We get asked quite a lot about what camera gear we are travelling with and using. So, we have finally put together this blog to show you what we use to produce the photos on our Instagram feed and in our blogs.
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QUICK GUIDE
Our Camera
Camera Lenses
Underwater Photography
Aerial Photography
Camera Accessories
For the majority of the time we are using a Canon 6D Mkii, our prized possession (depending on who you ask). After learning photography on a Canon 1300d, we decided to upgrade from the entry level DSLR to the Full Frame Canon 6D Mkii in late 2018. It was a great choice and we are very happy with it, especially the touchscreen LCD screen that flips out – which is handy when shooting at different angles that would otherwise be impossible to view what you are shooting.
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We have three different lenses to suit our main camera body and they are all used for a different purpose.
The Canon 16-35mm F4 is our wide angle lens. It is perfect for capturing a vast landscape and also great for fitting in big buildings, especially with limited room to move. We also use this lens for most of our Instagram photos as it is great for capturing not only ourselves in the photo, but all of the view or landmark we might be posing in front of.
The Canon 24-105mm F3.5-5.6 is a great allrounder lens in our kit. Although it’s not super wide like the 16-35mm, we can still capture a wide landscape and it also has a relatively decent zoom – zooming to 105mm. We will often take this lens when we don’t have enough room for the other lenses, or if we will be in places where it will be hard to change lenses over – e.g. on a boat trip or a big hike.
The Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 lens creates a great compression affect when photographing a subject with a mountain in the distance. We also use this for our wildlife photography, but when trying to photograph wild animals we probably push the 200mm to its limits. Would love something bigger. 😆💸
To take underwater photos we use a Go Pro Hero 4 and is one of the best action cameras. Our Go Pro is the first camera we ever purchased and has been a staple in our camera bag forever. Accompanied with the various accessories we have acquired over the years, such as the Go Pole (selfie stick), the Split Dome (for those half under, half over water shots) and wrist straps etc. It has become a versatile tool to capture those action shots. Although, we are close to upgrading to a newer model, we will certainly miss our first Go Pro.
No, we don’t own our own helicopter to get those amazing aerial photos from the sky. We do however own a DJI Mavic Pro Drone. Our Drone has become one of our prized possessions and we are always learning something new. The perspectives that you get from the drone opens up a huge variety of different shots, and it’s certainly always a fun time when the drone is out.
Our most valuable player when it comes to accessories. Although it’s responsible for 90% of our Instagram photos, it doesn’t get to see the otherside of the camera. We purchased our Red Buffalo Tripod from a camera store in Kuala Lumpur not long ago after our original and ‘experienced’ tripod started to break down. Some of the best travel tripods.
We also have a Joby Gorillapod, which is one of the best travel tripods we have used. It is great when filming a Vlog because it makes the camera easy to hold when talking, and it can be easily setup on any surface with its mouldable legs.
We use filters to not only protect our lenses, but also our variable density ND filter is great for blocking out harsh light. With just the twist of the filter, we can block from 1.5 stops – 9 stops of light, which allows us to reduce our shutter speed right down when we want a motion blurring effect – e.g. when we are photographing a waterfall as pictured below.
We have 2 Go Poles (or selfie sticks) for our Go Pro – an extendable one and a floatable one. Unfortunately, our extendable Go Pole doesn’t get used as we don’t tend to use our Go Pro outside the water. Once we upgrade the Go Pro, we might start to use it more. Our floatable Go Pole gets used all the time in the water, and it puts our mind at ease when we throw it to each other, that it won’t sink to the dark depths of the ocean.
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A Split Dome is a great accessory to have with a Go Pro to produce those great under/over water shots. Unfortunately, like the majority of our Go Pro equipment, it’s getting pretty old and starting to fall apart. Our Split Dome is from Split Gadgets.
Spare drone wings are something you wish you would only need to replace by choice, but unfortunately, after a bit of an altercation with a palm tree, we needed to use these.
We use ND and polariser filters for the different lighting conditions we might come across and also to really bring out the colours. We purchased a Cinema Series 6 pack of Polar Pro filters which includes ND8, ND16, ND32, ND4/PL, ND8/PL, ND16/PL.
There is nothing worse than rushing out for a sunrise shoot only to realise that when you go to click that first frame – (NO MEMORY CARD). Meanwhile the memory card is still where you left it in the card reader. Thankfully, we have always had a few spares in our kit, to avoid missing out on an epic sunset photo. We use SanDisk Memory Cards – 32gb and 64gb. We have Micro SD Cards for our DJI Mavic Pro and Go Pro, that also come with adapters to fit in the Canon 6D MkII. However, we have found the adapters to wear out easily, therefore we have seperate SD cards for the Canon.
When filming a Vlog we use a Rode VideoMic GO that attaches to the Canon 6D MkII to produce a lot better sound quality than straight from the camera, especially in windy or crowded places. The Rode VideoMic GO is great for those on a budget, as it is at the cheaper end of the scale and still produces great sound.
All of our camera gear is kept safe in our Crumpler camera backpack. Over the past 8 months it has been put through some pretty rigorous testing and it still is yet to fail. We really like the set up of the bag. There is an easy access flap that opens at the top for storing our Canon 6d MkII, and the rest of our lenses and gear etc. are kept safe in the back compartment. The back compartment has customisable velcro inserts to hold any sized lens or camera securely. Additionally, there are zip compartments for memory cards or other accessories, along with a laptop compartment at the front and straps for the tripods etc.
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In addition to our photography gear, we also edit all of our photos on Adobe Lightroom, and therefore carry our MacBook and hard drives with us while we travel.
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