Which cameras I keep and use depends upon what type of pictures I plan to make and how I use them.  As much as possible, I would like to downsize relative to weight and number of cameras, but I don’t want to go too far down relative to image quality.  The question is, how far is too far.  As an example I was out walking Misty early on a cloudy day and had the Lumix LF1 in my pocket which I used for the above image.  It was at an effective 200 mm and then cropped severely and resized up to this full size.  I then worked with the raw image to create this painterly effect using Light Room.

The LF1 might work for images like above, but it doesn’t work to get good, quick pictures of events around here.  I also don’t use it on the streets.  It is certainly small, easy to carry, and discreet, but it isn’t easy to change settings and shoot quickly.  It takes too long to zoom the lens.   For most events and on the street and for better quality landscapes I hope to use the Canon SL1 with both the 24 and the 40 mm prime pancake lenses.  I won’t know for sure until the weather improves and I take a lot more pictures with it.

I still have my Olympus E-PL5 with many micro 4/3 lenses which I think work OK for travel since they pack small and are light for international travel.  Since I am not doing that kind of travel anymore I am not sure how I will use them or even if I will keep them.  I did use it a lot for my most resent indoor project here at Homewood, but that was before I got the Canon SL1.

I also still have my Pentax K-3 along with three lenses.  At the moment it is the most unused of the lot.  I might keep it and use it with a smaller but still weather resistant lens for photography in bad weather.  Since I find it too heavy to use but for short periods with long focal length lenses, I might just give up that type of photography.  As an alternative, I might try a long zoom on the Canon SL1.  I don’t think it is a good camera for such use due to its size but it might work better than I think.  It also depends upon how good I get at using the controls on the Canon SL1 to get the effects I desire.  I might also just use a micro 4/3 camera with a long lens for long-range photography.

One of the least costly ways for me to downsize is to limit what I photograph and use the cameras and lenses I have.  If I stop photographing with long zoom lenses, and outdoors in rain or snow, I could possibly shrink down to just three cameras, or maybe even less.  At the moment I am considering using only my Lumix LF1, my Ricoh GR, and my Canon SL1 (with both pancake lenses).  But I still entertain thoughts about limiting what I photograph to what I can make with one camera and one lens.

All of my trials are to determine what I want to photograph with what type of camera and focal length lens, and then, if necessary, buy a higher quality camera-lens combination and sell the rest.