All the gear I’ve used to create my adventure videos - 2023
Cameras
An old but competent full-frame mirrorless camera. The Sony A7iii offers fantastic image quality and the ability to shoot 4K through spectacular Sony FE glass. I own 2 of them! I’ve made a blog post about the Sony A7iii here.
A small low-cost handheld gimbal & camera. Shoots reasonable 4K, but often needs de-noising and lacks light sensitivity. DJI’s Pocket 2 is great for the size and cost.
A decent little action cam. The 4K footage is incredibly good in decent light, it lacks still image quality, but it’s very robust. I tested the Action 3 in the rain on this YouTube Short
Lenses - For Sony FE Cameras
Samyang 12mm f2.8 ED AS NCS Fisheye
An interesting little lens from Samyang. Manual focus and that huge fisheye view with all the distortion. It looks lovely at f2.8 in the right circumstances. I took it out into the Rhinogydd in Snowdonia in this YouTube video. I find it’s a decent option on the Sony Alpha cameras when shooting video due to the ability to quickly crop in and out with an assigned APS-C mode switch. There’s a blog post about the Samyang 12mm Fisheye Lens here.
A great lens to walk around with. Interestingly though, the other version of this lens, the Sony 16-35mm f2.8 GM is far more popular. I chose this f4 Zeiss version because it’s mostly for gimbal work. It’s smaller, light and also far cheaper than the f2.8 GM. It’s fast enough for video, super sharp, and the inbuilt stabilisation makes it incredibly good for use on a gimbal, a slider, or even handheld. See the BLOG POST.
A great wide-angle prime. Small, light and optically brilliant. I use it a lot for astrophotography, and it has now become my go-to lens for landscape timelapse work. Read about it HERE.
A small cheap 24mm lens from Samyang. Light and compact, about as cheap a lens as you’re likely to find for Sony FE cameras.
My favourite everyday lens, but often disregarded by many due to it being slow at f3.5-6.3 and having some optical flaws. Its versatility and ease on a long difficult hike or climb make this my favourite Sony FE lens. I did some POV photography in this YouTube video.
Sigma 50mm f1.4 DG HSM Art Lens
Love this lens! Gorgeous shallow depth of field shots with beautiful bokeh. I’ve used it a lot for Astro pics and tent and cooking sequences in my videos, like at this point in this video. I also did a bit of POV photography in rubbish dark conditions in this YouTube video, or see the blog post.
A fast, medium telephoto prime lens from Samyang. The 85mm T1.5 is designed for video use, and offers something a little different, with its huge smooth aperture, shallow depth of field and toothed gearing. Check out the blog post.
Samyang 100mm f2.8 ED UMC Macro Lens
Why the f do I own this? Hahahaha I have no idea. Samyang’s 100mm macro is a fun and relatively cheap lens. I took it out on a YouTube Video in my local park.
A fast telephoto prime lens from Samyang. The 135mm f1.8 is a bokeh monster, often named a “portrait lens”, whatever that means. I try to use it to capture things differently. Beautiful bit of glass. Check out the blog post.
Sony FE 200-600mm f5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens
The beast! Rarely used, (and hard to justify keeping) but I love using this lens when I take it out. It’s remarkably good at 600mm and fun to play around with. An expensive toy. I tried my hand at reviewing it in this YouTube video, and have a BLOG POST about it.
Drones
An incredible little drone. The only drone I’m currently recommending.
I know a thing or two about unmanned aerials (look me up on LinkedIn), I started with a 4.7 million dollar unmanned aerial system. This little thing is game-changing. I could wax lyrical about drones for longer than you could bear, but I won’t. This is the only drone I would currently recommend to 99% of people I know. The DJI Mini 3 pro is fantastic. I love making hyperlapse videos with it in particular, check out this YouTube video for an idea of what’s possible.
Microphones
A great little all round mic. Easy to use.
My favourite mic. The feature-packed NTG is awesome, I use it in a whole bunch of my YouTube videos. Internal battery with auto-sensing power on/off. Highly directional. Variable gain dial. Filters and safety channel options. Brilliant. Recommended.
I started using the DJI mic for the talking bits to the camera in late 2022. For a real-world example, the first use was HERE in a video on top of Pen yr Ole Wen mountain in Snowdonia. These are incredible little things. I chose the DJI mic over the Rode wireless mainly due to the ease of use as independent recorders, something that was a bit of a faff with the Rode. Early days, but very impressed with the DJI set so far.
Grip
A double suction mount that I use for mounting a mirrorless camera to vehicles.
A triple suction cup mount that I use for mounting action cams to vehicles. Brilliant. I think I trust this more than the SM4.
A small lightweight handheld 3-axis gimbal from DJI. Works wonderfully with the Sony Alpha cameras and multiple lens setups. I use it a lot from vehicles, but it’s also great to use making timelapse and motionlapse videos. Here’s a motionlapse tutorial Youtube video, great fun.
A bigger, and “pro” version of a lightweight gimbal from DJI. The Ronin RS3 Pro is small but mighty, I’ve even used it with a Sony A7iii and the Sony 200-600mm lens, see this BLOG POST. It’ll take a whole bunch of interesting payloads, and it comes works with the Raveneye image transmitter and focus/zoom motor.
TILTA Dual Handle Gimbal Support Vest
I use this with the DJI Ronin RS3 Pro to take the weight off my ageing bones. It has a heavy-duty belt with DJI Ronin receptacle and an elasticated strap chest harness. Great, once you get passed the fear of looking like a goon in public.
The GVM GT-60D, a motorised camera slider from GVM, Great Video Maker (yes, really!). A cheap and cheerful camera slider that I’ve been very impressed with and am happy to recommend. I made a review and field test YouTube video, and wrote a blog post HERE too. I’ve used it in a few of my hiking films, it makes for wonderful establishing shots and can add a real cinematic feel to your content. I used it a lot in this hammock camping video, and even use it for timelapse, see this BLOG POST.
A cheap little miniature tripod from Manfrotto. I use it for GoPros and action cams but it’s also meaty enough to hold a mirrorless camera with short lenses.
I’m a big fan of this popular tripod. The Manfrotto tripod is heavy enough to withstand “most” mountain winds… It has a big footprint, a decent height, and is quick to adjust while wearing gloves.
Benro 35C Tortoise Tripod with GX35 Ball Head
A lightweight, centre column-less but relatively tall carbon fibre tripod from Benro. The 35C is from their tortoise range, it allows for near-ground level shots while maintaining the ability to operate at near head height. Read about it in more detail in THIS BLOG POST.
Accessories
I’m a big fan of using strong ND filters for daylight timelapse work. 10-Stop ND1000s are a favourite of mine, I have these for a few different lenses and my drones. You’ll find a few examples of me using them in this YouTube video.
Lowepro makes excellent backpacks. I have the 400AW and the 500AW. They’re both superb.
Editing and Software
I use BackBlaze. They backup my computer and all connected drives to the cloud 24/7. It’s easy, and invaluable.
Yes, no one likes to admit using this, but as we push the boundaries of what’s possible from smaller and smaller camera sensors, think drones and gimbals. Advanced AI noise reduction software is incredible.
I use a NEAT video Final Cut Pro plugin. It’s phenomenally good.
I use TOPAZ Gigapixel, a lot! I highly recommend this software.
I like to edit in Final Cut Pro using an iMac. Go on, treat yourself. Without getting into the whole Apple V Microsoft debate, if you want to edit video at a prosumer level, get an iMac, no factor.
Most of my normal video editing is with Final Cut Pro, I keep it pretty simple. I’ll occasionally use Adobe After Effects for something more advance or its Warp Stabilser, which is fantastic.
I use a great piece of software called LRTimelpapse to ramp and smooth my timelapse sequences. Highly recommended.
Hiking and Camping
I use this basic cheap and cheerful hammock kit.
I don’t get it out much, and when I do it’s usually in the garden. See it in action in this YouTube video. They’re great value for money, £20-£30. No nonsense.
I use the MSR Elixir 3 tent quite a lot. It’s big enough for me to stretch out in and sit up in, at 6’2” and 18 stone. It still has plenty of room inside and two large porch areas for your wet gear. I’ll use this for anywhere that only requires a short hike, or when I take the kids out.
I avoid windy weather, but I’ve had it out in an exposed location with 30-knot gusts and it was fine. It’s not the smallest tent, and it’s not the lightest, but neither am I.
A new addition for 2023. I’ve added the MSR Elixir 1 to my inventory, having been so happy with the Elixir 3, I added this to save a bit of space and a KG or so while out on longer solo hikes. Brilliant little tent.
Keeps all the high-quality robustness of the Elixir 3, it’s just smaller.
I’ve been through a lot of bags before finally settling down with this one for a few years now. It holds a huge 100l of volume within its 600D heavy-duty nylon.
I’m regularly out with 20-25kg in it. It’s comfortable and reliable.
£100 to boil some water?
You can’t go wrong with a JetBoil, just get one and stop faffing around with anything else. I don’t do anything fancy when I’m out in the wilderness. Just make black coffee, pot noodles, steak and liver. Simple, like me. This does the job nicely.
Fast and efficient. No hassle.
Here we go again… £40 to fry a steak?
Yes. Just get it. It’s designed to work properly with the JetBoil stove and your food won’t stick. It’s easy to clean, light to carry and comes with a little fabric bag. You’ll need the pan support too, and steak.
I always get asked the same question about the Buffalo shirts I wear. At around £200, are they worth it?
Yes, absolutely. They’re the best mountain shirts, bar none. I’ll hike in them in very cold weather, and wear one around a campsite or while doing photography at night for maybe 9 months of the year.
I own a Buffalo Special 6 jacket in both green and black, the old green one is getting on for 20 years old and is still in great condition. I estimate the cost per wear to be around a penny. Not bad.
The black Special 6 one I keep for best. You know, weddings and stuff.