This post will be one I link to regularly when asked why I’ve picked one piece of gear over another to explain the heuristics I use to make those decisions.
Preamble
There are so many camera systems (and lenses within each of those systems) that it can be really hard to feel like you’ve made the right choice, and doing so without first buying a lot of gear that isn’t quite right for you is even harder.
There’s no shortage of opinions you could use to try and base your decisions on, but ultimately, it’s quite a personal decision to know if it will work for you. Over time you build an understanding of the trade-offs you’re willing to make to achieve your goals, but you have to start somewhere, and usually that’s by searching for “best of” lists on Google or Youtube.
My first piece of advice when trying to pick the right gear for yourself is to understand what the content creator you’re taking advice from uses their gear for (weddings vs street vs adventure, etc) and what they favour (image quality vs cost vs weight). Whether a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens is the best lens in the world, will depend massively on if you’re taking it out of a case in your car, vs having to carry it up a mountain.
With all that in mind, I wanted to share the thinking I’ve done on what I value the most and what trade-offs I’m willing to make when it comes to picking camera gear, but first, let’s de-influence you.
De-influencing you
You don’t need f/2.8 zooms for wildlife
Noise reduction in modern sensors and AI Denoise have really tipped the scales here, f/4 and f/5.6-6.3 lenses you are actually comfortable carrying beat the f/2.8 you leave at home because it’s too heavy and too expensive for you risk on the trail.
More expensive glass doesn’t always mean better photos
I will bang on about this point a lot, but expensive glass is heavy glass, it’s a pain to lug around, you’re always worried about it and a lot of the time, the difference between a £2,500 lens and a £900 lens won’t show in social media resolutions.
Full frame isn’t always better than APS-C or Micro Four Thirds
Especially with wildlife, it’s really worth considering the smaller sensors because of the crop factor advantage for reaching further, let alone the weight savings. I only upgraded from the a6700 to the A7V because of higher burst rate and pre-capture, but there’s a part of me that considered selling up all my Sony gear and moving over to the OM-1 system.
Third-party lens aren’t inferior
Sigma, Tamron, Surui, Samyang are all putting out incredible lenses and really filling out the niches for photographers who are willing to make trade-offs because they know what they value. They are absolutely worth exploring and can all produce incredible images.
My use cases
With that out of the way, here’s how I generally use my gear:
- Spending a day out in nature photographing wildlife & landscapes with everything I need in a backpack.
- Going on a more strenuous or longer hike where photography is still present, but takes a back seat. What I take has to fit in a sling and will take up most of it.
- ‘Tourist Mode’: I’m away with my wife, and photography is just there to capture moments. What I take has to fit in a sling, and not take up most of it.
My heuristics
With that understanding, here’s what I value most:
- Weight and packed volume is my top priority.
- If a lens is for wildlife, it must support the full burst frame rate of my camera, that means only Sony first-party lenses.
- If a lens is for any other use, any brand is game that meets rule 1.
- Have one competent low light performer in the load out.
- I accept that I will probably never use the best Sony GM glass with its incredible image quality because of the weight (and price).
Weight and packed volume is my top priority.
Because there are very few situations where I’m not carrying my gear in a backpack or sling, I try to pack light and for photography gear to not occupy all the volume I have. This means the heavy glass with big apertures are largely out of consideration for me.
Carrying excessive weight when walking between wildlife or landscape spots saps my energy and stops me from being able to simply enjoy being out in nature. I never want wildlife photography to feel like a chore.
If a lens is for wildlife, it must support the full burst frame rate of my camera
I’m currently using the Sony A7V, which has 30fps burst rate, for wildlife, I want to make best use of that, and because Sony has some sort of burst limitation on third-party lenses, for this use case, those lenses are out.
When I was shooting on the A6700, this wasn’t a consideration, so this is a new rule for me.
If a lens is for any other use, any brand is game that meets rule 1.
Sony E-mount ecosystem has so many wonderful third-party lenses, especially if weight and volume are priorities, so these appeal to me when I’m exploring other photography beyond wildlife.
Have one competent low light performer in the load out.
I like to record videos of my photography outings, so I like to have a lens that’s capable in low light to record myself on a second camera, or for when I’m in tourist mode and just want something fast and light when wandering around destinations.
I accept that I will probably never use the best Sony GM glass
You might have come across the Sony Alpha Blog lens tier lists, they are an excellent resource to understand the Sony lens ecosystem and getting the most out of your camera, but the reality is that practically all the lenses in the ‘outstanding’ section are big and heavy.
Yes, they will give you the absolute best image quality, and if that’s what you’re prioritising, fill your boots (and empty your bank account), but I’ve come to terms with those lenses being outside of both my weight and financial budget and I accept that I will take the best photos I can with lenses I find agreeable to lug around.
Conclusion
The best gear is the gear you actually take with you.
Every recommendation I make is filtered through the heuristics above. If something is too heavy to carry comfortably on a day out on the Exe Estuary or a hike across Dartmoor, it doesn’t matter how sharp it is.
If you’re building your own kit, I’d encourage you to think about how you will shoot before thinking about what you will shoot with. Start with your use cases, figure out what’s non-negotiable for you and use that to pick the right gear.
If you want to see what I’m currently using, here’s my gear list.
