What is a walk around camera and lens? It’s a camera and lens that are easy to walk around town with and get street shots, tourist shots, architectual type shots, city scapes etc. A Canon 5D iv and 24-105 is not really a handy walk around lens and camera. It’s too big, heavy, and the feature set is overkill. Another reason not to walk around with that setup is that it costs $4500 and will attract the attention of thieves. Taking pictures requires paying attention to what’s in front of the camera and not necessarily paying attention to what’s around you. I feel safer with my M3 or M50 and one lens worth around $600-$1000. It’s small so it doesn’t attract too much attention either.
Canon M cameras are great walk around cameras and the EF-M 18-55, 22mm, and the 28mm Macro are all great walk around lenses. One note about the 22mm though is that it doesn’t have IS. On such a small camera when shooting video this is very noticeable. I would recommend another lens if shooting video.
Assignment: Take just one prime lens on a shoot so you are forced to shoot with only one focal length. This will force you to see in only one focal length.
I did this on April 23, 2017 at Stanford Mall in Palo Alto, Ca with the M6 and 28mm Macro. I just walked around the mall without a tripod, remote, or flash and shot everything free hand. These are some jpegs right out of the camera. Besides a macro, I like to take a wider shot to give the macro some context and then move in close, and then closer like:
These shots are something I wouldn’t take with my 5Diii or 6D and the 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens. The combo is too heavy to shoot freehand. There is no way you want to carry around a tripod at a busy shopping mall and that defeats the purpose of this exercise. The EF-M 28mm on the other hand is just the lens with the M3 or M6 to shoot some macro shots with.
If you can, try not to have mixed light in the same shot. Above you’ll see harsh direct sunlight and the flower is in the shade. I couldn’t block out the light from the rest of the shot unfortunately. So wait until the sun is lower and can be blocked easier. If you have an assistant that can hold up something to block the light that works too. Even ask a total stranger. It only takes a few seconds.
I did this in Sunol, Ca with a 28mm macro and this is what I came up with:
Canon M Cameras 