I often get asked what kind of gear I shoot with. So, I thought that this might make for a good blog post- the things in my camera bag, as well as the camera bag itself.

So, sit back, grab yourself a steamy hot drink and enjoy the read

Sony a6000

That’s right. I use a six year old mirrorless crop sensor camera and it does me well. I love my Sony a6000 to bits. It has been my trusty friend for the last few years and now you can get them for around $300 secondhand, so they are relatively affordable.

There are many reasons why I love this camera. One it takes decent photos with a 24.3 mp sensor. It may be small, but it is a powerhouse.

It has a flip LCD screen, so you can flip it out and use this to take photos while crouched, or raise it above your head and take a photo from above, while simply using the screen for guidance.

You can take full HD videos up to 1080p @ 60fps. I would recommend a tripod for video though as the Sony a6000 does not have any kind of image stabilisation. I also love how small the camera is, you can actually just slide it into your pocket when it has the kit lens attached.

The battery life is pretty decent, but I always carry with me spare batteries as it is not amazing. I think the battery life is up to 420 images.

I am fully a Sony a6000 groupie and I have no inclination to upgrade in the near future.

Tamron 75-180 2.8

Now, this was a bit of an investment. I brought it the first few weeks it was released after saving for around a year and a half for a new lens. When this lens was released, it ticked all the boxes I was looking for so I went out and brought it. I felt weird carrying it around for weeks, as it is kind of the most expensive thing I own. And I am prone to dropping things.

Why do I love this lens?

Well for a number of reasons, one it produces super sharp photos. An important factor in wildlife photography. It offered me a little more zoom, so I could get a little closer to my subjects. Again, good for wildlife photography. It is relatively fast at 2.8, so I can use it in low-light situations. It is not too bulky, so I don’t feel as if I am lugging around an anvil. It is a great lens.

I use it mostly for wildlife photography, but also landscape as it offers some nice cropped in compositions, so you can control more of what you include in the composition without having to crop later.

I also use it for portraits, mostly self portraits of me hugging a tree or frolicking in the ferns.

Sigma 16mm 1.4

I was looking for a wide lens and came across this piece. After looking at a lot of example images and reading reviews, I was convinced this was the lens for me. I was also attracted to this lens due to how fast it is at 1.4, it allows me to shoot at quite low light conditions, at dawn and dusk. This is great, as this is when I am taking the majority of my photos.

I use this lens mostly for landscape, as you can get a lot into the frame with such a wide angle. I like how crispy the photos are and how it is quite small, so again no lugging required.

It is also great when you wish to take photos of something in your hand, such as flowers, a leave, or a prop of some description as the minimum focusing distance is 25cm.

This lens is also reportedly great for astro-photography due to being wide and fast, so I will have to test this out soon.

Sony 85mm 1.8

This is the first lens that I invested in and I have no regrets. I love this lens still. It is great for portraits, landscape, and also wildlife photography. Believe it or not, I use this lens for my first year as a wildlife photographer and you can get some wild and cool shots of animals using this lens. It does require patience though, with it not being a telephoto. Most of the time, I simply sat and waited until a bird or animal wandered by and then snapped a portrait of them.

Manfrotto Tripod

This was gifted to me by my mum after I wrecked my last tripod with seawater and sand. It was so rusty, that it would take a human with legit iron arms or something to extend the legs. So, my mum was kind enough to give me her tripod that she never used. I love the Manfrotto because it is so cute and small. So, easy to lug around in its bag. It is like the Chihuahua of tripods - and it’s red, so you know its cool.

The handle is great, for videos as you can pan around - or if you want to take a panning shot, then this is also great for that. The legs extend out, if you wish to take a higher up shot.

I use the tripod for long exposures, for videos, and also when I am taking photos with me in it.

Peak Design Wrist Strap

This one is legitimately a life saver. Well, a camera saver. The amount of times I have nearly lost my camera in the lake or ocean, only to be saved by the peak design wrist strap is a lot. How this works is you have a bit that goes around your wrist, a bit that attaches to your camera, and you simply click the two together.

Gives you a little piece of mind that you are not going to drop your camera on the floor and smash it.

Bag

I have an old Sony bag that was gifted to me - because they did not want it. So, that was cool. It is a basic bag really, has room for my camera, my batteries and SD cards and my phone, which is all I need really.

So there you have it, a list of all the gear I use currently. Even though I like my gear, I do not think that it defines me as a photographer. You define yourself as a photographer, the camera, the lens, the bag - well they are simply tools you use to be able to express all the wondrous and creative ideas you have brewing in your brain.

Gear