Gear doesn’t matter – but choose gear that matters
Since I started photography somewhere around 2010-ish I have cycled my gear in a one or two year cycle. I’ve always thought of it as trading for better gear even though I realise in the later years that it’s more about finding the gear that’s suits my personal preferences and my personal style. But this is not an easy task since preferences and style evolve.
This might all sound a bit pretentious but believe me that’s not my intention at all. There is still some truth in the saying that ‘the best camera is the one you have with you’ . . .
I started my photography journey with a Canon 500D that was soon upgraded for a 50D. Not long after I upgraded for a 5D mkII and entered the world of Canon red ring optics. I can still miss the simplicity of this setup sometimes, the batteries would last forever as long as you kept them warm and the camera was robust and easy to clean. But then came the mirrorless era, and I fell for it. Overnight I found myself needing a smaller setup and I traded in all my gear for a Fujifilm XT-1 with a 10-24 and a 50-140 lens. This setup served me really well and some of my favourite shots where taken with this camera.
Even though I really loved the connection and all the manual dials of the XT-1 I soon had an urge for change again. This time the arrow pointed towards Sony and there A7 system. Starting with an A7II and quickly moving on to an A7RII and eventually an A7RIII. You see the thing I was missing on the Fuji was the full frame part. For me and how I tend to work full frame is the magic stuff, at least I thought.
I was happy with the Sony system for many years and if I would ever change again that would still be a valid choice. And again, some of my all time favourites where shot with this system.
If I think back through my historical gear, the only system that I didn’t trade away from was the Sony A7R-system
So do I still shoot Sony. Well no. . but not because I wasn’t satisfied with the A7RIII (I would probably be on the A7RIIII by now though). You see the reason I’m not shooting Sony anymore is because Fujifilm ruined full frame for me. You see I’ve always had a dream of a medium format Hasselblad but being a hobby shooter that’s just not realistic. But then all of a sudden Fuji decided to make that leap just a little bit more comfy. I wouldn’t say it’s cheap but I got a great deal on my Sony gear and an equally good deal on the Fujifilm GFX 50sII and boy did I love it.
I mean this camera is a beast, at 50mpx and a medium sensor you can crank the ISO without worries, you can go hand held with its IBIS and the images have something special that you just have to be in it to understand. You can recover pitch black areas in post and the colors are just amazing. The only real downside is weight/volume and that the optics will cost you a kidney or a bank loan.
Here the story could have ended since everything is just dandy with the GFX system. Well almost everything. There is a catch and it’s a big one. . .
Turns out Fujifilm ruined cameras for me. . . forever! There is just no way you could settle for less once you tried medium format, at least not for me.
I know it sounds weird or even presumptuous but it’s a real thing I promise you. As soon as I started shooting with the GFX something happened, call it a connection or whatever, I was just hooked. Hell I even sold my Fujifilm X100VI, not because there was anything wrong with it, it’s an excellent camera. But for me the gap between the x100 and the GFX is just to wide and I’m so used to the unforgiving nature of using the GFX that I just can’t use anything else it seems.
Well there is always the Hasselblad of course, but I’ll save that dream for later. . .
So the one major downside of the system is actually beacuse of its upside, you can’t fool the physics of the whole GFX systems and let it be magically changed. The thing is, it’s a large sensor. This means a large camera body and well a lot of glass in the optics. All fine when your’e out hiking with a proper backpack but not super comfy’ when carrying in your everyday backpack. For a long time I thought nothing could even come close either in quality or connection to the camera. Turns out I was wrong, but that’s a story for another day . . .
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