We get asked all the time what camera and lenses we use so we decided to share a list of our equipment! This is by no means going to work for everyone but it is perfect for our needs so we thought some of you might find it useful.
CAMERA – Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
We think having a quality full-frame DSLR camera is crucial for getting the highest quality shots possible. So we’ve invested in what we think is the best camera for semi-professional photographers. We’ve always been in the Canon camp – we started with a 20D, then upgraded to the 5D Mark II and then to the Mark IV. So we can’t really speak for Nikon or other brands and how they compare to our Canon. But in our opinion the Mark IV offers the most bang for your buck without having to shell out $5k just for the body. It is hugely improved over the Mark II but for us the main difference is better performance in low-light conditions.
LENS – Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L ll USM
This is the only lens we own and travel with. It’s a wide-angle lens and that’s perfect for us as we mostly shoot landscapes, nature, and wide angle shots with a lot of background detail that needs to fit into the shot. If you do portraits and other closer-up shots it might not be the best for you. It’s an L series lens, which is a luxury line of Canon lenses for higher quality shots. It is quite pricey but it is the only lens we have so the quality is worth it.
LENS HOOD – Canon
Since we always shoot in direct sunlight, the lens hood is important. It serves to prevent light from hitting the glass directly and causing glare and lens flare. That’s especially important when shooting with the sun directly in front of you and the hood helps keep your shots clean and crisp.
Batteries, memory cards, charger
We always bring 3 fully charged Canon batteries on our travels and a charger just in case. For a typical day out shooting that’s more than enough. We rarely ever use more than 2 even with heavy shooting and the 3rd is just for emergencies. We always recommend you only use Canon branded batteries as we sometimes have issues with batteries made by other brands.
When we had the Mark II we used to carry around just two 32gb memory cards but with the Mark IV we found that’s often not enough so we upgraded to two 64gb memory cards.
We also always bring a universal card reader so we can download all of our photos from our camera and drone to our laptops on the go.
TRIPOD – MeFoto Classic Aluminum Globetrotter
Since we’ve been shooting a lot more couple photos lately and there aren’t always friends around to help us with our shots, we recently added a tripod to our equipment. We got the MeFoto Classic Aluminum Globetrotter tripod. It’s light and compact enough to travel with and provides good support for your camera at a decent price.
DRONE – DJI Mavic Air
We bought the Mavic Air as soon as it came out. The main draw was its small compact size. We thought it would be perfect for traveling but it has another benefit we didn’t even realize at first.
There are so many rules and regulations about drones for every country we visit. Taking photos with a drone is not as simple as pulling out your camera out of your bag and snapping a few shots. In many places drones are not allowed at all, or if they are – only small-sized drones under a certain weight limit are permitted. We’ve found that our Mavic Air is usually just within the weight limit allowed and it’s often the only type of drone you can fly. Even the Mavic Pro can be a little too big for some locations – like Monaco for example.
The best part is that even with it’s small size, the Mavic Air still produces photos and videos with amazing quality. We travel with 3 fully charged batteries and that’s usually enough for us.
So that’s it! This is all of the equipment we travel with and take everywhere with us. It’s just the right balance of having a good set of professional equipment to get all the shots and video we need but not too burdensome to carry around with us everywhere. Everything usually fits into one backpack except for the tripod, which we carry in it’s on bag. And we are both able to split the weight just fine between us even for long treks and hikes.
To find out how we edit our pictures click here to check out our custom Lightroom filters.
