Steve McCurry: "I use this one lens 95% of the time, with one camera body, and I've given up using a bag" – Legendary photographer reveals his current camera setup
You might expect that one of National Geographic's most famous photographers would always have a bag full of primes – but you'd be wrong
Legendary photographer Steve McCurry, renowned for his National Geographic images, including the iconic Afghan Girl photo captured in 1984, continues to actively shoot new images at the age of 76. Currently, McCurry primarily relies on a single lens for 95% of his work: the Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90mm f/2.8-4 Asph zoom. This change in his camera setup, from using a bag filled with equipment to carrying just a lens, a few memory cards, and batteries, followed a careful analysis of both Leica and Nikon systems.
McCurry found the Leica lenses to be crisper and sharper, with superior resolution, leading him to switch from his Nikon to the Leica SL series. Despite his fondness for Kodachrome slides, McCurry doesn't strive to replicate that color look with his digital cameras. Instead, he aims to capture genuine moments that tell a story, focusing on rich colors that support the narrative rather than merely replicating the film aesthetic.
Written by urgent.news from Digital Camera World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
