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Well, I finally did it. In the name of both frugality and minimalism (and maybe a little thinking ahead), I decided to officially buy into a camera system that is significantly smaller, lighter and easier to carry with me than my current - and much-beloved, Nikon-based camera system.
Everybody likes getting new stuff. It was not easy to press that 'Buy Now' button for my new (to me) photography equipment, though.
Imagine for a moment working with a particular brand or type of equipment for years and years, and one day making the decision to sell it all. The reasons for my switch are in my best interest, but still, letting go of the equipment that I've used, practiced with and know so well is still a bitter-sweet moment.
I like to think of this move as a downsize, but technically, is this really \"downsizing\"? Hmm, I don't know. When you downsize, you're simplifying your life by living with less. This switch in photo equipment does indeed simplify my life. But I am not living with less. I am simply replacing my larger and heavier photo equipment with something smaller and easier to manage.
Who needs a mirror, anyway? Traditional cameras (like my Nikon equipment) have a mirror directly in front of the camera sensor (or the film plane back in the film days), and this is what provided your view of the scene when looking through the viewfinder on the back of the camera. When the shutter button is pressed, the mirror flips up and exposes the sensor or film to light, then flips back down to re-gain a view of the scene through the camera.
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This is an important concept to understand - it's the mirror that enabled the concept of an optical viewfinder. Without the mirror, the scene in front of you can't get reflected up through the camera (called a \"pentaprism\") and out of the back (see the picture on the right from Digital-Photography-Tips.net for a diagram of how light travels through the camera).
The camera system that I am buying into is mirrorless. As the name implies, these are cameras without a mirror in the camera. That means NO viewfinder - at least no optical viewfinder. To compensate for the lack of a mirror, many of these cameras (like the one I bought) offer an electronic viewfinder, which is effectively a video screen that mimics the mirror concept.
Truthfully, switching camera systems has been in the back of my mind for a while now. While I loved my Nikon equipment, I still wanted something different. But why? Why switch to a camera system without a mirror?
Simple: the absence of a mirror makes these cameras smaller and lighter - not just the camera, but the lenses, too. In fact, my entire new camera system probably weighs as much as my current Nikon camera and the 80-200 telephone lens...that's right, just my camera and one lens.
In the future, my wife and I are planning quite a bit of travel – perhaps full time travel. To be perfectly honest, I am not looking forward to hauling all of my fairly heavy Nikon gear around with me across the world, especially when there are other exceptionally high quality alternatives available on the market.
In addition, I would rather not walk around all day long with a big and heavy (depending on the lens) camera around my neck or shoulders. I like the idea of having a more compact, yet just as powerful, camera at-the-ready that I could slip into a larger jacket pocket and, of course, utilize a much smaller footprint.
An important element to consider when not just switching camera manufacturers, but camera SYSTEMS, is the type of photography that you shoot. I am a landscape and nature photographer first and foremost. I do not need the fastest camera in the world (though the camera I bought is darn fast), nor do I need one built like a tank to keep up with my demands in the field. The fact is my shots often come after miles of walking…through mountains or deserts, valleys and fields. In other words, it’s a manual effort to get to my photography, and I need a camera that makes that process as easy and painless as possible.
Ultimately, life is a series of trade-offs. The biggest downside to making this switch is the relatively limited availability of lenses at the moment. The mirrorless camera system concept is still fairly new and, naturally, lens choices will be more limited than with traditional mirrored digital SLRs, like Nikon and Canon.
As a nature and landscape photographer, I quite frankly do not need a large variety of lenses. All I need are three primary lenses to cover the entire range of my photography - a wide angle (between 12mm and 16mm), a mid-range zoom (in the neighborhood of around 18 to 105mm) and a longer range telephoto (around 80-200mm). I bought two of the three when I made my initial purchase last week - a wide angle and mid-range zoom.
And best of all - I bought all of my \"new\" equipment used. Buying used photo equipment, similar to buying cars used, can save several thousand dollars in entirely unnecessary costs. I plan on selling all of my Nikon equipment after I help a friend of mine photograph a wedding this weekend, and I will come away from this deal close to budget-neutral.
Okay okay, enough with all the words - what did I buy? I bought into the Sony Alpha mirrorless camera system.
Camera: Sony Alpha a6000 (Amazon link)
Wide angle lens: Sony 16mm f/2.8 (Amazon link), accepting the 12mm fisheye attachment to be purchased at a later date
Mid-range zoom: Sony 18-105 f/4 OSS (Amazon link)
I am selling both of my Nikon D7000 and Nikon D70 cameras as well as all 5 of my Nikon lenses. Doing the math, I am replacing 7 pieces of equipment with 3, and each individual component is smaller and lighter than its Nikon counterpart.
I love simplifying.
What about you? Have you ever sold something near and dear to your heart after many, many years of faithful service?
","tags":[{"name":"Financial independence","slug":"financial-independence"},{"name":"Photography","slug":"photography"},{"name":"Simplify","slug":"simplify"},{"name":"Change Your Life","slug":"change-your-life"},{"name":"Save Money","slug":"save-money"},{"name":"Psychology of Spending","slug":"psychology-of-spending"},{"name":"Generating Income","slug":"generating-income"},{"name":"Build Wealth","slug":"build-wealth"},{"name":"Money-Saving Habits","slug":"money-saving-habits"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"turn-life-black-white-photo","feature_image":null,"title":"Turn your life into a black and white photo","published_at":"2015-03-31T12:00:13.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Steve Adcock","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ae0b2f8d459bad06e6d287fa4a74b1ea"},"html":"Most of my loyal readers probably know by now that photography is a big part of my life. Though currently my hobby, it is what I love to do, and my ability to capture nature's beauty is enabled by how my perspective on everyday life has changed over the years. Today, I can see beauty in nearly everything.
![\"The](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/bw-4-300x199.jpg\")
Recently, I made the decision to switch over to black and white for the majority of my photography. I have always loved black and white. It probably all started back in high school when I setup my own darkroom in our basement to develop film and print my own photos. The process was amazing to learn, and I can still immediately recognize the smell of those chemicals to this very day.
There is something about the emotion of a black and white shot that appeals to me. Maybe I find color distracting. Or, perhaps color takes away from the raw emotional element of what photography is all about. Without color, you are left with nothing but \"content\". Pure substance.
The elimination of color immediately introduces a few critical differences to my process of getting great shots, as it would for any photographer. And, I am reminded of how similar this process is to approaching life with a fresh new perspective after prioritizing true happiness out of life...rather than temporary feel-gooderies produced by \"stuff\".
Contrast and texture become more important
Technically, contrast and texture are both always important. But, they now become more critical in getting the shot. In black and white photography, there is nothing more important than contrast between shades of gray. Ansel Adams was an expert at squeezing out maximum contrast, especially around clouds in the sky. A sky alive with sharp edges between lights and darks makes a substantial difference and represents the separation between great, and simply \"okay\", photography.
Textures in black and white shots create a sense of depth. It is a dynamic element of a photograph that can turn a white puff in the sky into a dramatic cloud, or take a boring wedding dress and turn it into a stunning centerpiece.
Morning/Evening light becomes less critical
One of the first elements of photography that newer photogs quickly learn is how important light is - especially when working with color. Typically, the two best times of day where the light is the softest and offers the greatest potential to capture gorgeous photos is dawn and dusk...or in other words, in the morning or evening right around sunrise and sunset. Why? The sun is low in the sky and, as the light from the sun passes through various layers of atmospheric gasses that are more dense at that angle, light literally comes alive with color.
But, the elimination of color from your photography makes colorful light, naturally, less critical. Of course, beautiful light is still very important when taking photos for black and white, and both dusk and dawn light often creates sweeping shadows and stunning highlights that make virtually all photography pop right off the page. Thus, \"less critical\" rather than \"not important\".
\"Beauty\" gets immediately redefined
Color influences beauty, but it certainly does not define beauty. The ability to look at everyday life with a black and white lens in your eye can make the difference between robotically going through days unaware of how wonderful life truly is, and taking a fresh perspective on life, seeing things for not only what they ARE, but also what they CAN BE.
Recognizing the new kinds of beauty during this photographic transition from color to black and white involves the same changes in perspective that humans take when they streamline their lifestyles, minimize their possessions, think positive and totally kick ass in every facet of life.
Try something. Turn your life into a beautiful black and white photo. Through the absence of color, true beauty still remains and very often represents what life is all about in its crude and most fundamental form. Think of it as bringing the concept of minimalism into your view of the world. Color is \"extra\". Maybe black and white is all you ever truly need when life is simplified.
How do you turn your life into an Ansel Adams-style black and white masterpiece? Try three things.
1. Simplify. Remove clutter. In fact, remove all the elements of your life that cause you stress or heartache the best that you can. That Facebook \"friend\" of yours who keeps giving you crap on your wall? De-friend. Your car that keeps breaking down, requiring costly maintenance? Sell. The job that keeps you wasting hours of commuting time every damn day? Quit (or relocate).
2. Rid your life of the unnecessary. That super-pimp sports car that you bought in your 20s (yes, I'm guilty!)? Sell. Those 20 different pairs of pants, only 3 of which actually get worn? Yup, get rid of the other 17. Is cable television really worth $50 bucks a month (or more)? Do you NEED unlimited data on your cell phone? What about that Starbucks coffee? Honestly, who needs to spend good money on incredibly average coffee, anyway? Take an honest assessment of your life and nix the unnecessary. Not only will you substantially simplify your life, you'll save money in the process, too.
3. Lastly, relax. I mean, just sit the fuck down and let your mind wander. Resist the temptation to completely plan every minute of your weekend. Instead, take enough time for yourself to think. Think about what went right last week, or what you might do differently the next. Some people meditate. Others take a walk. And some, like me, just plop their butt down into one of our backyard wooden chairs and stare into the pool. I might take a little nap, too.
Oh, #3 reminded me of a bonus. Sleep. Get your sleep and wake up rested. You will feel better, look better and perform better at virtually every facet of your life. If you aren't getting enough sleep, it usually shows.
Even if your plan is not to retire early, simplifying your existence makes life that much easier to live.
And lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't post a few of my own black and white shots. Can you find beauty in minimalist black and white?
![\"Black](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/bw-1-1024x702.jpg\")
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