Landscape Photography:
mostly Anglesey, Snowdonia & North Wales

My Gear for Stills & Filming

I’m often asked about the equipment I use.

This is the location to which I refer all enquiries, and I make sure I keep it up to date as things change.

Over the last 3 years I have incrementally tweaked what I use. Ensuring everything is as lightweight as possible whilst still functioning extremely well for photography and filmmaking. Despite my approach being relatively cost conscious, everything I carry has to meet rigorous standards of quality and convenience!

My Favourite Guide Book:

NOTE:

Links here are affiliate links to the actual items I have bought. If you follow any of them and proceed to purchase I will receive a small commission but you won’t pay a penny more than the list price. So, very many thanks if you help me out.

PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR:

Olympus OM-D E-M1 mk2

I talk about my decision to adopt the micro four thirds format and specifically this Olympus system in some detail in my video #070

Olympus M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro

This lens now accounts for at least 90% of my images. It is superb. It rarely leaves my camera body. It replaced the f/4 12-100.

Olympus M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro

The optics on this are superb, and despite the excellent quality and reach not too heavy. Usually carry this even if hiking long distances.

MC-20 Teleconverter

Weather-sealed and excellent quality. Great for getting detail on distant peaks! Loses 2 stops but no problem on a tripod. Note: only fits the 40-150mm and the MZ 300mm prime.

Olympus M.Zuiko 14-150mm f/4.0 to f/5.6

I bought this as a lightweight option to pair with my EM5 and have found it to be an excellent walkabout lens. In fact, I have stopped using my pro lens in favour of this because it’s half the weight!

Amazon Basics 52-Inch Carbon Fibre Tripod

Recently replaced my heavier tripod with this lightweight travel one, very cheap and does the job perfectly well.

WANDRD Tech Pouch – Large

This very weatherproof pouch holds everything I need both photo & video. It easily attaches to a tripod leg, and I can transfer it between bags without leaving anything behind.

E1 Lightweight Mini Ball-Head

I found that the ball head on my tripod was unnecessarily heavy, and replaced it with this excellent mini version, just 170g.

Peak Design – V3 Capture Camera Clip

Once you learn to trust that this is engineered to be secure, it is a brilliant way to carry your camera ready to use at any time.

Formatt Hitech Firecrest 85mm Holder Kit

I switched to these from Cokin, As they have a much more usable CPL rotation system and better engineering.

Formatt Hitech Firecrest 85mm ND Grad Filter

Very good quality glass and soft graduation. It does the job very well for me and is the only graduated filter which I carry.

Nuances ND1024 10-Stop Filter

This is a carryover from my old Cokin system, but it’s an excellent quality filter with no colour cast for a great price so I’m still quite happy to use it.

Nuances ND64 6-Stop Filter

This is a carryover from my old Cokin system, but it’s an excellent quality filter with no colour cast for a great price so I’m still quite happy to use it.

JJC Wireless Remote Shutter Controller

A very good quality but extremely competitively priced wireless remote. Are use this a great deal especially for long exposures and blending.

Olympus BLH-1 Battery

And essential item to carry of course, but I only need one spare as I find, even for a full day out, I very rarely need to switch batteries.

Atlas Athlete Backpack

atlas

Outrageously expensive. And yet… just perfect in every way and worth every penny! Here’s a love-letter to it: How I finally decided on a camera bag!

VIDEO GEAR:

Olympus OM-D E-M5 mk3

I wanted to improve my video quality beyond what the Sony RX100 can do and also use it as a walkabout lightweight stills camera when not making videos.

Sony RX100 mkVII Camera

I still use this indoors and as a B video camera. It copes far better with low light and high dynamic range sunlight than small action cameras.

Rode VideoMic NTG Shotgun Mic

I bought this to compliment the Wireless Go (also shown here), as there are times when I’m close enough to the vlogging camera to make life easier with a good shotgun. It’s also a great USB mic for the studio.

Rode Wireless Go Mic

I can run high-quality audio into any device I happen to be using, without needing to be wired up leaving me free to pace about!

DJI Osmo Pocket Camera

This used to be my main video camera but I found it struggled sometimes in tricky light. So it’s still a handy spare, and does great time lapses.

Vanguard VEO 2GO 235CB Carbon Fibre Travel Tripod

A great lightweight choice. Works very well as a selfie stick with the gimbal attached, and is a stable tripod. A brief review in my video #115

Rode Smartlav+ Lavalier Mic

I use this with my wireless system as I find it gives me the best sound when out and about recording. It’s much better in high winds than a shot gun mic.

DJI Mavic Mini Drone

A brilliantly compact drone to keep in my backpack. I don’t use it often but when I do the video is excellent and it certainly lifts any production.

Olympus 9-18mm f/4.0 – F/ 5.6

This excellent wide angle lens lives on my EM5 for video work. I’ve also used it for stills from time to time, but it’s mostly for vlogging.

FeiyuTech AK2000C Gimbal

I haven’t had this very long, but it’s already made an appearance in a couple of videos using my EM5. It’s really easy to balance and use and create some great footage.

Falcon Eyes F7 RGB LED Video Light

An excellent LED video light running to about 5000 lumens and with full RGB control. Its 3000 mAh battery lasts a good couple of hours.

Polaroid Optics Variable 2-400 ND Filter 52mm

Very useful on my video camera for controlling shutter speed to reach 180° rule in standard daylight conditions.

I’m often asked about the equipment I use. You'll now find details of most of it on my: Gear Page.

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