what does your kit look like now?

[David Hughes]

Leica CL and the rest of the outfit; unchanged for decades; the Pentax ME replaced by the ME super a few years ago; the Olympus XA2 on the sick list and the XA I bought when new replaced for the second time but the XA2 replaced it the first time. (FWIW, I only get through about 25 to 30 films a year.)

Those are what I use most, on the digital side I've had the Leica Digilux-2 for a long, long time; apart from a few months when it went back to Germany under guarantee for a new sensor. But my wife, a few months ago, stopped using the digital Olympus mju-300 she borrowed just after I bought it many years ago.

Regards, David

 

[johannielscom]

I'm down to my core:

• Leica II with 35 and 50 lenses (Canon LTM and nickel Heliar)
• Sony A7 with 17, 35, 50, 85, 135 lenses (Tamron Adaptall and Canon FDs)
• Super Ikonta B 6x6
• Horseman Convertible 842 6x7, 6x9
• Brooks Veriwide 100 6x10

I have some flashes and light stands etc, two computers (Mini and G4) and two older but good scanners. One bag. 😉 Some developing kit.

The Horseman was on the block too (again) but I have a busload of nice 220 films and this is the only camera that can take them.

I'm selling to clean my head and house, and to pay off bills from terminating my business. It feels good.

 

[Michael Markey]

I forgot to mention that as for film slr I have the Chinon CX and two lenses bought forty years ago and the Pentax ME Super gifted about thirty years ago but recently supplemented with an MX last year .
Ive settled on the DP Merrill for digital compacts but have kept up with the GRD line and have had a V for some time.

 

[tunalegs]

After several years of using my Edixa Prismaflex, it finally started acting up so I've set it aside. I also sold the Zorki to a friend, so that's also gone. The only constant for the past year of so has been the Pilot 6. Currently I'm testing a Leotax Semi R and recently shot a roll through a Tower Reflex. We'll see if they stay in use.

I have a feeling the Pilot 6 will remain my choice for medium format, but who knows what'll step in for the Prismaflex and Zorki.

 

[danielsterno]

RF: M5/M6 (M6 upgraded to MP rangefinder) with 35mm CronASPH, 50mm Rigid, 50mm J3(1.5f), 32mm Lomo LC-A Minitar-1 Art Lens 2.8
Contax Tvs

Only Digital X100 1st gen. W Teleconverter

waiting for news on x100f next week.......

 

[daveleo]

This Zonlai 25mm (in FX mount) is my latest X-E1 playpal.
Wicked nice little lens.
.

 

[lukitas]

I have the Sumitar on my Fuji xe2, and the ricoh GR.

More or less 75 mm and 28 mm equivalents. I used to think I wanted a 50mm, but even when I put on the zoom, I tended to go to both ends of its' range. The 18 - 55 is ok, but it shows machining marks in its' bokeh balls. Both the Sumitar and the Jupiter 8 are way better in that regard.

 

[kshapero]

Leica M4-2 with 50 mm 'lux
Pany GX8 with a Leica 15 mm 1.7
Way too many Nikon's and lenses to name, but all over 30 yrs old.

 

[tightsqueez]

I have a few "kits" but they are pretty much interchangeable.

M3 w/50 Lux ASPH and Plus-X
M2 w/35 Lux ASPH FLE and Neopan
M6 w/Provia 100F (soon to be Ektachrome 100)

M240 w/28 Cron & 50 Cron APO

21 SEM & 90 Elmarit as a wildcard when needed. Also, have the Rolleiflex 2.8C, Leica 1A, and Graflex Speed Graphic when I want something different.

I have owned almost every lens in the Leica lineup. I'm not kidding. While I do miss a few lenses, I feel this gets the job done.

 

[sreed2006]

My entire kit is rather extensive. GAS hit me pretty hard for a number of years, and I tend to hold on to what I have rather than trade or sell. I do not mean to boast; I am fortunate to have such a collection.

At the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016 I created a list of which camera bodies and lenses I would use for 2016. The list was very restrictive, at one body per film size (135, 127, and 120) plus one DSLR. I felt I needed that restriction to keep away from the constant indecision that had me worried about my sanity.

When I wrote the list, I lived in a smallish place where space was at a premium, so the gear was located throughout the house, organized in small groups. Things changed when I moved to a different city and wound up with a house that had a full basement. I could at long last organize everything, which I spent hours doing. The reason it took so long: 4 Leica RFs, a dozen Olympus OM bodies, 8 TLRs, 2 DSLRs, several other 35mm cameras, about 80 lenses, along with backgrounds, bellows, studio strobes, flash units, tripods, developing gear, transmission densitometer, grey cards, camera bags, slide projectors, and several other odds and ends (all very necessary, of course).

The list that I so carefully and adamantly wrote up got tossed. So it is back to indecision, but my kit lately mainly consists of the Leica IIIG, OM bodies (with different focusing screens to match different lens types, such as macro, 500mm telephoto, or standard focal length), and a Canon 5DII DSLR for when the pictures have to be shared with others fairly quickly. The TLRs have not been touched in months; I do hear them calling, though.

 

[biomed]

My go to "kit" is a GX7 with 12-35/2.8 and 35-100/2.8 in a Domke satchel. I take this with me nearly everywhere I go.

Mike

 

[besk]

I have lost count of the cameras I have. Have just started the process of purchasing a M6. I will pair it with a VC 35/2.5 for the time being. That will be my 35mm "kit."

Will be trying to drastically reduce my "arsenal."

 

[aizan]

it's looking allllmost done.

 

[raid]

I currently use the M8 and M9, plus E-P2 and E-PL1 as my digital cameras, and when I use film, I use the SWC and M6 and M3. I may have 50 rangefinder lenses. No downsizing here.
I do have some favorites for daily use.

M8 with a 50mm lens for a short portrait lens. Usually, it is CV 50/1.5 or the original Nokton 50/1.5 or a Rigid Summicron 50/2 or an adapter Schneider Xenon 50/2.8 ot an adpater Pentax-M 50/1.4.

M9 with pre-asph Lux 35/1.4 is a good match. So is a Biogon 35/2. Sometimes, I borrow from the M8 a 50mm lens.

 

[YYV_146]

I recently acquired a RX1R II and it's now in my bag full-time. Having a (sort of) pocketable body really makes casual shooting much easier.

If I need something other than 35mm, I'll bring an A7rII with 21mm/75mm lenses.

 

[Doug]

Recently my kit has been a Leica M-D 262 with 50 Summicron. I typically use the same kit for a while but it's subject to change (just picking a different set off the shelf) without notice!

 

[KarlG]

My kit is:

Bodies: Leica Q, Leica M240, Leica MP
Lenses: 21mm Voigtlander f/1.8, 35mm Summicron ASPH, 50mm Summilux ASPH, 90mm Elmarit-M
Medium format: Mamiya 7 + 80mm

I have a few other lenses that I rarely use, but the above is the main kit.

What I use on any given day depends on what I'm shooting. I have an ongoing street photography project on a local suburb which I am shooting on digital (Leica Q, Leica M240 + 50mm + 90mm in the bag); I have a long-term documentary project which I am shooting on C-41 medium format film; and I use the Leica MP + 35mm as my daily camera with B&W film.

Feeling pretty settled with what I have now - I was in Hong Kong last week & while I checked out the many shops selling secondhand Leica gear at reasonable prices, I wasn't tempted to buy anything new!

 

[unixrevolution]

I am working on distilling my gear into something smaller, and more potent. I want to go from a bunch of OK things to a few awesome things.

To wit:

RF Kit: Currently Leica M2, Bessa R2, Jupiter-8, Summitar 50/2, Canon 85/2, CV 35/2.5. I'd like to get a 50/1.1 Nokton or some other fast 50, as I love speed. Could swap the summitar out to fund part of it. I'd also like to swap the slow but very nice 35 for one of the CV 1.4s.

35mm SLR: Pentax K-5, LX, MX, Me Super, K1000, ZX-L/ZX-7. Nothing likely to change much with the bodies. Would love a k-1, someday.

Zoom Lenses are a 17-35 f/2.8-4, 28-70 f/2.8, and I am deciding between the 70-300 f/4-5.6 Quantaray (A Sigma product) or the Pentax 80-320, and wether or not to keep my Tokina 100-300 f/4 as well, as it's the only manual focus zoom I have.

Prime lenses start at an absolutely exquisite Sigma 24mm f/1.8, the Excellent Pentax 35mm f/2, the Pentax 50mm f/1.4, Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro, and a Sears 135 f/2.8 which is probably actually a Rikenon. All but the Sears are AF. I don't really have much in the way of aspirations for my Pentax kit, except perhaps an AF 70-200 f/2.8 of some sort someday. All the lenses are equipped with aperture rings with an A-setting to be backward-compatible all the way to the K1000, or forward to the K-5.

Because grabbing a Pentax kit can sometimes take a while, I keep a grab-and-go 3-lens 28/3.5 50/1.4 135/2.8 Minolta Rokkor set with an XG-M.

For medium format, I have 3 systems: A Bronica with the 50, 75 and 135 lenses and two backs, a Pentax 6x7 with 44/4, 105/2.4 and 165 f/2.8, with a 300/4 on the way. I also have a Mamiya with an 80/2.8 and a 180/4.5. The spread of focal lengths and views is pretty nicely spread to give the three kits a good bit of versaitlity. I'd ideally like to get something to replace the Bronica's 135, as it's quite big and slightly broken, and the Mamiya's 80 is duplicated in my fixed-lens TLR, and I would like to replace it with something else.

For 4x5, I have a 7.5" f/5.6 in barrel on my Graflex, and for my Toko field camera I have a 101mm f/5.5 Soft Focus, 150mm f/5.6/265mm f/12 convertible Schneidier, 75mm Rodenstock and 210mm Schneider.

The 8x10 Korona field camera has always had a Fuji 300/5.6, but I've just added a 210mm f/5.6, which if it proves itself, will also replace the 210 for the 4x5 and pull double duty, with both cameras eventually adapted to share lens boards.

I have a Pentax Q, Sony NEX 5-N and Olympus E-PL1, as well. I have native lenses for them, but never use them. I have PK adapters for all, and Minolta Rokkor and Leica M adapters for the Sony and Olympus. Eventually I'd like to replace the NEX with an A7.

Fixies include a Yashica 635 TLR, Retina IIa from Kodak, and my ubiquitous Sony RX-100.

So, you can see my plans to cook this kit down and make it better and smaller at the same time. They are tools; I don't collect.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I had a lot of stuff I rarely used that I sold over the last year after losing my teaching job. Right now I still have a bunch of unused stuff, but my actual work is all done with two cameras and lens systems now.

For black and white, I use a Mamiya 6 rangefinder with the full lens system (50, 75, and 150mm lenses).

For color, a Canon 5DmkII with the Canon 24-105mm f4L-IS lens that came with it; a Tokina 17-35mm f4 ATX-Pro lens (a very sharp and inexpensive ultrawide zoom!), and an ancient 1980s Canon EF 70-210mm f4 zoom that is surprisingly good for an old non-L zoom that cost me $50 on eBay.

I use a Zone VI modified Pentax Spotmeter V for my BW work and a Sekonic L-758DR meter for my digital work. The Sekonic is an incredible meter; I profiled my 5DmkII using the Sekonic profiling target and software and it works magnificently. That's one item that will have to be pried out of my cold dead hands.

I've shot very little BW over the last year because of my health problems. I just haven't felt up to standing on my feet in my cold basement to develop film, so the Canon has really been my main system for a while now.

 

[______]

Olympus 35mm Kit

OM-1
OM-4Ti
18mm f3.5
21mm f3.5
24mm f2.8
40mm f2.0
50mm f1.2
85mm f2.0
50mm f2.0 macro
90mm f2.0 macro

Medium Format

Minolta Autocord (1959)
Sekonic L-208 TwinMate

Large Format

Linhof Technikardan 45
Schneider Super Angulon 90mm f8
Schneider Symmar-S 150mm f5.6
Schneider Symmar-S 210mm f5.6
Pentax Digital Spotmeter

Digital

Fuji X-E2 w/18-55mm f2.8-4
Fotodiox OM-FX lens adapter

I've used every body and lens at some point in the last six months, so I'll not do any further paring down; also don't anticipate adding anything either. Could sell it all and still not have enough for a new Leica M240.