70mm F2.8.
Of course, that’s not everything in my bag… I have a second Sony body both as backup and to provide a slightly different capability. This body has a lower pixel count, faster burst rates and read speeds which makes it much better suited to sports, action and wildlife. Finally, there’s a small compact that covers travel where the priority is minimal friction combined with high capability.
The foundational category is quite small - it adds zooms out to 200mm, a small ‘normal’ prime and the exceptional Sony FE 300mm F2.8 which is my main action and wildlife lens.
However, foundation is about more than cameras and lenses. I use magnetic circular filters from Kase where needed and some styles of photography will need a tripod. Tripods are another area where compromises need to be made. I have two; a large, heavy but very stable tripod and a smaller, lighter and much easier to carry travel tripod. The one area I wouldn’t compromise on a tripod is quality; buy cheap, buy twice.
Adaptation - Same Problems, Different Solutions
My second category is Adaptation. This is equipment that broadly does the same job as kit that sits within the foundation category, but provides a useful variation. In reality it’s a small, but useful category.
The best example is the Sony FE 24-105mm F4 lens that I used to take the image of Fanal in Madeira shown on the left. The job that this lens does isn’t fundamentally different from the 20-70mm, but there are times where sacrificing the extra coverage of the 20mm end for the additional reach of 105mm makes sense. It’s situation dependent.
The other area where this class makes sense is when looking at lens combinations. For example, with just the foundation kit a mixed landscape and wildlife outing might need three lenses, one of them very bulky. Having access to the 24-105mm and 100-400mm combination solves the same problem with less weight and complexity.
Extension - New Capability
The third of my classifications is an interesting one; Extension. The idea here is that kit in this class is extending the capability beyond the core capability. It’s not a large collection of kit, but it does give me some interesting options.
A prime example is my infrared converted Fujifilm X-T3. The Fujifilm X-Mount system was, for a number of years, my foundational kit. When that function started to shift to Sony I had one of the Fujifilm bodies converted to 720nm infrared. It gives me a very distinctive look that, in moderation, I quite enjoy.
Other examples in this category include the recently acquired drone, a fisheye lens, extension tubes, gimbal heads and a variety of slightly more specialised equipment.
Also covered would be any fast primes. I have a couple of capable, reasonably fast primes as extension items. There’s a 135mm F1.8 and a 50mm F2 in Sony FE mount, both of which add some shallow depth of field capability.
What I don’t have is any really fast glass - there’s no 50mm F1.2 or 85mm F1.4 in the inventory. This is very deliberate; they would add capability, but not a look that I particularly want or need. Moreover, I have experimented with these lenses in the past and they become ‘occasion’ lenses.
They are big, obvious and take up a chunk of space in the bag. Your mileage may vary, but I found that I needed an occasion to justify putting them in the bag and, as such, more often than not they stayed at home. Buy what you’ll use, not what you think you should have…
Experience - Enjoyment over Capability
My final category is Experience. This is kit that generally brings no measurable benefit in terms of capability; it’s kit that’s on the roster simply because using it brings me a measure of enjoyment.
My test here is whether it brings a different shooting experience or a different approach to the photographic process. One of the obvious (and indulgent) examples is my Leica M10.
For as long as I’ve taken photography seriously I’ve been curious about the experience of shooting with a manual rangefinder camera. In 2025 I took the plunge, to discover that I really enjoy the process. The manual focus and technical limitations of the system promote a different type of engagement, while the optical viewfinder allows me to see outside of the image frame, helping where some anticipation is needed.
My remaining Fujifilm kit - the majority has been sold or gifted - falls into this category. The X-Pro2 is an older, and in many ways, limited camera compared to modern cameras but the optical viewfinder and analogue controls make it a joy to use. I’d also add that I find the ergonomics on Fujifilm cameras to be the best I’ve experienced.
I also have a couple of film cameras; my father’s Canon A1 and a recently acquired medium format camera. The experience differences are obvious but I am finding the process of building a hybrid workflow to be far more engaging than I’d expected.
For many this category may seem indulgent or frivolous. For me, however, it’s an important part of how I enjoy photography and one I’d be loath to give up.
Conclusions
I’ve hopefully made the case that gear matters; not just in terms of the images that you can capture but also in terms of the experience and enjoyment of the process. You may have a different view and that’s fine; all I can say is that this works for me.
If I had to pass on one piece of advice it would be to know why you’re looking at extending your kit ahead of making a purchase. Not everything needs a purpose - simply using a different piece of kit for the pleasure of it is fine. However, working out whether it’s something that adds foundational capability, gives you an adaptation, extends the range or gives you a new experience may save you a ton of cash in unnecessary upgrades or give you pause for thought before splashing out on an ultra fast prime because that’s what ‘proper’ photographers do.
Finally, enjoy your kit and don’t be afraid to sell it on when you’re done with it so someone else can get the same pleasure…