Check this section out if you just want a brief overview of the gear I use, and quick links to places that sell the stuff for more information.
Check this section if you want more details on the gear I use, including examples and commentary on why I chose to use a specific piece of kit.
Before we get started with this, an important disclosure.
If you want to delve deeper into the gear guide, these sections provide some commentary on each item in the list. If you just want a brief list-style overview, simply scroll further down the page.
In this section I’m going to pull items out of several of the main gear sections to create kits that are specific to certain situations. This is a bit of a work in progress as I’ve just finished the Gear Guide redesign, but in the future, stand by for climbing photography kits, ski photography kits, wildlife photography kits and a variety of others…
I plan on creating a few specific series of posts on the blog feed within the overall Gear Check category that are centred around more specific topics such as the first one “Backpacking with a Camera”.
For those of you who want a quick-glance list of my gear, this is the section for you. It’s mostly provided without commentary as a quick reference point and an easy way for people to click my links to products. Remember that when you use my links before you buy something, I may make a very small commission from it and that goes towards the cost and time it takes me to provide you with content. For more info on that, and to find out how you can support the blog, please also check out the support page which has many other links to different stores. Every little helps, and I truly appreciate it!
At the moment I’ve been having something of a closet clean out. Simplifying my gear and taking stock of what gets used the most and what gets the job done. The 5D Mark IV is an incredible camera, a real do-it-all weapon. It has a world-class AF system that can track sports and wildlife with ease, and a high megapixel sensor that delivers enormous images for fine art prints and commercial campaigns. In addition to the 5D, I’ve also recently added the 7D Mark II to my arsenal. The main reason for this is to use it for wildlife photography with my 200-400 f/4. With it’s high FPS, and incredible AF system, this is a near perfect wildlife and sports photography camera. The Hero 5 Black serves as my occasional “behind the scenes” camera for YouTube and social media post content.
The majority of my camera carry solutions come from MindShift Gear which is Think Tank Photo’s sister company, dedicated to outdoor and adventure photography but I also use several of the Think Tank products. If you use my links to reach either the MindShift Gear website, or the Think Tank website, and then spend over $50, you’ll get a free gift at the checkout! For more details on these two special offers, please see the deals page of my site.
NOTE: My Ultimate Adventure Photography Combo is the MindShift Ultralight Dual 36L, paired with a MultiMount Holster 20. This combination of bags provides an unparalleled amount of versatility in a lightweight combination that’s ideal for travel and adventure.
Sometimes a very specific situation calls for a pack with a laser-targeted purpose and when that happens, I usually turn to Arc’teryx’s lineup of adventure packs and convert them for camera usage by adding the previously mentioned MindShift Multi-Mount Holsters either internally or externally.
No matter the subject, location, situation or location, these are the items that are in my pack, or in my pocket on a daily basis. If this stuff isn’t in my pocket then it’s in a Peak Design Field Pouch (Save 10% with that link!) because it fits into the top pocket of any of my camera bags, has various carrying options and excellent internal organization with 6 small pockets.
Full disclosure: I get discounted, and sometimes free Arcteryx gear, but keeping warm and dry is such an important part of my work that I wouldn’t use anything that didn’t suit my needs 100%. Here’s my personal favourite pieces of outerwear. You get what you pay for, this stuff will last years and years of intensive usage.
This is my go-to bag for just about any time I leave for an extended period of time. At 130 litres, this is an absolutely gigantic bag, but the compression straps allow you to use it when it’s not full. The key thing for me is that it’s easily long enough for me to fit my tripods in, and I can even get umbrellas and softboxes in it as well. It has more pockets that you could ever need, and a lifetime warranty. A lot of my travel gear simply stays packed into this bag at all times so I’m ready to go. I use Arcteryx Index packing cubes inside it to further organise clothing.
I spend a lot of my time outside, so naturally I have amassed a fairly large amount of outdoor and adventure equipment alongside my photographic gear. There’s far too much to list all of it, but these days, the stuff on this list is what I find myself reaching for on a regular basis.
I’ve always been inspired by great climbing photography, so I’ve recently begun to learn this new discipline to allow me new freedom in the mountains to safely reach new locations.
My underwater photography setup currently includes an AquaTech housing for my Canon 5D Mark IV, along with lens ports that that allow me to use my Canon 8-15mm fisheye, Canon 16-35 f/4 L IS, Canon 24-70 f/2.8 L II and Canon 24-105 f/4 L IS II. The 24-70 and 24-105 use the same P-145 flat port for above water photos, whilst the fisheye and the 16-35 use the 8″ PD-85 dome port, making them ideal for underwater shots and half and half shots.
You can save 10% on Peak Design gear when you spend over $19.95 in their store after you click one of my links, such as the ones in the list below.
My filter kit is an important part of my landscape and travel photography gear. My filter case comes on every trip I do because it’s impossible to predict which filters will be needed. In recent times I’ve switched to the Formatt-Hitech Firecrest filters which I find to be extremely neutral in colour. I also think that they’re just a great company, with some great folks working for them and that’s also an important thing for me! Whilst I do own the Hitech 100mm filter holder, I mostly use the Lucroit holder because it’s lighter weight and I often travel a long way with gear on my back.
Save 10% on Formatt-Hitech filters using the coupon code DanCarr10 in either their International store or their US store. Note that the linked items in the list below will take you to the products on B&H Photo, to give you another option, but you’ll have to buy direct from Formatt-Hitech to make use of my exclusive discount. They’re always a pleasure to deal with directly.
The Filter Hive from MindShift Gear is the thing that keeps all of this stuff organized, it’s simply brilliant. If you buy it from MindShift Gear using one of my links, you’ll get a free gift at the checkout. More details about this offer can be found here.
“Hey that’s a lot of Really Right Stuff gear you’ve got there Dan!”
Well yes it is quite the collection. Like many people I initially made the mistake of spending money on lower grade support gear. Eventually, pretty quickly in fact, it all failed on me. At this point I purchased my BH-40 ballhead and knew I was an RRS fan for life. The build quality of their products is simply second to none.
Good binoculars should be in every wildlife photographer’s kit.
These are the valuable WordPress plugins that are used on my website:
My little adventure photography trailer is a TigerMoth, built by Taxa Outdoors, and designed by an engineer from NASA who worked on the habitation pods of the International Space Station. I can sleep in the trailer, or in the roof tent when the weather is warmer. It features a full solar power setup, kitchen, tons of storage options and also functions as a mobile office when I need to work from my laptop. Aside from the photography gear that’s with me on a trip, here is a list of some of the other important stuff in my awesome trailer:
Off Grid Power
Kitchen
General
Sleep System
By the way, my trailer has its own Instagram account here: http://instagram.com/upoverland
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Latest Gear Check Posts
Gear Check is a regular section on my blog where I discuss items of gear in my kit. They differ slightly from reviews because since I’ve already added them to my kit for regular usage, I obviously like them! This section explains why I like them and how I use them. Sign up for my newsletter to make sure you don’t miss the regular Gear Check posts!
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...
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The Think Tank Change Up V2 is an interesting camera bag that straddles the line between the brand’s many shoulder bags, and their extremely popular modular belt pack series that is used by so many event photographers. The Change Up is primarily a belt pack that’s...
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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...
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A battery grip serves a few purposes: Firstly it allows you to more comfortably and solidly hold a camera in portrait orientation. Secondly it replicates the main camera control when held in this position. Finally, it also allows you to go longer without having to...
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Circular polarizing filters are used for cutting down reflected light from water, wet surfaces, foliage and the sky. Most avid photographers are at least aware of their regular usage in landscape photography, and smart ones have one in their bag because it can totally...
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I know quite a few people are following along as I build out a small trailer into the ultimate adventure photography basecamp. If you aren't caught up on this, you can find some previous blog posts in this section. This week I tackled the problem of poor air...
read moreOnce you’ve figured out what it is you’re looking to buy, a common question is “where should I order from?“. Typically I buy my gear from either B&H Photo or Amazon and occasionally Adorama if the other two don’t have it in stock. I’ve experienced exceptional customer service from all three at some point or other and can wholeheartedly recommend them all. Even though I live in Canada I still like to order from B&H in the USA because they allow me to pay all the applicable taxes and duties up front so there are no surprises. This is a service they offer for many countries worldwide, and they now ship to Canada for FREE on orders over $99! That’s a huge deal for me and many of you guys! If you happen to be looking for camera bags for general use or sports photography use then I would definitely recommend checking out Think Tank Photo. You’ll see in my gear list below that I have a number of their carrying solutions in my closet for when I’m traveling or shooting at sporting events which is where their gear really excels. I’m happy to tell you that as a friend of the site and follower of my work, Think Tank Photo will offer you a FREE gift of a small bag or accessory when you purchase more then $50 worth of stuff from their store after clicking through one of my links!
Featured Gear Articles
Got a gear question?
Leave it in the comments below!
Any advice on mics for 5D MII?
Yes, I have an extensive article about it here: http://dancarrphotography.com/blog/2008/11/30/video-accessories-for-the-canon-5d-mark-ii-part-1-microphones/
you gots a lot of nice s*%t dan.
Noticed that under the accessories section you mentioned filters and a statement of “if you have to use a filter of any sort”. I finally switched to digital after all these years and was wondering if a UV/ Haze filter was really necessary? Assuming you don’t use them unless completely necessary after that statement. With digital processing do you just shoot non filter and correct the white balance later, and in what situations do you find a UV/ haze helpful if at all? THANKS!!!
You guessed right , I never recommend using a UV filter. People generally say use them to protect the lens but why spend all that money on expensive lenses and then put something else in front of it. The only thing that cant be re-created in photoshop is the effect of a circular polorizing filter which is why i have one of those, but its the most expensive one you can get so quality is minimally effected.
Hi Dan,
Really interesting site you have with some really good info on how you work. Just wondering, in your kit bag you say you have some waterproof covers for your flashes – are these specifically for flashes or are they just covers you’ve bodged from somewhere? I shoot a lot in crappy conditions (I shoot angling) so covers would be great 🙂
Anyway, great site and great work.
Pat
I have a mixture. A couple of remote camera covers from Think Tank Photo and then I always carry a stash of regular plasitc bags and some black electrical tape. I pull a hole in the bag and then wrap tape round it to keep it tight. A disposable setup for sure but it works fine.
what about Einstein ? Do you use that ?
Yes I do at the moment.
(sorry for the late reply here…)
Always like your articles and FB posts, Fan. What an insane list of equipment! I thought of going to Fuji Mirrorless, but really can’t give up my Canon lenses. By the time you get the fast zooms, there’s really not that much difference. That 11-24 definitely looks interesting!
Thanks for following, Del! Yeah the Canon glass selection is what keeps me with them really. They are so innovative in the optics area. So many “firsts” like the 11-24, 8-15, 200-40 with the built-in extender, 100mm macro with the additional IS axis, 17mm Tilt-shift… the list goes on… Maybe rent the 11-24 one day to give it a try! It’s a lot of fun.
Very informative site, Dan. Do you use a photography blind? I have used the Rue Ultimate blind for years and love it, but time has taken its toll. I can’t find that blind any place now. Any suggestions on a replacement? Thanks.
Thanks, John. I haven’t had the need for a blind yet, although this LensCoat product has been on my radar for a sort of very simple hide: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1218397-REG/lenscoat_lclhm4_lenshide_photo_blind_realtree.html/BI/5343/KBID/6139/DFF/d10-v21-t1-x704090/KWID/EZ