The Paradox Of Small, Mirrorless Camera Systems

Shiloh School, Northumberland County, Virginia (click to enlarge)
Fujifilm X-T1, 18-55mm f/2.8-4 lens @ 18mm; 1/350th sec. @ f/8; ISO 200

Many times in this blog I have written about why I had switched primarily to mirrorless cameras.  As I age (I'm in my mid-60s now), like many of you, I find carrying full frame digital cameras and especially those big, heavy full frame lenses for long periods of time to be taxing beyond what I now care to endure.  I want to carry a versatile camera kit but be comfortable doing so.  I transitioned to mirrorless because the gear is smaller, lighter, less bulky but maintains excellent image quality.  Mirrorless is my formula for comfortably wandering around with a very lightweight bag containing a camera body and a couple of lenses and enjoying the experience.  So what's the paradox?

The paradox for me, and from what I read and see for others in "What's in my bag?" types of Internet posts and You Tube videos, is that I've gone smaller, lighter and less bulky but I seem to want to stuff more gear in my bag because of it!  I call it Gear Creep.  The smaller gear allows me to carry much more of it and I gain nothing!

When I routinely carried around my large Nikon D700, 800E or now the D810, I tended to take the body, three zoom lenses and a fast, normal prime lens and sometimes also a 90mm f/2.8 macro lens.  When I realized I needed and wanted to downsize a few years ago, I downsized my big f/2.8 zooms to the smaller f/4 zoom lenses and gave up those much larger and heavier bazooka zooms that all the pros say they have to have.  I had come to value lessor weight and smaller size over a singular extra f/stop.  I carried one extra battery (those cameras easily approach 1000 exposures per battery if not more), two filters, a cleaning cloth and that was about it.  Still too heavy to carry for a long day's comfort.

Recently, after walking around with my Fuji gear most of a day, that old feeling of uncomfortableness returned due to the excessive weight of the bag I was carrying over my shoulder.  But I was carrying my mirrorless Fuji gear which is lighter and less bulky?  What gives?

Urbanna, Virginia (click to enlarge)
X-T1, 18-55mm lens @ 44.4mm; 1/680th sec. @ f/8; ISO 200

I think there is a subtle psychological tendency that creeps in without notice and affects us as photographers and probably others in other situations as well.  I think the tendency is that because we are carrying smaller, lighter gear, we subconsciously tend to stick more stuff in our camera bags.  You know, all of that extras stuff, "just in case" we may need it.  I see it on the Internet all the time. A photographer is using mirrorless and still carrying a huge bag with everything but a refrigerator stuffed inside. Carrying all that gear neutralizes the argument for mirrorless being lighter weight and more comfortable.  This seems to be an insidious syndrome.

When I first switched to mirrorless, I carried one body and three zooms.  I even bought a much smaller and lighter bag to carry my gear.  I had two filters and a couple of thin, aluminum step-down rings (I only carried a variable neutral density and a polarizer), an extra battery (even though we now get less than 400 shots on average), a cleaning cloth, etc.  Small, lightweight, functional.  No frills.  Does what I need it to do without excess.

Recently, when I took stock of what I was carrying, I was amazed how "Gear Creep" had sneaked in while I was not paying attention and was now causing me to switch everything to a larger bag as I couldn't any longer carry everything in the smaller one.

I found myself carrying an X-T1 body with an L-plate, a 10-24mm lens, the 18-55mm lens, the 50-140mm f/2.8 lens, the 1.4X tele-converter, four extra batteries, the battery charger, 2 lens cloths, a lens pen, 4 filters with some adapters, and a bunch of other miscellaneous stuff, etc.  In reality, I'm back at, or have even exceeded, the weight of my full frame kit!  How did that happen?  The paradox of gear creep.

I've decided to pare down again to regain that weight and bulk advantage.  I've also decided to try a different strategy.  I've now placed ancillary gear in a secondary bag that can stay in the trunk of the car and, if I need something specific, I can get it from the car. 

I've decided to typically carry what I call my travel kit:  the X-T1, the 14mm f/2.8, the 18-55mm and the 55-200mm lenses as well as 3 filters (I added the Nikon 6T for closeup work), two extra batteries, cleaning cloth, etc.  I don't think I need to carry a refrigerator, kitchen sink, and something to take care of every contingency I may find. After all, in my long years of experience, those contingencies only poke their heads up very, very rarely.  If I was on a once in a lifetime trip, I would take more.  But for routine wandering, I think I can keep things small, lightweight, simple and comfortable.  Small bag containing only essentials and I'm good to go.

I was heading down the path of a driver who would carry three spare tires all the time in his car, just in case.  How often do you get three flat tires at the same time?  Rarely.

Gear Creep is real!  Beware!  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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