My 2026 Photography Gear List

People ask about gear constantly, so here's the full answer in one place. Every item on this list gets used on paid jobs: hotel and resort campaigns, food and beverage shoots, tourism work for cruise lines, hotel groups, and destination brands, motion projects. Nothing aspirational about it.

Organized by category, with links at the bottom. I update this page when something changes.

Primary Cameras

Two bodies, two completely different jobs.

The Fuji GFX 100S is what I reach for when I have time to slow down and think. Medium format at 102 megapixels. The files are in a different league for detail and editing room. The tradeoff is that autofocus is not its strong point, so it stays on the work where that doesn't matter: interiors, food, plated dishes, wine pours, landscapes. Anywhere I can set up and compose carefully rather than react.

The Canon R5 Mark II is the opposite. Fast autofocus, fast frame rate, a camera that keeps up when things are moving. It covers people, events, anything on a hotel property where moments happen and can't be staged again. On bigger shoots it runs alongside the GFX as a second body so I'm not constantly switching between systems.

Backup Cameras

Gear breaks on location. On a commercial job with no reschedule option, backup bodies aren't optional. They're just part of the kit.

The Canon 5D Mark IV has been in the bag for years. It takes EF glass natively with no adapters, which makes it a completely clean fallback for anything in the EF lineup. It's a camera I know cold, which matters when you grab it under pressure and need it to just work.

The Canon R6 Mark II is the mirrorless backup. Same RF and EF ecosystem as the R5 II, excellent autofocus, and good enough 4K video to run as a B-camera on motion jobs when the primary body is tied up. It doesn't have the resolution for large-format print, but that's not what it's for. For events, social content, or covering a second angle while the GFX is locked down on a tripod. It's exactly right.

360 Camera

The Insta360 X5 on an extended selfie stick solves a specific problem: elevated perspectives without a drone. Drone regulations are a headache and setup time kills the pace of a shoot. The extended stick is designed so the pole disappears completely from the 360 frame. Put it on a tall monopod, raise it overhead, and the shot looks like a clean overhead perspective with nothing visible in the frame. Fast, legal everywhere, and there's no other way to get that angle.

Lenses

The lens kit covers three bodies across two mounts. A Fringer adapter lets Canon EF glass and vintage Mamiya glass run on the GFX 100S, which opens up the system well beyond what Fuji's native lineup alone would allow.

On the GFX, the native glass is a three-lens set. The GF 32-64mm f/4 is the zoom I reach for on interiors and wide establishing shots, wide enough for tight rooms, long enough to compress a scene without swapping glass. The GF 80mm f/1.7 is the lens that gets used most. At f/1.7 on a medium format sensor, the subject separation and way it handles out-of-focus areas is genuinely different from anything in the full-frame world. I use it constantly on food and beverage work in natural light. The GF 120mm f/4 Macro is the detail lens: wine labels, plating texture, anything where the file is going to print large or be examined closely.

For the R5 II and R6 II, two native RF primes: the RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM and the RF 50mm f/1.8 STM. Light, sharp, and the 35 doubles as a macro which earns it more use on food shoots than I'd expected when I bought it.

The EF lineup runs natively on the Canon bodies and on the GFX via the Fringer adapter. The 17mm TS-E f/4L tilt-shift is the hotel and architecture lens, used for perspective control in tall lobby spaces and any interior where you can't fix converging verticals in post without losing part of the frame. The 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake is what goes on the camera when I'm walking a property without a full kit and want to stay light. The 50mm f/1.8 STM is the everyday prime, the 85mm f/1.8 USM handles people and mid-distance detail, and the 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS goes on every single food and beverage shoot without exception. Nothing replaces it for close detail work on a dish or a glass. The Sigma 24-35mm f/2 is a niche pick: the fastest wide zoom available for EF mount, useful for motion work or interior situations where f/4 isn't cutting through the ambient light.

The vintage Mamiya 645 glass, the 80mm f/2.8 and 55mm f/2.8, runs via a Mamiya 645-to-EF adapter that stacks with the Fringer on the GFX or pairs with an EF adapter on the Canon bodies. Film-era medium format lenses with a rendering quality that modern glass at any price point doesn't replicate. The aberrations and the way they handle out-of-focus areas are part of why I use them. Find them at KEH Camera or eBay.

Lighting

Two flash systems at two different scales.

For table work, food, and smaller interiors: a pair of Godox IT30 Pros on mini tripods triggered by a Godox X3. They go up in under two minutes and come down just as fast. On location, how quickly you can move the light matters as much as how good the light looks.

For hotel lobbies, large dining rooms, and event spaces where the IT30s don't have the reach: a pair of Godox AD200 Pros. They run on the same X system as the IT30s, so the same X3 trigger controls everything. The two kits pair naturally: IT30s for fill and close work, AD200s when the space is big and the light needs to travel.

Video

Most video work runs through the R5 II. The Atomos Ninja V connects via HDMI and records ProRes straight to an SSD, and doubles as a proper monitor on set, which matters more than people expect. Seeing an accurate image while you're shooting means you catch problems before the client sees the footage.

For situations where the full setup isn't practical, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 earns its place. The 1-inch sensor and 3-axis stabilization produce footage that genuinely holds up. I use it for supplemental clips, behind-the-scenes, and social-format content where I don't want to run the full production rig. The 4K/120fps capability is useful any time slow motion is part of the cut.

Audio

Location audio runs through the Hollyland Lark MAX 2. Two clip-on transmitters, two receivers, a charging case. The transmitters record internally at 32-bit float, which means even if I couldn't set levels before a moment happened, the audio is recoverable. That's not a hypothetical: on tourism shoots and press trips, interviews happen fast and you don't always get a sound check first. Having a system that protects you in those moments is worth more than one that sounds marginally better under ideal conditions.

Tripods and Stands

My main tripod is a Leofoto carbon fiber with a built-in leveling base and ball head. It holds the GFX 100S without any issues, folds down small enough to go in the Pelican 1615 Air, and the leveling base is genuinely useful in the field: hotel terraces, uneven restaurant floors, outdoor venues where the ground is never quite flat and you don't want to spend time shimming the legs.

For architecture and interior work, a Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head swaps onto the same tripod. Three independent geared axes let you make precise adjustments that a ball head can't hold reliably. When I'm shooting the 17mm tilt-shift on a hotel lobby, a half-degree of tilt changes the entire perspective correction, and that's not something I want to fiddle with on a ball head.

The SmallRig monopod covers situations where a tripod is too much: crowded dining rooms, events, quick run-and-gun setups, or the Insta360 on an extended pole when I don't need the full height of a tripod. One-touch height lock means it's ready in seconds.

Two Manfrotto Compact Travel Light Stands check in the 1615 Air alongside the tripod. Small enough to travel without a dedicated stand bag, solid enough to hold both the IT30 Pros and the AD200 Pros. I've never had a stand failure on location with these.

Bags and Cases

Four bags, each with a single job.

The Pelican 1510 is the camera gear case. Carry-on sized so it never gets checked, and every lens, body, battery, and card has a fixed spot inside it. The organization matters as much as the protection. When you're pulling gear in and out all day across multiple locations, having a system that forces things back into the right place is the difference between starting each morning organized and spending ten minutes looking for a battery.

The Pelican 1615 Air is the checked case for everything else: tripod, light stands, and clothes on longer trips. Same waterproof, crushproof build as the 1510 but about 40% lighter than a comparable hard case. It takes a beating in the hold and shows up on the carousel looking the same as when I dropped it off.

The Lowepro ProTactic TLZ 75 Pro AW is what I'm actually working out of on location. The Pelican 1510 stays in the car or at the hotel. The Lowepro gets loaded with whatever the current setup requires, light enough to move with, close enough to reach a second lens or a battery without breaking the pace of a shoot.

The Bagsmart 28L backpack goes under the seat on every flight. MacBook Air, iPad Mini, cables, chargers: everything that needs to stay with me in the cabin. Fits without a fight under even the tighter seats, and light enough that it's not a burden on a full travel day.

Security and Tracking

An AirTag goes in every bag and case. The Pelican 1615 Air gets checked, the Lowepro rides in the overhead bin, and the Bagsmart goes under the seat. Knowing exactly where each piece is at baggage claim, on a layover, or if something gets misrouted is worth more than the cost of the tags.

The problem with stock AirTags in checked luggage is battery life. A CR2032 lasts about a year, and opening a hard case mid-trip to swap a battery is not something you want to be doing on location. The Elevation Lab TimeCapsule replaces the standard battery cover with one rated for 10 years. Put it in, forget about it.

Storage and Backup

In the field, cards offload to multiple Samsung T7 Shield 2TB drives throughout the day, not at the end of it. One drive in the bag, one at the hotel, one in the car. On a commercial job, if a drive fails or gets stolen, the images exist somewhere else. This isn't extra caution. It's just how the job works.

Cards are SanDisk Extreme PRO SD (512GB and 256GB) in the Canon bodies and Lexar 512GB CFexpress Type B in the GFX 100S and R5 II. The CFexpress cards matter on the GFX. At 102MP, a slow card creates buffer problems mid-shoot and you notice immediately.

Back at the studio, everything goes to a SanDisk Professional G-Drive 12TB for primary project storage and to an OWC ThunderBay 4 for the long-term redundant archive. Thunderbolt speeds mean ingesting a full trip's worth of GFX files doesn't tie up the Mac Studio for the rest of the afternoon.

Batteries

The Anker 737 is the travel power bank, 24,000mAh at 140W. It charges the MacBook Air, iPad, wireless mic system, and camera batteries off one unit. At 140W it can actually top off a MacBook on a flight rather than just slowing the drain. It's airline carry-on compliant and has replaced a dedicated wall charger on most travel days.

Camera batteries are all SmallRig across both systems. The NP-W235 is for the GFX 100S and the LP-E6P is for the Canon bodies. The reason I switched from OEM is straightforward: both charge via USB-C. No wall charger, no separate cable. One USB-C cable from the Anker bank charges a camera battery the same way it charges everything else. That's one less thing to pack and one less thing to forget. The SmallRig 99Wh V-mount battery powers the Atomos Ninja V and anything else that runs on V-mount on location. Same story: charges via USB-C.

Edit Suite

The main machine is a Mac Studio M4 Max. It handles 102MP GFX files in Capture One and DaVinci Resolve timelines simultaneously without slowing down. Before the M4 Max, switching between a heavy color grade and a batch export meant waiting. Now it doesn't, which sounds like a small thing until you're in hour eight of a post day.

The MacBook Air M1 is the travel machine. Light enough to bring on any trip, capable enough for Lightroom culling and Capture One selects work in a hotel room. It's not the right tool for a complex video timeline, but that's not what it's for.

On set, the iPad Mini handles client-facing image review. Small enough to hand to an art director or hotel GM during a shoot without handing over a laptop. For the desk, I use a Kensington Expert Mouse Trackball instead of a standard mouse. The large stationary ball is easier on the wrist during long retouching sessions and gives more control on fine selections than a mouse on a pad. Once you get used to it, going back to a mouse feels clunky.

Software: Capture One for RAW processing and color, Adobe Lightroom for catalog-based client deliveries, Adobe Premiere for the majority of video work, and DaVinci Resolve for color grading and any project where the grade is a deliverable in itself.