What camera do I buy? / general gear talk

There’s not going to be anything 35mm that’s going to be vastly better, Olympus lenses are fine.
Most of the time when my photos aren’t sharp it’s because I haven’t kept the camera steady, or missed focus.

You can use a tripod, shoot at f8, nail focus and use films like Ektar and TMax 100. Any or all will help to keep the photo sharp

Alternatively shoot medium format whilst keeping the above in mind.

Edit - If you’re still worried about Olympus glass not being sharp enough, check out Jane Bown’s work. She shot an OM-1 for a large part of her career doing celebrity portraits and didn’t seem to have a problem with sharpness

@miro_o and @Ste_S have given sage advice here @Josh

Thanks mate something for me to consider on the longer trips this summer.

Although I'm also considering a macbook air as a do it all sort of thing.

If the main goal is storage, you'll need to put down some cash to get up to 1TB i.e. in case of the Air. Plus you'd always need to bring a charger as well.

I managed just fine with the 500GB WD for such a trip, I also carry quite a few cards with me as plan B. The WD isn't cheap if you're after the big volume HD but will be a lot cheaper than the Air. Then again, HD vs Macbook so apples and oranges really.

One a different note, returning the 100-400 rental this evening and let's see what they say about the XH1. Fingers crossed, I'll update accordingly.

I ordered it in the Netherlands, during my trip to see my parents, but I live in Italy so let's see how much trouble this would (potentially) be. Fuji offers European warranty so it should not be an issue but you never know.

I figured that the air would be my backup - can move onto the hdd then also onto the 'cloud' at the same time.

I do carry a number of cards but backing up to my phone each night becomes a bit of a pain.

Any of you guys have specific insurance for your cameras? If so who would you recommend?

Travel insurance, nothing else.

@miro_o @Ste_S @amey (any anyone else who had given me advice)

Thank you very much for your help!

Tbf I have thought about getting a medium format cam. Mamiya r645 as they cam be had for not much money.

@amey you have one right??

I used a G2 and various lenses for years. Was completely bomb-proof and took the sharpest images I’ve ever got from any film camera (Leica M6ttl/summicron 50, Rolleiflex F2.8 Planar). The Zeiss lenses are extraordinary, particularly the 45 and 90 for portraits. The wides are beautiful too, but quite niche.

I know they are not now repairable but they are built like tanks!

If I was still shooting 35mm I would buy another in an instant. Just my tuppence-worth!

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Nice! I’d like to get a meter for on mine but I’ve done ok without up to now and I don’t use it very often

Yeah I'm hopefully eventually gonna stop using it, I've shot manual on metered cameras before but never properly guessed exposure based on my eye... Gonna take some honing of skills before I ditch the meter

Always fancied a Contax G, but they were useless even a decade or so ago.

I miss my M6TTL... with the various lenses I had over time, not sure I could have got sharper images. Certainly sure I couldn’t afford to buy that kit any more though.

Yum! I'd love one!

There's another one on WYC right now, 'only' £1200 😉

argh! Maybe one of these days. I've always lusted after a Leica (and will own one) at some point in my life!

But for now I'd quite like to get a macbook before long and fund some travels!

I did too, but never use mine now compared to my T2 but I also can't bring myself to sell it either.

Can’t remember how many rolls of film I used to shoot, it was shedloads though. Over the few years I had the M6ttl (and before that, CL, M2, IIIc, Standard) gotta say I loved what I got from the lenses. Pretty sure the DR Summicron was the best/heaviest 50 I owned. The CL and it’s stupidly small summicron-c wasn’t the sharpest but definitely went more exciting places like nights out.

Problem with the M’s is they’re heavy, and once upon a time their size was compact for what they offer. I got bored of the weight of the camera and lenses, especially if I didn’t shoot any photos for days on end. I’m trying to talk myself out of missing it.

But still, when you have any M camera, they are a joy to use. If you have a good one it feels silky and amazing. If you have a bad one, it’s probably because you’ve been using it properly.

Its the handling of rangefinders I absolutely love and back when film wasn't soo expensive I shot exclusively film for a long time, including scanning it myself.

I got so comfy with my xpro one I was reluctant to sell it.

Now the xpro 3 is here I'm beginning to feel the same. Although I could probably do with just a strap to hold it. I see that Flickr is now offering a £25 voucher code with pro memberships, which means I could pick up their strap relatively cheap.

Yea my circumstances and mentality toward photography changed at the same time and I felt very little remorse when I offloaded all my valuable film kit. Sad about it now, but that’s life. I have cameras sitting in bags and on shelves and barely touch them.

Like you say - film was affordable. I think when I was in NYC for a month in 2013 I shot a couple dozen rolls and that was a low yield compared to trips years earlier. The film was £land Agfa and I paid almost nothing for develop-only, and scanned them all on an Epson V700.

As soon as that Agfa stock dried up and developing costs rocketed, even B&W seemed laborious. I still have all my dev tanks and clips, and some bulk of Ilford pan 50 somewhere, should still be possible for me to run some rolls if I wanted.

But even the SonyA6000 is okay for what it is. Images feel soft and fake in comparison, and there’s no texture.

But there’s no dust dirt hairs or scratches, and no processing time or cost.

I love to think at some point I'll reignite my love of black and white film photography. Maybe go down the just printing route. But it's the time that absolutely kills it for me.
It's still so romantic and who knows when I'm an old man and hopefully have some more time I'll try it.

But even the SonyA6000 is okay for what it is. Images feel soft and fake in comparison, and there’s no texture.

See that's where I love the fuji cameras, I hardly have to do any post-processing (which I loathe) as I spend most of my day sat at a desk anyway. The colours straight out of the can look glorious.

I am kinda here mentally, although i want to keep 2 each (35mm and med format) and get rid of it all for digital something; Leica or Fuji.

Mhmm. I’d pined over fuji for ages, and used their film stock for years (especially in 120) with great results. The X series was just too damn expensive. My A6000 was a gift 2 1/2 years ago, and it’s not seen much use. I doubt I’d have gotten more use from waiting and affording a Fuji.

As far as B&W, I’m keeping hold of the Mamiya RB67 and the 5x7 and 10x8. You know, just in case. Contact prints of 5x7’s are wonderful.

I don’t trust Leica digital. It’s just Panasonic with a bow on top. Sooner buy Fuji.