Episode 386: My Regular Carry Gear

Show Notes

Greetings, you’re listening to the Liam Photography Podcast, I’m your host Liam

Douglas and this is Episode 386 for Thursday January 18th, 2024. In today’s episode I want to answer the questions I get the most from photography students and that is what gear I carry when I go out to shoot.

First let me divide this up by the type of shooting I am doing, so let’s start with what camera body I use. If I am going out to shoot Street Photography, then my go to is the Fujifilm X-Pro3 with the Fuji 23mm F/2 lens, which gives me a 35mm full frame field of view.

If I am going out to shoot general photography or wildlife, I carry one of my two X-T4s and for wildlife shooting I use the Tamron 18-300mm lens to get the reach I need. I know Fujifilm has their awesome 150-600mm lens, but I borrowed one from Fujifilm to review and it was too heavy with my chronic arm issues and nerve damage. I could get by using it with one of my monopods, but I don’t always want to carry a monopod.

When shooting portraits I reach for my Viltrox 75mm F/1.2 PRO lens, which in full frame is 112mm lens, perfect for portraits. If I want to be more versatile, I carry the Fujifilm 50-140mm F/2.8 which is similar in focal length to a full frame 70-200mm F/2.8 which is of course the most popular lens in the world. At time I might want to use a shorter telephoto lens for a wide range of shooting, I carry either my 18-55mm or my 16-80mm F/4 which are both fantastic lenses. I don’t have the Fujifilm 16-55mm F/2.8 yet, but it’s on my wish list.

If I am in the mood to shoot landscapes then I carry either one of my X-T4s or if I want super high resolution landscapes, I grab by GFX 50R Medium Format camera and the GF 23mm F/4 lens, which equals 18mm. The GFX cameras are excellent for times when you want really high resolution and lots of detail with that 51.4MP sensor. I am hoping to someday upgrade to one of the GFX 100 bodies so I can get a 102MP sensor. For more flexibility with my 50R I can carry my 35-70mm F/4.5-5.6 WR lens or if I want to shoot high resolution Street I use the GF 50mm F/3.5.

What about camera bags? What do I use for my everyday carry bag? Well one of my favorites is the ThinkTank Mirrorless Mover 30i, which is a great camera bag and can actually carry a lot of stuff considering it’s a smaller bag. ThinkTank has been making super high quality camera bags for years and they are hands down one of the best in the business! That’s not to say I don’t have a few other brands but ThinkTank is one of my favorites and that of many photographers around the world so you don’t need to just take my word for it.

When I do need to carry a monopod I reach for my latest monopod which is the iFootage Cobra 3 carbon fiber monopod. This is a great monopod and one of the best things about it is it has 3 feet on the bottom to keep it stable especially if using it on a windy day. I also have the previous model, the Cobra 2 but the updates they made to the Cobra 3 makes it my new monopod of choice! It can handle almost 18 pounds of camera body/lens weight so it’s no slouch there either. Now the Cobra 3 doesn’t come with a ball head but I have my Platyball Ergo and Elite ball heads so I am covered there. I used to use the Manfrotto BHQ-2 ball heads and I still have two of them but the Platyball ball heads have convinced me to switch over to Arca Swiss style from the proprietary Manfrotto PL-200 plate system.

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When I am out shooting and want to be as compact as possible, I use my PlatyPod Extreme flat tripod, especially in places like botanical gardens where regular tripods are not allowed. Now this is NOT an infomercial for PlatyPod nor are they a sponsor of the show, I am just a huge fan of their products and all the innovating Dr Larry has done. I have been a supporter of PlatyPod since their very first flat tripod was on Kickstarter and I will continue to support them as they make great products for photographers!

If you are wondering about standard tripod, then I stick with carbon fiber for the light weight and durability and I have two that I like the most and they are the K&F Concepts TC2534 66” tripod, which is very strong and durable using 10x carbon fiber and it even comes with a nice Arca Swiss ball head as well if you don’t already have one. I also love my SmallRig upgraded 62.2” carbon fiber tripod/monopod combo which is excellent and compact so it’s easy to carry. This tripod also comes with a small, compact Arca Swiss ball head as well and you can always swap it out for your own.

Many of you are probably wondering what about filters? Well I am glad you asked. My preferred filter set is the Kase Wolverine with the magnetic mounting system for my daytime long exposure photography. I know there are some other quality filters on the market like Michael The Maven’s set which Sharky James from his podcast raves about. I have never personally tried Michael’s filter system but I am certain it’s a good one as Sharky is known for being an honest guy when he talks about gear and accessories.

But what about video shooting? Well for video I use either my Fujifilm X-T4s or one of my many action cameras. I have the DJI Osmo Action 3 & 4 as well as the GoPro Hero 11 & 12 Black and I now as of a couple weeks ago also have the Insta360 X3 camera. For my video mics, I have a variety including the R0DE Video Mic Pro and Pro+, which are excellent shotgun mics for shooting video with. If I need to use wireless I have the R0DE Wireless GO II and the DJI Wireless Mic first generation, I say that because DJI just announced their new Wireless 2 system this week.

I am also looking at getting the new FeiyuTech Pocket 3 kit -Remote Handle&Camera system, which to me is more versatile than the DJI Osmo Pocket cameras as with this unit it had a detachable gimbal and camera which has a high strength magnet on the bottom so once you remove it from the handle/remote you can stick it right to the roof of your car and shoot video while seeing the footage live on the color screen built into the handle.

So, that is a gist of my regular carry items for photography and videography and I hope this helps answer your questions on recommended gear. What are your choices for everyday carry? Do you have some of the same gear I have or do you have other items that you prefer and why? Please feel free to leave a comment in the Facebook Group for the show and let me know.

Ok that is going to wrap up this week’s episode I want to thank you for listening, rating and reviewing in Apple Podcast, Google Podcast or Spotify. Be sure to stop by the Liam Photography Youtube channel and Subscribe and turn on all notifications so you don’t miss any of my videos and I will see you again next Thursday!

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Also be sure to join the Liam Photography Podcast Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/liamphotographypodcast/ You can reach the show by call or text @ 470-294-8191 to leave a comment or request a topic or guest for the show. Additionally you can email the show @ liam@liamphotographypodcast.com and find the show notes at http://www.liamphotographypodcast.com.

You can find my work @ https://www.liamphotography.net and follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @liamphotoatl. If you like abandoned buildings and history, you can find my project @ http://www.forgottenpiecesofgeorgia.com. and http://www.forgottenpiecesofpennsylvania.com.

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