Photographers: What Gear do You Think is Essential — even Mandatory?
You never leave home without it.
No photographer can photograph without a camera; that is a given. Beyond that, what do you feel you cannot do without? Whether a working pro on assignment or a happy snapper, when you breeze out the door with the express goal of taking pictures, what will you groan for if you leave it behind?
These days any happy snapper is fully equipped with nearly any smartphone. It bundles everything into one slim, lightweight package, and if you can afford high-end models, they now have onboard computational gee-golly-whiz-bang features that, frankly, I’m not sure I understand, so, magic?
Manufacturers and aftermarket manufacturers make a dizzying assortment of add-ons, including but not limited to supplementary lenses to overcome the (to me) biggest drawback to phones — the very wide-angle basic lens. Until recently, you could simulate “zooming” closer to a subject, but the magnification wasn’t optical; it was really just cropping the image down and scaling it back up. The early versions were awful, not even worth using, but computational photography has made digital zoom look almost optical. There are also wide assortments of clip-on lenses for phones, and the latest flagship phones, iPhones in particular, offer multiple built-in optical lenses on their pro series models. Even the phone sensors are getting bigger, overcoming the most obvious shortcoming of phones — near-microscopic sensors.
So why do some photographers still lug around “real” cameras?
Speaking for myself, I hate phone cameras. I find them awkward in the extreme, like taking a picture with a potato (which would be easier to hold). I have a Pixel 4A which is considered pretty good, even excellent, but I hardly ever use its camera.
When I want to make casual snapshots, I only need the pictured body with a 4X — f/4.0 zoom and a just-in-case battery, with maybe a 10mm automatic extension tube in my pocket if I want to get closer than the lens permits.
If the plan is more than casual but less than professional, I like this outfit, as annotated :
I carry it in a small belt bag I wear in front. When shooting, the cameras are slung cross-chest on very smooth straps that glide over my shoulders as I pick one up, then switch to the other. I prefer this carry to a harness. The shoot dictates the lenses. I often have the short Zeiss on one body and the 55–210 on the other. The ultra-wide is in the bag.
Working both bodies, I needn’t change lenses, plus it allows one to back up the other in case of a meltdown. It’s rare for two bodies to fail simultaneously, although once on a wedding it happened, but I was carrying a third body! When working, I always have a third body in the big bag in the car, and I use other zooms for more reach, up to (equiv) 450mm.
I have not included a tripod, reflectors, or lights because I like light, loose, and fancy-free. I know my gear. I know I can get away with soaring ISO to shoot handheld under pretty dismal conditions. I shoot 100% raw, and I know how to process it. I know how to mitigate noise, and I have no hesitation in using some superb aftermarket noise-canceling apps, but I also don't mind a little noise rather than compromise sharpness. I am a card-carrying sharp freak. “If it can’t cut you, it doesn’t cut it!” (Just made that up.)
I will carry and use a tripod, but my assignments are events, so I need mobility. I carry this 7-foot Polaroid monopod with a shooter’s rifle rest, called a Vee or a Wye. Using it, I can cradle even my heaviest lens in it for long with no strain. I can shoot horizontally or vertically, lift it off and go handheld, pick up the other camera, and cradle it…you get the picture (so to speak). I sometimes extend the pole to its full 7-feet because I can instantly angle it for height without adjusting the flip locks. It is a marvelously versatile tool, and combined with higher shutter speeds; I can get razor-sharp results without the inconvenience of a tripod. I use it in museums! The guards never lift an eyebrow, but they would boot me out with a tripod.
Once in a while, I’ll mention the “stringpod” and get the “wut?” look. This is mine. The ringbolt is a 1/4 x 20 with a nut to ensure the bolt isn’t running through the body's bottom. I got it at Ace Hardware for, I think, 50¢. I already had the parachute cord. When I shot this, I had knotted the cord at intervals to prevent slippage, but I always wear light hikers with aggressive soles and discovered the knots were unnecessary. ‘Chute cord is thick enough that just stepping on it with a hiking sole traps it just fine, even on a smooth floor as in a museum.
In use, it is dirt simple: step on the cord and pull the camera up until the cord tensions. Too high or too low is so easily fixed it’s not worth explaining. You step on it and pull up. It’s not much and not as good as even a monopod, but this is the ticket in low-light situations if they won’t even let a monopod in. It only limits upward camera movement, but with otherwise best-holding practices, elbows into your ribcage, sniper breathing (really), you can get astonishingly sharp shots at lower ISOs and longer shutters than you’d think.
I’ve seen more elaborate rigs, but the parachute cord does not slip, so I don’t see a reason to tie it to a piece of wood. You can buy parachute cord at the same hardware as the ringbolt. It’s always in my bag; it’s good to have, weighs zilch, takes up no room, and costs little.
Of course, few amateurs are trotting around with two matched bodies. That’s a throwback to my working days, a luxury I treasure being able to do. I don’t work for money anymore, but I am still shooting events as a volunteer and justify my kit based on that. When I want some fun, I am content with one camera and one lens, usually a short zoom but often a prime macro. Its fixed focal length imposes discipline, and the lens will focus from 1:1 to infinity, giving it flexibility.
So, how’s by you? What gear do you never leave behind?
Comments? Questions?
Thanks for reading! I do appreciate it!
