I have a lot of gear. I shudder when I think about all the money spent over the years. Although camera gear may not be the most important part of photography, it is crucial to producing the best image file. I have to admit that I am a techie. I love camera gear, especially brand new camera gear. Over the years I have bought and re-bought many items. Below is a list of what I use now. I also try to give my reasoning behind each purchase.
- Camera Bag: MindShift Gear BackLight 26L Backpack. I have purchased at least a dozen camera bags, none of which completely met all of my needs. This MindShift is the closest thing to perfection that I have seen on the market.
- Camera: Sony Alpha 1 and Sony A7R4. I have made the natural progression through DSLR cameras, starting with the Nikon D600, then the D800E, then the Nikon D5, then to the Nikon D850. I just moved to the mirrorless system with the Sony A1.
- Lenses:
- Wide Angle Zoom: Sony 16-35mm f/4 G.
- Mid-Range Zoom: Sony 24-105mm f/4 G OSS.
- Telephoto Zoom: Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS.
- Telephoto Zoom: Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS.
- Night Sky: Sony 20mm f/1.8 G.
- Macro: Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS.
- Threaded Filters. Though I don’t need these filters as I have a 77mm adapter for my wide angle filter system, I often find them easier to use in the field.
- Circular Polarizer: B+W 77mm XS-Pro Kaesemann Hight Transmission Circular Polarizer MRC-Nano Filter
- Neutral Density 2-Stop: B+W 77mm MRC 102M ND 0.6 Filter
- Neutral Density 3-Stop: B+W 77mm SC 103 ND 0.9 Filter
- Neutral Density 6-Stop: B+W 77mm 1.8-64X Multi-Resistant Coating Nano Lens Filter
- Tripods and Ball Heads.
- Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head: It is heavy duty (50lbs load capacity) and heavy (1.96lbs) but is my workhorse and rock solid.
- Really Right Stuff TVC-33 Carbon Fiber Tripod: Used with BH-55 Ball Head, is heavy duty (50lbs to 85lbs load capacity) and heavy (3.72lbs).
- Really Right Stuff BH-30 LR II Ball Head: Used as part of my hiking/travel tripod kit. It is much lighter than the BH-55 at 13oz but maintains a load capacity of 15lbs (greater than my camera and heaviest lens combination).
- Gitzo GIGT1545T Traveler Series 1 Carbon Fiber Tripod (16.7″ version). As its name suggests it is my hiking/travel tripod. It is very light at 2.34 lbs with a maximum load capacity of 22.05lbs.
- Platypod Max Camera Support. Although not a tripod, it is a great camera base for those areas that do not allow tripods (I.e., inside certain buildings)
- Hard Drives.
- Samsung T5 Portable SSD – 1TB – USB 3.1 External SSD. I use this drive as my travel backup drive. It is light and durable. And, 1 TB is the perfect amount for traveling, especially for wildlife. I have a second one of these drives for all my current year’s images, those images I am still doing post-processing. The drive is super fast.
- WD 4TB My Passport Ultra USB 3.0 External Hard Drive. I use this drive as part of my image backup strategy. Every few months I place a copy of my images onto the drive and put in my safety deposit box.
- Synology DiskStation DS1515+. Primary backup system for all my images. This system is RAID based providing peace of mind for local backups.
- Clothing
- Jacket: REI Co-op Magma 850 Down Hoodie 2.0. Super light and super warm jacket.
- Gloves: Freehands Men’s Stretch Thinsulate Gloves. Excellent for cool weather though not warm enough for cold weather. I am currently evaluating an upgrade.
Where I purchase my gear from:
- B&H. I buy most of my gear from B&H, especially if it is camera body or lens. I get nervous that other non-camera companies sell grey market equipment. They have also just come up with a method to give a credit back for sales tax. Additionally most items are delivered in two to three days. For used equipment I have sold to B&H, given a fair price, though not as much as a private sale.
- Amazon. Great place to purchase accessories such as: batteries, memory chips, hard drives, etc.
- Really Right Stuff. Excellent but expensive tripods.
- Gitzo: Great travel tripod.
- MPB. Buy and sell used equipment. They are not speedy but the pricing for both purchases and sales are typically better than B&H.
- Think Tank. My vendor of choice for camera bags.