When thinking practical photography, the first thing that comes to mind is convenience. The less that gets in your way, the better you can accomplish what you have in mind with as little hassle as possible.
While using convenient equipment is important, using what you have to do the job is important too.
– Use the equipment you have on hand. Don’t waste time looking for the perfect piece of camera equipment, because it probably won’t truly make that much of a difference.
– Use and bring as little stuff as possible. Sometimes I’ve not brought something and later though it might have been useful, but it isn’t the end of the world (take note: I’m not talking about professional photography where you should duplicate and cover all possibilities). Seeing as I use prime lenses most of the time, I’m use to managing with what is available. It’s actually much more fluid and experience when I don’t put much thought into gear while out in the field.
– Avoid extras if you can given your goals for the session.
— If you don’t need a flash, don’t bring it with you.
— If you can get away with holding your flash in one hand and using a wireless trigger, do that rather than bringing a light-stand.
The type of equipment has become more and more important to me. While one side wants something like a full-frame optical DSLR camera, the more logical side has an interest in mirrorless systems. Some of the mirrorless systems are getting close feature wise, but still lack things like a 1/8000th shutter speed. I think eventually a APS-C or full-frame mirrorless camera will be a good direction to transition, or more likely supplement with if the funds are available. I’ve sometimes felt even my K-5 and K-7 feel too bulky for many things I do. The main issue is thickness of the camera.
I’ll admit, my style is at odds with my desire for convenience. Using prime lenses and flash increase the bulk two-fold as I often use two camera bodies and two prime lenses at the same time. I’m not really sure how to deal with that other than going back to using a normal lens exclusively as I have done in the past.
Lately I’ve been spending most of my time making videos for Youtube. While my cameras are not ideal for video, they are sufficient for what I’ve been doing so far.
I’ve been thinking of ways to practice Japanese and started reviewing American foods, but trying to use Japanese instead of English.
Most of the videos have been split-screen. What I do is use the K-5 with a 31mm lens and the K-7 and 100mm macro lens. The K-5 has an external microphone attached.
So the K-5 gives a general view, and the K-7 gives a close-up of the product I’m talking about. It works pretty well.