David Fleet, who writes as The Cotswold Photographer, has just published one of the most candid pieces I’ve read on the subject of gear accumulation. In The Great Camera Gear Cull: Why I’m Selling Off Most of My Kit, he explains why he is parting with almost everything except two camera systems. It’s well worth reading in full. Meanwhile, here are the highlights, together with a few thoughts of my own.
By the way, ducks and birds have absolutely nothing to do with the subject of this article, apart from having been snapped by David’s favourite camera, an Olympus. We had no other option but to raid our archives, in this case from 2018. And you must admit, they are pretty ducks and birds.
Too much gear, too little clarity
David is unusually honest about what drove him to buy so much equipment in the first place. He admits that new purchases gave him a quick lift at a difficult time in his life: ”I got a short burst of happiness when I added another camera or lens to the collection.”
That happiness, he says, never lasted. What lasted was the clutter. As he puts it, “the amount of gear I have sitting next to me right now not only clutters my room, it clutters my mind.”
It’s a familiar confession, even if few of us say it out loud. Many photographers buy gear as a proxy for creative progress. David has clearly recognised the pattern in himself, and named it plainly.
An anti-consumerist turn
David describes himself as “ultimately, anti-consumerist”, which is at odds with years spent testing and reviewing equipment for a living. He reflects on how photography, as a hobby and as an online culture, has drifted towards performance rather than practice — being seen to take pictures, rather than simply taking them.
That tension between running a gear-review website and rejecting gear culture has clearly been building for a while. A recent dip in traffic, following changes to Google’s search algorithm, seems to have brought matters to a head. Rather than chase the algorithm, he has decided to change direction entirely.
What stays and what goes
The cull itself is decisive. David is keeping a Nikon Z8 paired with a Z6III for his full-frame work, alongside an OM System OM-1 Mark II and an OM-3 for lighter, more discreet shooting. Everything else — and by his account this covers kit from Fujifilm, Sony, Panasonic, and Ricoh as well as surplus Nikon and OM items — “is going to MPB over the coming week“.
It’s a sensible pairing. Both systems suit the unpredictable weather and varied terrain of his new home in Scotland, from fast-moving wildlife to landscape work in driving rain. Two systems, thoroughly known, rather than half a dozen only partly explored.
From reviews to real photography
The most interesting part of the article isn’t really about cameras at all. It’s about intent. David plans to move his site away from equipment coverage and towards genuine field work, YouTube content and personal projects, built around Scotland rather than the review calendar.
His closing line sums it up neatly: “Less gear, more photography. It’s hard to argue with that as a New Year’s resolution six months early”.
Mike’s comment
I have been following David, the Cotswold Photographer, for many years. I’ve followed him, in a manner of speaking, from Gloucestershire to Asia and back again, and now to Scotland. It has been a fascinating journey to watch from the sidelines.
I remember his early articles on Olympus, long before the OM System rebrand, and I’m pleased to see that his OM cameras have escaped the cull. Old loyalties clearly run deep, even through a wholesale clear-out. I have had little experience of Olympus or OM, but eight years ago in 2018 I borrowed a camera and lens and had great fun photographing wildlife at the nearby London Wetland Centre.
Into the wild
It was my first attempt at wildlife photography, and it is a testament to the Olympus camera and lens that I didn’t make a complete mess of it. However, since we don’t have any images to illustrate this Gear Cull, we’ve raided our archives for Olympus shots, from before OM System was born.
But we all know the feeling of gear creeping up on us, especially those of us who test cameras and lenses as a matter of course. Boxes accumulate. Straps tangle. Half of it hasn’t been out of the bag in a year. There is a genuine sense of relief in a purge like this, and I understand exactly why David has done it.
There is also something to be said for constraint. Owning fewer cameras forces you to learn them properly, rather than skimming the surface of half a dozen menus you half remember. Two systems, known intimately, will usually serve you better than six known vaguely.
Over to you
Do you ever feel the urge to cut your equipment down to size? And if you have done it, did it actually make things easier?
I suspect a smaller kit bag makes decisions simpler in the field — one camera, one lens, get on with it — rather than agonising over which combination to pack. It may also mean you can finally learn one or two cameras thoroughly, instead of dabbling with several.
I’d be interested to hear whether you have been through your version of David’s cull, and whether, like him, they came out the other side feeling lighter. Do let us know in the comments.
The Cotswold Photographer down the years
David’s back catalogue is worth dipping into, particularly if, like me, you’ve followed his Olympus and OM System coverage since the early days. Here are a few landmarks from along the way.
More on Macfilos: Cutting the clutter
David’s cull isn’t a one-off theme on this site, either. We’ve returned to the subject of gear discipline, minimalism, and the pull of GAS more than once over the years. Here’s some further reading.
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Well stated and with good intentions. However, like all sites the mention of a new this or that camera or lens often drives the site’s usage clicks and that is what most sites want to see.
Thus GAS is ever present.
Good article Mike, thanks.
It is something that bugs me constantly, it also applies to email subscriptions, I recently signed up to substack because a couple of my favourites have recently moved there. As soon as I did so, I started receiving reams and reams of what amounts to spam. So a few days after signing up, I think I have managed to get rid of it, obviously it is not guaranteed, we shall see.
The problem such actions lead to is what I think is termed ‘doom scrolling’, thankfully Macfilos has never succumbed to this sort of thing and long may that continue. Just because I found one article that looked interesting, it does not mean that I want to be pestered.
I have my Leica Q2 and I have my recently acquired Leica iiig film camera (which is the same age as me), and I want to occasionally use one or the other. One day, I might add an ultra wide lens to the iiig, but I am in no rush.
I have always, since I bought my first Leica, subscribed to the One Camera, One Lens concept, regardless of the fact that it might lead to me missing the occasional interesting snap.
Glad it strikes the right bell, but I’m not sure about “doom scrolling”. How do we avoid that?
Well done. And I couldn’t agree more. But, I did just buy…… best
A good piece, thanks. I agree with having minimal kit, and one of these days I will get from 4 cameras (all fixed lens) down to 1-2. But there is a valuable discipline you can engage in even if you have a big camera and lens collection that you find it har to slim down. That approach is one I have followed for many years: when you go out to take photos, only use one camera and one focal length on that outing. You can of course switch from one focal length and camera to another, if you have other lenses and cameras, but only next time you go out. This discipline forces us to pay attention to what’s in front of us on any given outing, and frees us from wondering what lens to use or what zoom length to pick.
This is how I do it – minimalist. That way you have to make best use of the camera/lens combination you have with you. You also avoid backache from lugging 5 kilos worth of kit. There really is no downside.
I’m also in favour of one focal length, and it’s a principle I usually adopt when using an M camera. I seldom take an extra lens with me, and I’m all the better for it.
I returned in August from 58 days in Alaska and Yukon. I lightened my load by only taking my Fuji 100RF, Leica Q2, Leica Q2M. These three, very lightweight kit. For wildlife I packed my X-T5 with my 70-300 lens. That’s it. That lens pretty much stayed in my truck whereas the others were in my satchel bag wherever I went.
This sounds like quite a heavy kit, far more than I would be prepared to carry. But I suppose on a special expedition such as this, it’s as well to be prepared for all eventualities… Mike
Hear Hear. Well done. Short timers need to take care of business.
I’m trying to declutter but my accumulated 4/3 (as distinct from M4/3) gear is not sufficiently ‘box office’ to be accepted by a dealer – and if listed on eBay, along with other ‘low demand’ ancient accumulated lenses & cameras, risks exceeding the relatively £low ‘HMRC £limit / £threshold’. Last year I sold c. £2000 value of Leica gear via eBay – 4 items only – hence this year obliged to submit an HMRC declaration. Messrs eBay would already have reported my sales to HMRC. I do not enjoy form filling, and / or, explaining to HMRC how / why I acquired and then sold the cameras – and have no idea if HMRC have the staff resources to ‘chase me’ if their AI powered systems flag me as a potential tax fraudster. Fact is, I’ve been a member of 4 different camera clubs / societies over a 40 years period – hence cameras / lenses soon accumulate and now require disposal. I’ll be happier if and when HMRC ‘accept the fact’ (via my obligatory declaration) that photography enthusiasts can ‘get through’ a lot of cameras /lenses over the years. But will they? I feel I’m entering the great unknown.
Surely tax only applies if you are making a profit, doesn’t it. I’m not sure, but almost all my stuff sold over the years (mainly through a dealer) has been at a loss. I did, on one memorable occasion, make a small profit on an SL, but they has been well offset by losses.
I presume, however, that if eBay is reporting to the revenue. You need to do something. Although I do a tax return, I have never bothered to include small sales such as this.
Mike, eBay automatically reports sellers to HMRC (His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs) and requires them to submit to eBay, their National Insurance No., when total eBay sales in any year, reach / exceed, £1707. Casual selling of e.g. unwanted / surplus household items does not usually incur any tax liability – but there are sellers who ‘make a living’ from same. The point I’m attempting to convey is that a couple of Leica cameras or just one Leica lens can sell via eBay for £sums in excess of the HMRC £1707 threshold – and irrespective of any profit or loss, requires a declaration to be sent to HMRC. Furthermore, if and when I sell all my ‘accumulated’ £low-ish value cameras / lenses, their sales will also likely exceed the HMRC £threshold – necessitating declaring the sales figure to HMRC – who would already have been advised of same by eBay – because I was obliged to register my NI No. in accordance with eBay’s terms and conditions. There would likely be ZERO tax liabilty because it’s casual selling of ‘accumulated old cameras’ – BUT – I’m still obliged to make the declaration to HMRC and explain my selling activity – because total sales in the year exceed the HMRC limit / threshold. I have yet to make my return for last year – and I have no idea how long HMRC will take to check and consider same.
It sounds like a big nuisance and, maybe, a reason not to use eBay. I haven’t used eBay in years, so haven’t come across this aspect. Mike
Did the same myself a few years ago – much clearer head now!