Equipment & accessories

"Equipment we have used with some explanations for you – we hope this is useful, please ask any questions."

Gear Talk: Choosing the Right Equipment:

Equipment is always a fascinating topic, filled with possibilities—but before getting carried away by specs and dreams, it’s best to focus on needs and practical use cases.

Match the Tool to the Task:

For portrait, studio, or wedding work, the Canon 5Ds (50.6MP) remains a competitive choice. Its optical viewfinder offers a real-time advantage, and its stable, solid build provides excellent handling. The 5D series is famously tough and reliable, often described as “bullet-proof.” These workhorses just don't fail, which makes them a safer, smarter investment than newer, less proven options and battery life is top.

For sports or wildlife, where autofocus performance is critical, the Canon R7 stands out with its advanced tracking capabilities and fast response.

The Lens Question: Worth the Upgrade?

One of the most common questions we hear: “Is this lens worth it?” or “Should I upgrade?”

For professionals, the answer is often clear-cut. For enthusiasts, it can be more nuanced. There are many lenses out there, some incredible, some overpriced and just as many pitfalls as there are advantages. Honest, practical advice can help prevent frustration and regret. Before upgrading, ask yourself:

Are you really going to use it regularly?
Is it for need or just curiosity?
Will it make your photography experience better or more complicated?

Bigger Isn’t Always Better:

High-resolution cameras (like 50MP+ full-frame bodies) are demanding. They magnify every flaw in technique and lens performance. They can also be unforgiving to handle, exposing shortcomings in workflow, steadiness, and focus precision.

For general uses, a 20–24MP sensor paired with mid-range lenses can deliver stunning results, yes, really! Mid-line glass can be excellent without overextending your budget.

Specialty Lenses – Consider the Use:

Tilt-Shift lenses are brilliant for architectural precision, but in many real-world cases, a 16–35mm wide-angle can achieve 80% of the desired “shift” effect,
(though without tilt control and with some distortion).
600mm f/4 for wildlife? Undeniably amazing, but also amazingly heavy and challenging to use, even on a high-end tripod. Add in oversized filters and accessories, and it’s easy to lose control of both your backpack and your budget.

Additional considerations:

Comfort & Usability – the gear should fit naturally in your hand, with good ergonomics and intuitive controls.
Convenience – avoid unnecessary complexity; things like camera strap connectors can make a big difference - be aware of marketing tricks and get what works.
Wrestling with accessories is only a distraction.

Main Camera Bodies

Canon R7 🔗

These have 32.5 Megapixel (APS-C) sensors.
High-Speed Shooting to 30fps.
Blazing Fast multi-mode Autofocus with eye tracking.
5-axis In-body Image Stabilization with auto-levelling.
Very high burst speeds with excellent handling
Arguably the best wildlife bodies available.
Regularly voted the best aps-c bodies available.

Telephoto Lenses

Canon 400mm f/5.6 L 🔗

Very rugged compact telephoto lens.
Very sharp with high speed, quiet internal focussing.
f/5.6 is not so bright but it's relative lightweight can be carried all day.
Build quality is absolutely solid!
Deep space Astrophotography is also possible with this lens on a tracker.

Standard / Mid-range Lenses

Canon 85mm f/1.2 L II 🔗

Sweet spot focal length for portraits.
Exquisitely sharp and contrasty.
f/1.2 = best possible perfect bokeh.
Slow but very accurate autofocus.
Perfect in darker conditions.
This lens is specialised and designed for a purpose - but it is the best in it's class at what it does.

Wide Angle Lenses

Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5 L

Tilt Shift lenses have unique properties and functions, they are very specialised.
For architecture they have their own place & for some focus effects, no options.
For this a tripod is always necessary.

Tripods and Support

Benro C197-n6

(Induro CX213 in USA)
A lightweight carbon fibre tripod.
Very rigid, very stable, fast operation.
With an articulated head column the extra flexibility is there.
These are our core use tripods.

Bags and Cases

Vanguard VEO Range 38

This large messenger bag has the high Vanguard build quality and reliability. Ideal when needing to change-over lenses frequently. Lots of space for Pro-bodies & Large Primes - think weddings etc.
Dedicated space for flash, cards, filters, lens hoods etc. This is the only messenger bag format we've found which works!

Selected Accessories

Canon G5X Camera

Small compact, very solid quality, very good performance and very underrated.
All the controls are in the same place as the main camera bodies so instinctively fast for us to use.
When you need a smaller flexible camera this is it.
Handling is better than the MkII / III so it's staying.
20Mp 1" sensor, 24-100 effective, f/1.8-f/2.8.

Drone and Flight

DJI Mavic 2 Pro

A high-end consumer drone known for it's foldable design.
Up to 30 minutes flight, and a top speed of 44 mph gives a huge range.
It features obstacle sensing, advanced pilot assistance systems, and an HD video transmission range up to 8 kilometres.
Ideal for professional photographers and videographers.

Portable Studio and Lighting

80cm / 32" Softboxes / Reflectors

Very portable and lightweight solution for real flexibility.
We have adapted these a little to meet our needs with all day external batteries, (3,000 + rapid charge).
Specific for speedlights adding flexibility and stability in a go anywhere solution in addition to our other light modifiers.

Some Older Cameras
- click here

Nature Studio Scapes

"Equipment we have used with some explanations for you – we hope this is useful, please ask any questions."

Gear Talk: Choosing the Right Equipment:

Equipment is always a fascinating topic, filled with possibilities—but before getting carried away by specs and dreams, it’s best to focus on needs and practical use cases.

Match the Tool to the Task:

For sports or wildlife, where autofocus performance is critical, the Canon R7 stands out with its advanced tracking capabilities and fast response.

The Lens Question: Worth the Upgrade?

One of the most common questions we hear: “Is this lens worth it?” or “Should I upgrade?”

Are you really going to use it regularly?

Is it for need or just curiosity?

Will it make your photography experience better or more complicated?

Bigger Isn’t Always Better:

High-resolution cameras (like 50MP+ full-frame bodies) are demanding. They magnify every flaw in technique and lens performance. They can also be unforgiving to handle, exposing shortcomings in workflow, steadiness, and focus precision.

For general uses, a 20–24MP sensor paired with mid-range lenses can deliver stunning results, yes, really! Mid-line glass can be excellent without overextending your budget.

Specialty Lenses – Consider the Use:

Tilt-Shift lenses are brilliant for architectural precision, but in many real-world cases, a 16–35mm wide-angle can achieve 80% of the desired “shift” effect, (though without tilt control and with some distortion).

600mm f/4 for wildlife? Undeniably amazing, but also amazingly heavy and challenging to use, even on a high-end tripod. Add in oversized filters and accessories, and it’s easy to lose control of both your backpack and your budget.

Additional considerations:

Comfort & Usability – the gear should fit naturally in your hand, with good ergonomics and intuitive controls.

Convenience – avoid unnecessary complexity; things like camera strap connectors can make a big difference - be aware of marketing tricks and get what works.

Wrestling with accessories is only a distraction.