UPDATED 2023-04-11
This page is a list of my most prominent current gear. Some items are supplied with a short comment.
Links may be affiliate links.
The bestest
This is the gear I currently use and appreciate the most: M1 MacBook Air. The Sony A7RV with the 12-24ƒ2.8 lens. DJI Mavic 3 Classic and Mini 3 Pro drones. F-stop ICUs. Boreas Erawan hybrid bags. Manfrotto MT190CXPRO3 tripod. Vеlbоn UТ-43D ІІ tripod.
NEWEST
April 2023: Focusing more on video, the audio gear needs upgrades. A Tascam Portacapture X8 field recorder, Sennheiser MKE 440 stereo shotgun microphone and the Sony MDR-7506 monitoring headphones should serve my needs for some time.
January 2023: My second Mini 3 Pro is dead, having encountered a concrete church steeple. Luckily, a replacement could be ordered without a controller. And Care Refresh insurance.
December 2022: DJI Mavic 3 Classic + battery + propellers + filters. The Mavic 3s are still expensive, but finally within range, especially as I can reuse my Mini 3 Pro controller. Oh, and Care Refresh insurance, as drones are fragile and has a tendency to get injured or die.
December 2022: Zoom F2: 32 bit float audio.
November 2022: Sony Xperia 5 IV. Because of the cameras and huge black week savings. Still a pile of shi**y nagware and bloatware. Totally useless as a phone, as it drops most calls.
November 2022: The α7R IVA is returned as a trade in for the upcoming α7R V. The omission of a swivel screen has been one of the biggest issues shooting with Sony. So, finally that’s fixed.
May 2022: DJI Mini 3 Pro RC fly more kit drone. Because light and quiet. I really like that it is so unobtrusive. Update July 2022: The Mini 3 got attacked by a flock of oystercatchers and got lost. Had to buy a replacement.
April 2022: Cheapest option Mac Studio desktop computer. Because the Mac mini is a little weak and very port fatigued.
March 2022: The long awaited Peak Design Mobile system has finally arrived, using a combination of magnetic and lock grip. I use this for all kinds of small gear, not just mobile.
Older gear history at the bottom of the page.
As of October 2018 I switched from Canon to Sony full frame. This is my current Sony kit:
- Sony α7R V body @Amazon (with one fast Sony Tough SDXC Class 10 UHS-II U3 V90 300/299MB/s 128GB card and one slow 512 GB Lexar Professional SILVER series V30 card).
- Sony α7R III body @Amazon (with two 256 GB Samsung EVO microSDXC UHS-I U3 cards)
- Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM @Amazon
- Sony FE 12-24 mm F2.8 GM
- Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM
- Sony FE 24-240 mm F3,5–6,3 OSS superzoom lens
- Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS
- Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 @Amazon
- Godox TT350S Mini Thinklite TTL Flash @Amazon
- Lensbaby Velvet 85
- Sony FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
- Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter
Four years with Sony update: Still going strong, but the competition is very close (and have somewhat surpassed) while Sony unfortunately seems to have stalled somewhat. Sony has great glass and a great glass line-up, but the narrow E-mount diameter limits stabilisation. All the flagship cameras are pretty great now, which I guess is a good thing. Too bad all cameras has become really expensive. The one glaring omission they all lack is 32bit float audio recording. That should be the standard on all cameras.
Bags (and such)
Boreas Erawan 70L is my favourite bag by far. I have bought eight of these, two 50 litres and six 70 litres. Five of them in regular use, and three for future replacement when necessary. The Erawan is more of a hybrid duffel/backpack than a camera bag. It is well built with impressively smart features and attention to detail. The 70 litres fit the entire case for the DJI Phantom 4. Light weight. Good zippers. No padding. I use padded packing cubes for camera gear, making the Erawan a modular camera and everything else bag. Unfortunately Boreas is out of business and the bags long gone from market.
F-Stop ICUs. I have lots of different sizes ICUs from F-stop, and pack them according to the occasion. They usually get stuffed into an Erawan, but can also work as camera bags on their own.
Sea to Summit See pouches are great for organizing cables, adapters etc. Good zipper. One transparent side.
Thick Zip lock bags are great for cables and stuff that are not used that often.
Thin zip bags are also great for organizing cables and stuff.
Other cameras
Gopro Hero 6
For all the times I never do anything sporty.
Gopro Hero 10
Stabilization. However, the camera is so buggy that it is practically unusable.
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact, Z3 Compact, Z5 compact, XZ1 Compact, 5II, 5 IV
Rather crappy phones with loads of insistent nagware, but unfortunately the only option for as small as high end Android smartphones get. Weather resistant. Great battery life on the XZ1 and the 5II. 5 IV drops calls, so unusable as a phone. I wish for a small, less than 5 inch screen, Android flagship phone with an ultra-wide camera.
My full camera history list (somewhat reverse chronologically as of purchase): Sony A7R V, Sony A7R IV A, Insta360 OneX, Polaroid SLR 680, Sony Cyber-shot DSC RX100 VI, Sony A7RIII, Sony A7III, Canon 80D, Gopro Hero 6, Olympus Tough TG-5, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2000, Canon G7 X, Gopro Hero 4 Silver, Canon 5D mark II, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000, Canon S110, Canon SX50 HS, Canon 5D mark III, Canon G11, Canon 7D, Canon G9, Canon 450D, Canon 300D, FujiFilm 4700 Zoom, FujiFilm FinePix A202, Canon IXUS L1
Lenses
My current shooting style means I mostly shoot with the 16-35mm super wide zoom and then the macro. Historically though, my most used lenses has been the Canon 70-200 IS and the 15-85mm IS, plus the FZ Lumix lenses.
My lens history list (somewhat reverse chronologically as of purchase): Sony FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS, Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM, Sony Sony FE 85mm, Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro, Sony FE 16-35mm f/4, Sony FE 24-240 mm, Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM, Tamron 90mm f/2.8 SP AF Di Macro, Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 VC, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
Flying cameras and motion tools
I love drones as they give such a unique perspective both for stills and motion. I’ve killed quite a few Phantom 3s and 4s (well, one — the others were DJI’s fault if you ask me). And sold a Mavic Pro. I wish I could afford an Inspire with some proper glass.
I currently use:
DJI Mavic 3 Classic
Great image quality, bad GPS.
DJI Mini 3 Pro
I’m on my third Mini 3 Pro. They’re that good.
Retired:
DJI Phantom 4 Pro v2
Doesn’t fly straight, doesn’t even hover straight. Brand new and updated. Come on DJI!
REPAIRED AFTER CRASH: The best image quality for a “normal” drone. Still crap software, expect crashing and a compass on the frizz. Unsharp corners and edges in stills. This one is especially blurry on the right side.
DJI Mavic Air @Amazon
A lot smaller and lighter than both the Phantoms and the Mavic Pros. Barely usable image quality, short battery life.
DJI Air 2S Fly more combo. Smaller and lighter than P4Pro, and a lot cheaper than the flawed Mavic 3.
DJI Mini 3 Pro RC fly more kit. Because light and quiet.
Smartta SliderMini 2
I’ve been very unhappy with the first SliderMini, so I should not have bought the 2. But I am a sucker for gear, and the premise for the SliderMini is good… if they only do it right this time. One year later I still haven’t used it.
Computers and such
Desktop computer:
Mac studio M1 Max
Replacing the Mac mini for the office. More ports, more powwa.
MacBook Air M1
The screen is better than my 2012 MBP and the battery/power management is far superior. But the ports, keyboard and expandability of the venerable MBP is still better. So it doesn‘t feel like an upgrade, more like a ‘sidegrade’. Upgraded to 16GB RAM and 2TB hard drive, so quite expensive for such a small machine.
MacBook Pro mid 2012
The last proper MacBook. Fully specced to the i7 processor, 16 GB RAM, a 1 TB SSD plus a 4 TB SSD. Sadly only a 720 screen and unfortunately only external support for WQXGA monitors, so no 4K. Currently used as a backup computer.
External drives:
WD My Book Duo V2 20TB
Because video needs space. Large capacity and pretty fast in RAID 0. Makes noise. Nagware. Spins down and freeze the Mac for 30 seconds while it spins up again. Sometimes longer. Disconnects. Nice case design, otherwise a horrible product, not recommended. Piece of sh**. Had to be replaced once, totally died. Even so I now have three of these. Because money is expensive.
Seagate Backup Plus Fast 4TB
These are unfortunately hard to get these days. I have four of them. Small and fast. Highly recommended.
Seagate Expansion Portable Drive 4TB
Backups for the above. Great price, good look. I think I have seven of these.
SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB
All of the portable SSDs are small, light, fast and expensive. I just happened to like the rugged look of the SanDisk Extreme.
Samsung Samsung 860 EVO 4TB & 8TB SSD
An internal drive that I use as an external drive. For my Lightroom catalogue. With more than 250,000 images, some of them 60 megapixels heavily edited raw files, Lightroom needs all the help it can get.
Audio gear
Since Sony does not update the PCM-D100.
Sennheiser MKE 440 stereo shotgun microphone
Stereo, good sound, terrible build quality and design.
Sony MDR-7506 monitoring headphones
Good, cheap, what so many other use, so it’s a good reference.
1x Sennheiser ew 100 ENG G3 wireless mic system @Amazon
This used to be the industry standard for wireless audio.
Røde Wireless Go II
Small and handy. Unfortunately not true float recording, I guess that’s for the next version.
BOYA wireless microphone kit
My backup system.
No batteries needed, great for vlogging.
Sounds a little better. Unless there is any wind, then it sounds terrible, even with full fur.
No batteries needed, great for vlogging.
Røde VideoMic Me
No batteries needed, great for vlogging. Questionable build quality.
Flash/Strobes
LightPix Labs FlashQ Q20 II
Brilliant concept. Version one had a couple of flaws (mostly the trigger), version two is better.
Mettle
Two 600 Ws studio strobe workhorses.
Godox flashes since Godox rules the flash/strobe market now.
One Godox TT600 @Amazon
One Godox TT350S @Amazon
One YongNuo Speedlite YN 560
A Chinese copy of the YongNuo Chinese copy of the Canon Speedlite. Low build quality and dirt cheap. Great as a backup and to add a little power.
Lighting
Not that powerful, but versatile and great value. Bicolour and high CRI.
Aputure MC
It has lighting effects.
Itotin L2 RGB video light
Another high CRI mini panel with lighting effects.
Tons of powerful daylight balanced CFL-bulbs. Now mostly used for lighting construction work.
Headlamps
Read my take on headlamps for photographers over at Mediarena.
Legs
When I want things sturdy and tall and I have a car close by.
Manfrotto MT190CXPRO3
Sometimes the 535 is too big to lug around. @Amazon
Benro
Benro A2970T
Piece of shit. Will never again use twist lock tripods. Well, except for:
Velbon tripods and monopods
I really like Velbon. The company is quite innovative. They invented a unique twist lock system, since copied by China. Support the original. Great for light weight use. Not so good quick release system.
I almost always bring my favorite tripod, the Velbon UT-43D II with a QHD-33 head with an arca mount. Though not all that stable or strong, it does give me 155 cm height while being only 26.5 cm packed and weighing less than 1.1 kg. When in need of something sturdier, I choose one of the Manfrottos.
Leofoto MT-03 pocket mini tripod
The greatest caveat with the Velbon UT-43D II is that it doesn’t get closer to the ground than approx. 30 centimeters. So I also bring a Leofoto MT-03. Despite its small size and weight of no more than 162 grams, it is quite strong and sturdy.
Joby micro folding tripods
The Joby Micro, and especially the Micro Hybrid tripod, are brilliant. The Micro Hybrid is small enough to fit into a pants watch pocket, but is rated for holding up 800 grams of camera. Joby also has the best smartphone holder, called the GripTight.
Heads
As there is no really good hybrid photo/video head on the market, I am still looking for the best hybrid head. These are what I currently have to choose from:
Quick Release
I try to standardize on Arca Swiss compatible quick release gear. Unfortunately, even Arca Swiss compatible gear is not always that compatible.
As I now use the Peak Design Capture Camera Clip V3, that is the plate I mostly use (it is Arca Swiss compatible).
Peak Design Capture V3
Great concept for carrying a camera, but I dropped the Capture V1 as it dropped my camera on several occasions. So far the V3 seems to be smaller, prettier, smoother and sturdier. However, while the V1 plate unscrewed, the V3 clip screws unscrews and the Capture falls off my belt. With my A73 plunging into asphalt. Twice. So there‘s that. I’m not using it on my belt anymore, and will never ever do so again.
Charging
I try to standardize USB charging, especially for traveling. Devices that can be both powered and charged via USBC is preferable.
Xiaomi ZI5 charger
Smallest AA/AAA USB powered charger that charges each battery individually. Can also work as a power bank. Get the old (expensive) version for this.
Big, noisy, ugly, but also very versatile charger.
Nitecore Intellicharger i4
Does four round cells up to size 18650. Not a bad charger, but neither a great one.
Ansmann Digicharger Vario Traveller Universal Charger
Charges both AA, AAA and camera batteries. Unfortunately does not work with USB power. A litte fiddly to charge the camera batteries. Useless screen.
Freeloader Camcaddy 2 Universal Camera Battery Charger
Both 12V and USB-powered for charging camera batteries. I wish it also did AAs. Does not charge my Sony batteries. Quite handy, my favorite charger for a while. One caught on fire with av China Lumix replacement battery. Now basically retired.
Power Banks
I like car power banks. They’re big, but extremely versatile if you buy the right ones. I jump start my cars (4L gasoline and 2.1L diesel engines), power my MacBook laptop via DC, charge whatever via USB-A and have a handy and long lasting flash light ready. Great gear for the car, while traveling or while hiking.
Omnicharge Omnia 20+ 71 WH, AC, DC, USB-C PD, USB QC, Qi
Extremely versatile power bank. Also very expensive as similar power banks without AC, DC and Qi cost one fifth of this wonder.
USB-PD power banks
I have a couple of 100W output power banks so I can use my Intel MacBook (via adapter) for an extra couple of minutes.
Great product that really saved me from a dead car battery. The one negative is the input port/charger. Now outdated, no USB-C.
Car Rover 60C Discharge Rate 800A Peak Portable Car Jump Starter
Basically the same as the other. Higher output USB ports and LCD display, lower mAh. Now outdated, no USB-C.
Imazing Portable Car Jump Starter 2500A Peak 12V Battery 20000mAH USB Power Bank
My latest and most powerful jump starter, USB-C.
Krisdonia 185Wh/50000mAh Power Bank QC3.0
Rather bulky and very heavy, but can power both a camera and an external monitor for hours of video recording. Badly designed pouch. Cumbersome charging. Now outdated, as it lacks USB PD.
Tomo K2 Combined flashlight, battery caddy, charger and power bank with two swappable 18650s. Brilliant concept, stupid button design. Quickly self discharges.
ANCIENT HISTORY:
November 2021: I thought the 14mm would be more than wide enough, but unfortunately it is not wide enough for architectural work. So I jumped on a black friday offer on the FE 12-24 mm F2.8 GM. Even so, ouch.
November 2021: Laowa 24mm f/14 2X macro probe lens for more unique perspectives.
November 2021: With new YouTube plans comes new needs, so a Seek Thermal CompactPro thermal imaging camera is in the bag.
October 2021: The use of drones is pretty restricted inside cities, so I am trying to build a system to somewhat counter that unfortunate reality. One step is todays purchase of the B.I.G. MC-3M Monopod XXL Carbon, plus the Insta360 Extended Edition Selfie Stick (new version).
October 2021: A big city (in Norwegian terms) and 14mm ultrawide revealed that I need an abundance of megapixels for cropping those corrected close quarter architectural shots. Thus a Sony A7R IV A is bought and my A7III sold.
September 2021: I will be traveling by air again soon, so I need a travel friendly drone with good image quality. My first gen DJI Air is good enough for personal/hiking use, but for IQ future-proofing I have reluctantly updated to the greatly improved Air 2S, even though it unfortunately lacks video-essential variable aperture.
August 2021: Bought a new specialty lens, the Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM. This is primarily for auroras, but also for other landscapes and for architecture. Great lens, sharp, but hit or miss autofocusing.
March 2021: Audio kit upgraded to the Røde Wireless Go II system.
March 2021: M1 Mac Mini and M1 MacBook Air. Both needs more USB ports, the Air at least one USB-A. USB-C connections are wonky. The Air has painfully sharp edges. Too large trackpad, behaves wonky. Impossible to clean, inanely stupid power on system. I regret buying the stellar grey, as it has a tint of purple. Keyboard better than expected, though not as good as on my old MacBook Pro. Good battery life for such a small machine. Good speakers, otherwise very quiet. Don’t like Big Sur, it is buggy and ugly.
January 2021: Omnicharge Omni 20+ power bank. It has AC out. Plus a couple of other PD 100W power banks.
December 2020: Sony Xperia 5 II phone. Piece of crap. As a photographer it is great to have different lenses. Both for the phone photos themselves and as a tool to check composition before using the big gear. Other than that I wouldn‘t recommend this phone as it has some serious flaws. It is super smooth all over, as if Sony intentionally made it to be dropped and smashed. It is too tall, thus both unbalanced and impossible to use one-handed. Sony has also added a lot of bloatware that can not be deleted, which I find unacceptable on an expensive phone. The Google Assistant button is an annoyance, and it is not possible to remap or disable it. Sony has always had its smartphone quirks, but in 2020 they should not make mistakes like this. They are not in a position to do so. I wish someone would make a clean Android version of the iPhone 12 mini. I’d say the 5 II is the worst phone I have ever had besides perhaps the Motorola DynaTAC.
December 2020: As a photographer I need lens filters for filming and long exposures. But filters are a pain to deal with, even simple screw-on filters. So I am trying out Kase magnetic filters. It’s not a big usability difference, but hopefully just a little bit less hassle to deal with.
March 2020: Insta360 OneX. I was very reluctant to jump on the 360-bandwagon as I have never liked the fisheye look. Even the GoPro has way too much distortion for my taste. But the stabilization and ability to crop to any direction in post is brilliant. Unfortunately not quite reliable (e.g. if the battery runs out, which happens fast in the cold, recordings are not saved), resulting i moments lost.
January 2020: The new decennial started with a golden very oldie as I bought my first Polaroid, model SLR 680 – a camera launched as far back as in 1982. It kind of raises the stakes when every shot costs almost $3. Then another first, as I bought a Panasonic Lumix Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2000 – for the second time, after I sold my first FZ2000 over a year ago. I just missed it so much, as despite its flaws it is a very well-rounded camera – with built-in ND-filters.