Photography

An A9II. I only bring one lens with me when I go somewhere. If I have a prime on it, I use a peek design slide so the camera sits on my hip with the lens facing down towards the ground. This keeps the camera accessible, but also makes it very easy to carry.

My current lens collection is:

• a 35mm f/1.4 Sigma DG HSM ART (sharp, great for low light, big)
• a 35mm f/2.0 Sigma Contemporary (sharp, still pretty good for low light, reasonably sized)
• a 50mm f/1.4 Sony GM (sharp, great for low light, moderately sized)
• a 50mm f/1.8 Sony (still pretty good for low light, reasonably sized)
• a 150-500 Tamron (sharp, great reach for things like daytime outdoor sports, monstrously sized)

My decision tree for deciding which singular lens to bring is:

• How far away will my subjects be from me? I tend to lean towards 50mm if I can. If the space will be tight I'll bring a 35. If I know I'm going to be taking photos of far away things I'll bring the 150-500
• How much light will be available? If it will be bright I'll bring the smaller lens with the smaller (remember, it's 1/value) aperture.

The vast majority of my photos are my kids in motion and/or in challenging light. The A9II and my lens collection make it super easy to get good photos.

I just replaced my pixel 3a with a OnePlus 12. It does have nicer cameras than my 3a, and does better than the 3a with motion in low light, but the A9II blows it away. Even in more still moments, with good lighting, the rendering and depth of field of the dedicated camera makes for great looking photographs relative to my phone. I put together a family photo calendar every year and it's very obvious when I use a cellphone photo.

/wall of text

Closing thought: the best camera in the world is the one you have on you. If you decide to have dedicated gear you have to be willing to carry it.