Canon SL3 camera body and Canon EFS 10-18mm, 18-55mm, and 55-250mm lenses.
Compared to my regular camera bag, this is my go anywhere, travel light, inexpensive, featherweight kit. The camera gear and the backpack weigh 4.8 pounds. In addition to the camera and three lenses, there is a spare battery, battery charger, and extra memory cards.
The lenses cover everything from 10-250mm. In 35mm terms that is equivalent to 16-400mm. I shoot for the local newspaper so I pretty much always have a camera backpack with me, even if I am just going to the post office or the grocery store. You never know when a great photo op will occur. If I am going to the local movie theater to catch the latest flick, I don’t want to lug a big, heavy backpack with me, so I take this one. If something unexpected and photo worthy happens on the way to or from the theater, I am ready.
My toy kit has a Canon SL3 camera body and three lenses: 10-18mm, 18-55mm, and 55-250mm. That is just about everything most people would ever need. The camera has a built in flash. For someone who wants more flash power they could get a separate flash unit.
My use of the word “toy” is tongue in cheek. Arthur Morris, the amazing bird photographer, calls his Canon EF 100-400mm L series lens his “toy” lens. It is a serious, high quality, top of the line telephoto zoom lens that sells for $2,400. So if Art calls this his toy lens, what is a serious lens? His 800mm lens that costs over $10,000.
My toy camera kit is capable of taking fine images. See the first two articles linked below. I use it a lot, especially when I want to travel light. Under a lot of working conditions you can’t tell the difference between my toy gear and my serious gear. If I am going to Colorado to shoot wildlife and landscape images, I take my “serious” gear and a longer, 100-400mm, telephoto lens.
The camera and lenses were all purchased as Canon refurbished items, so they were relatively inexpensive to buy and came with a full one year Canon USA warranty. How inexpensive? The telephoto lens cost $239 vs the $2000+ it would cost to buy an L series Canon telephoto lens. You can get a Canon camera body and two lenses for about $500. See the last article below.
Canon SL3 camera body and Canon EFS 10-18mm, 18-55mm, and 55-250mm lenses.
Originally posted December 10, 2024. Updated May 26, 2025.
Links
Can a $239 Lens Do The Job of a $2100 Lens