Despite what you might think, photography is not just about the gear you use. Your camera is just one of the ‘seven Cs’. And there’s very little difference between brands. The vast majority of modern camera bodies and lenses are more than adequate for taking amazing photos, with the difference probably in the details. The decision to use certain gear is therefore just personal preference, personal style, and use-case. My preferences are for landscape, street, and wildlife photography, so the gear choices I’ve made (and will make in the future) are aimed at those styles and use-cases. Nevertheless, I do like technology and it is interesting to read about and discuss the cameras and lenses from different brands. Listed below are the gear that I use, but these are just my preferences and the result of a trade off between cost, functionality, and form. Your balance will probably be different. That being said, all of the gear I use have so far been excellent. I’ve provided links to the manufacturer in case you do want to check them out.
Last updated on 29 April 2024.
Camera.
In 2021 I purchased the Nikon Z7ii. This was a fantastic first full-frame camera for me. Yet as I got more experienced and wanted to explore many genres of photography (such as wildlife), it became clear that the Z7ii was lacking in certain aspects, mostly auto-focus. So, when the Z8 was announced I knew this was the camera for me. I’ve had it for a couple of months now it’s an incredible camera.
Lenses.
Although the 35 mm prime lens has been brilliant, sometimes you just can’t zoom with your feet. So, in November 2021 I ordered my first Z mount zoom lens, the 24-120 f/4 and received the lens on 22 December. With a constant f/4 aperture throughout the entire focal length range, early reviews by Ricci Chera and Matt Irwin suggest this lens is going to be fab. I look forward to testing out this new lens over the Christmas 2021 break.
Nikon Z 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S
I was originally going to get the Z 180-600 when it was released. My thinking was that it’d be perfect for moon shots. However, I figured that although I love moon photography, the 180-600 mm would only really be useful for this one thing. I decided that it would be better to get a slightly shorter focal length zoom so that I could get decent focal length for the moon but also be really useful for landscapes. That lens is the 100-400 mm. The reviews for this lens have been very good, suggesting that it’s extremely sharp across the focal range.
Although I love the 100-400 mm lens, I’m finding it’s a little short for bird photography. So, I plumped for the new 180-600 zoom!
I bought the 1.4x teleconverter mostly for moon shots, but I think it’ll come in handy for all sorts of shots.
Accessories.
If you’re going to shoot in RAW format then you need software to edit the files. One of the first YouTube channels I subscribed to was Matt Irwin’s. He uses Capture One, and for me was the best balance between features, usability, and cost.
My first camera bag was a WANDRD. It was ok, but it just wasn’t set up correctly to store lenses in their own compartments. I was also looking around for something that I could take on a plane as cabin luggage. The Vanguard VEO ADAPTOR fit the bill perfectly. It’s got dividers to place the lenses in and a dedicated bit for the camera. And it’s quite cheap too compared to some of the other brands.
Since buying the 180-600 mm lens, I’ve found that the Adapter R48 just wasn’t large enough on occasions, so I bought a bag that would handle the extra long lens.
3 Legged Thing Albert 2.0 tripod
The Albert 2.0 tripod is really sturdy and folds down into a manageable size that can be strapped to the camera bag.
Until recently I was using a ball head for the tripod, but I found it difficult to make minor adjustments to camera positioning. Through some searching I found an alternative - a geared head. The Benro GD3WH was a good balance between cost and functionality, and it’s received very good reviews.
3 Legged Thing Punks Trent 2.0 Monopod
I’ve started to get into wildlife photography, particularly birds. It seemed like a monopod was something that many bird photographers use, so I thought I’d get one to try it out. This one was a good combination of price and quality.
Kase Armour Magnetic 100 mm Filters
Although I originally purchased the Kase circular filters, I found that a limitation was that circular filters apply the effect to the entire frame and sometimes you need just a part of the frame effected. The primary example of this is where you have a bright sky and a dark foreground. This is a classic example of where a graduated filter is useful. A graduated filter is dark at the top and gradually lightens to clear glass about half way down the filter. This allows you to darken the sky but leave the foreground (darker area) unaffected. After much research I settled on the Kase Armour magnetic system and rectangular filters. This filter system allows you to use both polarised filters and neutral density filters in addition to graduated filters, all within a magnetic system that makes it very easy to use.
Kase Wolverine Magnetic Circular Filters
Based on a number of reviews, including James Brew and Nigel Danson, I bought my first set of filters from Kase. I like them because they are both functional and high-quality, and they fit into my camera bag comfortably. That being said, I also use the Armour Magnetic system quite a lot these days, mostly for the graduated filters. I recently added an ND1000 filter to the setup so that I can do very long exposures.
Peak Design Slide Lite camera strap
Until very recently I’ve used the camera strap that came with the Z7ii. I didn’t like it. It always made me look like a tourist. So I bought an over-the-shoulder strap from Peak Design and it’s great. It comes with small anchors that allow you to attach the strap to the L bracket at various places. With one anchor at the base and one on the camera, it allows the camera to lie lens down. This means you can slide the camera into the small of your back when walking and it won’t jump around.
An L bracket is really useful for easily shifting between landscape and portrait orientation on a tripod. This one from 3 Legged Thing does the job very nicely.
I found out the hard way that without a torch it’s difficult to see the buttons on a camera when in the dark! This headlamp provides about 400 lumens of lights, which is more than adequate for the job, and leaves my hands free to work the camera and/or tripod.
Hestra Windstopper Pull Over Mitt
I worked out pretty quickly that using a camera in the cold is impossible with cold hands and fingers. Yet traditional gloves that cover the fingers make it difficult to use the small dials and buttons on the camera. So I searched for fingerless gloves, but most of those leave the fingers exposed all the time. The solution for me was a fingerless glove with a mitten cover.