We all have photography gear that we love to bring with us, whether we’re traveling around the world taking pictures, or going for a stroll in our backyard for a couple of local landscape shots. The following is the gear I find to be my essential “traveling companions” for trips both long and short.

Q. What is the latest regarding the problems with the Nikon D750? I bought one of the bad ones and am getting ready to send it back for the third time in hopes they can fix the fuzzy, black, thumb image at 6 o’clock that consumes about 40% of the bottom middle of my shots. This happens intermittently but frequently enough to have ruined both wedding and vacation shots. If I purchase a very recently manufactured D750 will I be OK? Thanks! By the way, I love your column and your well-written, easy-to-understand answers.

If you’ve read our choices for the 10 Best Vintage SLR Lenses for Your DSLR, you’re also going to want to read our simple guide below with tips on how to mount those lovely, classic pieces of glass on your modern digital SLR.

Here’s a simple but enlightening photo tip we had not fully thought of before.