Ever wanted to know whats in my camera bag?

I’m pretty certain that photographers can geek out over photography equipment with each other for days. I’m guilty of it myself – I can’t resist a good conversation on the latest camera body or favourite lens! Its pretty common for me to get a couple of people asking me about my kit per week, so I thought this week I would do a post on my camera bag and the kit I take to most shoots. Missing from the collection are my MacBook Pro, Tether Tools TetherPRO cable and my card reader as I don’t always carry these on every shoot, but here’s the rest…

So here’s a quick shot of EVERYTHING in my camera bag. First off, lets talk about the case. The Calumet RC2065 Rolling Camera Case Plus is my go to for transporting my kit and carries absolutely everything I need it to. Its also much easier to roll my kit than it is to have it on my back all day. On jobs where I need far less kit, I opt for my Think Tank Photo Shapeshifter instead.

To the left, you will also see two Elinchrom cases, which contain the two Elinchrom Rotalux 130 x 50cm strip softboxes. I also have a couple of Octas, but the strips are my go to choice on most occasions. They are light and really easy to pop up on a quick shoot, plus the cases are also capable of carrying the required portable lightweight stands and Elinchrom Quadra to EL Mount Adapters so I can adapt the full size soft boxes to fit on my lighting system.

Also on the left you’ll see my MeFOTO RoadTrip Convertible Tripod for those shoots that require a long exposure. I have to admit, its not the greatest tripod in the world (especially if you need to shoot portrait as my camera is a little too heavy for the head), but if you shoot landscape like I mostly do, it does an alright job and is light/small enough to travel with.

Focusing in on the items in front of the travel case, these are the items that usually live in the pockets or on top of the other compartments within the main area of the case. Clockwise from top left, you’ll find my Canon Speedlite 430 EX II flashgun. This is the oldest piece of kit in my collection and has been with me since about 2010 when it was the only form of lighting I could afford at the time! It is still hanging in there, although its rare that I need to use it these days.

My Canon LP-E6 battery charger also travels with me everywhere. And judging by this photo, it looks like it could do with a little TLC!

I always carry multiple memory cards with me, in both CF and SD format. My camera shoots to multiple cards, so I tend to have a 32GB CF card in slot one and a 128GB SD card in slot two. I buy new cards every year to replace the older ones as I’m using them so frequently, and have lots of extras in case I have to travel from one shoot directly to another. As for brands, I use Sandisk and Lexar.

On top of my memory card case, you will also see a QUMOX Shutter Release Timer Remote Control. Nothing fancy, just your basic trigger for those long exposure shots.

I also love shooting instant film, so I’ve usually got either my Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 or Polaroid SX 680 in my case as well as some film. As it happened, today I had the Instax Mini 90 in my case and some leftover Impossible Project black and white film for my 600 series.

I have both the old and new Elinchrom Skyport Transmitter in my roller case for flash photography. For no reason other than I’m completely paranoid about forgetting one so always have a back up!

On the subject of being over cautious, I also carry a ton of spare batteries for my camera. Normally I only get through one or two, but this also covers me if I need to go straight to another job or have an extra long day of shooting ahead. The same for AA batteries for my flashgun, which are next on the list.

Oh, and not forgetting my favourite Adobe lens cloth!

Moving inside the roller case, half of the contents make up the Elinchrom ELB 400 Action Twin Set. Top left you’ll find the two flash heads, along with the battery packs along the bottom row and relevant connecting and charging cables over on the right hand side. I did a full review of the ELB series on the blog last year, but the main reasons for me loving this system is the amount of power it can provide me, on top of it being extremely compact and lightweight for a lighting system.

The rest of the main compartment is camera bodies and lenses. On the left, you’ll find my Canon 5D MKii and MKiii. I rarely use the MKii these days, but its there as a back up or secondary camera as and when I need it. Eventually I’ll get round to upgrading to the MKiv…

Next to the camera bodies, you can see my Canon EF 24-70 F4 L IS USM lens, which is one of my go to lenses. I actually didn’t intend to buy this lens – I’d gone shopping for the Sigma Art 35mm F1.4 and got talked into buying this one at the Photography Show with the double cashback deal. As it happens, I love it. It is particularly handy for shooting in tiny boudoirs where space is limited.

Directly underneath, you can see my Canon EF 70-200 F2.8 L USM lens peeking out, which is super handy for events as well as capturing candid moments without being directly on top of your subject.

On the top row, the lens on the left is a Canon EF 35mm F1.4 L II USM lens, which is the newest addition to my camera bag. Even though I have the 24-70mm, I still wanted a wide prime and 35mm was my most commonly used focal length. Also, the difference in Aperture (F1.4 versus F4) really comes in handy when working in low light situations.

Finally, the last lens is the Canon EF 85mm F1.2 L II USM lens, which is a BEAUTIFUL lens. Heavy and a little slow to focus, but is my go to lens for indulgent portraiture work.

I *THINK* that is everything! There’s a few extra bits like gels and filters that make it into my camera bag as and when needed, but these are my staples.

What lives in your camera bag that you couldn’t live without?