My Current Gear Setup

I got asked the other day how I manage to decide what to shoot with when I own such a crazy amount of gear. So, I thought it would be cool to post up my current gear setup, or "Shotkit", and compare it to the one I took at the beginning of last year. I think it's funny that so many people think I own a shit ton of gear, when I honestly don't. I own almost as many bodies as I do lenses, and I really don't think that 6 prime lenses for Nikon, which I primarily shoot, is a lot. The other thing is, which a lot of you don't know, this gear isn't just mine. I share it with my wife Sandi. All of it :)

Everything I own... I use, and use a lot. If I don't use it, I don't keep it. I also usually always have gear out on loan from B&H Photo, whether it be something freshly released to try out, or gear that I need from time to time for different jobs. The only other gear not pictured, is a Manfrotto tripod I recently bought, a few more flashes, a handful of Yonguo flashes that I don't plan on using this year, our Holdfast Moneymakers, and the awesome G-Tech Storage system I use. Besides those things, this is it!

CHANGES

- Went to a more dominant Nikon setup, adding a 2nd D750 body while keeping the Df, a camera that I still love.

- Added the Sigma 24mm Art lens for Nikon, giving me a total of 6 lenses for my 3 Nikon bodies. The Sigma 24 Art, Sigma 35 Art, Nikon 58G, Nikon 85mm f/1.4G, Nikon 85mm f/1.8G, and the older manual focus NIKKOR 50mm f/1.2.

- Sold the Canon 5DMark2 and Mark3 for the newer 6D, a camera I personally like better than the 5DMk3. I also sold the Canon 24L and 35L, leaving me with only the 45mm TS-E and 50L. Both lenses are used for specific things, and I don't see myself letting go of either anytime soon.

- Sold the Leica M9 and Sony A7II for the newer Leica M(240). While the Sony was a great little camera, I was only using it with my Leica glass. It has much better low-light capabilities than the M9, but in good light, I always chose the M9 because I love shooting a rangefinder. I sold the Sony and bought the M(240), which gave me better low light capabilities and Live View like the Sony. I shot the 240 alongside the M9 for a few months, but I found myself shooting the M9 less and less. I really wanted some new glass, so I sold the M9 and bought the Lieca 24mm Summilux.

- Sold the Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 and upgraded to the Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton. I also added the Leica 24mm f/1.4 Summilux, giving me a total of 3 Leica lenses with the Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux ASPH. I am putting together a comparison between the Nokton 35mm f/1.2 and the much more expensive Leica 35mm Summilux, having owned both for a few months while I decided which to keep.

- Added the Pentax 645NII to start shooting more MF film on wedding days. I also purchased the popular Pentax 6x7 105mm f/2.4 SMC to go along with the 75mm AF. The 105 just arrived today which is why it isn't in the photo. Very excited to start shooting this lens.

GOALS FOR 2016

- Leica is supposed to be releasing the new M this year, which I will hopefully be testing prior to release, but I don't ever know for sure. After testing and shooting the new Leica SL for a couple months, and seeing how both it and the Leica Q performed, I'm really geeked up to see what Leica has in store for the new M. If and when it's released, I'll be purchasing it... or hopefully keeping the one they ask me to test :)

- Add a 2nd Sigma 35mm, it's a lens that both myself and my wife shoot with on wedding days. It's also one of my favorite lenses that I own, so why not have two of them :)

- Add another Nikon body, which may possibly be a D810 that I have shot with a lot this past year. My wife and I like to each shoot with two bodies on a wedding day, so I will most likely be purchasing a 4th Nikon body.

- Looking forward to seeing what Canon does this year about the 5D Mark3 replacement. I am really hoping for all the Canon shooters out there that they finally release a Mark4 very soon. I strongly believe they had one ready to release already and had to pull it back once Nikon released the D750. Now with the D5 out, they need to be really careful with the next camera in the 5D series. Fingers are crossed that they WOW us and make believers out of all the Canon shooters again, but I'm losing faith. If and when it comes out, I will definitely be getting my hands on one and testing it prior to it shipping. If it's as good as it needs to be... I'll be picking one up as my Canon body :)

- Besides that... I'm good to go :)

Current "Shotkit"

My Current Gear Setup

CHANGES

GOALS FOR 2016