A Complete List of What's in My Camera Bag
I am by no means a professional videographer…
… but I do love capturing memories as we travel as a family, explore, and live life together.
Travel is my most favorite thing to do. I often joke that I work so I can travel.
So when we check off a a bucket-list, whether it’s Disney World, Montreal, or Prague, I want to have video footage that we can enjoy forever!
In 2018, I finally invested in some quality camera equipment so I could up my video game.
Here are the camera tools I use and love:
Sony a7S II ILCE7SM2/B 12.2 MP E-mount Camera
In my experience, what makes a good video is a variety of shots. You want closeups, wide shots, drone shots, etc. This camera is perfect for those close up, blurry shots that help transition between “scenes” and add texture to really give the viewer an idea of where you are. I’ve used this camera to get a close up of a leaf in the fall, flowing water at the river, and a marshmallow being roasted in a campfire. These closeups help ground us in specific scenery.
Sony SEL85F18 85mm F/1.8-22 Medium-Telephoto Fixed Prime Camera Lens
A camera isn’t any good without a quality lens! This is the lens I use to give me all those gorgeous defocus shots I just talked about.
Rode VideoMic Pro+ Compact Directional On-Camera Shotgun Condenser Microphone
If I’m recording something where I need good audio, like if I’m interviewing one of the kids for the vlog, or I’m talking about something specific, or even if I’m recording some content for Zimmerman Education, I’ll attach this microphone to get really good audio quality.
BlackRapid Cross Shot Camera Sling
As a mom, I usually need all the free hands possible. If it’s going to be a long day carrying my camera, I use this strap. It’s a crossover and basically feels just like a crossbody purse! I love it.
DJI Mavic Pro Fly More Combo
Drone shots add beautiful variety to my video footage. I still have a LONG way to go on perfecting drone skills, but I keep practicing, and I love the imperfect results.
Sirui T-005KX 52" Aluminum Alloy Tripod
If you’re vlogging and need to record you or you and your family at the same time, this is the way to go. We can’t always be the ones behind the camera! This allows you to hit record and join in on the fun— while still getting super steady, beautiful footage.
Peak Design Everyday Backpack 20L
This is the backpack we use to store equipment so we don’t have to keep each item in its own smaller case. We’d have like eight different bags! This bag keeps things organized.
Grid it
This organizer is made up of strong elastics of different sizes so you can hold different items to keep things from getting all mixed up in your bags. It's very customizable, and you can organize things like memory cards, a GoPro, small tripods, lenses, chargers, and extra batteries. It's easy to know where everything is, and keeps me from losing everything when we're shooting on the go!
Thule Covert DSLR Rolltop Daypack
If we are going somewhere where we want to take ALL our camera equipment, this bag is perfect. It fits everything from our drone, our lenses, our memory cards, all our chargers, everything. This bag doesn’t look like it, but it has so much storage, and lots of different compartments so everything has a place. I also love that the design is sleek and simple and durable fabric. I also love that the main camera pouch is accessible without taking off the whole backpack.
Goal Zero Venture 30 7800mAh Waterproof Power Bank
I make a habit of charging everything I’ll need the night before, but sometimes you have to charge on the go. Here’s how I charge up without having to stop the adventures!
WD 1TB Black My Passport Portable External Hard Drive
There’s nothing worse than running out of storage before the day is over. You can’t redo those missed memories! Before I go to bed at night, I take my memory card out and I backup the footage to this. Then I clear the memory card so it’s ready for the next day.
SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I Card
It’s always good to have a few memory cards on hand so you don’t run out of space to store your footage. This holds 128gb.
SanDisk Ultra 64GB microSDXC UHS-I Card with Adapter
Some cameras like drones or go pros have very small cards, which can make backing up the cards to a hard drive a little more difficult. This adapter makes it easy to backup your work at the end of the day!
Pelican 0915 SD Memory Card Case
I like keeping all my cards in one place. Makes it super easy to find specific footage and keep the order of footage organized.
GoPro HERO7 Black
I still can’t believe that it’s possible to get incredible video from a tiny black box that can fit in the palm of my hand. 90% of the time, we use a GoPro.
It’s so easy to use! It’s small, it’s waterproof, and it takes great video. Right now, we are currently using the GoPro 7 and it works great!
GoPro 3-Way Grip, Arm, Tripod
Most of the time, I have the GoPro attached to this tripod, so the footage looks super smooth. It also makes the GoPro easier to carry. Bonus, it can also be used as a normal tripod, so if you don’t want to lug around a larger tripod, you don’t have to! Whether you’re riding bikes, on a boat ride, or just want some footage at a farmer’s market, this baby will do the job.
GoPro Dual Battery Charger + Battery
Since we use the GoPro the most, we never want to be without a battery. So we use this charger and bonus battery to make sure we’re always ready to get the good footage.
GoPro Camera The Handler Floating Hand Grip
When we want to capture footage anytime we’re around water, we always attach our GoPro to this. If you drop the GoPro, this little handle floats, and the bright orange makes it super easy to locate. If you have kids, this is a wise investment! While the camera is replaceable, the memories you captured on the camera are not!
Gimbal Stabilizer
This stabilizer keeps your iPhone steady when you're capturing video footage with your iphone. Even if you're not making fancy videos, this is a great tool for IG stories or Zoom calls from your phone. It’s small enough that I can just keep it in my bag all the time. I always have my phone and my bag on me, so if I don't want to carry any other equipment, I can still grab some great iPhone footage. This also comes with a tiny tripod, so we can grab a family photo anytime with this, my phone, and the self-time feature.
And that’s what’s in my camera bag! I’ll regularly update this post if and when our camera bag items change.
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