My Camera Gear 2022

I'm more than happy to answer all questions I'm getting daily about photography and traveling. The questions which I get the most often are those related to the gear we use. I thought, why not to make a separate blog post where I can explain what and why I use during my trips. Alright, let's dive into it.

Bags

I'm in some way addicted to bags. I just find it very satisfying to have all my gear fitting perfectly in professionally designed compartments. Among all the bags I've got I'm using these two the most.

Lowepro ProTactic 450 AW - It's a very well made bag with an interesting design. It's very deep so I can even stuff things between two layers. Unfortunately, it's not deep enough to fit my telephoto lens straight up.

Peak Design Camera Cube - I put all my equipment into it during hikes, then I fit it in my hiking bag. I'm never worried about my gear when it's in this cube.

Cameras

When looking for a camera I consider mostly the presence of IBIS, sensor size, low light capabilities and overall picture quality.

SONY A7 III - Long time ago, I decided to put my trust into Sony cameras and I haven't been disappointed so far. This is still a great camera to purchase in 2022.

SONY A7 IV - The newest camera from the A7 hybrid mirrorless camera line. It's fantastic in both - videos and photos. Whenever I'm up to film some high end commercials, I'd use this camera.

DJI OSMO POCKET - This small camera literally fits in a pocket. There's no reason not to have it with me at all times. We bought this one with the idea of using it during hikes and it fitted perfectly to our workflow.

Lenses

I owe both types: zooms and primes and if it's only possible, I'm bringing them all with me anywhere I go. If you can purchase only one lens for yourself and you don't know which one you should get, you need the 24-70 mm. This is a focal length which most of photographers, including myself started with. I prefer lenses with stabilization.

SIGMA 24-70 MM F/2.8 - is a must have focal length. A great value for your money too! If I could have only one lens, it would be this one. I'm using it mostly for portraits and street photography.

SIGMA 14-24 MM F/2.8 - My second most used lens and actually my favourite one. By using the wide focal length you even can make the most boring location look interesting. For a long time I was hesitating if 16 mm is wide enough. Now I can tell you certainly, if just for once you try the 14 mm lens, after that nothing else will be wide enough.

SIGMA 35 MM F/1.4 - The 35 millimetres is my favourite focal length. It's a great portrait lens and it's wide enough to capture not only the object but also the place. It's a great focal length for shooting weddings and other events. The low aperture makes your subject beautifully stand out from your bokeh background.

SONY 70-200 F/4 - Great telephoto lens in a very affordable price. I was wondering if F/4 isn't too dark, but to be honest - who use such lens indoors? The background compression on the highest end turns any busy background into sour cream.

SONY 85 F/1.8 - Just purchased this lens. I'm currently testing out how it'll fit in to my shooting style.

Drone

While choosing a drone I first consider the sensor size, low light capabilities and battery life.

DJI AIR2S - This drone checks all the boxes. It isn't the cheapest drone from what DJI has to offer, but it's definitely worth its price. I especially like the quality of both photos and videos. One battery can keep you in the air for over half an hour. With my previous Mavic Air, I had same much time on all 3 batteries combined!

Accessories

Manfrotto Element Traveller Big - The first tripod which I don't hate. It does its job well and it weights only 1.15 kilogram.

SDD's and HDD's - I'm very satisfied with Samsung T5. It's very small, solid and it allows me to edit straight out from the drive, similar to LaCie, which is equally good. Finding out Seagate HDD was a great discovery for me. It's definitely one of the cheapest on the market, but it's still fast enough to edit straight out of it. I've got 5 of those myself!

Godox TT685 - If you need some additional light. Perfect fit for Sony full frame cameras.

Rode VideoMicro - Great compact microphone. Perfect for vlogging.

Zoom H1n - Sound recorder. I'm using it mostly to record sound from events or for over-voice.

Computer and Software

Apple MacBook Pro 15 i7/16GB/512SSD 2013 - This position doesn't need any introduction and yeah... this is still my main computer on which I put together all my films. I'm planning on replacing it with the new M1, but honestly it is still working perfectly well, even with 4K footage.

FinalCut Pro - I started my filming adventure with Premiere Pro, but after two years of frustrations and crushes I have finally switched to Apple. Since then my editing has been stress-free!

Adobe Photography Plan - Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Photoshop on desktop and iPad, and 20GB of cloud storage (1TB available). Missing After Effects a bit...

Epidemic Sound - Here I get music to all my films, videos and reels. Usually the first suggested track is the one I have been looking for. Make your life easier and get a royalty-free music for your client's commercials from Epidemic Sound.

Apps

PhotoPills - A photography planning app. It helps you PLAN your photos ahead of time… So you’re always at the right place at the right time to capture the best photo possible.

Google Drive - Here I send all my clients to download content I make for them.

Drone Radar - Every licensed pilot must have an app to legalize his/her flights.

Magic Seaweed - To check tides before going on a beach photoshoot or underwater cave exploring.

Unfold - Planning Instagram feed and creating Instagram stories.

TubeBuddy - To know what's up with my Youtube Channel.

If this post didn't answer all your questions, feel free to leave them down below or simply DM me on @karoltraveler - always up for a little camera chat!