MY GEAR

I am often asked what gear I use.

This is generally from someone about to buy a camera and basically needs advice.

I've used a variety of cameras over the years to produce photos for this site; a DSLR, Mirrorless, compact, an Action camera and yes a number of mobile phones. Think of it like a fleet of cars, you use the right car for the right job. If I want the best then its generally a DSLR. But not always as when doing street photography I find people "close up" if they see a big camera. If you have a compact and look less professional then they appear to relax. If you are walking up a mountain then the last thing you want is to carry a DSLR and a compact will probably do really well. For day to day shots a mobile is great. BUT I've found that as soon as you want to edit and get into the detail the shots tend to not have the depth. SO I am returning to carrying a real camera. The other fact is if you have a mobile in your hand messages or calls arrive and you are taken out of the "I'm taking photos mind set".

Think of it like getting dressed to go out, what am I going to wear....plus what camera am I going to carry. Hopefully you will get it right and have the correct gear but you could get it wrong and have the wrong gear, miss the shot or have carried around all that gear up the mountain for little benefit. In the end always have a camera of some sort as that shot could appear and even the wrong camera is better than no camera.

So you want to buy a camera?

• The first question is how much money do you have.
• The second is what size and weight are you willing to REALLY carry.

Take your time and answer these two questions. Note the more expensive and bigger the camera the better the results. However on a bright day a cheap compact will generally do really well. I have a mix. In a more dangerous environment I use my compact and carry it all the time. If I am in a special place where I feel I want to take a lot of photos I carry the DSLR. So over the years maybe one should think of having not just one camera but a few for different situations. Do your research on line, visit shops and hold the camera if you can and then buy.

The other stuff....

A tripod, even a small one for a compact is often useful but not essential. I have just bought a mini tripod that has magnetic feet and its proven to be simply great fun and very useful....especially in churches on city walks.

For my DSLR I have a ruc sac with a padded section for my camera. It really helps to protect stuff but the padding really does make the ruc sac only good enough to carry a few other items.

Remember to buy a new SD card, as big as possible so you can store a whole holidays worth of photos... eg I have gone for a 64GB for about £25 from Mymemory web site. When the mega pixels go up you need more memory and 64GB should give about 1600 photos at top quality. 

A case from LowePro, www.lowepro.com has proven a good design.

Some basic screen protectors off Amazon and probably a spare battery. On that subject I prefer branded batteries as they tend to last a lot longer than any copy. Interestingly B&H was the cheapest for a spare battery. 

The point is there are a few other things to budget for after the camera itself.

Remember the optimum number of cameras is X+1,

X being your current number of cameras.