Nikon 35Ti. A small and very capable compact film camera.
Paris. A long time ago.
I've lately come to understand that EDC stands for "every day carry." As in the stuff you pack up and take with you to work or to play as a daily routine. Amongst those who've made EDC a lifestyle thing the articles usually mentioned include nice pocket knives, appropriate cellphones, wireless ear buds, cool pens and note pads, multi-tools, sunglasses, small but powerful "tactical" LED flashlights, a cool watch --- maybe an automatic?, and I would also include a corkscrew for opening wine bottles; even though that might comes as part of one of your EDC pocket knives. We would, of course, add an "EDC" camera and lens. Perhaps some extra batteries and a back up memory card. And finally, part of your EDC inventory is a great, small bag or backpack in which to stow all this stuff. Because you'll have it with you most of the time. That's strongly implied in the basic idea of....The Every Day Carry.
But here's where it falls apart a bit for me. I have few things that I want to carry everyday. I'm not so sold on giving up variety.
I have a small collection of pocket knives. What guy doesn't? But I vacillate between a cute little Benchmade folder and an equally cute Kershaw Leek spring assisted folder in the "stonewashed" finish. And then there's always the Victornox, fully equipped Swiss Army Knife... or do you always bring them all?
And it's the same thing with cameras. I know some of you out there have one camera that you cherish like an only child. You'd elect for that camera and that camera only to be your EDC. You have an inanimate object preference of mastering one tool and using it exclusively --- for a long time. Got it. One and done. You'll be efficient and effective if you pursue the EDC lifestyle. You might even become an EDC influencer...
I'm just not wired that way. Today's morning camera might be a Leica CL with a zoom while this afternoon's camera would probably be an SL2 with some fast prime. And tomorrow, with a couple portraits to take care of I'll almost certainly jump over to the new MF camera and lens combo. A true EDC pro would bring along the MF cameras for work but alway have, tucked away in the EDC bag, his daily carry camera. I'm betting it would usually be something like the last available Fuji X100V or maybe the Ricoh GR111. Small and light. Always there.
If you are truly a single all encompassing choice photographer you've sorted out your everything camera and you're carrying it. Calling it your EDC camera is a bit redundant. But at the same time it's right in line with the basic philosophy.
If I put together an ECD bag it would have to be both expandable and collapsible. I'd want the option to change cameras all the time. Yes, I would "every day carry" but the emphasis would be on "carry" and there would be NO implication that I'd be carrying the same thing every day. Hope that bag can expand to carry a fully configured medium format camera and lens but shrink down small enough to make packing a Canon G15 look appropriate as well....
At the core of this train of thought is the distilled idea that I do carry a camera every day. And I'm betting that if you enjoy photography as much as I do you are probably carrying your camera with you as well. But which variety of photographer are you? The same camera for extended periods of time? Or the guy who can't make up his mind and keeps repacking every morning? Or worse, repacking a couple times a day?
The camera goes over the left shoulder because it's easier, quicker and more effective to be able to grab with your right hand that way. The strap goes over your knee and the camera hangs down to ankle level when you are seated at a restaurant or coffee shop. Doesn't matter how you carry one as long as it's with you. Even phones count. Just not as much.
Options are fun. Certainty is fun. It's the most fun when the two ideas meet up.
EDC. Novel? Not for most photographers.
29 comments:
Because I have less cameras :-):
My Every Day Carry is a Sony RX10IV until I get a (hopefully used) Canon R8 and the F11 800mm lens and 2x extender :-) i love the mega tele or something :-)
I bought a Fuji x100v and all the accessories as my EDC camera... but was never comfortable with it. I ordered the Sony a6700 the hour it was launched, got it last Thur and I am thrilled with it. It fits into my jacket pocket comfortable. I have never been so pleased buying, handling a camera. It is not perfect, but it is close enough for me. As the smaller sibling to my a7rv, I share batteries, charging gear, a now very good menu system and most of the same buttons. I do not need a camera bag. My full frame 28mmf2 and Sony Zeiss 55 are very small complementary lens if I want to travel with a very flexible kit. I have been genuinely looking for this camera since the beginning of the digital era. (Ps. I was on the verge of buying into the Leica CL range until they pulled the plug).
Forgot to add my name. Matt O'Brien.
Well being ADD myself, using the same camera day in and day out is just not going to happen. Today it was a beautiful Contax IIIc rangefinder, yesterday it was an Olympus digicam, and before that a Panasonic GH5. What tomorrow brings, who knows? Depends on the weather and what mood I'm in. Same goes for lenses. One day it's short, then long, then wide and maybe after that rotation a zoom.
The only common thread is that I am relentlessly trying to create something. Not just record it, but make it tell a story. Or at least be part of an evolving story.
Eric
Thanks Matt !!!
Eric, separated at birth? My motif almost exactly. Just different cameras.
Roland, The SonyRX10IV is still on my short list. That's a great line of cameras.
I'm kind of a two-three weeks and switch person. I have three cameras, a Nikon Z7, a black and white converted Nikon Z6, and a Fuji XH1. Lately I've been enjoying the Fuji. The colors are still my favorite, but it also has a great shutter, quiet with a nice snick with every press. I leave the viewfinder on "natural view" and it looks good. Just use the exposure indicator and shoot in manual. It's not a small camera, but the lenses are small so the weight is less than the Nikons. Soon enough I will set it down and pick up a different camera. Vive la différence.
Because I'm not wealthy enought to collect sports cars, I collect cheap cameras, many of which are in my EDC round robin. The only one that is truly pocketable is the Canon Powershot S95. The Nikon 1 V1, Fuji X-E1, Fuji X-T10, Olympus C740 and Canon Powershot Pro 1 are small enough to fit into a small over the shoulder bag. I have the same iPhone model as you do... I almost never use the camera on it.
The next post should be what is your EDC lens?
I figured that "Everyday Carry" had it's origins in gun culture, and I didn't want to normalize that.
Jeff in Colorado
Jeff, That hadn't occurred to me. Noted. Thanks!
There's actually an EDC website, with all kinds of stuff that you need for EDC. Especially knives. If your macho quotient seems to be flagging, you might get some inspiration from it. Combat style knives, for those inevitable knife fights. Like that.
https://everydaycarry.com
If you carry your car keys, a wallet, a phone, sunglasses, a pocket knife, a pen, a pocket tool, etc. These are the EDC items that most EDC influencers are talking about. The idea is to put all this stuff in a sling bag without affecting your masculinity. Camera are rarely mentioned. The phone is the considered the camera.
Dear JC, You said it. Every damn day I'm having to whip out a blade and stand my ground with some client, art director or art buyer. I forgot to include a field med kit in my EDC. A bit of fast treatment for those knicks and slashes you might get when cutting the line to the coffee machine. (for my UK readers, cutting the line is like jumping the queue... and since I have you here (UK readers) why do you say "hire" about inanimate objects instead of the American use of the word, "rent" for the same idea? Here one rents a house but hires a gardener. If one hires a camera in the UK is one obligated to pay for its healthcare and subsequent unemployment? Just asking for a friend.
JC, "tactical"; just the use of the word, goes a long way to recapturing that testosterone spirit.
Note to the tiresome literal readers: this is meant to be satirical. Well, at least the part about knives. I still don't understand why the UK uses the word "hire" differently than we do. Hope someone can explain that in a way that doesn't require knives afterwards....
Speaking of UK-isms, imagine my disappointment upon discovering that a "zebra crossing" had nothing to do with herds of African wildlife roaming through London, and that a "car park" was not a green space where cars were planted in the ground amongst shrubbery :-(
Jeff in Colorado
I find the whole "tactical" thing nauseating. I have a sling pack that I carry my daily stuff in. In it I have a poncho, handkerchiefs (cloth ones), a small towel, a liter of water and if I'm in transit my camera and lens. Oh ya and a small pocket knife, toilet paper ,(often in back country) and meds. If I'm urban exploring I also carry a Naloxone kit. I don't bother with Tampons to plug bullet wounds anymore ;)
Eric
I have a bunch of different cameras and lenses. Almost all of them would be considered ancient by digital standards. I don't have any brand loyalty or sensor size loyalty. I don't really care that much about cameras and I haven't stumbled upon any recent ones that made me want to part with my money. I think I would enjoy a Leica but my practicality and common sense won't allow me to spend that kind of money on a hobby item. I love small cameras, small lenses and simplicity so I tend to buy accordingly. Always used.
Everyday carry for me is a simple knife or Leatherman (depending on where I'm heading), a flashlight (which I end up using way more than the knife). Wallet. I've gotten to carrying a large insulated bottle of cold water (at least in the car)--that's saved me enough money from buying expensive Austin drinks to buy a Noctilux.
I'm truly trying to rebuild the habit of carrying a camera.
Hire…. short period. Hire a car. Old English.
Rent…. long period. Rent a house. Middle English.
Both in use before there was a USA.
EDC…. Pretty sure that originated in US English.
UK EDC probably contains more chocolates and emergency toilet paper, and fewer lethal items.
So in both cases, when we borrow words, we don’t get them quite right. ;)
As a UK reader, I could of course pose the question as to why American English misuses words (winks, said tongue in cheek!!!)!
I have no idea why we tend to use "rent" when talking about property and "hire" for everything else......but we do. Terms for various types of public transport are different too.
It took me a while to realise (when reading a US set novel) that pants aren't underwear.
But I don't think I've noticed any differences in photography terms??? I stand to be corrected...
We'd like a photo of the camera hanging off your knee in a café. It's a little nerdy but I get it, many café table are too small.
I own 4 very small Swiss army knives and I can't find any of them.
Now that I think of it, my "everyday" carry is actually called the Everyday Sling, the small 3 liter one. I can fit batteries, a novel, a spare lens and odds and ends in it. Or I can cram the Z7 with 24-120 f4 in it, barely. It unusually has a roll of doggie bags, sometimes treats too. Basically it's my purse, and I treat it like one.
https://www.peakdesign.com/products/everyday-sling?variant=29742302068780
My EDC camera...
Canon R8 (and the RP before that).
RF 50/1.8, RF35/1.8 or 1973 Micro-Nikkor 55/3.5 depending on the mood.
Car keys and phone (with Google pay for credit card details).
Nothing else.
Nigel, Thanks for the clarification. I needed that. All the best, KT
My pockets are full. A wallet that's usually without cash is number one. Gotta have a place for all those damn cards. A small Spyderco Dragonfly folding knife goes everywhere with me except government buildings--they even confiscated my nail clippers once so I'm wise to taking nothing sharp in those places. A Fisher Space Pen* also rides in my pants pocket with the Dragonfly. It's smaller than the "normal" pen and it writes underwater and upside down. I guess that comes in handy if I ever get in that situation. But, then again, writing something would not be my first thought of what to do at that time. Car key (the electronic type) and house keys (the normal type) finish the essentials.
But since we're talking about cameras, it varies. My favorite cameras are the larger ones but they're a PITA most of the time. Sometimes it's a Fuji X-Pro2 or something smaller--X100, Ricoh GR--that fits best with the day. But usually it's my smallest big camera the Nikon D700. I have a long love affair with that camera--I have four of them--and I love using it.
*The Fisher Space pen was supposedly developed for NASA so astronauts could write in zero gravity. The Russian cosmonauts, in contrast, used pencils.
Kirk now that i have fixed my email, come visit vancouver and you can use my Sony RX10IV for a day or 2 :-) Serious offer
EDC (of the non gun variety) can be a deep topic. Lots of opinions out there.
Cameras:
Small kit but more than a phone: Camera Canon G16 (got 3 of them) in my basic kit
Note that a v2 Sony a7C with the Sony 20-70 F/4 G might work - waiting for it to come out.
Medium: Nikon Z50 with Tamron 18-400 with VR.
Full Frame: Waiting to see what Nikon tosses out in 2023-24.
Smaller bags: Pakt 5L Sling is a wonderful choice & the Alpaka Hub Pouch for some small tools. My Sog PowerPint multitool fits into this pouch.
Larger: The new Alpaka Bravo Tote is more manageable for short trips than an office backpack. Aer Travel Pack 3 X-Pac for air travel and 3 day trips. The combo of these two bags for travel can work well.
Knives: Swiss Army Compact 2 layer knife or their Bantam Alox that fits into my wallet. Spyderco Shaman folder for bigger stuff.
This list could go on and on, but sanity needs to take precedent.
Chris in Wisconsin
Following on from “Jeff in Colorado”, we also had Panda crossings (now extinct!) and now Pelican crossings. To link from wildlife (sort of) back to photography we also have the Abbey Road Beatles crossing.
Since I wear (ugly) cargo pants, I always carry a Canon G9X in an Axia neoprene case. This combo weighs 8.5 oz. No damage to camera so far.
Every day companion is an Olympus EM5 III with the Olympus 12-100/4.0 on it. It permanently lives in half of my Billingham Hadley One which also houses my work laptop. Wonderful camera, wonderful lens, wonderful bag.
Bag also contains assorted small tools, a Victorinox cybertool, some meds, chargers, adapters and assorted cables needed for work. It’s with me almost everywhere. If I’m travelling the laptop gets exchanged for an iPad.
My EDC has, over time, been Olympus XA (if you are old enough to remember them), Minox 35GT, Canon G7, Canon S100, and Panasonic GX7 with 14mm pancake.
Always loved having an EDC.
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