Camera and lenses

Hello there! thank you for stopping by my site. In here you will find a collection of expeditions from all over the globe. I try to keep all the pictures, videos and blogs under one roof. Please feel free to explore the site at your own pace. Feed back is always welcome.

Hello there! thank you for stopping by my site. In here you will find a collection of expeditions from all over the globe. I try to keep all the pictures, videos and blogs under one roof. Please feel free to explore the site at your own pace. Feed back is always welcome.

Hello there! thank you for stopping by my site. In here you will find a collection of expeditions from all over the globe. I try to keep all the pictures, videos and blogs under one roof. Please feel free to explore the site at your own pace. Feed back is always welcome.

Camera and lenses

The Canon EOS 5D series has been the backbone of my video and photography line of cameras since the mark II revolutionized the industry. The 5D Mark IV is my workhorse, period.

Last year I set out to document El Camino de Santiago, and The Lost city followed this year by the Via Francigena. I brought along a canon 16-36mm lens as the main vlogging lens and a Canon 100mm macro for detail photographs. The 82mm Tiffen variable ND filter helped keep the shutter speed closer to 50 on bright days, the ideal for 24fps video.

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Unfortunately, the camera got wet during a thunderstorm in France, and it ceased to work on me. I panicked and bought a Canon M50 with an 18-150mm lens a couple of days later. Guess what? My First mirrorless camera. I was adamant at first, but the camera grew on me and finally convinced me with the help of its flip out screen and digital stabilization feature that made the most telephoto shots smooth as butter.

The Canon EOS M mount adapter allows me to use all my EF lenses on the mirrorless camera.

The Aperture portable led light worked flawlessly. It packs a punch, and the battery seemed to last forever.

I keep a DJI Osmo Pocket for quick stable pickup shots in difficult and tight situations. Recently decided to get a thermal camera for night shots and to spot animals around the campground.

It connects to my Note9 via USB type C connection.

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I use the phone primarily for navigation and communications purpose, sporadically using the camera if the situation called for it. Most importantly I use it to fly the drone with the DJI Go 4 app.

Drones

Drones are my favorite piece of gear. Since my years in film school I could only dream of getting stable aerial shots, but back then it was only possible with expensive stabilizers mounted on helicopters. All this change with the drone or quadcopter revolution. I fly DJI UAV drones exclusively. I took the Mavic pro on El Camino de Santiago and may have been the first one to fly it across.

I went on the via Francigena with the DI Mavic Air due to its compact size and higher quality camera.

Stabilizers

Nothing adds more production value to your videos than stable shots that is why I have an arrange of different stabilizers and tripod to suit my needs on the field or at home.

I used the Gorillapod on El Camino de Santiago but wanted to get rid of the wobbling look when walking so I decided to get a stabilizer. I went first for the Crane 2, and fantastic stabilizer with excellent battery life.

Once DJI announced the Ronin S I immediately bought it as I like their products, especially their ergonomics. The Ronin S has a joystick much like the one from their drones and can carry a more massive load. The only downside is that it weighs almost twice as much.

Audio

Good clean audio cannot be underestimated when you are creating quality content. It is 50 percent of your final product, and nothing says armature faster than bad quality audio on a video. When I'm on the field, I use the Rode Mic Pro+, and I have zero complaints. Excellent quality, a long-lasting battery that recharges with a firewire cable and you don't even need to turn it on as it does it automatically when you turn on the camera. The best feature is the -10 dB secondary track recording that will save you from loud and popping noises on your recordings.

At home, I use a combination of the shotgun mic and a lavaliere with a splitter.

Holsters

When on the trails having the camera ready and in a secure and comfortable position is non-negotiable for me. If I have to stop and reach into my backpack looking for my camera every time I want to get a shot I will miss half of them. You want to be able to grab the camera and get your shots as smoothly as possible. A good bag for your accessories to keep them organized is also a good investment. I like Peak design products as they work well with other products within their ecosystem. But the Spider Holster takes the cake when it comes to having your camera at an arm's length.

Editing Ecosystem

Editing is an integral part of the process, and for vlogging, on the go, I needed a laptop that was light and powerful enough to handle 4k footage. I went for the MacBook Pro, and I have no complaints. I use Davinci Resolve as it is a powerhouse when it comes to color correction and noise reduction. You can download the free version and edit HD footage. A good set of headphones are a must and if they have noise cancellation even better.

Bose QuietComfort 35

Media Storage and Power

All that good footage you capture on the filed needs to be recorded and later in fast and reliable cards and then backed up preferably to a portable hard drive. Redundancy is the key. Without a computer on the field, the FileHub Plus is my go-to gadget to transfer the files from the SD card to the HDD.

Power management is critical especially if you are going to be out in the wilderness for a few days. The Mophie power station has enough juice to power all my gear for a couple of days.