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Photojournalist Street Photographer's Camera Kit

My friend James Dewitz was in Thailand for many years, but recently returned to my area for a short time. I’ve been wanting to feature photographers on this channel for a while now and I didn’t want to pass up this opportunity. In this first of two videos we will take a look at part of his camera gear kit interspersed with information about his photography as well as tips he has based on his experience. He has a focus on oral history, photo journalism, and street photography. He also does other types of photography, but we only focused on the street photography work.

See his work here:
https://www.instagram.com/j.dewitz/
https://www.facebook.com/jdewitzphoto/

You can find a list of all equipment here:
Camera kit on Kit.co

I also have the full kit on Amazon.com with newer equivalent items:
Camera Kit on Amazon.com

Filming b-roll of his equipment.

Let’s go into more detail…
Most of the information here is provided by James. 

  • Olympus O-MD E-M5 Mark I
    • If you don’t want to spring for a better or newer camera, the EM5/1 is still a workhorse and great for portraits.
  • Panasonic HLD-6 Battery Grip Combo
    • Not essential to the E-M5 kit, but I love it and don’t know what to do without it. 1 extra battery slot. Grip separates from battery. Waterproof. Battery does not go on the camera without the grip. Absolutely worth it. 
  • Panasonic Lumix GX7
    • This one really ranges. The newer GX80 and GX85 are better cameras, but the GX7 holds on. Popular rangefinder style. Not much to comment on, actually. It’s a solid camera with a good EVF. The GX1 was nice, but this is a huge improvement. Peaking available for manual focus. Functionally, a lot like a G5 but in the rangefinder body.
  • Panasonic Lumix 20mm f1.7
    • 40mm Equivalent lens on MFT. Super sharp even wide open. Low coma/ca. Slow to focus but acceptable. Pancake is selling point. No difference I/II except outer casing and design. II is sexier but literally same lens.
  • Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO Lens
    • Workhorse Photojournalist lens. 24-80mm ff equivalent. Absolutely worth the price. No stabilization but F2.8, waterproof, snap focus, c-af is good at following. Built like a tank. Best all-around kit but heavy.
  • Olympus 17mm f2.8
    • I was given my copy for free brand new, but this lens should run from $90-120 US. Anything more for that would be a bit much. Paired with the IBIS in the Lumix GX7, this is a great street lens that is effectively F2.0 for the sake of movement. I don’t like it much on the EM5 body, but it works great on Lumix. Reviewed as “lots of micro contrast. 34mm equivalent, so the closest MFT will get to 35mm standard lens. Lens is a ton of fun on older EP models. E-PL2 in high contrast B&W jpegs with this lens always turn out fun.
  • Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens for micro 4/3rds
    • Easily the lens I use most. 60mm Equivalent. Razor sharp, but horrible CA wide open. Great for night photography. Boring bokeh and unremarkable flares. It really is an enjoyable lens to shoot with.
  • Thumb up grips for hotshoes
    • You kind of get what you pay for. Most are just a metal slug that go in the hotshoe, but some have extra features like a level or cold shoe. The longer one I use I think is for Fuji XA and X-pro.
  • ZOMEI Tripod with 360 Panorama Ball Head
    • This one is orange, but there are also carbon fiber ones (z818C) in all colors.
  • Paracord wrist strap
    • I get them on ebay, ali, amazon, etc. pretty popular now. Have a box of them I got for a few $$ each.
  • Lowepro Passport Sling III
    • A unique camera backpack, but it has a few drawbacks with its construction.
  • Silica Gel Desiccant
    • This helps to keep moisture out of camera gear bags. There are various types and some allow you to re-use it with heating.
  • Hyperdrive Colorspace UDMA Backup
    • There are various similar options. I believe he said there were some quirks to this one…
  • Canon EOS 80D
    • An all-rounder traditional APS-C DSLR camera.
  • Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM Lens
    • Part of his 80D based kit
  • Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens
    • Part of his 80D based kit.
  • A different hood for the EF 50mm (49mm thread)
    • The small hood James was using as an alternate to the official hood in the EF 50mm lens.
  • Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Lens
    • Part of his 80D based kit.
  • Canon EF 28-135mm USM lens
    • Not recommended by James, but he calls it a “tank”. ;D
  • Helios 44-4 58mm f2 M42 Mount
    • You will need an adapter of some type to get this working on either EF or Micro 4/3rds…
      This normally is in the M42 screw mount.
  • Pixco Pro Focusing Infinity Focal Reducer EF to M4/3rds
    • A basic reducer speed booster adapter for EF lenses on Micro 4/3rds.
  • Pixco M42 to EF adapter
    • Used with the helios m42 lens to convert it to EF mount. James mostly uses that lens on EF mount instead of m4/3rds.
  • Altura Photo Camera Sling Bag
    • A bag very similar to the second one James was using


Here is the video on Youtube detailing most of his current camera kit for street photography.


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