How do you manage your personal kit? How do you decide what makes it into the bag? Are you a big believer in well-matched optical performance in different lenses or do you prefer a variety? Do you have specific kits for specific duties? What goes through your mind when you're loading up the bag for a personal adventure? Your day to day? How do you kit?
I like to go along with RustyBug's view; for me it also includes the choice between digital and film. I was recently asked to capture a family get-together, as one of the members was dealing with Stage-4 terminal cancer. Although most of the photos were taken on digital, her husband specifically requested that I also shot it with film. I did, using my EOS 1n and for fun, my Wisner 5x7 Technical. His attitude towards all of this was, like film, his love for his wife was timeless...
Kit is simple: M11, 15mm Laowa, 28mm/2.8, 35mm/1.5, 50mm/2.2 and 90mm/2.8 apo Voigt. Small, light and more than good enough.
I usually add a backup camera with a wider bandwidth than the M and use it when hiking, etc. Till now it was a micro43.
Right now, I'm in India with the M kit and a Sony A7r5 + 20-200 Sony...
I could do everything with the M but FOMO is almost as strong as GAS
P.S: this is to shoot what I like. If I shoot an event, theater play, Air Show, wedding, etc, I take the appropriate gear, usually 2 to 3 micro43 bodies with zooms.
Out and about-I always take 2 bodies, just in case, but it also helps to have a 35 on one and a 50 on the other with perhaps an 18, 21 or 24 and a 75 or 90 in the bag just in case needed.
If specific location/event then I pack for that event only which often differs from above since in some cases I want to have a 1.0, 1.2 or 1.4 instead of a 2.0, 2.8 or 3.4.
Aug 03, 2026 at 08:02 AM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
An interesting question. For travel, as in going for a trip for a week or more with a lot of schlepping bags, I try to keep the kit light but I want some versatility too. I almost always go for a three lens kit with something that covers ultra-wide (somewhere or all of 15-24mm in focal length), something that covers normal or slightly wider (35-50mm in focal length), and something that covers telephoto (usually 75-90 but if I think I will want it all the way to 400mm in focal length). I want the camera, lenses, and adapters to weigh less that 5 lbs., and I am pretty much a stickler for that. Small lenses are a big bonus to pull off the weight restriction, but I often let one lens be a bit bigger if it is one I expect to use the most on the trip.
For shooting around home I almost always take just one lens. but sometimes two, selected for what I plan to shoot. Here I am often happier with bigger lenses. I value small lenses especially when traveling, but I value the lower vignetting and better ergonomics of bigger lenses when I am shooting close to home. For me, I have pretty huge hands (i.e., I need 2 XL gloves and even XL gloves don't really fit), so I do find my hands cramped on smaller lenses. I can use tiny lenses (and I have several), but give me a medium size lens over a small lens if the weight is under 750g every time.
For me I also take half a dozen or so trips a year to Toronto and drive there. Those trips aren't exactly travel and they aren't exactly close to home either. For those trips I often stick to a three kit (although sometimes it is four) but I tend to avoid the smaller lenses and use my medium sized lenses and sometimes even bigger lenses if I have a plan to shoot something specific (e.g., wildlife).
When I am out to just shoot, I much prefer manual focus lenses as well. For specific task like sports or wildlife sure I like auto focus, but when I am trying to be creative and taking my time to shot, which is what I like to do best, then I prefer manual focus. So when I am shooting around home, you will almost always find me with a medium sized manual focus lens on the camera and occasionally I will bring a second lens in a coat pocket.
Then there is the tripod. I very much enjoy shooting on a tripod and I have three very good ones. Sometimes I even take one when traveling (I have a zero series Gitzo traveller that with a Really right stuff BH-30 ballhead weighs just 1,000g, but that is still take us about half the weight I want to bring when traveling, so greatly restricts what I can bring along). Close to home I often use one a moderate sized one that is very flexible (a Gitzo 2-series carbon fiber model that can literally be positioned almost infinitely). Finally, I have a two-section wooden Berlebach heavy tripod with a very stable ballhead for when I want ultimate stability. I typically crack that out when I want to shoot long exposures for landscapes and architecture. I really like to use tripods, but as I now have excellent image stabilization in my camera *and* most of my lenses I find I need tripods less and leave it behind more often.
For 30 years I used one camera and one lens (a 50mm; today I'd choose a 35mm instead), so I'm trying to get back to that simplicity. Last year on a trip to France I took two lenses (a 24mm and a 50mm) but only used the 50mm for 4 or 5 shots, so next time I'll just take a 35mm. I still shoot a lot of concerts and was bringing three lenses for those but now I bring two (28mm and 50mm or 28mm and 75mm).
freaklikeme wrote:
How do you manage your personal kit?
In the majority of photo trips/walks, I am using a selection of my M-gear. I carry it in my Ona Messenger shoulder bag.
How do you decide what makes it into the bag?
Depends on the trip/walk: for a short few hours long walk I might only take one of my Leica M cameras (film or digital) equipped with one 50 mm lens. For a more elaborate trip, I often take 3-4 lenses: 28 or 35 mm, 50 or 75 mm, and one wider one like 12 or 21 mm. I rarely use longer than 75 mm FL on my M cameras. I add some filters (polarizer, ND, color filters for B&W) plus lens pen and cleaning cloth. Sometimes small collapsible Manfrotto tripod and Olympus VF-2 external viewfinder.
Are you a big believer in well-matched optical performance in different lenses or do you prefer a variety?
Variety is key for me. I am using both vintage and modern lenses ranging between f/1.4 to f/2.8 as widest open. I am using M lenses made by Leica and Voigtlander mostly, but I also own one TTArtisan lens. I can use my LTM-mount lenses with LTM/M adapter on my M cameras, but I tend not to take them with me on longer trips since changing between adapted LTM and M lens can be a hassle especially when the adapter is stuck on the M camera mount after the LTM lens is detached.
Do you have specific kits for specific duties?
Yes, multiple ones: for B&W photography, I either choose one of my M film cameras or my M 246 (the latter one is my preference on intl trips vs film camera). When traveling 1-2 weeks internationally, I often take my M-E 240 camera equipped with Leica 35/2.4 Summarit-M lens combined with my CV 75/1.5 Nokton lens and one lens on the wider side. For film photography, I often grab either my M3 or M6 (non TTL) camera. The M3 is my preference with 50 mm lenses. For artistic purposes, my choice is often the Leica IIIc with the CV 25/4.0 Snapshot Skopar and Leitz 50/2.0 Summitar lens. Big advantage of Leica screw-mount cameras is their capability to do double or multiple exposures on film which was unfortunately lost (or made much more difficult to do) with the M series.
Outside of using my Leica M camera system, I less often these days use my Sony A7R MLC with adapted Canon EF lenses. It comes handy for some wildlife/insect/macro photography. I still have my IR-converted Canon 5D MkII for dedicated IR photography. I haven't used for a while my Hasselblad 500 C/M kit for 6x6 medium format film photography.
What goes through your mind when you're loading up the bag for a personal adventure?
Finding the best compromise between weight/bulk and potential photography needs. In the past few years, I pack less gear for trips and make it simply work even I might miss out in a specific composition because I don't have the best lens packed with me for this situation. But I found that for city visits, 35 mm FL is fine to take the majority of photos I need.
I've spend 18 years building and then selling "kits" only to realize I didn't use half of what I spent, and lost, money on. So now, two of the same body, and four lenses gets me what I need 99% of the time.
I loosely separate my kit into event and personal work, with some gear only making it out for one or the other, with some seeing time for both. I only use my S5II for events (typically for video, and occasionally as a backup stills). It’s a great camera, but I get no joy out of using it. But its grand for video and a solid stills camera. On the other end is my SL2, which I tend to use for landscape work and also for travel because of the ability to crop and take fewer lenses. I do sometimes use it on events as a second camera (esp if I’m shooting with two or three primes instad of zooms) but the file sizes get a bit mental. In the middle is my SL2s, which I enjoy using even more than my SL2. So it often is used as my main camera on gigs with either a zoom or primes (depending on the space) as well as my choice for ambling about, often with one or two m lenses. Thankfully I have two nice sized dry cabinets that help my keep everything organized between film and digital, af and maunal, zooms and primes. This makes it far easier for me to get things ready for gigs the night before, as well as take a quick moment to grab a small kit for a jaunt.
For personal stuff, I frequently revisit places, so I often use my prior knowledge of the area to pick one or two primes that work well with the area. This weekend I went out with just my SL2s and a 28mm. If I’ve never been to a place before I may take my 24-105 and a 50mm Voigtlander. A few weeks ago I was up in Vermont for a few days ambling about so I took my SL2, my 28-70 and my 40mm Nokton.
I have a mix of l mount primes and zooms, along with a collection of modern m mount primes (Voigtlander, Light Lens Lab and Thypoch at present) and Minolta and contax/yashica mount lenses. I definitely enjoy lenses that have multiple rendering styles across the aperture range, especially for my personal photography. The lenses I tend to use for event work are typically autofocus, with neutral rendering.
Considerations for personal adventures are weight/bulk, need for weather resistance, location, subject(s), and duration.
My personal kit is this. And sometimes instead of the 35 Lux FLE v1 it's the 24 2.8 Elmarit.
This is my usual travel and street kit. The Leica M 10 Mono and the Leica 35 1.4 Summilux FLE v1. Small WWII M 204 decoder machine bag, extra batteries and charger. That's it.
What's going though my mind? Easy. Match my equipment with the way I see and work.
When I shot professionally (past tense) I basically used 2 bodies and 3 AF pro zooms for virtually everything (and the odd special lens for specific purposes). Simple, reliable, predictable, because I always had to get the job done well.
Now that I just shoot for fun, I can come back home without any 'keepers' at all, and I like it that way because I can play and try things.
I like my vintage/legacy lenses and really the MAIN thing I try to do is to have a working 'kit' in whatever brand of lenses I am using. I prefer to carry a single adapter instead of multiple adapters for each different mount as they can be quite bulky when there are several of them.
For example, with Konica I often bring a 24 or 35, 50-57, 85 or 135 and that's basically my Konica kit. Olympus might be a 28, 50, 100. Contax/Yashica might be 24 or 35, 55, 135, you get the idea.
Usually a film bodied M (either my M5 or the Konica Hexar RF) and my M10R. One will have the 35 cron or Mandler, the other will have my 50 Summilux E43 v1. I will also carry a tele; either a 75 or my 90cron.
If there is intent behind the trip then I'll also carry a medium format; either my 907x, 2003FCW, Mamiya 7 or Rollei 2.8/Tele-Rolleiflex.
I’m packing for a trip now so I’m right in the middle of choosing my kit. I am very specific about what I carry on any particular day or trip. And I agonise over gear selection every time. Mind you I don’t actually hate the process. I just takes a while to settle in my head.This includes any accessories and even the bag I’m taking on any particular trip.
Days out are relatively easy. It’ll be a Q3-43 or an M with a 50 and maybe a 90 macro. Or if I have a new camera I’m learning (currently the Sony A7R6). These almost certainly are a camera strap over my shoulder and no bag, lens caps or accessories. If I have a spare M lens it’ll go in my pocket wrapped in a microfiber cloth.
For my travel photography the process is much more involved. But I follow the old mantra:
Subject>Lenses>accessories>bodies>bag. IQ and system flexibility are more important to me than weight but would prefer less, if possible.
I’m heading to Greenland in a week so I’m currently procrastinating about what to take. The main subject is ice but there will also be people, landscapes and *maybe* whales and sea birds. I also have a flight to Denmark with strict weight limits and I need to be water resistant (shooting from a zodiac). Mostly I’m looking for the best IQ I can in a reasonable kit as my goal is to print as big as I can when I get home. I’m currently deciding between three kits:
1. My X2D2 plus a X2D, 20-35, 35-100, 135 and 1.7x TC. Plus a 55 and 90V for any portraits etc. This would basically do except for any birds or wildlife we encounter. IQ monster obviously. But no where near as flexible as the other two. But my preferred system if it’s suitable. Epic IBIS will help in the zodiacs. I wish there was a longer zoom lens though. But I could just let the wildlife go and concentrate on the ice.
2. Leica SL3 and SL3-P with the 14-24, 24-90 and either 90-280 or 100-400 .he 100-400 is very good but not as good as the 90-280. But the 90-280 has slower AF. Extremely weather proof and robust. A medium sized kit but not as great optically as the other two unless I take the 90-280 and lose some reach. I’d absolutely kill for a version 2 of the 90-280 with AF like the newer lenses.
3. 2 x Sony A7R6, plus 12-24G, 28-70 f2 GM, 50-150 f2 GM and 100-400 4.5 GM. This is the ideal kit, optically but bigger and heavier. I’l have to be sneaky on that single flight to Copenhagen. But the performance is undeniable. As this is a IQ focused trip the A1ii’s stay home.
4. Take the Hasselblad kit but add the A7R6 and 100-400 for any wildlife. Kit starts to get pretty big though.
Bag needs to be something splash proof because of the zodiac. So that’s easy. It’ll be a Wandrd backpack of some form. No wheelie bags (my preference for travel and then repack into a small backpack on location) due to the weight issue. Those bags are heavy. But there’s no real hiking on this trip so I can have a backpack weight of 8-10kg and be comfortable. That’s my limit. I’ll need some Kase magnetic ND’s and a polariser and a small but decent tripod. I’ll pack a small Gitzo with a geared head. I’ll also pack a sling bag for the 50-150 for wandering around Copenhagen at the end of the trip.
Laptop is out and 11 inch iPad is in. I despise processing on the iPad so it’ll be to facilitate backups and maybe check a few shots but nothing more. I always pack a small repair and maintenance kit with sensor swabs and lens cloths, multitool etc. Extra spare batteries because it’s cold. Dual battery charger. Spare lens caps. lenses are all with Kase rings to the largest size so only one set of filters.
The whole thing is complicated by the fact I’ve not been to Greenland or shot icebergs. So, although I’m doing as much research as possible it still feels like a best guess. I think I’ll need something a bit longer as we’ll be away from some icebergs (for safety if nothing else). I also need at least two bodies to minimise lens changes. So I’ll likely pack the three kits and pick one on the day of departure.
I’l spend the next week going back and forward, testing and packing until eventually there’s only one kit. Generally it’s a toss up between my ‘blades and everything else.
So that’s my process. Until the next rip and I’l do it all over again. It sounds daft and complex and it is. But I actually enjoy it. Not something for everyone though. Once on location I completely forget about all the stuff I left behind and concentrate on getting the best with what I brought. When I get home I analyse the pros and cons and what I might change and then start the process again for the next trip.
I get my best results when I intentionally limit my options when it comes to what gear I bring (usually one body and one lens), and many times that doesn't even coincide with having the right lens for the task. So for me it's more about what's grabbing my attention the most when I'm headed out, even if it doesn't make sense. Like taking then GR IV Mono for bird photos, the Q3 43 for astro, or my A7CR and 70-200 for street.
In theory I could take my A7CR, 20-70, 70-200 and be covered for damn near anything. But even a small backpack with just those can feel like too many choices, so I just go with my gut and pick what sounds most fun and a challenge for that day. It also helps to keep visiting the same local places from feeling too stall when I can approach them totally differently each time.
When I travel I usually just bring the Q3 43, I like exploring new places through that camera more than any other.
I used to chronically overpack in the lens category. I largely broke myself of that, when I decided to hang onto my a7iii, when I bought an a1. I had not previously contemplated having two bodies available at all times and used to always sell my old body. This changed my mindset so that I now equip one body for tele and one body for wide to intermediate. These days, the second body may not even be the same brand/system, but the concept remains the same. For instance, X2Dii for wide angle/landscape and a1 for whales or tele side of landscapes.
Alternatively, I might have one body with some vintage/character lens and the other with a more modern one. For instance, when the dahlias are in bloom, my favorite combo is a7iii + 135 GM and a1 + post-WWII Meyer 58/1.9.
In my case, the a7iii is full spectrum converted, so I can pop in or remove an OEM hot mirror filter, to restore normal performance. This gives me a lot of extra flexibility, to shoot IR, IR-Chrome, or vis spectrum.
Somehow, having a way to equip for two scenarios allowed me to stop trying to pack for every eventuality. I am sure that this was a psychological issue, rather than a photographic one, but it simplified my life considerably.
Travel is different for Australians. We tend to go to out of the way places too, so we need to be more organised, self-reliant. I have 5-6 categories of photography, so I try to match lenses to each of them: cafe-shops; interiors (temples, churches); people; landscapes; street; urban-buildings. But in 25 years I've never taken the same lens set twice, so photographic lenses are a journey, it seems.
I take three Sony bodies - it used to be two DSLRs -and six lenses. It has to fit some specs: lenses should be 300g or not much above, and that has cost me some great optics I wanted to use, like CY Contax 100/2 and Leica's old M-APOs (I like classic rendering). And lens speed matters if you want interiors and low light.
If a general prime shooter, let alone a manual lens person, you have to accept you may miss a couple percent of images at each end, I feel. I'm very happy with 14-21-28-35-50-75 right now, near perfect spacing. It amounts to 2kg of cameras and 2kg of lenses, a few ancillaries too but my stuff requires fast work. I use LowePro lens cases and AW bags.
I set up each day, knowing what to expect and what will work from times before. For interiors, each camera carries a dedicated lens; same for street or portrait ops. Small body-lens makes it easier to get intimacy, and 'fit in'.
I like overlaps in my primes, so 28-35-50 do people as well as the 75mm, a similar deal for other work. It's inherently a complex activity, so I simplify with solid prep. Now, I use lenses from the same range, for same haptics/ergo and rendering.
It was much (much) harder back in MF film days, airport x-rays, stacks of 220 - a 5-pack weighs 400g. But medium format taught me not to waste shots, and I average 1500 or so images each trip. I feel it is very important to visualise which compositions work and which ones to leave alone.
Yes, it is very enjoyable to plan it all out. It's a lifestyle for me, I never do more than testing and prepping at home.
forgot: more important than my kit is how I carry it. For instance, I tend to use 1 lens intensively, today the 28mm, the others occasionally but I like having the option.
So I have the M11 either in my hand with the strap around my wrist, on my shoulder or around my neck and the 4 other lenses is a very small Moment MTW 1L Mini Fanny Sling. Sometimes, I use a slightly bigger waist bag to fit the M11 as well.
This way, the camera is always ready, I do not have to carry a bag (I may have a backpack for water, accessories, etc) and I can almost forget about the other lenses. But they are very accessible should I want to use them.
freaklikeme wrote:
How do you manage your personal kit? How do you decide what makes it into the bag? Are you a big believer in well-matched optical performance in different lenses or do you prefer a variety? Do you have specific kits for specific duties? What goes through your mind when you're loading up the bag for a personal adventure? Your day to day? How do you kit?
With Leica M I typically like to have a range of lenses from 21 to 90mm. I am NOT a one-lens per outing type of person!
All are modern designs, so have good sharpness. I have multiples at a few focal lengths where one will be a fast lens, like f/1.4 and the other will be a smaller, slower lens. Generally, I will take a slow 21, fast 28, fast 50 and slow 90 for general outings. This gives me a range of options if I suddenly find myself in and out of lower light conditions or want a shallow depth of field effect. Or the 28 and 50 could be slower ~f/2 models for an overall more compact set. Or the 90 could be an f/2 if I think I will want the subject separation. But most of my walk around type of photos are stopped down, so I could get away with slower lenses most of the time. I don't use the 21/1.4 as much now, but it's a good option for available light indoor work in close quarters.
I also have a bunch of vintage 'character' lenses mostly at 50mm but also 35 and 105mm. I find I don't use these very often.
Prior to working with Leica M, my DSLR habits tended to lean to the UWA and tele sides, so for the longest time I did not like the ~28-70 range, considering it to be boring.... But that changed with the M system. I found I really liked 28 and 50 and that would now be my core kit if I could only have two lenses. And that has influenced my non-Leica kit.
With my mirrorless system my 'universal' kit is whatever body or bodies I need, plus 20/1.4, 28-70/2, 70-200/2.8 plus 1.4x TC. That covers most of what I typically photograph and the core lens in this kit is clearly the 28-70. Precisely the range I avoided for the longest time prior to the M system. While the 28-70/2 is a big lens, it effectively replaces a number of fast primes with the flexibility of a zoom. As a prime user, I changed lenses a lot. This zoom eliminates a lot of that.
Looking at it now, my Leica kit has the most variety of lens types with respect to age range and optical characteristics, meaning more variety of rendering 'looks'. The mirrorless kit on the other hand I generally don't care as much about nuances in lens character. I just want consistency and fast, proper focus. I can simplify the mirrorless kit more easily than I can the Leica kit because it's always those three lenses, possibly augmented by others, like the 135/1.8 if it will be a low light event.
A few months ago I did a few weeks of traveling, during which I had ample time for photo outings. I had both the Leica M 21-90 kit and the mirrorless with 20, 28-70 and 70-200. I used the mirrorless the entire time because it was the most flexible solution. It wasn't so much about the lenses but also other features such as IBIS and general lack of dust on the sensor day in, day out. Perhaps because I'm a prolific lens changer, my M seems to collect sensor dust annoyingly quickly.
