In this post I’m diving into my camera bag, taking a look at all my camera gear and showing you what I use it for! I really don’t want to come across like I’m bragging here, I consider myself extremely fortunate to have obtained every piece of kit I’m discussing, and couldn’t have done it without the support from my amazing family, not to mention it’s taken me literal years (and a lot of saving up) to accumulate everything I use!
So, starting from the top, we have the camera itself. I recently got my hands on a second-hand Canon EOS 5D mkiii (top tip, never go to a camera shop to ‘have a look’, turns out that can be quite expensive). This camera is a professional level DSLR, with a full frame sensor capable of taking high quality, 22.3 megapixel photographs.
To go on the camera, I have a Canon 24-105mm f/3,5-5.6 lens. This lens is extremely versatile, and I have had plenty of success with it shooting landscapes, surf, portraits and products. Pretty ideal that it can do so much when I’m on a very tight budget, hence my lens collection being quite small at the moment (though there are definitely some new toys that I have my eye on.) I have only had this lens 3 months, so I am looking forward to getting lots of use out of it this summer! Before I got that lens, I borrowed my dad’s Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8 lens. This is a great little lens for portraits, however it struggles with anything else which isn’t ideal when considering all the different subject that I like to shoot.
The tripod I use is a Vanguard SBH-100. This tripod has a feature which I have made plenty of use of in my product photography. The centre of the tripod which lifts up and down, can also be lifted out and be fitted horizontally, allowing you to position the camera facing straight down. This feature comes in really handy when shooting flat lays like the example shown above.
To use with the tripod, I have a set of Ranger Neutral Density Filters. These are used to reduce the amount of light going into the camera, letting me extend the length of the shutter speeds I use. This can be really effective when shooting water, and throw in a sunset or sunrise and you’ll get a photo like the one above!
A device I use mainly in summer when I grow gills and spend most of my time in the sea is my GoPro Hero 5. Frequent beach trips let me take full advantage of its underwater capabilities to photograph myself and my friends messing about in the sea (and also the waves when, on the off chance, I might actually want to try something professional)! A great feature added to this model of GoPro and all the ones since is that it can shoot photographs in RAW format, which gives far greater flexibility when it comes to editing. I have way too many accessories for my GoPro to bother listing here, however one standout addition to my camera bag is the dome port which is perfect for capturing split shots/under over photos.
A newer addition to my camera bag and one I really need to get out and use some more is my Lume Cube. This is a small, waterproof light capable of emitting 1500 lumens of light. I have used this properly once or twice, one of the examples can be seen above where I used it to light up a tin mine!
For the camera bag itself, filled with all my toys, I use a Manfrotto satchel-style bag. I prefer having my camera bag by my side instead of on my back, for easy access my gear on the move. My bag is always well stocked with spare SD cards, lens cloths and an extra battery, so my shoots are never disrupted.
I’m planning on going into more detail on some of the more specialised pieces of kit I have mentioned, with their own blog posts styled as reviews and tutorials. Let me know what kit you like to use, and if there was a particular piece of kit I mentioned that you would like to hear more about!
Hope you found this post interesting and not too egotistical, thank you for reading!
Henry G.V
HenryGeeVee Photography 