My Photography Daily Carry - Ready for anything

I have put together this Blog detailing my journey to ensure photography fills my life more. Before I get into talking about any of the kit, I’ll give you some context for my rationale.

I recently came back from a big trip through Europe. The focus was Landscape Photography with some light street work based around city breaks when I needed to escape the wilds. When I was going through all of my photos, I realised there are very few during those transitory moments.

Interestingly, the photos captured in those in-between states — moving from hotel to street, or campsite to landscape — are the ones that evoke the strongest emotions.

When I reflected on this I had realised even back in Australia, in those in-between moments, going to see friends and family, or heading to a job site. Very few times I would take my camera kit.

When I would think about it more, the main reason was weight and gear expense. Since shifting to mirrorless, it was a honey moon period of sorts. With the Mirrorless camera bodies shrinking, it was great! No longer was I hulking around those bulky DSLR bodies to site.

This was all a mental misdirection, as the lenses didn’t really shrink. In fact mirrorless lenses actually feel bigger. At least with regard to my Nikon kit. So this has resulted in me not taking advantage of photography opportunities.

I have been testing this kit recently and I hope to have it replace my larger more expensive kit as not only my Every Day Carry but all around camera system.

The goal of this kit is to be small, lightweight and fundamentally simple. Be able to take it everywhere, making it perfect for Street Photography, Landscape Photography and everything in-between.

The Camera - Weapon of choice

I have chosen to go with the FujiFilm XT5. Which is a APSC sensor unlike my current Nikon z7ii which is Full Frame. There were a lot of considerations for a camera bodies and I basically boiled some core requirements down which lead to this camera.

• 40mp Sensor: Having this on my Nikon z7ii was a game changer also as I am able to crop very aggressively. This basically means I have extra focal lengths without the extra weight.

• Light weight and small: sure the body has a smaller footprint than my Nikon z7ii. But not by much. It is the access to small lenses. I have always loved to shoot with primes but the Full Frame primes are just as big as the zooms. The Fuji lenses are much more lightweight and costs are essentially half for all the equivalent.

• The articulating screen: the ability to flip the screen out in vertical orientation is amazing to me. Being able to setup a shot really close the ground and still be able to compose without the need to look through the viewfinder is very beneficial to me. With my current setup, the screen only articulates horizontally which results with me doing a weird yoga stance when getting a low vertical shot.

• Not pro looking: this is not a knock against the Fuji XT line up. This camera compared to traditional PASM dial setups just looks fun. When I am taking shots out in public, very few people turn heads when I lift this up to my eye.

The Lenses

Currently this kit has two lenses in it which help me bring my camera with me everywhere. At some point I will likely incorporate a zoom into the mix but primes really help me hone my photographic eye. Primes also force me to explore more. Which is a core principle in why I have taken up photography in the first place.

FujiFilm does have faster prime alternatives, F1.4 variations for low light work. They are great and I will likely look at incorporating one to help bring my ISO down in night shooting but again this kits purpose is lightweight and portable so they are excluded.

Lens number one, FujiFilm 23mm F2 WR, this is a 35mm Full Frame equivalent. I actually opted for a tighter establishing lens. I did a deep dive into my Lightroom library and when carrying a 24-70mm or 24-120mm zoom, I had actually stuck to the 30-40mm range for my wide shots. This was across a lot of places from Australia to European cities.

So having a 35mm lens seemed to be a good in between. For now it has served me well but I can see myself moving to a 16mm or 18mm prime as the 40mp sensor does give a lot of freedom for cropping. Right now with this 35mm any cropping I do, usually ends up making it tight like a 50mm.

The second lens, FujiFilm 50mm F2, This is a 76mm Full Frame equivalent. Again, deep diving my 24-120 zoom stats on Lightroom. I found myself in the 70mm-100mm range. So coupled with a crop the 70mm gets me through that range at a pinch. I am actually surprised how much I love shooting at this range when forced to with the prime factor. I can definitely create isolated scenes a lot better at that range. Picking out subjects and details is especially rewarding in a city environment.

These two lenses with my shooting style give me enough room to get some wide establishing shots to more detailed scenes. If the 35mm equivalent 23mm becomes limiting in tight spaces, like I said earlier I will look at filling the gap with a 16mm or 18mm. For now the 23mm is just a good all rounder prime for the stuff I shoot. More and more the 50mm is becoming my fav though so having a wider backup could be beneficial.

The Bag

I have been using the Peak Design 6L sling for years. It has been dunked into water, pulled across the ground after getting dropped and smashed by all elements. It doesn’t really show much wear and tear. So far, just the zipper tabs seem to have discoloured, this is probably from salt water from when I do Seascape photography.

I originally opted for a sling over a backpack when I was heavily into Seascape Photography. As waves would splash on me I didn’t really want my bag far away from me for obvious safety reasons. The bonus was I kept my gear very light and had cloths near by to wipe down splashes. Something that became apparent also was when I needed to swap a lens. Having the sling on me helped with the lens change process. I never felt unsafe doing a field change cause the sling was right there on me and the lens could be dropped quickly into the bag and stay clean.

This sling has become such a double purpose item. As when im doing street work, all the benefits above translate to here also. Quick access, lightweight and on me at all times. Bonus feature is, if Im going somewhere that I need a backpack for some extra storage. This sling just gets dropped into the top of the bag and becomes a camera cube without me needing to exchange kit from one place to another.

I’ll continue to use this until I find an alternative that works for me

Accessories

Battery Bank and charger cables. Nothing more can be said about this. Essential for tech these days if you want to keep everything charged up on the go.

Spare XT5 Battery. Spare SD card and Lens cloth.

Lighting SD card reader. Long train rides home feel a lot shorter when I can prune those burst shots down on my phone before I get to editing.

iPhone 13 Pro. This is solid device that actually doubles as a secondary camera. Having so many lenses on it from Ultra wide to Tele zoom. Ive taken a lot of my fav shots on the iPhone. **Camera elitists move along**

Peak Design camera wrist strap. I got this a long time ago and is essential for my run and gun approach. If I need both hands I can drop the camera to dangle and be still on me.

AirPods Pro. I used to lug around headphones for noise canceling. Since I got these I have been a convert to the Apple Cult.

Conclusion

I really tried making my Full Frame to be my EDC but no matter the configuration, it just ends up being cumbersome. Not so much the body but the lenses. Even the semi pancake ones like the Nikon 40mm f2 end up increasing the size of my kit. Coupled with the significantly steeper price tag of the kit. Results in me not bringing the kit with me everywhere.

Taking my camera whether it’s with both the lenses I mentioned or just the 23 F2 Is something that I feel very passionate about to capture those transitory moments. Arguably those moments are the best to photograph.

Will this result in my moving away from my Nikon? It will definitely be a challenge juggling two camera systems and I am yet to encounter an image quality drop for the stuff I shoot between Full Frame and APSC.

Time will tell and no doubt a blog post chronicling my process will follow.