Details about my current camera gear
Photo Gear Guide
Wondering what drone or camera and lenses I use or what underwater housing my camera lives in to take underwater photos? In this list I cover the camera gear I use currently. From the camera itself to the software I use to edit.
Over the more than 10 years of I have been photographing, I have found a system that works for me and my photography subjects. The Photography Gear Guide covers all my favorite photography gear. Sit back, relax, and read on.
psst: This post contains affiliate links. If you use links from this post to make purchases, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. It’ll help keep the ‘lights on’, so-to-say, for Headed Anywhere.
Cameras, Lenses, and Tripods
Topside Cameras
I love my drone. The Mavic 3 drone revolutionizes the way we capture aerial imagery. Its exceptional camera quality, extended flight time, intelligent flight modes, and portability make it a remarkable choice for photographers, videographers, and drone enthusiasts. The Mavic 3 helps me to capture breathtaking moments from the sky with unparalleled ease and precision.
This is my main topside camera. I love for its compact size. My hands are small so it fits really well in them. It is also super light. Battery life is excellent on this camera. A downside is that it doesn’t shoot 4k at 60fps which to me is a bummer. Slow-mo can be shot in 4k HDR, or 1080 at 60fps and slowed in post-production.
Underwater Cameras
This is my main underwater camera when paired with my underwater housing. I love it because it has a fast shutter speed for continuous shooting, which is super important to me when shooting moving subjects underwater. Don’t forget the extra batteries, because battery life is mediocre at best.
I started out in underwater photography with a GoPro 3Hero Black and have upgraded to the 10 for the in-body stabilization for video, and wow is all I can say. Filming underwater video is so smooth with this camera.
This lens is basically glued to my Sony 6500 for Underwater images. It’s perfect for the large underwater subjects I am so inclined to document.
Sony FE 24-70 mm F2.8 G Master lens
I use this as a walk-around lens when I know I don’t need or want a wider angle or telephoto. If you only buy one lens, this would be it. It gives you a wide enough angle, but also is flexible enough to be used for portraits or zooming in. The quality of this lens is amazing so your photos turn out beautifully.
I use this lens for wildlife. Sometimes for close-ups of the moon. However, now that I have the 200-600mm, I find myself using this one less and less.
Sony 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G lens
Wow is all I can say for this lens. It’s an amazing lens for wildlife photography or surf photography. It’s an arm work out so not super portable, but I don’t know what I was missing before I got this super telephoto lens.
Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod
My main tripod. It’s lightweight and perfect for my adventures. I don’t want a heavy or bulky tripod and spent a long time narrowing it down to this one. Set up and take down is a breeze, say goodbye to dreading that process.
Underwater Housing System
Nauticam NA-A6500 For Sony A6500
This is my underwater housing for my Sony 6500. It’s ergonomic and can take a beating. I love it because I can control every single one of my controls on my camera. It’s also compact and lightweight which makes it perfect for traveling. I’ve traveled to multiple countries with carry-on only and was able to take this along with me. I opted for the vacuum seal to help reduce the risk of flooding. I also purchased to external battery pack since 6500 does have a pretty short battery life.
Nauticam 7-inch N85 Dome Port
This port works with both my 10-18mm lens as well as my 16-70mm lens. It’s great for taking over/under shots as well.
Bags and Accessories
My main tripod. It’s lightweight and perfect for my adventures. I don’t want a heavy or bulky tripod and spent a long time narrowing down to this one.
Patagonia Stormfront Waterproof Pack 30L
This is a simple, yet effective bag if you want to keep your gear dry. It works wonders and is especially handy when I’m on a small boat. This bag will keep your stuff dry and safe.
Yep, you read that right. Burritote. This nifty invention was originally designed to keep your burrito warm and your salsa from spilling all over the place. Only in Southern California would someone think to create a thermal tote foley for your burrito. Well, that is until photographers caught wind of it. It’s the perfect, padded and insulated bag for my 70-200mm lens, as well as my other lenses. I own two, the burrito compartment is perfect for lenses and the salsa compartment is perfect for lens hoods, cleaning clothes, and batteries. It doesn’t hurt that they come in an attractive, Mexican blanket inspired design. Perfect for protecting my gear.
CleverMade Collapsible Cooler Bag
A cooler you say? Why yes. This is for when I have my camera in my underwater housing and I want to make sure my set-up doesn’t heat up or cool down too fast to avoid flooding risk as well as condensation build up. The padding also protects my housing system.
As much as I love my Sony lenses, the lens caps tend to come off randomly. I invested in these so that it offered an extra layer of protection for my lenses but also to prevent the errant lens cap removal.
I bought this so I could easily remove my strap to place in my underwater housing. I love this camera strap and glad I switch from the Sony one.
Video & Photo Editing
Photo Mechanic
I use this to help me quickly review my photos and cull photos before bringing them into Lightroom. I also use this to preview videos before editing them.
Lightroom
This is the first place I start to edit my photos. I have created some presets that I stick to, which I developed over the years to help edit more efficiently.
Photoshop
I bring photos in here to edit out any particulate or backscatter that is distracting in my underwater photos. If there are distracting lens flares in my landscape images I edit them out here as well.
Final Cut Pro
This is my main video editing app. It’s a steep learning curve and every day I feel like I learn something new.
QuickTime
This is my main video trimming tool. It’s made the process of trimming videos much easier for me. The bonus is the video doesn’t lose quality.
Splice
I use this app to do the final touches to my videos before uploading them to social media, mainly for my Instagram and TikTok videos.
Just starting out or have a limited budget?
First, start out with the camera available to you. Once you feel limited by that then it is time to upgrade.
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase using the link. If you are ready to make a purchase and would like to support this website in some way, using these links will help do exactly that. It's a win-win situation. If you have any questions about the products or companies, e-mail me and I'm happy to answer your questions.