Every camera and lens on this list is gear I actually bought and shoot with—split between L-mount digital bodies for high-resolution work and compact 35mm / rangefinder film bodies for everyday walks.
Cameras
- Sigma BF: Unibody milled aluminum, stripped of almost every redundant button, with the fastest autofocus of any Sigma body I have used. I bought it because it looks and feels like nothing else on the market.
- Sigma fp L: Tiny modular full-frame box with a 61 MP sensor. Slow for action, unbeatable for deliberate tripod, landscape, or adapted-lens work when crop zoom and raw detail matter.
- Voigtländer Bessa-T (Olive Green): A rangefinder-only M-mount 35mm film body (no built-in framelines, so you pair it with an external viewfinder). Simple mechanical shutter up to
1/2000sand1/125sflash sync, and a long-base rangefinder that nails focus with fast primes. - Ricoh Elnica F: A tiny 1970s 35mm rangefinder with a fixed 40mm f/2.8 Rikenon lens and aperture-priority auto exposure. Slips into a coat pocket and makes shooting color negative film effortless.
Lenses
L-Mount (Autofocus)
- Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art: My default walk-around prime on the Sigma BF—natural field of view, clean rendering wide open, and balances well for daily carry.
- Sigma 135mm F1.4 Art: Unapologetically heavy, but nothing else separates a portrait subject from a busy street background quite like
135mmatf/1.4. - Sigma 28–105mm F2.8 DG DN Art: The one-lens solution when I don’t want to swap primes—covers wide street scenes through short-telephoto portraits at a constant
f/2.8.
M-Mount (Manual Focus)
- Thypoch Simera 75mm: Pairs with the Bessa-T (or adapted onto the fp L / BF) for medium-telephoto portraits with smooth focus throw and gentle highlight roll-off.
- Thypoch Simera 21mm: Compact ultra-wide for architecture and tight interiors on 35mm film without massive distortion.