My photographic output has been much less over the last few months. Whether symptom or cause, my cameras have not been accompanying me unless it’s been specifically for travel, in which case the Sigma DP1 now automatically comes along.
I’ve seen some very nice light over this time, but I didn’t have a camera with me. I started once again trying to decide whether there was any reasonable way to carry a camera with me more consistently and even started checking out smaller compacts that would be more easily pocketable than the DP1.
In the end, I decided that the problem was that I’m lacking photographic goals right now. With the end of the calendar year in sight, I’ve spent some time looking over my images in Aperture, looking at what equipment has been most productive for me and thinking about how I use my collection of equipment.
The DP1 is my business travel camera, sometimes being traded off with the Leica M6 when I’ve shot Black and White in cities, mostly London. My most popular images on Flickr are DP1 images, whether because of the image quality, the subject matter or the level of interest in the camera. It’s clear to me that when Sigma offers an update with a faster lens, better low light capability and faster operation, I’ll be a buyer. Or perhaps we’ll see the equivalent from Olympus or Nikon in the near future. With a new Leica M8 now going for $4000, it could be that I might eventually go to a digital M.
The D300 gets used with either the 24-120mm VR or with a kit of the 12-24mm f/4 plus the 105mm f/2.8 Micro. I’ve grown fond of using the 5x zoom of the 24-120mm, but the rendering quality of the lens doesn’t suit me well. While images tend to sharpen up well enough in post processing, it is not a crisp, high contrast lens. Yet having it on the camera, it tends to displace my better lenses, since the focal lengths are completely or in part covered by the superzoom.
I’m going to try to use the 300 with a bit more purpose now. Either with the 24-120mm for casual shooting, easy enough when I’m walking out to my car and not having to walk much with the big camera and big lens, or with the 12-24mm plus 105mm kit for a serious shooting session.
It seems I really don’t need anything longer than the 120mm for now and I might even consider swapping it for the newer Nikon 16-85 VR which is reputed to be a sharper lens.
The two primes, the 24mm f/2.8 and 50mm f/1.8 are small and fast, but I don’t see how they fit into this plan right now. I loved them on the D80 since I could have a small, light DSLR kit. I’m used to the larger D300 at this point and have the DP1 when I want to go very light. And I don’t get along with the evaluative metering on the D80, while the D300 and DP1 are generally right the first time.