{"id":15262,"date":"2020-12-06T09:40:53","date_gmt":"2020-12-06T17:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/randyw.camiwp.com\/?p=15262"},"modified":"2026-01-27T10:30:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:30:46","slug":"15262","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/randywells.com\/blog\/?p=15262","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT<\/strong> <\/p>\n

As a full-time pro for over 30 years, the gear I take on assignment depends on what is needed. Contrary to what it might look like, I prefer to work with the minimum amount of equipment. <\/p>\n

Being familiar with the gear is most important to me. To that end, I’ve always carried some form of Canon or Leica in my kit. With their cameras and lenses, I don’t have to think. I just do. When Leica discontinued their 35mm SLR film-based system, I switched to autofocus Canon EOS 35mm SLRs. <\/p>\n

Around the same time, I also switched from Kodachrome 25 to Fujichrome Velvia 50 slide film. When digital camera image quality evolved to a more than satisfactory level, I transitioned to Canon’s full-frame digital camera bodies and their latest lenses for my editorial and commercial work. I’ve stayed with Canon’s latest offerings since then for my professional assignments. <\/p>\n

My Basic Automotive Photography Kit For Stills and Video: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Canon R5 mirrorless bodies (2) with adapters and spare batteries
\nCanon 5DS-R body or Canon 5D Mk IV body
\nCanon 16-35mm f\/4 IS EF L lens
\nCanon 24-105mm f\/4 IS RF L lens
\nCanon 50mm f1.2 EF L lens
\nCanon 70-200mm f\/4 IS EF L II lens
\nCanon 1.4X Extender, 12mm ext tube
\nLeica Q with 28mm f1.7 Aspherical lens
\nMemory cards, batteries, cable and remote release, ND and polarizing filters
\nSamsung Galaxy camera phone with DJI Osmo Mobile 6 and mount
\nLowe-Pro backpack in Pelican carry on with Leica table tripod, ball head and mount
\nSmall carry on bag with change of clothes, sunglasses, hat, dopp kit, and
\nMacBook Pro M2 with card readers and Samsung Drive <\/p>\n

Checked bag #1: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Small Gitzo tripod
\nCable lock
\nCar rigs and harness
\nClothes<\/p>\n

Also included in checked bag #1 (depending on the job):
\nProfoto portable lighting lit with modifiers, grids, stand, sand bag, batteries, charger
\nOR
\nDJI Phantom 4 Drone with batteries, charger
\nOR
\nDJI Ronin Stabilizer x 2 with monitor, handle rig and roller <\/p>\n

Checked bags #2 and #3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Includes what’s not in checked bag #1 from above and
\nOther Stuff (as needed): <\/p>\n

Canon 5D Mk III camera with 17-35 Canon EF lens for car mount
\nCanon 500mm f\/4 IS L EF lens
\nCanon EF 24mm f\/1.4 L II lens
\nCanon 35mm f\/2 IS EF lens
\nReflectors
\nNumerous GoPros and mounts
\nTascam and cell phone audio recorders
\nCamera car mounts, walkie talkies, monopod<\/p>\n

Additional: <\/strong><\/p>\n

More Pelican cases and cable locks
\nA variety of Gitzo tripods
\nApple boxes
\nGyrostabilizer
\nPortable studio
\nTribal Rug
\nPorsche Cayenne equipped for car to car photography and cinematography <\/p>\n

For flash, the Profoto portable lighting system has proven reliable for studio shots and moving subjects outdoors. All flashes can fail, just like memory cards and external hard drives, so I also carry two, plus a spare flash tube. The lighting kit also includes C-stands, reflectors, gels and a variety of modifiers and soft boxes. <\/p>\n

Spare lenses for film work include Voigtl\u00e4nder 21 f\/1.4, Leica R 28mm f\/2.8 II, Leica R 35mm f\/2 II, Voigtl\u00e4nder 40mm f1.4, Leica R 50mm f2, Leica R 60mm f\/2.8 Macro, and Leica R 80mm f\/1.4 lens adapted to Canon. A set of Nikkor lenses 20mm to 105 mm are adapted to Canon and also available to my film crew. I rent Red, Arri Mini and medium format digital as needed. <\/p>\n

Photography equipment is simply a tool. Seeing and having something to say are MUCH\u00a0more important. That said, I look for gear that is of the highest quality, easy to use, and has characterful rendering. For analog film, I use a Hasselblad 500C, Canon EOS-1V, Nikon F, Leica M3, and Leica M6. <\/p>\n

I always shoot in RAW on two cards in each camera. After the shoot, one set of shot cards stays in a secure holder inside a zippered vest pocket on my person. As soon as I return to my hotel, the RAW files are backed up on my computer, Dropbox, and at least one hard drive. All drives are kept in different locations, or one is FedExed home. I love what I do, but I’ve also learned not to assume anything. <\/p>\n

P.S. My kit for vacationing and personal work is a digital camera, usually the Leica Q with its 28mm f\/1.7 Aspherical lens and an Leica M9 with a 50mm f\/2 Summicron. This is for pure seeing, shooting slowly and deliberately. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/p>\n

(Last updated 1-25-26) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT As a full-time pro for over 30 years, the gear I take on assignment depends on what is needed. Contrary to what it might look like, I prefer to work with the minimum amount of equipment. Being familiar with the gear is most important to me. To that end, I’ve always carried some … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/randywells.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15262"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/randywells.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/randywells.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/randywells.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/randywells.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15262"}],"version-history":[{"count":413,"href":"https:\/\/randywells.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29718,"href":"https:\/\/randywells.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15262\/revisions\/29718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/randywells.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/randywells.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/randywells.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}