What Camera Equipment I Use

One of the things that I really enjoy about blogging is the ability to stretch my legs when it comes to my photography skills.

I’ve been using a DSLR since I was around 20, starting out with a Sony A200 and progressing to becoming a full canon fanboy.

Over the years I’ve picked up a number of different pieces of gear that has made it into my camera bag.

I’m going to give you a rundown of exactly what I use and why.

 

Camera Bodies and Compact Camera

Canon 60D

Until recently, this was my main shooter and has been since around 2010.

This is an 18mp DSLR with an APS-C or more commonly known as a crop sensor. This body has been through the wars as I used it to film a lot of skating videos when I was at peak skaterboi.

It’s still a fantastic camera and was the only one that I used up until very recently when I upgraded to a newer body. I carry it as a backup if I ever need to use it in a bit of a riskier environment.

This camera is no longer in production, but you can probably pick up a decent one second-hand.

 

Canon 80D

Ah, my baby.

I got this beauty with money I got from Christmas/Birthday this year. It is by far one of my favourite things that I have ever bought.

This one is 24.2mp and also a crop sensor meaning I can use all the lenses that I have picked up over the years.

Having all these lenses was my main reason for sticking with an APS-C body and not upgrading to a full-frame. If I did, then I would have had to sell a couple of my most frequently used lenses which I wasn’t too keen on doing.

You can pick this camera up, body only from John Lewis along with a 3-year warranty for around £999

 

Panasonic Lumix LX-7

This is my travel and vlogging camera when I need something lightweight.

I got this for Christmas a few years back and it’s a fantastic little camera which is a strong performer when it comes to video.

The lens has a manual aperture ring allowing a maximum aperture of f1.4 at 24mm. It’s a really good camera in lower light and the 24mm means it’s perfect for vlogging and keeping my entire head in frame when recording myself at arms length.

This camera is no longer produced and I believe that it may have been discontinued shortly after I picked mine up. You may be able to pick one up on Ebay at a decent price.

 

Lenses

Sigma 17-50mm f2.8

I love sigma lenses. The quality of them is fantastic and I’ve stuck by their range as a cheaper alternative to buying Canon branded lenses as the price of those can be a fair stretch for the casual photographer.

This is my latest lens pickup and has become my walkabout for day to day photography as well as blog photography.

The range of 17-50 gives you a wide angle option and a tighter zoomed option. It doesn’t give you the zoom advantage of a telephoto lens, but it does the job.

The great advantage of this lens is that is has an f2.8 aperture throughout the entire range of 17-50mm meaning you can get some nice depth of field (blurred background) and pretty decent low light abilities.It’s a pretty chunky lens

It’s a pretty chunky lens and can be quite weighty when you add the camera.

You can pick up this lens for around £270 at the moment on Amazon.

 

Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6

This is one of my skater day purchases, but I love this lens.

Skate videos always look better with a wide angle/fisheye lens to allow you to see the trick up close but still getting loads of the scene in the shot. This lens is also great for landscape photography.

I haven’t actually used this lens for a while now, but I need to get out and about with it a bit more. It’s a nice addition to have the wide angle option should I need it.

You can pick this lens up on Amazon, although there is a newer f3.5 aperture model.

 

Sigma 55-200mm f4-5.6

If I’m completely honest, this lens is probably my least used. I don’t remember the last time I actually used it, but it’s there should I need it.

I don’t really do much long range photography as blog photography doesn’t really require it.

Who knows when I will next get out to use this lens, but I’m going to try and make a concious effort to do so as it has been too long.

If you’re looking for a telephoto lens that’s not going to break the bank, this one does a decent job at a pretty low price.

You’ll probably have to go digging on ebay for this one though.

 

Canon 50mm f1.8

The second dream lens in the list.

This is the go to lens for that blurred background look. The f1.8 aperture gives you great low-light abilities, but be warned that using this on an APS-C camera doesn’t give you much of a wide angle.

This means that although it’s probably great for restaurant photography unless you’re able to move away from the table slightly, you’re probably only going to get a photo of part of your plate.

Outdoors this is a little beauty and incredible value for money. I would recommend that all Canon owners should have this model in their arsenal unless they can afford the 1.4 version of course.

You can pick this lens up for just over £100 at John Lewis with a 2-year guarantee.

 

Yongnuo 35mm f2.0

This is another lens that I purchased last year on a shoestring budget.

The quality isn’t incredible, so don’t be expecting pin sharp photos when you zoom into the image, but what can you expect from a lens that costs £60.

It’s a nice little blogger lens especially if you want slightly wider images with a relatively decent depth of field on a low budget.

I wrote an entire post about this lens when I first bought it and you can check it out here. 

 

Memory Cards & Other accessories

8gb, 16gb and 64gb

There isn’t too much to say about these cards apart from the fact I use Class 10 memory cards as they have a higher write speed which is a must when filming video.

Memory cards are getting cheaper by the year and you can pick up a 64gb card for less than £20 these days.

This one should help you get started and last you for ages before filling up.

 

LED Light

This light is great if you need a burst of light to help you out when recording in darker environments.

It runs off 6AA batteries and is ridiculously bright when turned up fully. It’s also mountable on a hot shoe or on a tripod so you can use it either on or off camera.

You can pick these up pretty cheap on amazon under a number of different brand names.

 

Rode Video mic

Good audio is a must for youtube videos and this directional mic is a fantastic investment. I picked this RODE video mic up on ebay many years back and it’s still going strong.

I might upgrade soon, but for the time being this is great for mounting on top of the camera and using it for filming vlog footage where I’m speaking directly to the camera.

Update: I upgraded to the Rode Videomic Go and it was a great decision.

 

Bendy Tripod

Having a secondary smaller travel tripod is a worthwhile buy for using with a smaller compact camera. This one I picked up pretty cheap on amazon and it’s easily shaped to either stand on a surface or wrap the legs around bars/objects that may not allow you to have the legs set up as you normally would.

These are available on amazon pretty cheap and are a nice alternative to the Joby Gorillapod if you’re looking to save a bit of money.

You can also hold onto this similar to a selfie stick if you’re out filming vlogs and shape the legs to curve towards you for easy holding.

 

I’m really loving using my camera again and it’s an area where I believe my skills are starting to majorly improve as time goes by and I begin to experiment more.

I’d love to know what you’re shooting with just now and what you find yourself using the most. Leave a comment below or let’s have a chat on twitter.