Any photographers here?

#1

So Anker loves a good picture of their products being used. Posting reviews for them has given me a reason to photograph things I probably normally wouldn’t!
Is there any other photographers (professional or otherwise) here? Want to share some tips and tricks?

Last year I decided to get back into photography after being interested in it at school year ago. After much deliberation and research I bought myself a second hand Panasonic GX7 along with a 12-32mm lens and a 35-100mm lens. Over the past year I have really enjoyed learning the micro four thirds format, and absolutely love my little camera. I feel I have got some rather nice shots out of it (Flickr stream) but I feel I am now wanting to play with different lenses
.
I’ve got my eye on a trading in my 35-100mm for a 45-200mm F4-5.6 Panasonic lens. As I do enjoy taking pictures of wildlife and frequently find I can’t get close enough.
On the other hand however, I am also enjoying getting into macro photography, and the 60mm Macro Olympus lens gets great reviews. And does occasionally pop up second hand for a reasonable price.
And then of course, I’d love a 12mm or 25mm fast prime. There is simply so much choice!

So, whats your set up? Do you focus on one type of photography and tailor your kit to that? Or do you end up with loads of different lenses for different subjects?

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#2

i’m a hobbyist, although i haven’t shot in awhile. I have a pentax rig with about 6k in lenses. I went pentax because every lens they make or has made is compatible with every camera they make that takes lenses. This opened up the market for getting good old lenses on the cheap.
Eventually I kind of decided that i was worrying too much about getting good pictures and not enough about enjoying the moment when we would go places, so i quit taking the big bag of gear. I also was frustrated with spending time to get great shots of something and then someone coming along and snapping a quick pic but then “fixing” it post production.
My favorite lens was the fast 50 portrait lens. Took amazing photos. I also enjoyed wildlife shots and city landscapes.
I do miss it,

#3

The big bag of gear scenario was one reason I didn’t pick up photography when I left school. I always found the kit too heavy to carry around all day, and having small hands I even found some SLR’s to simply be too big to comfortably hold!

It is one reason that when the micro four thirds range started coming into my price range I snapped the GX7 up. It is not much bigger or heavier than a point and shoot, and the lenses can equally be tiny!

bag.jpg3286×2432 1.39 MB

These are the two bags I use most often. The smaller one fits the GX7 and a spare lens in the main pocket, with room in the side pockets for batteries, cards, filters and hoods. As well as a snack for me! With it being a waist pack, I find it very comfortable to walk around with, can just swing the whole lot around if I need access to it rather than taking it off :slight_smile: I just fashioned a block of closed cell foam to the shape of the camera and lens to act as padding.
The bigger bag of the two I use for winter or full day walks and such as I can fit a flask and tripod on the sides. Along with camera kit I can easily fit in jacket/fleece, lunch and other bits and bobs.

Did you find the 50mm a good around lens then? It would equate to a 25mm lens on my camera so handy to know how useful that focal length is :slight_smile:

#4

i like that small bag :slight_smile:

I have a kata 3n1 i think. It gets heavy when loaded.
My camera strap was a Focus F-1 Quick Rapid Shoulder Sling. I walked around with that thing like a quick draw gun…lol

The fast 50 is (SMC Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4) is great for portraits. The bokeh control is amazing. Its fast and sharp, but i feel best for portrait range photos. I normally walked around with a Sigma 10-20 wide angle lens and my 50mm. I like the big dramatic shots… and the up close and personal.
I toyed around with macro, it was fun. I do remember having to stay very still… Captured some interesting cicada bug pics one time

Ive never played with micro 4/3 cameras.