Imagine a cascading waterfall, or a sand dune in a storm. A bird hopping in the air; a person stepping into a crosswalk and out of the shade. For photographers, in moments like this, the best camera equipment is invisible. It doesn’t slow you down or require troubleshooting. After a while – perhaps years – equipment that meets this standard, time and again, stands out. It becomes the photographer’s favorite. Irreplaceable. Today, I’m wondering what that is for you.
It goes without saying that camera equipment is not the most critical part of photography. Of more importance are light, subject, composition, and camera settings. Once you’ve gotten those four variables correct, you’ve largely succeeded at taking a good photo.
At that point, more than just a single set of equipment from a single manufacturer will be capable of getting the shot. I have a wide-angle landscape photo in mind right now. To get that shot, you could use anything from a 2008 Canon DSLR with a prime lens to a 2018 Fuji mirrorless with a zoom. Either way, the photo would succeed. Any differences in the photos will be superficial. Even a modern phone could get the broad strokes of the shot.
Granted, something like wildlife photography requires more specialized gear. That’s fair. Still, it is unlikely that only one particular combination of camera/lens/tripod/head can get the shot. You almost always have some flexibility.
Even image quality only matters to a point. Try swapping your modern gear for the equipment of ten, twenty, or even fifty years ago. If your camera technique remains solid, and you avoid edge cases like Milky Way photography, you can capture fundamentally the same photos with the older gear.
Why, then, am I writing this article? The reason is simple. It’s impossible to fully separate the process of taking pictures from the camera equipment you use.
As this article’s introduction suggests, some pieces of equipment will get out of your way more easily than others. The “best-case scenario photo” may not change between them. But your frustration rate – and your keeper rate – will.
In the past, I’ve replaced a heavy set of lenses with one that is lighter and covers more range (without a meaningful loss in image quality). Similarly, I’ve replaced a few tripod heads – one after the other – with ones that slip less than before. And while I don’t do too much wildlife photography, plenty of photographers upgrade their cameras to get better and better autofocus systems.
To me, then, the fact that you “could” take the same photo with a wide range of camera equipment is all the more reason to have a favorite. It makes good equipment stand out from the rest. Sure, you could get the shot with, say, almost any tripod on the market. But perhaps this one just makes it so much easier. That’s the type of thing you notice.
Other equipment stands out not because it is objectively the most capable on the market, but because it is deeply familiar to your style of photography and makes it seamless for you to get the shot. During the years I shot with the Nikon D800e, you could have handed me a Hasselblad, but I’d have gone back to the Nikon for a critical shot. In fact, I can say the same thing for my years of shooting with the D7000.
The key is that the best equipment does not have to be the newest or highest performance. At the end of the day, it’s simply equipment that makes you more likely to capture the shot, and more likely to enjoy doing so.
In that vein, I’ve thought about all the camera equipment I’ve used, and continue to use. Which one qualifies as my favorite? I nearly picked my tripod or my hiking backpack – both of which are, as near as I can tell, the Platonic ideal of a well-made tripod and backpack. However, as high quality as the tripod is, it simply costs too much. As for the backpack, it’s not too expensive. But, even as a landscape photographer, I find it hard to make the argument that a technical hiking pack counts as camera equipment.
Instead, my favorite piece of camera equipment is a lens: the Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR macro.
This is one piece of equipment with no shortage of replacements on the market. Nikon has an older, non-VR 105mm macro, as well as manual focus versions before that. Third-party manufacturers have plenty, too, including Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, and others. I haven’t tested most of these, so I can’t make the argument that the Nikon VR is objectively better than the others.
But as I said earlier, being objectively better is not the point. The Nikon is the one I happen to own, and it’s made it easier for me to capture so many photos over the years. So, in turn, it’s my favorite.
To be more specific – using a macro lens for the first time opened up new worlds unlike any other equipment I’ve had. I genuinely don’t think I’d be doing photography today if, years ago, I hadn’t started out honing my skills on macro subjects. For that reason, this lens also has some sentimental value, although I like to think that my main reason for preferring it is practical.
One of my early, experimental shots with the 105mm VR that turned out well enough to use today
Again, good equipment facilitates photography rather than getting in the way. The 105mm macro fits that qualification without question. It’s been in my bag longer than any other piece of equipment I have, going back to the days (more like a year) when it was my only lens. If “irreplaceable” is the metric for this article… well, maybe some day I’ll swap it out for another macro. Whatever successor it has, though, will be filling some pretty big shoes.
But enough about that lens! We all have stories like this, whether about a camera, lens, tripod, filter, lens cloth, or anything else. I’d be interested to hear yours.
Great article. I’ve had a lot of equipment over the years and if I had to pick the equipment that I have the strongest ‘relationship’ with I would list:
Digital: Fuji X100 (original model). it sure has its quirks, but firmware updates have improved it tremendously. it’s just a camera I truly enjoy using and the results are still great even though it’s only 12 MP. Additionally, it’s small enough I take it along when photography is not the main objective of the day.
Analog: My first Olympus OM-1 – this is the camera that really opened my eyes to what was possible. I also fell hard for some of the Zuiko glass (100 f2.8 in particular).
Great article and I must admit greater comments and replies. Really loved it. I know that Nikon 105 macro VR is a special one for you as it really changed you as photographer. But do not you think it is time for Nikon to update this lens? It is now 13 years old.
I would say for me it has become my Nikon D7100 simply because it works. Unlike the old film cameras where controls were all about the same, the new digital cameras seem to change with each model and I’ve gotten comfortable with the D7100. I could talk about features, size, weight, etc. but basically, I can pull it out of my bag and use it to get good shots with little hassle.
My 50mm f/1.4 (Nikkor AIS or AF-D). I really like this lens (they both share the same optics). It gives wonderful results wide open, the bokeh is superb. The focal length is perfect. It has (practically) no distortion. It is small and lightweight. It is the perfect lens to photograph a party or an event w/o flash in low light. The results are stunning: colours and the “feel” of the photograph are so great. It impresses me again and again. It fits in every bag. It is cheap.
I’m pretty fickle, and would say that my favorite gear depends heavily on what I’m going to be shooting. My girlfriend’s go-to lens is the Tamron 35mm/1.8 because it’s incredibly versatile. She’s using a D750.
Lately I’d have to say it’s hard not to start off with the Sigma 17-70mm on my D500, again because of versatility. It covers a good range for the crop sensor, and is good for travel because anything from street to landscape to portrait are all covered well.
Both the above lenses allow for very short working distance as well.
Nikon D7200 with Nikon 16-80 lens, does what I want 85% of the time, The remainder is covered by my 70-300 Nikon and 10-20 Sigma lens.
Spencer, I’m with you on the 100mm f2.8 macro. Mine is a 1986 Minolta Maxxum. Besides resolution, lack of distortion, micro contrast and build, when I use it (via LA-EA4 on an ILCE-7M3), even when I think of using it, I’m reminded of how pleasantly it was acquired. In the not so distant past, early era of Sony Nex-7, before any dedicated macro was made for E-mount, I elected to find a used copy. Purchased a mint condition one on eBay. Seller turned out to be in Highland Ranch, CO. I then lived in Evergreen. Following day I picked it up in person returning from a Sedalia – Larkspur bike ride (passing close to Nasim’s home).
But favorites change. Currently it’s the Zeiss Batis 40mm f2 Close Focus. It’s lightweight, weather sealed, has incredible optics. Manual close focus is as precise and smooth as that of my Micro Nikkor 55. Autofocus is fast, silent. When used on my a6500 it’s FOV is similar to that of the Micro Nikkor on the ILCE-7M3 so it becomes a 1:2 macro (v. 1:3 on FF sensor). On FF it’s in the sweet spot of a traditional 35mm prime. Using a PocketPano it can create ultrawide images. Center sharpness allows lots of cropping, and f/2 retains contrast and is sharp to corners (because the image it casts on sensor plane is large?).
I think my favorite single piece of gear is my AF-S 300mm F/4. Exquisitely sharp (even with the 1.4 tc), fast and accurate autofocus, and (after the introduction of the PF version) it became extremely affordable. I got mine used in near mint condition with the Kirk collar for well under a third of the cost of the new PF 300MM lens, which actually made it a lens I could afford to buy. It’s also light enough and small enough for me to use handheld, and carry with me on hikes with a side holster.
As a nature photographer who goes after ‘head shots’ of animals, like birds, as well as closeups of spiders, etc., my go to combo for an afternoon hike is the AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR and the 105mm f/2.8 VR G
Micro-NIKKOR, both used with D810 bodies. Both lenses have allowed me to get loads of keeper shots…and at a reasonable price, since I got them as refurbished items off the Nikon site :)
Currently my most used travel lens is the Sigma Art Macro 70mm. Superb optics, compact, and very versatile. In my use, it can replace a 50mm or 85mm, but my greatest dilemma is if I should also pack a fast 85mm. At 70mm it compresses perspective very nicely and pairs well with a wider prime and/or zoom, and a 135mm, for example. In the Sony ecosystem, that translates into 12-24 or 17-35mm, and the 40mm and 135 Batis lenses (4 lens travel kit). The 40mm and 70mm Macro are a great compact pair.