Gear Talk

My first camera was a (cheap, plastic) Kodak 35mm rangefinder camera and a mother who was more than willing to develop my poorly composed, poorly exposed rolls of whatever film was on sale at the store. Mercifully to her wallet, she purchased a Nikon Coolpix 2500 digital camera as the family’s (my) camera. High school came around and I convinced Grandma to buy me the Canon 40D, my third real camera. I never got the chance to save up any more than two entry level kit lenses and a nifty fifty. I muddled my way through high school shooting basketball and hockey games.

Quickly, my Canon 40D and a kit lens would be outstripped by my phone in megapixels, image quality, ease of use, ease of transporting, and the fact my bachelors degree had nothing to do with photography. So my next camera was the iPhone 4s, then the iPhone 5, and then the Nexus 5. All were “good enough” but I didn’t rediscover my enjoyment of taking pictures until my next phone, the LG V30. Honestly, I bought the V30 because at this time was when Apple made the brave decision to remove the headphone jack and the V30 was one of the few left that had one. Also, the V30 had a ‘wide angle lens’. As someone who enjoys taking in the views at the top of a mountain, the wide angle lens appealed to me. I shot the crap out of the V30’s wide angle lens.

Unfortunately, the LGv30 developed a bug that I could not figure out the cause of? When using the fingerprint sensor to lock the phone, it would dial 911 (well technically 112, but android was smart enough to forward it to 911; If you know how to fix this bug, PLEASE get in touch, I really don’t want to recycle a perfectly good phone). Right now I’m rocking a Samsung something or other. Doesn’t matter anymore because…

I made the jump to Olympus. Decided to pick up a Tough TG-5 after a few times my phone battery died hiking to separate my phone battery from my picture-taking-battery.

During the calamity that was the end of 2019 to some unknown date, I re-discovered my enjoyment of photography and decided to re-invest into the Olympus system. Not gonna lie, their #BreakFreeWithOlympus marketing campaign sold me on the system. Investing in the system I discovered a whole whack of nerds in this niche community that I feel like is not replicated with the other brands’ ambassadors. I am a proud owner of the Olympus EM1 Mark III, EM1X, EM5 Mark III, 12-40 Pro, 40-150 Pro, 100-400mm, 60mm Macro, 1.4x Teleconverter and the 2.0x Teleconverter. This gear has enabled me to capture stunning images in a variety of environments.

The EM1 Mark III is the latest iteration of Olympus' flagship mirrorless camera and it offers an array of features and settings that make it ideal for capturing professional-level images. It is weather-sealed which has allowed me to use it in a variety of environments. The EM1X is a powerhouse of a camera, and I love it for its robust build and impressive features. It’s primary use is for capturing sports. The EM5 Mark III is a great camera for capturing high-quality images and videos. What I love most about it is its small size and lightweight design, making it easy to carry around wherever I go. It also has a variety of features, such as a vari-angle LCD, and in-body stabilization, making it a great all-around camera.

The 12-40 Pro and 40-150 Pro lenses are great for capturing sharp images, and the 100-400mm is great for capturing distant subjects. The 60mm Macro lens is great for capturing close-up and detailed shots, while the 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverters are perfect for extending the focal length of my lenses. All in all, I am very pleased with my Olympus gear and it has enabled me to capture amazing images.

 My personal commitment

This really isn’t for anyone except for myself an personal accountability. I commit to buying any and all my gear second hand whenever possible.

As a photographer and and someone who shoots nature often, I am committed to buying used and pre-owned photographic gear whenever I can. I understand that buying used and pre-owned gear helps reduce waste, lowers emissions, and can save me money. I believe that it is important to reduce the environmental impact of consumer goods and to support the circular economy. I am proud to say that most of the gear in my closet was bought used and I will continue to prioritize buying used gear whenever possible. I will also look for opportunities to repair, reuse, and resell my used and pre-owned gear in order to extend its life and reduce its environmental impact.

What I’ve Bought New and Why

  • Batteries and SD Cards : these are often consumable items, relatively inexpensive, and the secondary market is limited and have the potential for incorrect items to be repackaged (such as an advertised 128 GB SanDisk Card, but a no-name 32 GB card is sent). In addiiton the memory card is the most important part of the camera. If that fails, you lose a the entire shoot (a reason why I’ve begun to prioritize dual SD card cameras these days)

  • Peak Design Tripod : Sat on an EBay and Kijiji alert for a year and came to the conclusion these are such quality pieces of gear they don’t enter the resell market often.

  • E-M5 Mk3 : Purchased before I got comfortable buying used.

  • TG-5 : Purchased before I got comfortable buying used.