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Gear Talk Video

Photojournalist Street Photographer’s Camera Kit

My friend James Dewitz was in Thailand for many years, but recently returned to my area for a short time. I’ve been wanting to feature photographers on this channel for a while now and I didn’t want to pass up this opportunity. In this first of two videos we will take a look at part of his camera gear kit interspersed with information about his photography as well as tips he has based on his experience. He has a focus on oral history, photo journalism, and street photography. He also does other types of photography, but we only focused on the street photography work.

See his work here:
https://www.instagram.com/j.dewitz/
https://www.facebook.com/jdewitzphoto/

Here is the video on Youtube detailing most of his current camera kit for street photography:

You can find a list of all equipment here:
Camera kit on Kit.co

I also have the full kit on Amazon.com with newer equivalent items:
Camera Kit on Amazon.com

Filming b-roll of his equipment.

Let’s go into more detail…
Most of the information here is provided by James.

ItemDescriptionOnline Store Link
Olympus O-MD E-M5 Mark I“If you don’t want to spring for a better or newer camera, the EM5/1 is still a workhorse and great for portraits.”Click Here
Panasonic HLD-6 Battery Grip Combo“Not essential to the E-M5 kit, but I love it and don’t know what to do without it. 1 extra battery slot. Grip separates from battery. Waterproof. Battery does not go on the camera without the grip. Absolutely worth it. “Click Here
Panasonic Lumix GX7“This one really ranges. The newer GX80 and GX85 are better cameras, but the GX7 holds on. Popular rangefinder style. Not much to comment on, actually. It’s a solid camera with a good EVF. The GX1 was nice, but this is a huge improvement. Peaking available for manual focus. Functionally, a lot like a G5 but in the rangefinder body.”Click Here
Panasonic Lumix 20mm f1.7“40mm Equivalent lens on MFT. Super sharp even wide open. Low coma/ca. Slow to focus but acceptable. Pancake is selling point. No difference I/II except outer casing and design. II is sexier but literally same lens. “Click Here
Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO Lens“Workhorse Photojournalist lens. 24-80mm ff equivalent. Absolutely worth the price. No stabilization but F2.8, waterproof, snap focus, c-af is good at following. Built like a tank. Best all-around kit but heavy.”Click Here
Olympus 17mm f2.8“I was given my copy for free brand new, but this lens should run from $90-120 US. Anything more for that would be a bit much. Paired with the IBIS in the Lumix GX7, this is a great street lens that is effectively F2.0 for the sake of movement. I don’t like it much on the EM5 body, but it works great on Lumix. Reviewed as “lots of microcontrast.” 34mm equivalent, so the closest MFT will get to 35mm standard lens. Lens is a ton of fun on older EP models. E-PL2 in high contrast B&W jpegs with this lens always turn out fun.”Click Here
Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens for micro 4/3rds“Easily the lens I use most. 60mm Equivalent. Razor sharp, but horrible CA wide open. Great for night photography. Boring bokeh and unremarkable flares. It really is an enjoyable lens to shoot with.”Click Here
Thumb up grips for hotshoes“You kind of get what you pay for. Most are just a metal slug that go in the hotshoe, but some have extra features like a level or cold shoe. The longer one I use I think is for Fuji XA and X-pro.”Click Here
ZOMEI Tripod with 360 Panorama Ball Head“This one is orange, but there are also carbon fiber ones (z818C) in all colors.”Click Here
Paracord wrist strap“I get them on ebay, ali, amazon, etc. pretty popular now. Have a box of them I got for a few $$ each.”Click Here
Lowepro Passport Sling IIIA unique camera backpack, but it has a few drawbacks with its construction.Click Here
Silica Gel DesiccantThis helps to keep moisture out of camera gear bags. There are various types and some allow you to re-use it with heating.Click Here
Hyperdrive Colorspace UDMA BackupThere are various similar options. I believe he said there were some quirks to this one…Click Here
Canon EOS 80DAn all-rounder traditional APS-C DSLR camera.Click Here
Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM LensPart of his 80D based kit.Click Here
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM LensPart of his 80D based kit.Click Here
A different hood for the EF 50mm (49mm thread)The small hood James was using as an alternate to the official hood in the EF 50mm lens.Click Here
Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM LensPart of his 80D based kit.Click Here
Canon EF 28-135mm USM lensNot recommended by James, but he calls it a “tank”. ;DClick Here
Helios 44-4 58mm f2 M42 MountYou will need an adapter of some type to get this working on either EF or Micro 4/3rds…
This normally is in the M42 screw mount.
Click Here
Pixco Pro Focusing Infinity Focal Reducer EF to M4/3rdsA basic reducer speed booster adapter for EF lenses on Micro 4/3rds.Click Here
Pixco M42 to EF adapterUsed with the helios m42 lens to convert it to EF mount. James mostly uses that lens on EF mount instead of m4/3rds.Click Here
Altura Photo Camera Sling BagA bag very similar to the second one James was using.
The original one is here if you prefer that (Aliexpress)
Click Here