Photography Gear List – So, what’s in the bag? I know all the photographers out there always like to take a peek ‘under the hood’ of another photographers bag. I’ve been meaning to put together my photography gear list and post this article for some months now, but there have been a few other things that keep popping up that take priority. Finally the day has come when I can share my standard gear list that accompanies me to most shoots. Sometimes I take a much smaller kit with just one camera and two lenses in a small shoulder bag, but generally this is it.
.jpg "Deprimo Photography Camera Bag")
So, first things first, the bag itself (item #12) is made by ThinkTankPhoto and is their Airport Security v2 roller bag. I’ve owned so many camera bags over the years and to be honest this is the first time I’ve strayed away from LowePro bags. Let me be quick to point out that this choice had absolutely nothing to do with the quality of LowePro bags (as I’ve never had a single problem with any of the ones that I’ve owned, and still own to this day). The choice was purely based on size and form-factor. Other than the Logistics Manager (which isn’t really a portable bag) this is about the biggest moveable bag you’re going to find out there. It has a super sturdy retractable handle, and very smooth (and replaceable) wheels for when you’re rolling the bag around between locations. When I started getting into weddings and was lugging most of this gear around in a backpack, my back was sore for days after each wedding. Not anymore! The other great thing about the size of this bag, which I was not able to find in any other roller bag, is that it’s deep enough for not only a gripped DSLR to sit flush inside the lid, but it’s also got areas of the bag that are deep enough to stand a Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 IS L USM II lens upright (not the way it’s pictured above). I currently don’t need that, but the space-saving that this arrangement would offer over laying the lens down is massive. Okay, enough about the bag…let’s have a look at what’s inside.
1. Canon EOS 5D Mark III (with Canon E1 Hand Strap, Canon BG-E6 battery grip, and soon to have the EG-S focusing screen) – The 5D Mark II takes great photos with image quality that I simply cannot fault. I stopped using a neck strap many years ago and love the E1 hand strap that Canon offers to make holding onto the camera for long period much easier. I am due to upgrade the focusing screen shortly to assist with focusing super fast glass.
2. Canon EOS 5D Mark II (with Canon e1 Hand Strap and BG-E4 battery grip) – The backup for my primary camera.
3. Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM – One of my more recent additions to the bag and I’m totally in love with the images that this lens can produce. Wide(ish) with very shallow DOF, what a great combination. I find this lens to be my go-to for general coverage of an event or photo-journalistic requirements where I have a bit of time to think about what I’m doing. The DOF is very unforgiving when it comes to critical focus, and the lack of zoom (other than with your feet), makes this a challenging lens to use in fast paced shoots…but the resultant images are an amazing reward. Most frequently shot between f/1.4-2.0.
4. Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM – My first “L Series” lens. I used this lens back on my EOS 30 film camera and loved it for shooting landscapes and action sports where maximum apertures are not critical. While shooting people this lens gets little use due to the significant distortion it creates at the outer edges of the frame. Occasionally, when you want something dramatic that also takes in loads of sky or scenery on location, this is a real gem. This type of shot is often coupled with dramatic OCF lighting, so aperture is not so important.
5. Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L USM II – The front and back elements on this lens are truly astounding as far a size and magnitude are concerned…and the images it produces are often too amazing for words. The bokeh that this lens can produce is nearly impossible to surpass. You need to shoot in low light and still have a bit of reach? This is your lens! Like the 35/1.4 the super shallow DOF when shooting at wider apertures makes critical focus challenging, but the rewards are worth the risk. I simply adore this lens for natural light portraits. Most frequently set to f/1.2-2.0.
6. Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II – My main work-horse lens. As you can see by the layout in my bag, this lens spend the majority of its time on the camera. Doing a fair bit of second shooting at weddings, this lens allows me to get tight coverage of emotions from a bit of distance, often allowing me to get images that the subject isn’t really aware are being taken. The zoom range on a full frame body is very practical for most portrait sessions and provides great compression and isolation from potentially messy backgrounds. Rarely used with an aperture smaller than f/4.
7. Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM – Another fairly recent addition to the bag, and bought to be a complementing work-horse to the 70-200. When covering weddings as the primary shooter and having to work in close quarters, but still needing the flexibility of a fast zoom, this lens is going to be hard to beat. Given more time to work, the 35mm is my preferred lens, but for all-round usability with solid performance, this lens will deliver on a full frame camera.
8. Canon Speedlights (2x 580EXII, 1x 550EX)
9. Pocketwizard TTL Radio Triggers (1x MiniTT1, 3x FlexTT5) – I know there’s be a lot of mixed reviews about these triggers, but I for one have not run into any serious limits in the way I use them. Do I use them to the extremes that some photographers demand of them? No. But for the shooting that I’ve done with them I have generally found them to be very reliable. I do often use my flashes in manual mode, so the TTL function isn’t being used, but having the option to use things like HSS has on occasion gotten me out of a sticky situation. As far as using them as a basic trigger goes, they work for me.
10. Miscellaneous Gear (Spare camera batteries, spare Rechargeable Powerex AA NiMH batteries, rocket blower, Canon TTL Off-Shoe Cord, cleaning cloths, UV and Circular-Polarizing filters for various lens sizes)
11. Miscellaneous Gear (Lens hood for Canon 17-40mm, Black Rapid R-Strap) – The R-Strap admittedly doesn’t get a huge amount of use, but it has come in handy on long days when having the camera hanging by your side on a very clever and comfortable strap is desirable.
12. ThinkTankPhoto Airport Security v2 Bag – See thoughts earlier in the blog.
13. Honl SpeedStraps – Adjustable velco straps with rubber backing for attaching a variety of items to your Speedlights. I tend to use them purely for attaching gels, but there are many other attachments made by Honl that are pretty cool.
14. Colour Gels – I keep several of each colour gel handy for balancing Speedlights with ambient light (Tungsten, Fluoro etc) and for adding something a bit different and special to off-camera flash portraits on location. These have now been updated to the Honl gels with velcro for easy attaching to the SpeedStraps.
15. 3m USB Tether Cord (and random spare CF card…what’s that doing there?) – I often take a laptop on location for more static shoots, especially when working with shallow DOF settings to ensure critical focus is reached. An example of this would be doing actors headshots shooting a f/1.8 (or faster), where you might focus on an eyelash instead of the eyeball. You can’t trust the back of the camera for shots like that. I don’t tend to use it a lot as most of my shoots are fast paced and very mobile.
16. Speedlight feet and tripod/monopod shoe – The Speedlight feet are handy to have when you don’t want to use a lightstand and have somewhere to place the flash, like a counter or bookshelf. I occasionally use a Manfrotto CLB055 tripod, or a Giotzo Monopod, both of which have Manfrotto heads with matching shoe attachments.
So that’s what’s in my camera bag on most shoots. In addition to that I generally have a Sunbounce Mini (3’x4′) reflector, a 5-in-1 round reflector, several light stands, a 2ft Ezybox softbox, a Paul Buff PLM and various other bits and pieces in the car…just in case. It’s easier (and safer) to chuck the stuff in the car and have it there just in case, than to be kicking yourself on location wishing you’d brought something. I often even put a three-step step ladder into the boot and have used it on more than one occasion to get a different angle for a shot.
If you have any questions about this gear list, would like to offer some suggestions, or would like my opinion on a piece of equipment, please leave a comment.
I’m hoping to start publishing a few more posts for photographers over the coming months, maybe some behind the scenes stuff also. I have been so blessed by so many amazing photographers from around the world who so generously share their wisdom with others, that I only feel it’s right to try to keep that spirit going. If there’s any images on this site that you’d like more information on, please don’t hesitate to ask by leaving a comment or contacting us.