The best gear:

All merino wool everything.

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For clothing, with traveling, everyday, or street photography, I recommend ‘all black everything‘ merino wool.

1. Outlier.nyc merino wool black t-shirt (the one)
2. For pants, black merino wool leggings (just get them on Amazon), and black merino wool shorts.
3. For shoes, either NIKE FREE, or some all black AllBirds (merino wool).

The best straps

1. THE MUSE. (the most supreme strap ever made).
2. ERIC NECK STRAP MARK II for RICOH GR III // or ERIC WRIST STRAP MARK II
3. HENRI NECK STRAP MARK IV (PHANTOM BLACK).

The best bags

1. ThinkTank Photo: Any of their backpacks. Backpack is superior to shoulder cross over carrier, better for shoulder and back pain. Get the retrospective in black.

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Best computer equipment

1. iPhone Mini (better than iPhone pro). Get it all black.
2. Black iPad Pro (M1 and USB-C)
3. Laptop: MacBook Air (space grey, maxed out). Better than the pro, for the additional lightweight.

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Why all black everything?

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Black is good because it is stealth, very good for us to stay low key, especially as street photographers.

EQUIPMENT by KIM

There is no “perfect” camera. Don’t fall into GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and falsely believe that buying a new camera will make you a better photographer.

If you’re not feeling inspired in your photography, I recommend you to buy books, not gear. Also check out these 75+ Inspirational Photo Books You Gotta Buy. You can also download my free books.

Equipment Articles >

1.  
2. EVEN THOUGH WE GET THE BEST, WE’RE STILL NOT SATISFIED.
3. HARDWARE IS THE FUTURE.
4. iPad Pro over iPhone Pro
5. Is Leica Overrated?
6. Fujifilm X-PRO 3 over Leica M10
7. Equipment Creep
8. Once You Got Perfect, Then What?
9. WHY I LOVE RICOH GR III
10. One-Handed Photography
11. Why Rangefinders Are Overrated
12. WHY YOU MUST BUY RICOH GR III
13. The Best Equipment is The Equipment You Already Have
14. The Best Camera is the One You Shoot with the Most
15. Why RICOH GR III is the Best Camera
16. Use and Abuse Your Gear!
17. RICOH is the new LEICA
18. In Praise of Banging around Your Camera
19. Electric Cameras
20. Why the RICOH GR III is Better than the Leica Q2
21. Buy a new Ricoh GR III, not a New iPhone
22. The Best Headphones are In-Ear Monitors
23. Are Point-and-Shoot Cameras the Best Cameras?
24. Gear Adaptation Syndrome
25. Satisfice
26. What is the Benefit of “Standalone” Digital Cameras?
27. All Cameras are Good Cameras
28. Why The Future of Photography is Software
29. RICOH MAFIA
30. Use and Abuse Your Gear!
31. Why RICOH GR II is the Best Street Photography Camera
32. The Best Photography/Vlogging Equipment Setup
33. My Favorite Travel Street Photography Equipment
34. Zen Body-Hand-Mind Connection with the Camera
35. Why It Doesn’t Matter What Camera You Shoot With
36. What is the Best Camera and Lenses for Street Photography?
37. The Best Travel Street Photography Equipment 2018
38. 6 Lessons I’ve Learned After Shooting All the Expensive Cameras
39. How to Make Good Photos on a Shitty Camera
40. Why I Shoot With One Camera and One Lens
41. My Travel Equipment, Winter 2017
42. What is the Perfect Camera For You?
43. What to Consider When Buying a Camera

Digital Medium Format Photography

• Why Digital Medium Format is a Game-Changer for Color Photography
• The Upsides and Downsides of Digital Medium Format Photography
• Fujifilm GFX 50R and 45mm f/2.8 Lens First-Impressions Review
• Review of the Pentax 645Z and Digital Medium Format Photography
• 7 Reasons Why I Love Digital Medium-Format Photography
• My Experience Shooting Digital Medium Format in Street Photography
• My Experience Shooting my Friend’s Wedding on Digital Medium Format
• Why Digital Medium Format is the Future of Photography
• Is Digital Medium Format Worth It?
• 7 Lessons I’ve Learned Shooting Fashion For the First time on Digital Medium Format (PENTAX 645Z)

Smartphone Photography >

• The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Smartphone Photography
• Benefits of Shooting Street Photography With a Smartphone
• In Street Photography, The Smaller the Camera, the Better

Film Photography 101 >

• Film Street Photography Manual
• What I Learned Shooting 100 Rolls of Black and White Film
• What I Learned Processing 164 Rolls of Film

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My favorite camera: RICOH GR III

Currently my favorite camera is the RICOH GR III:

• Why the RICOH GR III is the Best Travel Photography Camera
• Why the RICOH GR III is Better than the Leica Q2
• Why the RICOH GR III is the Best Street Photography Camera
• The RICOH GR III (3) is the Best Camera Ever Made.

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Best Equipment by ERIC KIM

This is a list of my personal favorite equipment in photography, computers, and life:

Of course, this list probably won’t apply to you — but this is advice I would give myself (if I needed to buy stuff):

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Film cameras

If you’re new to shooting film, pick up a copy of FILM NOTES.

Best film rangefinder

Leica MP + Leica 35mm f/2 Summicron Lens

Best affordable film rangefinder

Leica M6 + Voigtlander 35mm f/2.5 Lens

Best compact film camera

Contax T3

Best medium-format film camera

Hasselblad 500-series

Best black and white film

Kodak Tri-X 400 (pushed to 1600): $5

Best color film

Kodak Portra 400: $8.50

Best film scanner

For medium-format/35mm: Epson v800: $800

For 35mm: Plustek OpticFilm 8100: $270

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Camera accessories

Best camera shoulder bag

SAIGON SATCHEL

Best camera backpack

Fits 13” Laptop and Camera: Thinktank Perception 15 (black): $120

Best photography neck strap

• Henri Neck Strap
• ERIC KIM Neck Strap: (for RICOH GRII)

Best photography wrist strap

• Henri Wrist Strap

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Best photography inspiration website

MagnumPhotos.com

Best photography news blog

PetaPixel.com

Best photography software

Adobe Lightroom

Best video editing software

iMovie (free) or Final Cut Pro X ($300)

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Books

See all my free books.

Best educational photography book

Magnum Contact Sheets

Best black-and-white photography art book

“Exiles” by Josef Koudelka

Best color photography art book

“The Suffering of Light” by Alex Webb

Best photography handbook

Street Notes

Best philosophy book

On the Shortness of Life – Seneca ($8) // 10 Lessons Seneca Has Taught Me.

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Best digital tools

Best laptop

Maxed-out 13” MacBook Pro (Refurbished)

Best phone

The smallest iPhone available (currently iPhone Mini)

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Best Mac Apps

Best writing app

IA Writer (for writing)

Best screen recorder

Camtasia

Best image resizer

JPEGmini Pro

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Audio

Best earbuds

In-ear monitors

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Apparel

Best underwear

ExOfficio Men Boxer Brief (black): $26

Best T-shirt

Outlier NYC Merino Wool T-Shirt

Best socks

Outlier NYC Black Merino Wool Socks

Best pants

Merino Wool Leggings (black)

Best glasses

LINDBERG – Titanium

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Finance

Best bank

Chase

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Best entrepreneurial tools

Best blogging platform

WordPress.org + Genesis theme

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Best paid online services

Best cloud storage

Dropbox (Pro)

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Diet & Nutrition

Food

Intermittent fasting — with one big meal a day (only dinner)

Workout

Deadlifts (one rep max) + squats + dumbbell press + chin-ups + pushups

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Conclusion

Of course this is just a list of stuff that work for me. It probably won’t work for you.

But I got inspired to make this list– because it took me about 10 years to figure out the best equipment for me. And this works for me, and I hope it can help simplify your purchasing decisions (at least in photography and some other details).

I’ll continue to do articles and videos related to equipment– because I do believe (up to a certain degree) having the ‘right’ equipment in life makes life easier. But the problem is falling victim to GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) where we are buying stuff for the sake of it (has happened to me).

If you already have a bunch of equipment that works for you– stick with it. But if you need some help, I hope this list helped you.

Always,
Eric