ver the past couple of years I’ve learnt what camera equipment to use to produce professional quality videos while also being portable enough to travel with.

This is all the equipment in my camera bag right now:

Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II

The G7X Mark ii  was sold as ‘the perfect vlogging’ camera… and it’s hard to disagree. The quality is similar to an entry level DSLR and the ease of use makes it a perfect vlogging companion. I take it with me everywhere since it just fits in my pocket!

I’ll always have one of these point-and-shoots available to me in my camera bag. They are so much easier to use than a DSLR and although the quality isn’t quite as good, the convenience makes up for that.

Canon EOS 80D

The 80D is the upgraded version of the 70D and is a great middle-of-the-line DSLR. It can shoot 1080p in 50fps which the 70D couldn’t, meaning I can produce high quality slow-motion videos.

The picture quality is incredible and a massive step up on the 700D I owned previously. I’ll always use a DSLR for the more cinematic shots and for photography and this is the perfect fit for me right now. I’m not the best person to talk about specs and comparisons, but there are loads of people on YouTube that do just that!

Canon EF-S 10-18mm

This is the lens I use for whenever I’m talking to the camera and for all my ‘wide’ panoramic shots. It’s great because it will get a lot of the background in without too much distortion. It’s also fairly cheap as lenses go.

Canon EF-S 18-135mm 

This is essentially the perfect travelling companion to use with the 10-18mm. It means I’m pretty covered if I want either a close up shot or a wide-angle shot. This lens also came with the 80D and is another fairly good budget option.

In the future, if I wanted to step up in quality then I would definitely invest in better lenses but for now these two seem to suit my needs.

DJI Phantom 4 Quadcopter

DRONE. I love my drone. I thought for a while about whether or not to invest in a drone and so glad that I eventually did (just wish I’d done it sooner). I own the Phantom 4 right now and it’s been amazing for me but in truth, I’m considering changing to the DJI Mavic Pro.

While the Phantom 4 gives better quality video than the DJI Mavic Pro, it is also a lot bulkier and less convenient to travel with. For now it’s fine but if it becomes too much hassle then I’ll change to the DJI Mavic Pro.

Manfrotto D1 Drone Backpack

This has to be one of my best buys. Before owning this bag I used to struggle with carrying all my equipment… and adding the drone to the mix really didn’t help things. I was recommended this backpack from Manfrotto and it was the perfect answer to my problems!

It fits everything (including my laptop, a DSLR, a few lenses and my Phantom 4 of course) and is also the perfect size for hand luggage. Yes, even for airlines like Ryanair! It’s a little bit pricey but I’d completely recommend it for convenience sake.

GoPro HERO4

The GoPro is an essential in any travel film-making camera bag. Of course, you could now opt to upgrade to the GoPro HERO5 if you wanted the latest technology, but I bought this a couple of years ago and it’s still more than enough for me.

Rode Video Mic GO

I picked this up in Bangkok after receiving a lot of comments saying I should invest in a microphone… and I’m so glad I did. I went for the VideoMic Go instead of the Rode Video Mic Pro (it was half the price) and so far I haven’t been disappointed with the quality!

JOBY GorillaPod

I can’t tell you how much I love these things. I have one for my DSLR and one for my G7X and they come in useful all the time.

So that’s it! That’s all the equipment I’m using right now.
(Well, besides the little things like extra batteries, SD cards etc.)

I hope this guide helps and good luck to any of you that want to start vlogging!

Jordan Simons

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