I’m using a crop frame camera, a cleaning pen, a tripod, a light body, and a microphone. In the next paragraphs, I will give you some information about how I use it and why.
My beloved Canon
For shooting, I’m using a Canon 70D. It is not the newest camera on the market, but it does have some great features. It is a crop frame camera. So, it is half of the price of a full-frame camera, which makes it affordable for the newcomers in the photography game. What I like the most about it is the touch display, which makes it easy to autofocus. The display can flip out, something that the full-frame camera cannot do. The camera is also very light and easy to carry. Videomaking is remarkable. I love her, and I’m not planning to change her any time soon! So, if you need to choose between Canon or Nikon, I am going to say Canon!
My Lenses
I have 3 main lenses.
- Canon Zoom Lens EF 24-70mm 1:2.8 L
- Canon Lens EF 50mm 1:1.4 Ultrasonic
- Canon Zoom Lens EF 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 Ultrasonic
The 24-70mm I use mainly for basic shooting and videography. It is a vario lens, and it makes it suitable for cropping the object. It depends on how close or how far you want to shoot. It is the L series, and that makes it expensive. But it does great when it is about video making. I won 2 awards shooting for my cousin’s projects two years in a row. It gives very mellow colors, and with a little bit of editing, everything you shoot looks very professional. I want to mention that the lens is heavy, and it is kind of hard to carry it with your hands all day. Really good for urban photography. If you have the money, it is a Must-buy!
The 50mm I use for portraits and macro. Because it is not vario, it makes it hard to get used to. I had a lot of practice until I felt comfortable. My friends always complain that it is hard because you need to move close to the subject to capture a good picture. I love to use it when it gets dark because it allows me to work in a low-light condition with a great depth of field — the best affordable lens for portrait photography. It also provides great details, which is one of the main reasons I use it a lot on my documentary projects.
My favorite lens, the Canon Zoom 70-300mm. I call it my baby. So far, all my best pictures are coming with her help. I use it when I shoot in the wild or when I want to take a picture of an object far away from me. It has two stabilizer modes. The 300mm zoom is very useful while you are shooting birds or plains. If you set the setting properly, the details are incredible. If you use it, my advice is to try to shoot on low ISO because the noise when you zoom to 300mm is highly disturbing the image, and sometimes, it makes it very hard to edit. If you are going on a safari, get it in your bag and enjoy the wilderness.
My Tripod
I have a Velbron Videomate 638. It is a very light tripod, about 2 kg, easy to work with. The tripod head is moving smoothly, and it is great for videography. The durability of weight is up to 6 kg, so you can use almost any camera body and any lens, without being worried something can happen with your gear.
My Light Body
I got my light body from amazon years ago. It was about 20$ and I’m still using it every time I shoot during the night. It works with 6 1.5v batteries. It has a button on the back to test how much power you have left, but from my experience, I can say from 8-12 hours on medium use. Cheap and useful gear, I recommend you buy!
My Microphone
I have a Rode VideoMic Pro. It is about 200$, great for documentary videography. It has lower noise on higher sensitivity. It is ultra-lightweight. It works with 9v batteries with over 70 hours of use. If you get this one, always do a video test and check the battery because if there is a problem, it has that noise that you can’t fix on the post-production. If you want to capture sound with a very high quality, you could use it even on your phone because of the 3.5mm stereo mini-jack output.
What I Always Check Before I Leave Home
Just a few things before I let you browse what from my gear could be useful for your photography future. I always check if my memory card has enough space and if it is in the camera. Believe me, I was about to shoot, realizing I had left it at home. So, I always have an additional one in my backpack. Check out are your batteries fully charged, and always try to have at least two. I always check if I bring my cleaning lens pan, which is very important if you want to have e clean pictures.
It was a pleasure sharing with you my personal gear. Go on the web, browse what can fit your photography fantasy, and put it on a higher level. By Clyde