A Photographer’s Toolkit: My Cameras and How I Use Them
Please don’t consider me a camera collector. None of my gear is behind glass, and nothing is here just to be admired. Every camera I own has a purpose. They’ve all been bought used, most have needed some level of servicing, and more than a few have their quirks like unreliable meters, stiff winders, or missing accessories. But each of them is used, and each of them must justify its spot in my bag or be sold on.
Over the last decade, I’ve gradually built up a set of tools that suit how I work and what I want to say with my images. Ive bought wisely (most of the time!) and kinda cheaply. It’s a mix of old digital and older still film, with digital usually reserved for paid jobs and film for personal work.
The choice between the two is partly creative and partly practical, film keeps me grounded, slows me down, and lets me shoot with intent. Digital does not carry film costs, and handles the fast-paced, deadline driven side of photography. Im not a pro anymore, proud to be just a photographer, but when Im commissioned I still like to get the images shared quickly and without fuss.
My mainstays are my Nikon D2X and Nikon F3 both now in their 20’s and 30’s! The D2X is a beast of a camera, built like a tank, endlessly reliable, and capable of producing stunning images. It’s the closest digital experience I’ve found to match the feel of my F3, which remains my favourite 35mm SLR. These Nikons are my go-tos: whether it’s a client job or a day of street photography, they’re the cameras I instinctively reach for.
When I feel like reconnecting with a different era or just want a different way of seeing I turn to my Canon VL2 rangefinder. The VL2 is a classic 35mm rangefinder that feels like shooting history. It has a poorish viewfinder so I mostly use zone focus. I pick up the VL2 when I feel sentimental or want to break routine from the Nikons, but in tuth Ive not used it much of late so its hovering on the ‘sell it ‘waiting list.
My Olympus OM-1s are quiet, compact, and elegant and almost as discreet as my Ikonta, which is the camera I carry everywhere. The OM1s are to me the Leica of the SLR world, if only Olympus Systems made an outwardly identical digital version. The OM-D E-M1, meanwhile, earns its place not for everyday shooting but for practical jobs: scanning negatives and slides. This is a truly phenominal camera in all respects, but I prefer the feel and viewfinder of the D2x. The E-M1 is also on the ‘to sell list’.
Then there are the cameras I use to experiment, focus on what I feel is fine art or just have fun with: three Frankas, two if which are folders, one shoots 6x6, the other 6x7 medium format. The other is 35mm and its a joy to shoot with. They’re slower, more deliberate, and sometimes unpredictable, but I enjoy what they bring out in me creatively. They also cost less than £40 for the the three!
The Ricoh FF-1, finally, is the family snap camera. It’s compact, clever, and always up for whatever I throw at it. Its stupid small and as lite as a feather! If you see one for sale buy it, zone focus and leave the camera to do the rest - really much better than a phone camera.
However, none of these cameras are precious. They reflect not just my photography but also my philosophy: tools, not trophies.