All I want for Christmas…

Every photographer ponders on what they might add to Santa’s list but, in reality, every bit of kit has to be worth the investment

- Paul Wilkinson

In the very first column that I wrote for N-Photo (issue 98), I talked about the equipment I used and how a lucky theft (if there ever could be such a thing) led me to Nikon more than 20 years ago. Since then, much has changed, and the Nikon brand is still very much at the heart of things. So for this column, I thought I’d revisit my always-in-the-bag kit list, wedged into its ThinkTank Airport Security V3 bag so that I can instantly see if anything is missing.

Before turning pro, anything and everything was fair game for my Christmas list – big or small – but the minute it became a business? Well, that had to change: pragmatism and ROI (return on investment) are the Scrooge watchwords of the pro photographer.

Sometimes life forces your hand, and this year has been one of those years. With my trusted – but aging – D5 needing replacing, I had to face the fact that the move to mirrorless was coming, and buying a D6 SLR would only delay the inevitable. It was time to bite the mirrorless bullet.