While in Italy I have taken along a bunch of camera gear to capture and share all my experiences. If you would like to find out what I took along with me you are in luck! This should outline in detail all of the most important things I use to create content and share it with you.
· The Bag
I really do like camera bags, and have used a couple of different ones. They all serve different purposes and are each different sizes. I have a backpacking one that is too small to carry my entire kit, but it is nice for day trekking around places. I have used a very small bag that is good for carrying a single body and maybe two lenses along with a separate compartment for a jacket or whatever. My main bag and the one I have in Italy with me is a Think Tank bag that holds a massive amount of stuff. It will carry a laptop, all my camera equipment, cables, tripod, and various auxilery equipment (mic, lens pen, flashlight, etc…).
· Camera Bodies
I currently carry a micro four thirds system. This means that the sensor inside is approximately a quarter the size of a full frame camera. It allows the body to be small, lightweight, and the lenses to be smaller as well. I use an Olympus OM-D EM5 II as the main body and an Olympus EPL-6 as the backup, but another big benefit of micro four thirds is that I could easily switch to a Panasonic system and keep all the lenses. I also carry a GoPro hero 3 white edition for filming some quick fun videos on.
· Lenses
I use a combination of fast primes and zooms to get my images. I like the primes for taking photos because of their sharpness and wide apertures, but the zooms are indispensible for their versatility in video and for telephoto shots of wildlife.
Rokinon 12mm f/2.0
My favorite lens is the Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 which I have talked about before. The wide angle allows me to capture expansive landscapes and work in tighter areas where space is limited. The fast aperture helps me to keep photographing into extremely low light conditions along with the OM-D’s sensor stabilization makes it possible to get sharp results at up to a second long exposure. If you want to read more about this lens check out my blog post on it!
Olympus 45mm f/1.8
The next lens in my lineup is the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 which is known as the best all around lens for micro four thirds by a lot of people. If is affordable for what it offers given its extreme amount of sharpness, speed, and usable focal length. It should be a fantastic lens for anyone looking to take portraits/headshots, candid/street, and just about anything else that a slight telephoto lens could be used for. I don’t use it enough, but it is a great option to have available in the bag.
Olympus 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7
The Olympus 75-300mm is an incredible zoom lens to bring along as it offers an incredible amount of reach. The aperture is fairly small at all focal lengths, but it can be fun to have when around any animals that you can’t get close enough to, sports, or to get some incredible amounts of compression. I wouldn’t recommend it as a first or even second lens because it isn’t cheap or very sharp. It is fun to use and does what it says it will do marginally well.
Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6
My least favorite lens is the Olympus 14-42mm that came with my EPL-6. It is a cheap, plastic zoom lens that isn’t fast or sharp. I use it quite a bit for video because it zooms from wide to sort of telephoto, but that doesn’t make it a great video lens. I can’t complain too much because it didn’t cost me much and it does fill a gap in the kit that needed to be filled.
· Auxiliary Equipment
Etc..
There is also a ton of other vital pieces of kit that I need that directly are related to my photography. This includes my 10 stop ND filter for the Rokinon lens which is handy for doing long exposures during the day. My laptop is included in here as it is where I edit and upload my photos, videos, and blogs. I carry a tripod inside my bag as well which is a Manfrotto xyz branded metal three legged thing I use a lot. I also carry various GoPro mounts that give me neat angles. I also keep a battery inside that can be used to charge up things like my phone and GoPro. There are also cleaning tools, spare batteries, two flashes, rain cover, black rapid strap, hard drive/flashdrive, pens/pencils, and cards.