My Camera Gear Acquisition Roadmap

It’s been almost a year (literally) since I posted anything on here. Won’t lie, I have been lazy, busy and passive about it. I finally got married this year, February 15th. Yes, I am now a married man; the thought makes me jump on the highest cloud in the sky, and at the same time bury me in the depths of responsibilities even lower than the Mariana Trench!

Nevertheless, I have made my way back to WordPress to update readers with new happenings, share and express (and hopefully) discuss my photography and things related.

Like every photographer nerd out there I too have this crazy & unjustifiable want for the coolest and newest camera gear out there. Just that I didn’t admit it before and always tried to justify what I thought – was that I needed. However, I can’t hide or lie – I have GAS! 😀 lol

So I made a list of ALL the equipment I want to buy/have/be gifted (hopefully my wife reads 😉 ) From computer system to camera gear to lenses to accessories. Every item I have included/selected is out of LOTS of reading, reviewing, researching and picking only that that I absolutely want and any more than this would be – a lot.

Here goes the list :

COMPUTER SYSTEM

• iMac 27 5k  – I had to really juggle and try to convince myself that I didn’t need the Mac Pro and then the NEC PA30 monitor both totaling to around $6,000+ and instead get the iMac 27 5k for way almost 1/3rd the price!
• Canon Pro-1000 – good thing I wasn’t able to buy the PRO-1 when I did. This is a better option. Reason why I don’t want to go with the Epson even though I would love a roller is because of head clogs and better customer support w/Canon
• Epson V850Pro – Yes definitely want and need a reliable, trusted and quality scanner. Intend to get back into film, my Nikon F3 is just gathering dust and I feel so so bad looking at it 😥 
• HDD Enclosure(s) – I already have 4 2TB ext HDD I use. 2 for storing and 2 for backup. Just need an enclosure that with encase all 4. (still looking for options… help me? 😦 )

CAMERAS

 

• Toyo-Field 45 AII – Always wanted to really feel the “old school” photography. This is basically going to be a landscape camera 90%. If and when I do have a studio, I might use it for portraits
• Pentax 645Z – It’s been so long dreaming and wanting and drooling over this camera, it’s more like a sinful pleasure to own it. More so because I know I will be shooting landscapes and personal projects with it. But then I think why do I need to spend $7,000 when I will or want to use the 4×5 camera on landscape… ugh! just too much! ( maybe I’ll save this is one for later… 😉 )
  
• Olympus OMD E-M1 mkII – Yep, I have the E-M1 and absolutely love the Olympus OMD system. The lenses are top notch with a very good price point as compared to other full frame lenses and also Sony FF lenses for their Α (alpha) series. Thinking I’ll sell my E-M1 and get a lens out of it??
  
• Nikon F3 – Already own this & love it. Want to start using it more & more… Been ignoring my baby for far too long! 😥
  

  LENSES

• Olympus 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO –
  
• Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO –
• Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO w/Teleconverter –
  
• FA 645 120mm f/4.0 Macro –
• SMC Pentax-A 645 45-85mm F4.5   –
  
• SMC A 645 35mm F/3.5 –

Rodenstock Grandagon 90mm f4.5 –

ACCESSORIES

 

Format-HiTech Filters + Polarizer Kit

Manfrotto Tripod MT190CXPRO4

MH804-3W 3-Way Pan/Tilt Head

Olympus FL 600R flash

Yep… that’s all folks! 😀

 

 

Dreams & Desires

Well, it’s been hell of a long time since I actually “wrote” something on my blog and so today I decided to do just that.

I have been all this, however, watching trends and going “ooh!” and “aah!” over camera gear ranging from Medium format to DSLRs to Rangefinders and even the most popular Mirrorless compacts.

I have been day-dreaming and making a “wish list” (more of a goal), that I hopefully will meet, and money wasn’t the (main) deciding factor since my list was made to cater for life… as long as I would live and continue shooting, I know I wouldn’t need anything else and the gear would not break on me.

Its a bold statement, but I honestly believe that if you know what you want and more importantly why you want it, you can find peace of mind that few have actually been blessed with, especially due to the aggressive marketing of camera companies and Gear Acquisition Syndrome (aka GAS in the photo-community).

So anyways, the first step to how I came to recognize what I want came from knowing what kind of shooter I am and what kind of tools are required for the job. Now, this might be a tricky question since one CAN do the same job with varied tools/camera system or one may want to use something that’s an overkill and not even know it’s an overkill. The determining factors are different for everyone. For me they are : Product Knowledge, Final Print Size, Ease Of Handling & Portability.

Therefore, I made a list of the camera gear I will need and that I can use regularly and not be overwhelmed by deciding “which one do I use?!”. Instead of buying a couple of the same bodies (not talking about or referring to professional shooters here, but just hobbyists that splurge on equipment), I’d rather buy a single body that is the next step or better than the two I was buying and invest more on glass.

So here’s My List that includes all camera bodies and lenses – and all formats : –

POINT – & – SHOOT

Sony NEX-7
Olympus Mju II

SINGLE LENS REFLEX

Nikon D4
(w/ these lenses atleast)

17~35mm f/2.8D
24~70mm f/2.8D
70~200 VR II  f/2.8D
CZ Makro-Planar T* 100mm f/2

RANGEFINDER & MEDIUM  FORMAT

Mamiya 7 II
(w/ these lenses)

65mm f/4
150mm f/4.5

Pentax 645D (w/ these lenses)

SMC Pentax-A 645 35mm F3.5
SMC Pentax-FA 645 75mm F2.8
SMC Pentax-FA 645 45~85mm F4.5
SMC Pentax-FA 645 80~160mm F4.5

COMPUTER SYSTEM AND ACCESSORIES

CPU/Desktop  : Mac Pro G5
Monitor            : NEC MultiSync PA271W

Printer             : ???
Scanner           : Epson V750-M Pro

Ext. HDD         : ???

Equipment Storage   : XDry CS-151SS
Lighting Equipment  : AlienBees

Everything on this list is an outcome of long, long, long sleepless nights and dreaming and researching. I have not chosen just the “best of the best”, but rather tried to balance practicality, budget and quality. The only reason to go for medium format would be for landscapes. Choices can definitely make you go crazy… esp. if you don’t have the moolah!!

So far, I have managed to acquire just the Oly Mju II, and I was lucky enough to find one in a very good condition and at a very good rate. I am just being lazy and haven’t had the time to sell my stuff I already have and invest that money into the list.

I am sure I won’t be buying / acquiring all that is listed here, basically due to money concerns and also the fact that I kind of think I won’t be able to do justice to all the bodies – so why have them and just store them?!

Well, thanks for reading all of this… if you did! Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions?! 🙂