“What camera do you use?” I get asked this from time to time and well, it’s really not that simple of a question. I don’t think camera gear is everything and I especially don’t think it’s the best idea to go out and buy what someone else has unless you know (or are willing to learn) how to use it. But even with that said, I know it’s still fun to peek into someone else’s camera bag and see what they’re working with. I’ve dug through our camera bag and made this list of our some of our most-used gear and accessories. Sometimes I pack light and only take one lens out with me, sometimes I bring a tripod, and sometimes I shoot film (yes, film!)… and other times I’ll take the whole bag with me and bargain with Nick to carry it for me half-way through the day. In any case, here’s a few things from our bag that I use the most often, with more stuff likely to be added here over time.
Nikon D750
Sigma 20mm f/1.4 Art
I recently traded in my Nikkor 14-24 f/2.8 for the Sigma 20mm f/1.4 Art as I worked on converting over to a prime-only roster of lenses. The Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art lens caught my eye but I opted to go with the 20mm because I was never really a huge fan of the distortion when pushing the Nikkor 14-24 all the way. I figured the 20mm would be more in my wheelhouse and so far, I’m very happy with my choice and recommend it to anybody looking for a great wide angle option. Really, you can’t go wrong with any of the Sigma Art lenses.
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art
Hands-down, my favorite lens and the one I shoot with the most. Fast, sharp, and stunning color quality, the Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art produces gorgeous images straight out of camera, opens up to 1.4, and produces the most wonderfully rich and distinctive bokeh. This is a dream lens and I don’t know how I ever got by without it.
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art
Before our fall 2017 Asia trip, I ditched my Nikkor 28-300mm zoom lens and decided to get the Sigma 85mm 1.4 Art lens. Ditching the zoom for a prime was a move I wasn’t sure I’d end up liking but after coming back from the trip, I don’t have much regret. Sigma’s Art lenses are amazing and I’m really happy to now be shooting exclusively with them. Sometimes I miss the flexibility of the long zoom but most of the time it’s not actually necessary for my needs and the fixed focal length forces me to be a little more creative, which is definitely not a bad thing. I’d like to eventually add Sigma’s 135mm 1.8 to my bag and then I think I’ll really be set.
SanDisk Extreme PRO 64GB SD Card
I recently switched to these SanDisk cards after using Transcend SD cards for years. My Transcend cards held out for years of heavy use until they recently started repeatedly corrupting so I switched to these cards which are faster and, so far, seem more reliable.
LensPen UltraPro Lens Cleaner
Affordable, lightweight and super handy for on-the-go lens cleaning. I always make sure to have one or two of these in my camera bag, no matter how much gear I’m lugging around.
Anker PowerCore 13000 C
Live-Tweeting or Instagramming your trip? Yeah, me too. We recently traded in our old power banks after the charging ports started breaking for a more reliable brand. With power banks continuing to drop in price and size as capacity increases, there’s not much reason to hunt for bargains anymore. We’re back with Anker, a good power bank brand, and trying out their PowerCore 13000 C model, so it’s significantly smaller in both size and capacity than our previous bank (20000 mAh) but it charges faster via USB-C, which could be a game-changer when traveling. I’m excited to test it out and put this charger through its paces and see if new USB-C power banks make the big difference I’m hoping for while traveling.
Peak Design Everyday Backpack 30L
