What’s in my Camera bag 2021

Alright, I admit it, these are not what’s in my Camera Bag ATM. Camera bags are when you go outside and shoot, and as of the moment I’m not doing that. Honestly, they’re just sitting on top of each other on a DIY dry box for a little more than a year. Yes, the fun of lockdown and restrictions. But thanks to online meetings and streaming, I was able to use some of my cameras as webcam /streaming cameras. And today, I found another use for them – a topic for a new blog! Kidding aside, it’s sad to see them tucked away for so long so I decided to show them some love and showcase them in the internet. 😉

Now a lot of you might say, “Damn, that’s a lot of cameras”. Well, it’s not! I mean, yes it is. But hear me out. I bought these cameras one at a time throughout the years and for “cheap”. See, I don’t usually buy brand new gears and newly released cameras. That way I can save some bucks and not drool on new releases all the time. Anyway, more on that as I introduce each of my cameras according to when I acquired them.

1. The Nikon F55 with the Nifty Fifty

Now I’ve blogged about this camera and featured it on a vlog before. But for those who didn’t know, this autofocus Nikon F55 film camera is the first camera I owned, and loved. It was bought by my beautiful mother when I was in second year college taking up Fine Arts. The lens here is not the original package but I sold the original kit lens because I grew out of it and had several Nikon lenses on my arsenal. I was a Nikon shooter for a very long time. Yes, you can use your digital Nikon lenses to your film body and use your Nikon film camera lenses to your Nikon DSLR’s as long as they are of the same mount. In this case, the F-mount. Of course not without some caveats on some lenses and bodies but we are not getting technical here today. This camera is made out of plastic and have a very noisy and “chunky” mirror slap when taking photos. Aside from wishing I had bought an all mechanical camera back then, I think I still would never sell this camera because of its sentimental value. And oh, considering everything, it still takes great photos specially when paired with the 50mm f1.8d (Nifty fifty) lens. I’ve also learned a lot about photography and how to develop film in the darkroom while using this camera.

2. Yashica mf2 Super – The Filmtastic Plastic

This Yashica mf-2 super is the only camera in this list that I didn’t even bought. I found it on an old camera bag hidden in my parent’s cabinet, they must have used it when I was younger but I couldn’t really remember. This was also not the 2nd camera I owned. After the Nikon F55 I had a Pentax *ist DL, Nikon d90 and a Nikon d300s, all of which I’ve already sold. Now this Yashica camera I’ve also blogged before, I remember using it extensively for a brief period of time. I might have finished almost a dozen rolls with it. What I loved about this camera is that it has this rangefinder look, although it is far from being a true rangefinder. It also has this mechanical advance lever crank to advance the film, which is awesome! Although made in plastic like the Nikon f55, this camera is completely point and shoot. No batteries needed, just point… and shoot. This made me not think about my camera gear nor my settings and just focus on making photos when going on long photowalks alone.

3. The Fujifilm x100s – My own pretend “Leica”

My favorite camera that I own. When I first bought this camera, I bought it solely for its look. This was also the first camera that I’ve ever drooled on for a very long time. Still, my cheap ass waited a long time and bought a mint second-hand for a very reasonable price. This was also my first Fujifilm and is what hooked me up with the brand! Already 3 generations old by the time of this writing, the x100s still amazes me every time I look at it. I believe that all cameras made in the last 10 years are capable of giving us high-quality photos. And I also strongly believe that aside from the technological advancement a camera offers the camera should also invoke a feeling of desire to its photographer. May it be because of its looks or pure nostalgia, it is important that the photographer still gets excited when using his gear, however “old” or outdated that camera could be. And that is exactly what this camera does to me, well at least until I can afford a Leica rangefinder camera. 😉

4. Panasonic Lumix G7 – The video “Queen”

Technically not my camera, but who are we kidding really? Psshhh, don’t tell my wife. 😉 This Lumix G7 is the only brand new bought digital camera on this list. Bought in Photoworld Manila 2018, we purchased this because my wife wanted to dwell into vlogging. Basically just because it’s for the wifey, I wanted to buy her a camera with warranty. Unlike the other cameras featured on this blog, video has been the main use of this camera. Although also capable in taking good still photos, the Lumix G7 has a smaller micro four-thirds sensor compared to the APS-C sensor found on my other cameras. But when it comes to video, nothing beats this little guy/girl. Capable of shooting 4k, the Lumix G7 is one of the most affordable options when it comes to hybrid cameras. It’s also been one of the best investments we have made when purchasing photography gear because aside from vlogging and video works, we also use this camera as our main streaming/high-quality webcam.

5. Fujifilm XE3 – The “All-rounder”

Now I wouldn’t say that this is the best “All-rounder” camera out there, but this for me is my best “All-rounder” camera no doubt. Not that it only looks good, but it’s also a very capable still and video camera. This is also the only camera I own now that I have a variety of lens I can use with. I even bought a cheap adapter to adapt my Nifty Fifty. I never intended to buy this camera because at that time, I had my Fujifilm x100s and my Nikon d300s. But one day, a mint “below second-hand market price” offer came about. And just like that, the next thing I know is that I’m a happy owner of a Fujifilm XE3 with lots of extra cameras at home. But on the low, I always knew I wanted a smaller camera to replace my Bulky DSLR (Nikon D300s) because traveling with heavy gear plus a kid can be very tiresome. Still, it took me several months before I decided to finally sell my D300s upon purchasing the XE3. A decision I still can’t decide how I feel about. But for real, I couldn’t be happier with my Fujifilm XE3, it’s small, compact and does the job well every time. I think that with the current lineup of cameras I have at the moment, I wouldn’t be upgrading any time soon. That is until I can afford a Leica. 😉

And that’s it, my camera gears as of 2021. Hopefully, this pandemic ends soon so that I can take these cameras out where they should be again. If you want to see what these bad boys can do, follow me on Instagram. Thank you 🙂