Even if we try to travel with as few things as possible, the camera gear is still our number one priority. For anyone who might find it helpful, here is our full photo (and a tiny bit video) equipment.
Nikon D500
In 2016 we decided that we had outgrown our old cameras and invested in a new Nikon D500. Mainly because our previous cameras didn’t provide the quality image in the declining light condition. We’ve been very happy with this choice. Even if it’s not a full-frame camera, its speed and quality is no worse than a professional camera while being light, compact and easy to handle.
It has two card openings – for an XQD and a regular memory card, but the photo processing time is much longer if we switch to the regular one.
The only weak point is the absence of the infra-red captor, thus we can’t use the remote control, which is a huge inconvenience. It looks like some alternatives methods have been developed since, so we might buy one in the coming time.
Nikon 24-70mm F2.8
It is our most recent family member, which allowed a well-deserved retirement to all three lenses we used to carry. Let’s kiss goodbye to the Tamron 90mm Macro, Tokina 16-24mm and Nikon 30mm. At some point we were tired of changing the lens each time we needed a different distance, so the 24-70mm seemed an optimal solution.
It is an awesome lens, however, it is quite heavy, which makes it really uncomfortable for the long city walks.
LowerPro Bag
As always, we chose the LowerPro bag, which looks to be the first choice for the photographers. We’ve been using our previous LowerPro bags for years, and been always happy about its quality and clever design with all necessary sections and pockets. With its foam-padded interior, we always felt that our camera was 100% safe. We chose a shoulder bag, but with a quite big camera and lens it does feel bulky, so I wonder if we shouldn’t have chosen a proper bag after all.
Other stuff
A Lexar Xqd Card 32gb for high transfer speed & Lexar card reader
An additional battery (especially needed when filming a lot of video or by the low temperature) + charger
A tripod of no importance, which doesn’t travel as much as it would like.
A B+W clear filter to protect the lens from scratches or shocks (a total must!).
Mavic Pro Drone
It was a gift to ourselves before our trip to Norway, and we didn’t regret it even for a second. Mavic Pro is the first choice for the photographers-amateurs, and it is a very good device indeed.
Compact and light, in a folded state it reminds a sleeping fly. Easy to handle in a bag when cycling or hiking with a large autonomy time, high picture quality and large control distance (tested it up to 300m high and 3km from the remote control). It comes with a set of spare blades (incredibly useful!), three batteries and a convenient case.
We added a set of ND filters to allow a good exposition especially when filming. A great value for money and the photo-video quality is AMAZING.
GoPro HERO 5 Black
Our least used item so far, we bought it for our underwater activities, which in fact never happened. 😀
Our GoPro is still waiting for its hour.
Photo and Video Editing
First and the most important thing is taking pictures in RAW format. This way the camera records as much information about the image as possible, which allows a large space for the editing maneuvering. For the editing we use Lightroom only, using the VSCO filters and experimenting (with a modest success) with our own presets and settings. Naturally, we are rarely satisfied with the result.
Recently we have also started making the first steps in video creation. Still not sure where it will bring us, but so far we have been trying to master the Adobe Premier. The future will show us if there’s any good out of it.
That’s it. They say that it doesn’t matter what gadget you are using as long as you have an eye and talent, but if you are serious about photography, a proper camera gear is a necessity. It’s always better to invest in a quality equipment which will last.
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