The Lens I Didn't Need: Rethinking My Camera Bag

I've come to a slightly uncomfortable realization about my photography: I have a very good camera, I have very good lenses, and I still use my iPhone most of the time.

That probably says something.

Photography is a casual hobby for me. I enjoy taking pictures, I enjoy thinking about photography, and, if I'm being completely honest, I enjoy the gear. But there's a fine line between enjoying photography and becoming more interested in optimizing the camera bag than actually using the camera. I've probably been hovering around that line for a while.

Recently, I decided to simplify.

I traded in two lenses: the Sony 20mm f/1.8 G and the Sony 24–105mm f/4 G. Both are excellent lenses, and neither was getting much use from me. The 20mm, in particular, was one of those lenses I always thought I should use more than I actually did. The 24–105 was more complicated. It's arguably one of the most practical lenses you can own for the Sony system. It covers a huge range, it's relatively compact, and it's an easy lens to recommend. But practical isn't the same as personal. I wasn't reaching for it.

So I traded both.

In their place, I picked up the Sony 70–200mm f/2.8 GM II. That felt like a more meaningful change. I wasn't simply replacing one general-purpose zoom with another; I was adding a completely different way of seeing. The 70–200 gives me reach, compression and a different relationship with my subject. It lets me stand farther away and isolate details that I might otherwise ignore. At f/2.8, it's also an incredibly capable portrait and low-light lens. Most importantly, it gives me a reason to take the camera out.

My current kit is now remarkably simple: the Sony A7 IV, the 35mm f/1.4 GM and the 70–200mm f/2.8 GM II.

And for the moment, that's enough.

The 35mm is my lens for seeing the world at a familiar distance. It's wide enough to tell a story but still intimate enough to feel connected to the subject. It's also fast enough that I don't feel like I'm giving up much by leaving a zoom at home. The 70–200 is the opposite experience. It gives me distance. It compresses the scene. It lets me isolate. Together, they feel like two very different ways of photographing the same world.

I still own the 50mm f/1.2 GM, although I'm increasingly questioning whether I should. It's an extraordinary lens. Technically, it's one of the most impressive lenses I've ever owned. The f/1.2 aperture is spectacular, the rendering is beautiful, and there is no shortage of reasons to love it. The problem is that I rarely use it.

I've started to realize that I don't need to justify keeping a lens simply because it's exceptional. A lens can be brilliant and still not be my lens.

So the 50mm may eventually go, too.

If it does, I don't think I'll replace it immediately. I'm increasingly interested in the idea that my camera bag doesn't need to have a lens for every focal length. Maybe I don't need 20mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 70mm, 85mm, 105mm, 135mm and 200mm covered. Maybe I just need a few lenses that I actually enjoy using.

That brings me to the question of what comes next.

I've been tempted by the Sony 20–70mm f/4 G. I've also considered the 24–70mm f/2.8 GM II. Both are excellent choices, but I'm deliberately not buying either one right now. And that's a change in mindset for me.

The 20–70 is appealing because it would give me a lightweight, flexible travel lens with a genuinely useful 20mm wide end. The 24–70 would be the more conventional professional choice: fast, versatile and capable of doing almost everything. But I don't currently have a problem that either lens solves.

And that's becoming my new rule: future lenses need to solve a problem I actually have.

Not a theoretical problem. Not a problem I might have someday. Not a problem that a YouTube video convinced me I have. An actual problem.

If I start taking more landscape and travel photographs and constantly find myself wishing I had something wider than 35mm, then maybe the 20–70 makes sense. If I find myself wanting one lens that can stay on the camera all day and handle almost everything, then perhaps the 24–70 f/2.8 is the answer.

If I become interested in macro photography, I might trade the 50mm f/1.2 for a dedicated macro lens. The Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro G is an intriguing possibility—not because I need another lens, but because it would open up an entirely different kind of photography.

And if none of those things happen? Then I won't buy anything.

That's probably the most important part.

I don't want photography to become an expensive exercise in completing a lens collection. I want it to remain a hobby. I want to enjoy taking pictures. I want to learn how to see better. I want to take the camera out more often.

Maybe that's why I've started thinking about photography classes rather than photography gear. A course on composition, light, storytelling or developing a photographic eye could probably do more for my photography than another expensive lens.

My iPhone has also forced me to think about this. I use it most of the time. It's always with me, it's fast, it's convenient, and, frankly, it's very good. If I'm going to carry a dedicated camera, I want there to be a reason. I want to enjoy the process of making the photograph—not just the result.

The A7 IV, the 35mm f/1.4 and the 70–200mm f/2.8 give me plenty of room to explore that.

So for now, I'm done optimizing.

I'm going to use what I have. I'm going to see what I actually photograph. I'm going to pay attention to the moments when I wish I had something different.

And if, six months from now, I'm constantly thinking, I really wish I had a 20–70, then I'll buy one. If I discover that the 35mm is all I really need, I'll stick with it. If I find myself fascinated by close-up photography, maybe I'll trade the 50mm f/1.2 for a macro lens.

And if I continue to use my iPhone most of the time? Well, maybe that's okay, too.

The goal isn't to have the perfect camera bag. The goal is to have a camera bag that makes me want to go out and take photographs.

For now, I think I've finally got one.