I only bought my first camera mid-2019, as I was lucky enough to be able to borrow equipment from my old workplace, Rubber Monkey. When I did pull the trigger though, I knew exactly what I wanted. Because of my experience with recommending gear to customers, I knew exactly what I wanted and what to buy given my budget. Today I want to to run you through my Camera Bag and explain why I have each item, because each item does have a very particular purpose. My goal was to have a kit that I could grow into and give me options to explore.

One of the most important things, and the item I decided on first, was my camera bag. Lowepro was always the brand, and I decided on this model as my partner Jaymee had the original version of this, and it was a great size with lots of pockets, and it fits my gear perfectly.

The hardest choice was which camera - I was trying to decide between the Pocket 4k and the Sony A7iii. I was very used to the Sony A7 series, and I knew it would be easier to use but the feature that sold me on the Pocket 4k was 10 bit RAW recording. I knew it wasn’t necessary with my skill level last year, but I could see that the versatility of RAW was something I would regret not having later down the line.

The next key part of my bag is my gimbal. Since the Pocket 4k doesn’t have stabilisation, this was essential while I train my ninja stance. Along with that, I have a cable to power the camera from the Ronin-S (power is an issue with the pocket!), and I also have a wireless follow focus, the Tilta Nucleus Nano. Since there’s no autofocus, this is necessary in order to actually have the subject in focus. It’s very smooth and just consistently works well!

I keep my camera in a Tilta half-cage permanently, which partially helps protect it, and gives me lots of mounting accessories, such as the T5 SSD holder. I also have an awesome Battery grip (seen in the bottom left of the photo above). This can power my camera for 2-3 hours, and gives me a huge amount of extra support so I can go handheld (something which I’m working on developing my skills). It also has a T5 SSD mount and can control my follow focus, double win!

At the moment, my lenses are very basic. I started with a 20mm Panasonic, I didn’t expect to like this lens much but I love it! It’s small, and it produces great images for its price tag. I use this lens most of the time, as I love the angle of view.

My other lens is an Olympus 12-40mm. I bought this as I needed more variety - more wide-angle for real estate, and more telephoto for weddings. It also has a focus clutch which makes it much easier to use with the follow focus. It’s image is nice, however I am planning on changing this to two prime lenses (a wide and a telephoto); I prefer prime lenses because I like to use my feet to composes, not zooming.

Last, but not least, is my front pocket. The items in here are all handy, but not used on every shoot.

• Neck strap - the poor mans gimbal, and a different way of shooting.

• ND filter which a must for sunny days!

• Spare propellors just in case I crash the drone.

• A microphone cable for when I need to use actual audio on the day.

• Electrical tape - I never leave home without it.

• Lens caps and thread adapters

• A spare focus ring

• Tools! I often need to change my rig to adapt to the shoot so these are vital.

That’s it - If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them!