Gear

Like clothing or cars, cameras are a matter of taste and functional needs. On my side, my gear choices have been driven by travel and mountaineering usage, which can be summarized like this : “How much weight do I have to carry to get the shots I have in mind, without compromising image quality ?”

Preparation is a key. It’s sometimes mindboggling to pack a photo bag, but it’s a good exercise to imagine the shooting conditions and the pictures you want to bring back, instead of overpacking and figure out on the spot. It will save you some weight in the field, and also helps you focus on your work instead of being distracted by so many bodies and lenses.

Here is a quick review of the cameras and lenses I use most. If you want to see sample images, just search my website with tags like "Contax TVS" or Fuji X10".

Film cameras (updated Dec 2011)

Contax TVS II – The Desert Island Camera

This is a late discovery for me, but instantly became my favourite compact camera. Why ? it has the best ergonomics, build quality and features while keeping the optical results at top level. Basically a small version of Contax G2 (see below), the TVS II shines in all respects. If I had to pack fast and light for a desert island, I’d definitely take this camera (along with some rolls of film, hoping that labs will still exist when I’m back) and just a couple of CR123 batteries – they last forever on the TVS.

First, the lens. A manually operated zoom ring enables a travel-oriented 28-56mm focal range. The price to pay for such zooming ability is a slower lens at the longer end (f6,3 at 56mm) but so what. Today if you don’t have much available light you will probably grab a digital camera. The TVS II is mostly a daytime camera, but if you carry a tiny tripod you’ll get great night shots.

Second, the ergonomics. In addition to the manual zoom, that also serves as on/off switch (very unobtrusive !), you get a real aperture ring, a manual focus ring, several flash modes, fast exposure compensation, one-push selftimer, and perfect info in the viewfinder (exact shutter speed, focus “>O<” indicators). The finder is bright (brighter than the G2), not protruding from camera body, and has little parallax with the lens. Note that the TVSII close focus is 0,5 m at all focal lengths, this is better than most of its rivals.

Third, the build quality. You get Contax level, meaning absolute best of all time. It is a beautifully designed brick of solid Japanese-assembled titanium. Even looking at it is inspiring.

And last, image quality. I came back from India with slides taken with the TVS and the G2, and they blended perfectly. The ones shot with the TVS only stands behind at times because of faulty exposure since I did not lock the AE as I usually do with the G2. Otherwise the TVS gets you the typical Zeiss look : saturated, crisp and soulful images.

Nikon 28 Ti & 35 Ti – The Swiss Watches

These two posh point and shoots look great, have stunning image quality and are the only ones in their league with matrix metering. I love the analog display on the top plate, which is actually very useful besides being funny to watch. Also, the exact shutter speed in the viewfinder is great compared to most other P&S cameras. The 35Ti has great bokeh ; the 28Ti is vignetting quite a bit, but has amazing sharpness and contrast that make it comparable to a Zeiss Biogon.

The main limitations of these cameras are a 1/250s top speed and of course a limited angle of view. What is also bugging me at times is the lens pop-out whizz noise at startup. Otherwise I regularly shoot with them, for the joy of it and also because I know I’m not wasting film thanks to perfect metering.

Contax G2 – The Zeiss Experience

When I want to travel light but without any sacrifice on image quality and possibilities, I pack the G2, which gives the best color slides you can dream of : crispy, saturated, images that will last a lifetime.

I use the G2 with three lenses : 21 Biogon, 45 Planar and 90mm Sonnar. This kit weighs about 1 kilogram and is just about what you need to take pictures : outstanding design, fast operation, great ergonomics, informative displays, best lenses around and good reliability. I took the G2 to Nepal, India, the Alps, South Africa… it performs well everywhere and usually gives me 30 keepers out of every 36 exp roll I shoot. I never need a tripod with my G2. You can get sharp shots as slow as 1/6 sec.

The Zeiss Biogon 21mm is a fantastic lens with no distortion and great sharpness. You need to attach a 21mm viewfinder which is very bright and comfy. The Planar 45mm is a perfect choice for street photography, portraits and low light shots. It is widely seen as one of the best lenses in the world. The Sonnar 90mm is less useful, but is a great portrait lens and gives you more reach with still a tiny lens. Bokeh is great.

Long story short : I love my G2. My only complains about it are the noise when focusing, and the dim viewfinder - although one gets used to it.

Nikon F3 – The Kalashnikov of cameras

On tough outings, like winter high altitude ski mountaineering, I might decide to carry an oldie. I love the Nikon F3 which has an A mode and a mechanical backup speed in case the battery dies (it happened to me on top of Kilimanjaro in 2006 !). It also has a 100% viewfinder and a removable prism allowing to shoot from waist. The FM2, FE2 and FA are lighter than the F3 but I personally always preferred the F3 for its absolute pro quality and comfort of use.

Nikon F4 – The Old King

When I can afford carrying a few more hectograms, I like to take out my F4, probably the most memorable Nikon camera. Along with the MB20 grip (the small one, not the MB21 that doubles the camera size) it's a joy to use. You have dedicated knobs and dials : program, metering, AF, drive, exposure compensation… As Nikon's every single-digit F-camera, it has a lot of refinements, such as a mercury switch allowing the computer to adapt matrix metering to vertical or horizontal framing. AF is primitive but fast. The F4 also recognizes any kind of Nikkor lenses, automatically switching back and forth A and P modes.

For just a few grams more than the F3, much less than the F4, and for less than 70 $ in 2011 (!), a great deal is the F90x (N90s in the US). It's nicely built (with better rubber than recent F100), has excellent matrix metering and fast winding. Ergonomics are good and reliability is, as well. This camera takes 4 AA batteries and behaves well in the cold .

Nikonos V

For outdoor shots in tough conditions, I may use this underwater camera. It's built like a tank (actually it basically is a tank), waterproof and weatherproof (it was used both by Cousteau and Vietnam war photographers, although never at the same place) and has the brightest viewfinder around.

Digital cameras (updated Dec 2011)

Fujifilm X10 – X for Extra

When Paris photography stores unpacked their X10 boxes, I was one of the first to show up. Fujifilm did a great job on this tiny, manual-zoom point-and-shoot. The little brother of the X100 hybrid rangefinder is half its price and size, and still incredibly powerful and efficient. It’s fast, precise, fully equipped with all the knobs and wheels you need. You can shoot in totally silent mode (even the zoom is silent as it’s manual) ; as a matter of fact the X10 is a great stealth camera, also because it is all black and without any bright logo in the front.

Image quality is great. Who else than Fuji was expected to reproduce Velvia, Sensia and Astia colors on a digital sensor ? Fuji did, and I must say it works pretty damn well. In Velvia mode, saturation is never exaggerated and has the typical cast you’d expect from slide film. On the sharpness and bokeh side, both are excellent. The focal range is perfect, starting at 28mm (with very easy panoramic mode for wider shots) and ending at 112mm (with still an astonishing f2.8 eparture).

Every small camera has its shortcomings : here you don’t get long battery life, and high ISOs are of course less crisp than on SLRs. But, all in all, this is a groundbreaking camera, and I say bravo to Fujifilm !

Nikon D700 – The Workhorse

When you need to control depth of field, and want to reach longer focal lengths than 90mm, you need an SLR. The D700 does the job flawlessly. No need to rave on this camera, zillions of people did already and you can find a lot about it out there on the web. The D700 has Nikon’s legendary straightforward ergonomics, good battery life, and is not too bulky. Image quality is top notch even though saturation is a bit hard to control. I usually shoot RAW+JPEG Norm but barely open my RAW files on everyday basis.

Nikkor Lenses

Among the many lenses I own or have owned, here are my favorites :

20mm f/4 AI : a compact travel lens made in the 1970s, it’s as small as a 50mm. It is easy to prefocus, and uses 52mm filters. Very convenient, especially to reduce the weight of your backpack when using a heavy body such as a Nikon F4 or D700.

17-35mm f/2.8 AFS : an outstanding and tough-built wide angle zoom with low distortion. Build quality is the best you can dream of. AF is silent and fast.

50 mm f/1.8 : a sharp travel lens that every travel photographer should probably own. Nice sunstars thanks to its straight-bladed diaphragm.

50mm f/1.4 AFS : unbeatable for handheld night shots.

35-105mm AF : an oldie, but as earlier Nikon lenses it’s well built and very good value for the money. It has a convenient range for street and travel photography. Optically, it has good macro capability and a very nice bokeh.

180mm f/2.8 IF ED : an optical gem that I’ve been using intensively since 1998 on more than 10 different Nikon bodies ! Saturation, contrast and low distortion are its signature.