Gear

I’ve never had a gear section here on the website, but figured I’d add one for the fun of it. I’m not a gear hound and don’t upgrade often. Mainly I use a single body, but in certain situations I use two, especially if I’m shooting video or wildlife and don’t want the hassle of changing lenses to do wide angle. Most often this is when I’m in the kayak.

My first serious camera came in 1984, and was an Olympus OM-G and 50mm f/1.8 lens. When I went to digital I stayed with the Olympus brand and when the ergonomics became unworkable for me, I switched to Panasonic’s LUMIX line of Micro 4/3 cameras. The original G9 is the best handling camera I’ve ever used – from grip and button placement to menus and customization; it’s a joy.

The beauty of m 4/3 is its portability. Not so much the body I use, but the lenses. My equivalent 70-200mm f/2.8 fits in my hand or pocket. I can put that plus an equivalent 24-70mm f/2.8 in a small holster bag and have a versatile and flexible focal range kit with outstanding optics.

My philosophy is to marry your lenses and date your camera. When I add the LUMIX G9II, introduced in the fall of 2023, I will have utilized my main lenses on 3 subsequent bodies. That’s value.

Another value to the Panasonic brand is their dedication to firmware updates. Even though the G9 was released in 2018, firmware has added so many new and improved features and functionality that it has capabilities of a much newer camera – all for no additional expense. All of my lenses, too, have benefited from new software.

While the very best lenses from Panasonic are indeed excellent, the L2 partnership with Leica brings even more optical superiority for every day lenses along with specialty optics like macro and super zooms.

While this is by no means a comprehensive list of all the bits-n-bobs that I use occasionally, it’s a good summary of the tech that makes my work possible and pleasurable.