If you wonder what I use to take pictures, I’m sorry to let you know that I don’t have a secret agent pen like the one above! My gear is far more traditional, have a look below.
The one camera I use the most nowadays is my Nikon D610 . It’s a full frame, semi pro DSLR. Quite pricey, so I’m not suggesting you should buy one, but if you are looking for a full frame camera, I would recommend it without hesitation.
The D600 had dust issues which have been solved and I never had any problem with this. I searched countless hours for a full frame and tested quite a few before settling for this one. It’s quite heavy (like all full frames), but very ergonomic and easy to use. I don’t regret my choice one bit.
The one thing I would recommend you to think about before buying a camera of this range is: will you feel comfortable carrying it around? I’m sometimes a bit scare to take it out of my bag as I don’t feel safe to carry such an expensive piece of equipment around. It can be in big cities known to have pickpockets, it can be in smaller ones as well, if it’s night time for example. It can even be when I’m hiking and I’m scared I will trip and fall, which tends to happen!! and damage it. I know photographers who don’t worry about these things, and buy a new camera every time they need one. Lucky them, I can’t afford that!!
The lens I use the most with it is a 50 mm fixed lens (the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G SIC SW Prime Auto Focus-S Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras – Fixed).
Compact, it doesn’t transform my camera into a monster. 50 mm is good for all sort of situations. Considering the high resolution of the pictures taken with my D610 and this lens, I can crop pictures as much as I need to.
I also have a 85mm fixed lens (the Nikon 85mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras). A bit bigger, but same quality. I actually use it less often outdoor and tend to save it for indoor photoshoots.
Clearly, that’s not of a lot of lenses, but it works great for now. I would like a wide angle lens especially for taking pictures in churches and castles, but so far, I’ve managed without.
The next camera I have and which is always in my handbag is my little Lumix Panasonic DMC-GM1KD. This is my little toy but I love it!
If you don’t do manual, this one is for you. It is so clever, so versatile and has so many functionality that it’s impossible to not take great pictures. You can change the lens, operate in manual mode if you want to, save your pictures in RAW and videos are great.
It’s light weight and ideal for travel.
My oldest camera and one I still use often, is a Pentax K-r. It’s a bit ancient now, almost 5 years old, but still produces great pictures, although nothing comparable to my Nikkon. I’ve been thinking of getting the new Pentax K-3 SLR Camera or even better the Pentax K-3II Pentax DSLR.
I love Pentax, I love the colors, the feel, but until now they didn’t do full frames hence the purchase of my Nikon. Although it seems that things are going to change!!! Rejoy!!!
Spring 2016, I can’t wait to see you coming!
One of the reason I still use my Pentax a lot is that I had purchased great lenses. Amongst them, I have a Tamron 17-50mm (Tamron AF016P-700 SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 Di II LD) which is my go to when travelling. With a crop factor of 1.5, this lenses is the equivalent of a 25-75 mm.
I also have a Sigma 10-20mm (Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM ELD SLD ). This is the equivalent to a 15-30mm. Great for wide landscapes, architecture, cities…
If you only use your phone for pictures, I think it’s fine too. Since I have my iPhone 6, I’m pretty amazed by what it can do.
If there is one thing I would recommend is to protect your phone lens like you would protect your camera lens.
There are some little Camera Lens Cover Ring like the one shown left which are very cheap but will do the trick.
And if you want your phone to get a bit of an upgrade, there are some pretty cool toys out there. The Optikal case transforms your phone into a Macro, Telephoto, Wide Angle, Fisheye Camera. Pretty cool especially for the price.
OK OK the pink case might be a bit girly, but it comes in black too!
OPTIKAL iPhone 4-in-1 Lens Duo Camera Case for iPhone 6 plus
OPTIKAL iPhone 6 4-in-1 Lens Duo Camera Case for iPhone 6
Just one final word: All my pictures are edited on Lightroom.