[victormeldrew]

When I'm off out for a day's casual shooting, whichever lens(es) I leave behind are always the ones I end up wanting! If I don't have a flash I'll wish I did, if I don't take filters I end up wanting to do a long exposure...maybe it's psychological, but I never seem to have what I end up needing.

But whenever I take a large selection, my back hurts and I get grumpy. And if I do, I often just shoot all day with the 35mm and wish I'd left all the heavy stuff behind!

Obviously if you've got a specific shot or assigment in mind that's a lot easier...but if not, how do you decide what to take with you?

[UncleVanya]

I honestly don't know. Often I participate in the single in challenge which means I have one specific lens that is my objective for the month, so that one comes along. Beyond that it is mood and size that motivate me. I tend to carry a small assortment of primes or a single wider range zoom. So a 15, 40, 77 day or an 18-135 day is possible. Unlikely combos have happened like 15, 300. Whim plays a big role as does mode of transportation. If I have the car, more grear can go than if I'm walking.

[wildman]

casual shooting

whenever I take a large selection, my back hurts

wish I'd left all the heavy stuff behind!

how do you decide what to take with you?

.....Zoom

[UserAccessDenied]

When I'm off out for a day's casual shooting, whichever lens(es) I leave behind are always the ones I end up wanting! If I don't have a flash I'll wish I did, if I don't take filters I end up wanting to do a long exposure...maybe it's psychological, but I never seem to have what I end up needing.

But whenever I take a large selection, my back hurts and I get grumpy. And if I do, I often just shoot all day with the 35mm and wish I'd left all the heavy stuff behind!

Obviously if you've got a specific shot or assigment in mind that's a lot easier...but if not, how do you decide what to take with you?

K-3ii with DA*300.
I have my DA35 ltd in my pocket just in case. (though once I get my 15ltd it will replace my 35 as my pocket lens.)

That's all I need.
Though, everyone varies.

Think about the location you are shooting and the typical subjects you may see.
If it's really just too hard to define, then take two zooms. Something like an 18-135 and 55-300.

If you want to use primes, then take a wide, a normal and a tele.

I can't speak on the flash. I always shoot natural light. (I do not even own a flash).

Filters I cannot speak on either. I have a CPL filter on my 18-135, but that lens is usually in my bag for traveling and not out for casual day to day shooting.


My 2 cents

[WPRESTO]

It is always a puzzlement. I try to decide what sort of photography I hope to do: telephotos for birds; macro for insects; short range zoom & wide angles for scenics; one or two wide-aperture SFL lenses in a museum (35mm macro is my favorite here). But if it's just a stroll and take what comes it's a problem. I would leave the big teles and take a wide zoom, maybe a fish-eye, a wide to moderately long zoom (16~85 my favorite), a modest SFL tele (180 Voigtlander most likely), 1.4HD TC; macro (100 f2.8 is the lightest & most versatile), and a wireless capable flash (360II most likely). That would fit in a medium backpack without too much weight. Oh yes, I forgot the accessory we all love to hate: a lightweight tripod.

[Macario]

When I'm off out for a day's casual shooting, whichever lens(es) I leave behind are always the ones I end up wanting! If I don't have a flash I'll wish I did, if I don't take filters I end up wanting to do a long exposure...maybe it's psychological, but I never seem to have what I end up needing.

But whenever I take a large selection, my back hurts and I get grumpy. And if I do, I often just shoot all day with the 35mm and wish I'd left all the heavy stuff behind!

Obviously if you've got a specific shot or assigment in mind that's a lot easier...but if not, how do you decide what to take with you?

don't think about what you didn't take, think about what you did take. If you didn't take the filter, don't go oh wish I had the filter. Think what can I do without the filter. It does require creative thinking, but most of the times, the results are also more creative.

[DeadJohn]

Which lenses I bring depends on where I'm going. Focal length, weight, lens quirks, and my mood all influence the choice.

A wilderness hike means 55-300 for wildlife and some landscapes, plus a DA15 (or Ricoh GR) for wide landscapes. Walking around the city might mean the Tamron 10-24 or DA 16-50 or Ricoh GR. Night city scenes usually get the DA15 for starbursts, but sometime DFA 100 for narrower shots.

[TER-OR]

Usually it's pretty obvious based on subject.
Other times it's because I've decided I want to shoot in a particular style. One time we visited the Shedd Aquarium and I only used the 10-17 Fisheye. Cute, I know, but it did a great job and produced some really nice images. The DA21 does a great job on bright summer days, it really captures the bright saturated colors.

[victormeldrew]

Oh yes, I forgot the accessory we all love to hate: a lightweight tripod.

That's probably the worst of all...! Mine used to go on my backpack every day for a while but it sticks out the top and bottom so got very annoying. Now it stays in the car, but that means I ignore shots I could have got if I took it with me.

[VoiceOfReason]

For just casual everyday shooting it is the K3 and 18-135. That is it. If I think I will need longer I can bring the 60-250 and 1.4 tc.

[normhead]

My walking kit is determined by what fits into my Lowenpro Sling shot. I hate having to stop , and take off a pack to get into my camera bag and the Sling Shot provides me with a lens change platform standing up, where I am. My normal kit these days would be the the DA 18-135, The DA*200 with the 1.7 and 1.4 TC, that stacked get me to 500mm if I need it, in a light weight portable package, and the primes I think I might need, always the 21 ltd and 40 XS, but sometimes the 70 macro or Sigma 8-16 instead of the 18-135, depending on circumstances. IN some circumstances I will take the DA* 60-250 but, that requires a back pack, which creates a whole host of different problems.

It's taken years to get to this point, and the last little while there has been an effort to reduce the size and weight of what I carry. SO, far this is working out way above expectation. My big old packs with room for everything are great, on the back seat of my car. They keep everything organized and easy to get at, and I can bring everything from my A-400 to my Sigma in them, but carrying them on a walk is not an option. You have to make some decisions on what ou are likely to shoot that day, and how much you can comfortably carry. You can ruin a good time in the outdoors by carrying too much stuff.

And I look forward to doing future canoe trips with nothing but the DA 18-135, 21 ltd, 40 xs, DA*200 ƒ2.8 and the 2 TCs and possibly the 10-17 fisheye. That is a heck of a lot of firepower in a relatively small package.

[TaoMaas]

Usually it's pretty obvious based on subject.

True. I tend to break things up into anticipated subject matter, then tailor my kit towards that end.

[RKKS08]

We should sometimes remember how lucky we are.

Back in the 1970s, selecting your kit was simple:
Travelling light ment the 50mm, 40mm, or 35mm prime only, otherwise the standard equipment with the 28/35mm, 50mm, and 135mm.
Only very few photogs owned lenses wider than 28mm or longer than 135mm.

And with the first decade of affordable zooms, this situation changed only marginally (and only for bright daylight), as acceptable IQ was only available 2-3 steps from wide open. So, if not on a sunny day, you still had to add the nifty fifty, to make sure.
And, as the early zooms were quite big and heavy, you did not gain too much compared with the standard three primes.

And this was the high time for 2xTCs, as then, together with the kit prime, you had 50 + 100mm. A small 4-element TC could travel in your pocket. And zooming with your legs was certainly not bad for your health either.

[rick pafford]

i carrier a k30 with a sigma 18-250.
in a lowpro sling bag.
tarmac i have a k50 with a sigma 135-400
attach in case of a telephoto use. i also a sigma 17-70 and tamron 12-24.

[victormeldrew]

We should sometimes remember how lucky we are..

This is true and of course a lot of history's greatest photographers walked around with a single body/lens and often with very substandard IQ (by our standards). There is an exhibition of Sergio Larrain's work coming up and I don't think he worried much about kit:



I love the idea of a month with one prime lens. I see it suggested a lot as an effective creative push. I guess it's as much psychological as anything, thinking you're missing out if you don't have a piece of kit.