Time for a Gear Change...I think...

Bill Ballard

Bill Ballard

Active Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2017
Messages
149
Location
Southeastern US (Currently)
Lightroom Experience
Intermediate
Lightroom Version
Classic
Hello all,

I've been a shooter of photos in just about every available format - in the film days; large format, medium format, rangefinder and DSLR. Enter digital, and it's been a range of DSLR and P&S bodies. Long ago, I sold off my mobile studio set up - lights, stands, backdrops, etc. In 2017, my wife and I moved aboard our 34' sailboat where we still live today. Needless to say, we've become something of a pair of 'minimalists,' me more than my wife.

The total square footage of the living space in the boat in which we can live is around 175 sq.ft; the space where we can stand and walk is about 60 sq.ft. Nowadays, my owned cameras consist of a Fujifilm X100F, a Canon 6D MKII DSLR, and Canon Powershot G7X MK III, and last; an iPhone 13. I also use a DJI Mini 2 drone for both stills and video, but mostly video. The marine environment is incredibly tough on gear, particularly electronic and delicate mechanical workings.

In truth, I've used the Canon DSLR perhaps four times in the last six years; the Fujifilm X100F, maybe eight or ten times in the same time frame. The Canon P&S has been used many dozens of times, for both stills and video, and my iPhone (and previous phones) have been used daily and the drone sees quite frequent use. So it's easy to see where this is going - time has come to reduce things further.

The Canon DSLR, lenses, and accessories are going, as is the Fujifilm X100F. I'm keeping the Canon G7X MK III and of course, the iPhone. If I'm honest, I'm being a bit clingy with the X100F. We'll see what happens with that. The drone is small enough to stay.

Another part of this plan is to upgrade the iPhone to a Max or Pro model for more camera features, and to use the iPhone and Canon G7X MK III for all of my work - stills and video. My workflow won't really change; I use a mix of Adobe Lr Cloud and PS/Camera RAW as I stopped using Lr Classic some years back. The majority of my work these days is with land and seascapes, including a lot of nautical photography, as well as travel/street work and portraiture.

I'm interested in hearing objective opinions and thoughts on this move...change.

Thanks!
 
Bill Ballard said:
I'm interested in hearing objective opinions and thoughts on this move...change.
Click to expand...
If your shooting style is complete with the Canon G7X MK III, then I see that as a winner over all. An iPhone 16 Pro is the better choice and if I were to abandon my Nikon interchangeable lens shooting, then the iPhone 16 Pro could be my only camera when shooting RAW.

Using Lr Desktop with Photoshop would eliminate any requirement to need ACR since ACR is included in Lr and will let you Edit in Photoshop directly from Lr Desktop
 
Think carefully of the amount of storage to get if getting a new iPhone. Lightroom mobile will only work with images on the device. While the Files app will allow you to use the USB drive to copy from,say, SD card to external drive, Lr Mobile will not be able to access those images.

I got the IPhone 16 Pro Max with 1TB of storage. While I do not plan to use the mobile Lr apps, I do plan to use my phone as a portable backup device and as the first layer in a travel backup scenario. I agonised over this for months before making the jump.

I wanted the Pro Max because I wanted the big screen. I was hoping it would reduce my typing errors. It didn’t. The phone is heavier than expected and smaller than I expected.

I did not get the iPhone for its camera. Yes I use it for the note taking and casual stuff, but got the crop Sony a6700 as my travel / social kit, as it fits in my jacket pocket and can change lens. The standard kit zoom plus the Sony 24mm 2.8 small prime is my perfect travel kit.

I think the Fuji and G7 is a good combo… and you can always then use one or the other as trade in if a new wonder spec model arrives.

I have done a lot of cruising and intimately familiar with living on a sailing boat, often with 2 or 3 people and sometimes 6 or 7. I always brought my camera gear and despite the locations visited, found it difficult to get good images. My best opportunities was when the sailing boat would be tied up to a harbour wall at night, where I could slip ashore just before dawn and have the local village, town or city to myself as the sun crept around the corners.
 
clee01l said:
If your shooting style is complete with the Canon G7X MK III, then I see that as a winner over all. An iPhone 16 Pro is the better choice and if I were to abandon my Nikon interchangeable lens shooting, then the iPhone 16 Pro could be my only camera when shooting RAW.

Using Lr Desktop with Photoshop would eliminate any requirement to need ACR since ACR is included in Lr and will let you Edit in Photoshop directly from Lr Desktop
Click to expand...
Thanks for your input - and yes, good on the iPhone recommendation and the ACR info - I hadn't considered that.
 
Gnits said:
Think carefully of the amount of storage to get if getting a new iPhone. Lightroom mobile will only work with images on the device. While the Files app will allow you to use the USB drive to copy from,say, SD card to external drive, Lr Mobile will not be able to access those images.

I got the IPhone 16 Pro Max with 1TB of storage. While I do not plan to use the mobile Lr apps, I do plan to use my phone as a portable backup device and as the first layer in a travel backup scenario. I agonised over this for months before making the jump.

I wanted the Pro Max because I wanted the big screen. I was hoping it would reduce my typing errors. It didn’t. The phone is heavier than expected and smaller than I expected.

I did not get the iPhone for its camera. Yes I use it for the note taking and casual stuff, but got the crop Sony a6700 as my travel / social kit, as it fits in my jacket pocket and can change lens. The standard kit zoom plus the Sony 24mm 2.8 small prime is my perfect travel kit.

I think the Fuji and G7 is a good combo… and you can always then use one or the other as trade in if a new wonder spec model arrives.

I have done a lot of cruising and intimately familiar with living on a sailing boat, often with 2 or 3 people and sometimes 6 or 7. I always brought my camera gear and despite the locations visited, found it difficult to get good images. My best opportunities was when the sailing boat would be tied up to a harbour wall at night, where I could slip ashore just before dawn and have the local village, town or city to myself as the sun crept around the corners.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the input. It helps you've got liveaboard/cruising experience, and while I've gotten good images as much as I would anywhere else while underway, etc., having to carry and secure the gear is a...challenge...not to mention dealing with battery issues. And I like the input on the X100F. Thanks!
 
Portable electronics on a boat are always a hassle. I assume you may have a diesel engine, so access to heavy duty 12 or 24v most of the time and perhaps a single mains plug when connected to shore power.

I also assume the chart table is where all this stuff accumulates.

If you are keeping something like the Fuji and G7x, you could get a small sealed pelican case, with a few silica desiccant packets enclosed. You can find a corner for your pelican case, knowing it is waterproof and semi bulletproof proof from the knocks and bumps that happen naturally on a sailing boat. When you get back from a shore trip, you know where to store your camera gear immediately.

Having two different brands of cameras, with different batteries, two different chargers and perhaps different usb cables adds a lot of grief. I have spent the last 2 years eliminating any usb cables that was are Thunderbolt or USB C. You should see the pile of boxes of cables I still retain as I have odd devices (eg Astro related) that require sorts of legacy cable that I cannot afford to loose yet. It was a challenge and much more difficult to do than first assumed. I am not sure of your cruising grounds and if you are travelling between counties with different power frequency and voltage. I would pay decent money to have a high quality hub built into or close to your internal instrument cluster with a netting arrangement close but, to store the cables needed and keep devices from rolling around when charging and under way that has ample usb a and usb c ports. Finding the right hub may not be a trivial exercise, I have not been in a ships chandlery recently, but I assume some of the better chandlery’s will sell a marine quality item. Everyone waiting for a single 12 volt cigarette lighter plug to charge phones, laptops, batteries are well gone.

I would work a long term strategy where you can aim for a single brand but which use the same batteries.

I am surprised that there is not more G7x style models released. I know the smart phone and Fuji x100 style models cater for the top and bottom end of this market. I bought the FujiX100v and invested a lot of time and effort trying to like this machine. I never warmed to it, although very happy with some of the images captured. One reason I know was not having the option to replace the lens with a wider or shorter prime.

I understand the urge to offload the dslr and related lens… but changing brand or coping with mixing crop and full frame lens is an ongoing exercise in difficult decisions.
 
Gnits said:
Portable electronics on a boat are always a hassle. I assume you may have a diesel engine, so access to heavy duty 12 or 24v most of the time and perhaps a single mains plug when connected to shore power.

I also assume the chart table is where all this stuff accumulates.

If you are keeping something like the Fuji and G7x, you could get a small sealed pelican case, with a few silica desiccant packets enclosed. You can find a corner for your pelican case, knowing it is waterproof and semi bulletproof proof from the knocks and bumps that happen naturally on a sailing boat. When you get back from a shore trip, you know where to store your camera gear immediately.

Having two different brands of cameras, with different batteries, two different chargers and perhaps different usb cables adds a lot of grief. I have spent the last 2 years eliminating any usb cables that was are Thunderbolt or USB C. You should see the pile of boxes of cables I still retain as I have odd devices (eg Astro related) that require sorts of legacy cable that I cannot afford to loose yet. It was a challenge and much more difficult to do than first assumed. I am not sure of your cruising grounds and if you are travelling between counties with different power frequency and voltage. I would pay decent money to have a high quality hub built into or close to your internal instrument cluster with a netting arrangement close but, to store the cables needed and keep devices from rolling around when charging and under way that has ample usb a and usb c ports. Finding the right hub may not be a trivial exercise, I have not been in a ships chandlery recently, but I assume some of the better chandlery’s will sell a marine quality item. Everyone waiting for a single 12 volt cigarette lighter plug to charge phones, laptops, batteries are well gone.

I would work a long term strategy where you can aim for a single brand but which use the same batteries.

I am surprised that there is not more G7x style models released. I know the smart phone and Fuji x100 style models cater for the top and bottom end of this market. I bought the FujiX100v and invested a lot of time and effort trying to like this machine. I never warmed to it, although very happy with some of the images captured. One reason I know was not having the option to replace the lens with a wider or shorter prime.

I understand the urge to offload the dslr and related lens… but changing brand or coping with mixing crop and full frame lens is an ongoing exercise in difficult decisions.
Click to expand...
Actually, the cameras are in their own padded and insulated locker, and a combination of hard (Pelican type cases) and well padded bags with ample silicon packs; the same is with my portable hard drives, spare cords, battery power packs and the like - the latter of which do live in the chart table. I work part-time in a local ship's store, but we have very little USB type charging cords, etc., and what we do have is (only my opinion!) of subpar quality. I don't use them or recommend them. And fortunately, we have multiple 12vDC outlets around the boat, both inside and in the cockpit. And yes, reducing the differing battery loads will be most helpful.

I also just saw on Gordon Laing's YouTube Channel, where Canon is releasing the Powershot V1, the next generation of the G7 series. Definitely something to keep an eye out for. I have use the G7 series for years, so this will be interesting.
 
You have a lot and varied photo experience … so you should have an instinctive feel for when something new might tick more boxes than are currently ticked.
 
Gnits said:
You have a lot and varied photo experience … so you should have an instinctive feel for when something new might tick more boxes than are currently ticked.
Click to expand...
Of course, and thank you. An extra pair of 'eyes' with an unbiased perspective (such as it is) can always be beneficial.
 
Your decision to downsize your camera gear makes perfect sense given your minimalist lifestyle aboard a sailboat and how little you use your DSLR and X100F. Since your iPhone and Canon G7X MK III already handle most of your needs, and the drone adds great value for video, sticking with these compact, high-performing tools is smart. Upgrading to an iPhone Pro or Max will definitely enhance your photography without adding bulk. It's kind of like switching from heavy camera kits to something sleeker, similar to how vapers move from large setups to something powerful yet compact. So yes, your gear change seems like a solid and practical move.
 
Thank you! (y)
 
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