Only One

I get asked a lot about cameras, which is the best, which will take the best picture, and how much I need to spend.  Honestly, I really don’t mind it as giving the same answer I give every time; It really doesn’t matter. 

I know, I know. A few of you who know will have spat your coffee. I have a, shall we call it, a history of buying gear and then getting rid of it a month or so later. 

This in Matt's maths doesn’t cost me anything. I sell, I buy, I sell, I buy. It’s a perpetual brand swap, a flow of hardware like the code of the Matrix. 

But this is really due to one pure vision: a deep yearning inside me to have just one camera, one lens, no distractions. I think this is true of many photographers who also feel they have become slaves to the hyperbole of the big 4 or 5 manufacturers, and the ‘Hey guys, let’s get into it!’ YouTubers.

This means I’m forever in search of the perfect combination. Which body, which lens. I thought I had done it. No, actually, I nearly did it, and it came in the form of a Leica Q2: a Summilux 28mm lens with a Leica sensor. One solid unit that allowed me to look at the photograph in front of me without wondering whether I should use a 20mm, 28mm, 35mm, etc. And, no flash. I used the Sun and a bounce. This approach really makes you move and think a little harder, which I believe is a good thing, as Ii also hones your style, encourages critical thinking and values effort.

I shot this small setup commercially for a while and only switched to the Leica SL2 (its interchangeable-lens brother) when the work where I currently live demanded glamorous things like tethering for clients and the occasional corporate headshot. But I think it still can be done. The newer Leica Q3 28mm and Q3 43mm would make the perfect travel/lifestyle pairing.

A little proof of this single-minded, simple approach was an interior and exterior shoot covered with a single Leica Q2 and its fixed 28mm lens, for the famous Venetian Cipriani brand and its beautiful location in Bahrain.