I have been an avid photographer for thirty years. These years included backpacking in remote wilderness areas with 4x5 and 8x10 cameras, huge backpacks and great experiences. These days, I use a Canon 5DMkII with a MK Systems Panomachine, but still occasionally pull out my 4x5 Sinar and a Betterlight scanning back. My equipment goal is to get a great Alpa/Phase One setup.
I only discovered 360 panoramic photography a year ago, and am currently mastering my nodal mask. I use PTGui and Photoshop, and occasionally Photomatix Pro.
You can see some of my non-panoramic photographs at this Flickr site: