What’s In My Bag?

Well here we are. Time to have a look at what’s in my bag, what is part of my every day carry and what’s not always coming along for the ride! This is a collection that has taken me a couple of years to build, and has a lot of second hand camera gear in it, this is an expensive game and you’ve got to save money where you can!

So here we go, here’s a list of what’s in my bag and why…

As a quick side-note, this is something which is very organic. By that it means it’s constantly changing. This is what’s in the bag today; it often depends will always depend on what I am shooting, where I am going and what results I want to have by the end of the shoot. If I’m out shooting portraits/headshots then I’m probably not packing the 70-200mm and the 85mm will definitely be in the bag! Likewise, if I’m going on a long walk then 85mm is going to be staying at home because it’s so heavy!

Remember, you don’t always need to have the latest kit, the gear doesn’t matter. But it helps! Don’t be afraid to buy second hand - only 2 of my lenses are ones I have had since new and not surprisingly, the Canon L-Series lenses I have are the second-hand purchases; I’m not loaded!

Canon 80D

This is my main (only) camera (other than my phone) and it always makes the trip with me. I’ve had this one since I started photography and I have to be honest, when I do upgrade, I am going to struggle to part with it when I get round to upgrading in the next couple of months. I know there can’t always be room for sentimentality but if it wasn't for this camera, I wouldn’t have done a lot of the things I have been able to do and met some of the people that this awesome hobby has allowed to me to become friends with.

I got this piece of kit brand new, towards the back end of 2019. I’m not sure I fully knew what I was doing when I bought it, but for me, this has turned out to be the choice. It’s a got a decent amount of resolution and the APSC sensor comes in handy giving me a bit of extra reach when I am shooting wildlife, until I can afford a stupidly long lens and a lightweight mirrorless!

It’s a well built piece of kit, but isn’t fully weather sealed so be careful in the rain or when you’re near water. These are pretty easy and cheap to come by second hand and are a good starting point if you’re just setting out, and if you pair it with Canon’s 18-55 f/3.5 - 5./6 lens, you won’t go far wrong!

DJI Mavic Air 2

This has been the only drone I have ever owned or flown, so I don’t have a lot of basis for comparison here. I always take it with me on a shoot, but it never seems to make it out of the bag. I find the raw files quite difficult to deal with, and the small sensor size means it isn’t great in low light conditions.

I have taken some good shots with it, but to really get the most out of it, I need to use it more for video content and not just photography. It’s on the heavier size and comes in at over 250g so check the local restrictions in your area to make sure that you’re flying safely and within the law of the country you are in. Unless something changes soon then I won’t be looking to upgrade this any time as money in is definitely bigger than money out as far as my drone is concerned.

Lenses

This is where most of my money goes on photography. I started out with the 18-55mm kit lens and quickly added a 50mm f/1.8 into my arsenal.

I also have a Canon 85mm f/1.2L (which was an absolute steal in a second hand shop), a lens which I have always wanted and I know that this seems like a weird choice for a landscape photographer, but I occasionally dabble with portraits and “the 85” is absolute fire for this kind of work.

It’s pin sharp and the bokeh is properly creamy/buttery/insert other smooth adjective. Be warned though, this thing is heavy (like properly heavy!) so if you’re planning a long walk, ask yourself if there is a use case to take with you or not.

I also, always, take my 70-200mm f/4L with me on every trip. Having the reach and the narrower focal lengths allow me really focus on learning how to compose my images and to remember to shoot the whole of the scene and not just to cry and cram as much of the scene as possible into an image. It’s also pretty handy for wildlife (though not ideal) but the crop sensor on the Canon 80D does give me a little bit of extra reach.

Another lens I got for a really good price is my 24-205 f.4L. It’s a great lens, but I just don’t love it the same way I do some of my other lenses. Perhaps I just need to spend some more time with it!

Accessories

K&F concept lens cloths. You should always have lens cloths with you and these ones come in a neat little vacuum pack which means they pack away really nice.

K&F Concept Tripod - I have always had K&F tripods and they have always done me well. The build quality is generally pretty good and they are well made pieces of kit. They are at the middle of the market in terms of price, so what you save in money, you sacrifice in extra weight. I have had my current one for a couple of years, you can pick one up from Amazon.

ND, Mist, Circular Polarisers (CPL), VND filter - These are all from K&F concept and I have them in a variety of sizes (I was late to the step-up ring game) to fit the different lenses I take with me. These are good filters though there is a bit of a colour cast with some of the polarisers, but not so much of one that you can’t correct it easily with some white balance adjustments in Lightroom. ND filters are always useful to lengthen your shutter speed for those smooth long exposure shots of water and the polarisers are great for removing the glare from (for example), the surface of water - they’ll also let you see through the water a bit more when you want to show off what’s going on under the surface.

Batteries - I' only use proprietary batteries and not third party ones. These Canon batteries are great and I have several of them. They’re not cheap, but for me, they are worth the money!

Peak design camera clip - this is both in my bag, and on my bag. The only bad thing about this is that I don’t have two of the clips (I do need to buy another!), you only need one of the anchors, unless you are taking more than one camera.

The great thing about this is that your camera is always to hand, even if you aren’t holding it and you want to make some headway on your walk. I will admit, that if there’s a bit of a scramble involved or it’s not great underfoot then I put my camera back in my bag; this isn’t because I don’t trust the clip, but because I don’t want my camera to break my fall!

The great thing about the Peak Design Camera Clip is that your camera is always to hand, even if you aren’t holding it and you want to make some headway on your walk. I will admit, that if there’s a bit of a scramble involved or it’s not great underfoot then I put my camera back in my bag; this isn’t because I don’t trust the clip, but because I don’t want my camera to break my fall!

Money - I can’t link you to this one unfortunately, but I've always got £20 in the bag, incase of emergencies. You won’t be more grateful for this than when you’re desperate for a bottle of water (or a cheeky Diet Coke!) and the shop doesn’t take card under a certain value. Plenty of other uses for your money, but this is the one example that springs to mind!

Chargers/Battery Packs - I have a number of these and generally have a couple of them with me. I prefer the Anker ones as they have served me well. If you’re out in the hills, there’s no substitute for a map and compass, which you should always have with you for navigation. But you might also need your phone to make an emergency call and your phone is no use if it’s flat because you’ve been using it to take pictures/shoot video all day. These battery packs have never let me down, are quick to charge and are durable. The only downside is that even with their small form factor, they’re quite heavy!

Headtorch - If you’re out to shoot sunrise or sunset then the chances are that you are going to be doing some walking in the dark so to keep safe, you should have a headtorch - more specifically a decent one. There are hundreds of these on the market, and I have tried a few, but have been particularly impressed with this one. It's called a Victoper Head Torch and has a power of 22000 lumens. It has a fully adjustable head strap which is comfortable to wear and can be angled to suit you and where you are. The battery in this thing lasts for ages and charges quickly via USB C. The final thing to say about this head torch is that it’s bright. Like, really bright; so much so that anyone walking towards you is likely to think that you’re a BMW in a rush (this head torch doesn’t have indicators either!). It illuminates a wide area in front of you, so you can be sure that you’'ll see everything you need to and everyone will be able to see you. It has a couple of flashing modes if you want to be even more easily seen and a red light mode for any of you who are into astro photography.

Polaroid - I try and take this with me for a bit of fun, when I have room in the bag and I don’t mind the extra weight. I limit myself to one shot per shoot with this because the film is so expensive. The shots that come out of this aren’t always going to be amazing, but for a bit of nostalgia and a bit of fun, it’s a great little “toy” to have in the bag!

Bags

Camera bags are a massive rabbit hole. If you’re new to photography, you probably have one. If you stick with it then in 12 months, you’re probably going to be looking for space to store your camera bag collection in about 12 months. All of the bags that I have are from LowePro and all serve slightly different purposes.

LowePro Fast Pack - I won’t write for ages about this, as I have written a full review which you can read here. This is the bag that I tend to grab and go when I am going out for a day’s walking/shooting. There’s ample space for for food or a fold up waterproof layer and a separate compartment for your camera gear.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

LowePro Pro Tactic 450AW - This is my “big bag”. It’s pretty huge and fits in an absolute ton of stuff. It’s got an ample laptop sleeve which is well protected and will fit your charger in too. The main part of the bag is rear opening and allows you full access to everything that you have in here and it holds a lot. I usually have my camera with the 70-200 attached to it, and this lives in the top of the bag where it’s easy to get to from the top hatch without having to open the whole bag. You also have an opening on the side which lets you have quick access to whatever you’re storing there. The inside is fully customisable and you can move the dividers round to suit.

You can also fit a drone, controller and a bunch of lenses inside as well. The back of the bag is covered in webbing and you can attach plenty of stuff (like a tripod) to the bag easily.

The hip straps are comfortable and help to spread the weight. I love this bag and when it eventually fails me (which it doesn’t show any signs of doing even after five years), I’d happily buy another one!

So that concludes my current what’s in my bag. I’ll update this in the new year (after Christmas!) when I might have some new items to talk about (Santa, pay attention!).

Thanks for reading, and I hope that you enjoyed it!

Until next time…