Gear of the Year – 2018

April 16, 2024January 3, 2019 by Dan Carr

For the past few years I have written a post at the beginning of the year where I discuss some of my favourite and most-used items of the past 12 months. For 2017 I wrote about the Canon 11-24mm f/4L, the RRS TFC-14 tripod, the Drobo 5D3 and a few other bits and bobs. Looking back on 2018, as I’m doing right now, I realize that the content of my gear closet hasn’t changed all that much. I didn’t buy any new DSLRs in 2018, and I didn’t even buy any new lenses – I can’t remember the last time …

Adapting the Breakthrough Photography x100 for a Single Filter

May 2, 2024December 7, 2018 by Dan Carr

I have been using the X100 filter holder from Breakthrough Photography recently, but I needed to make a quick mod that you might like to know about.

Appreciating the BH-55 Ballhead In Cold Weather

April 16, 2024November 12, 2018 by Dan Carr

Using the Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead in winter conditions is making me appreciate it more and more!

Gear Check: RRS Gimbal Case

May 2, 2024November 9, 2018 by Dan Carr

These days I find myself using a gimbal head for about half of my photography so it’s a really important part of my kit alongside my regular ballhead. My gimbal of choice has always been the Really Right Stuff PG-02, but if you aren’t familiar with all the choices out there, you might want to look at a gimbal guide that I wrote for Shutter Muse: Best Photography Gimbal Guide. I know there’s a few RRS gimbal users amongst you because I have been singing its praises for many years, so I wanted to show you a cool new gimbal …

Think Tank’s Brand New Rain Covers Are Perfect for This Exact Reason

May 2, 2024September 21, 2018 by Dan Carr

Think Tank just launched newly refined versions of their camera rain covers, so I thought I’d show you exactly why you should have something like this in your bag.

Gear Check: Pelican Storm Cases for Kayaking

May 2, 2024July 30, 2018 by Dan Carr

Since buying my new kayak last month I’ve been testing various methods to safely carry camera gear on my trips. First I tried using a waterproof deck bag strapped to the webbing in front of the cockpit. This worked ok on flat water such as lakes, but it proved cumbersome to deal with in less than ideal conditions on a rolling ocean. I also like to take point of view style photos that include the front of the kayak, and having the deck bag there was ruining the shots. The next thing I tried was a thinner dry bag between …

Peak Design Travel Backpack Launched

May 2, 2024July 23, 2018 by Dan Carr

Peak Design are expanding their lineup of photography bags with the addition of the Travel Backpack 45L. This bag is actually adjustable in volume from 30-45L to accommodate a variety of airline regulations, and the interior of the bag is customizable with three different sizes of Photo Cubes to suit your combination of camera gear and travel necessities. There’s even an additional selection of travel centric accessories such as tech organizers and a wash bag. Your camera gear can be accessed from the side of the bag, or with a full back panel opening, and there’s a dedicated tripod carrying …

LifeStraw Flex Water Filter Review

May 2, 2024July 14, 2018 by Dan Carr

The LifeStraw Flex is a portable water filter that can be used to remove bacteria, parasites, microplastics and particulates from any water source.

My New Kayak: Boréal Design Compass 140 Ultralight

May 2, 2024July 9, 2018 by Dan Carr

This week I picked up a new 14ft touring kayak so that I can reach a few new places to photograph. I’ve had my eye out for something like this for a couple of years but when I heard about the Ultralight series from Boreal Design, I knew I had found my ship! The Compass 140 was already a great kayak for my purpose, with plenty of storage fore and aft, as well as a day hatch and a wide enough cockpit that I could keep a camera and super telephoto lens between my legs. But the Ultralight version of …

Canon 1D X Mark II – A High ISO King!

May 2, 2024June 21, 2018 by Dan Carr

Regular readers will know that these days my camera of choice is the Canon 5D Mark IV because I love its versatility. It’s not as fast as the 1-Series cameras, and not as high resolution as the 5DS R series, but balance of these things makes it a great option for someone that shoots a very broad range of subjects. That said, I have a number of projects on the go at the moment which might benefit from a faster frame rate camera that’s able to capture the moments between the moments my 5D Mark IV is currently capturing. The …

Wow! Coolest Way to Store Photos?!

May 2, 2024June 13, 2018 by Dan Carr

I had to post a couple of photos of this! The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD. I actually wrote about it a while back when it was first announced, but I just got my hands on one today and it was even smaller than I though it would be! It comes in 256GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB variations at the moment, and the smallest of those sizes is under $100 which is pretty amazing for an SSD. Now that these drives can use mSATA drives in them, they have taken a real fall in price in the last year. SSDs like …

Gear Check: Best PFD for Photographing from a Kayak

July 30, 2025May 31, 2018 by Dan Carr

Long term blog or social media followers of mine will know that I love to photograph wildlife from a kayak because it gives you such a wonderful low perspective. One of the challenges with photography from a kayak, or any small boat for that matter, is keeping gear safe, but also readily available. All of my larger photographic gear goes into a set of SealLine Bulkhead View dry bags, but there’s a few smaller items that are just nice to have on you at all times. Until very recently I wasn’t that sure how to accomplish this, but then I …