One of the first things I did when I bought my Vanagon was to buy a great portable tool kit for the inevitable day it has something go wrong on the side of the road. That’s because (as any mechanic will tell you) having the right tools (or even the right quality of tools) makes or breaks your experience getting a job done.

For a creative, the right tools are just as critical. I’m so excited to write this blog, because I absolutely love tools. For a creative, we often use the word gear. Gear doesn’t make you a better creative, but in the right hands, the right tools enable and empower you to create your best. This is why I love gear. I love having the right tools for the job that I do.

Before we jump into all of this, here’s what you can expect. I’m going to share the gear I use, why I use it, and some examples of what I have captured with it. I only focused on my main photography setup. I don’t go into my film photography setup, my drone, or even my Fujifilm x100v. I don’t touch on my video setup either, because it’s these same lenses, just with a different camera body. Honestly, this blog is mostly going to be about the lenses I use, because your lenses are 90% of your look. So let’s dive in.

Sony A7RIVa

Let me start by saying that I had no intention of buying this camera. I was completely content with my Sony A7RIII. But last year on October 15th, I was in a major car accident that destroyed my camera (and almost killed me). While sitting in traffic, I was rear-ended by someone who was going full speed and didn’t see that traffic had stopped. True story: I have no memory of the accident, or even the hours leading up to the accident. I awoke in the hospital, and spent days in the ICU recovering. I was very lucky, and I’m very grateful that I get to continue to be here for my family.

When I was finally out of the hospital and got to visit my car, I found my camera, which was sitting in the backseat because I was making a video that day. It was completely destroyed. Watch the video about the accident.

Let me say this very important thing here. If you have gear but do not have insurance, stop what you’re doing now and get insurance. I have mine through Allstate, where I also have my auto and other policies. Since the accident was so severe, my Allstate agent was highly involved. Within three days of claiming my camera as a loss, they had replacement funds (for what I bought it for years ago) in my account. I was definitely in good hands.

Between having full-retail value for my busted A7RIII and sales happening on the A7RIV, I went ahead and ordered the A7RIV to replace my broken camera. But this A7RIII and I have some really great history, and I tend to get attached to things I have history with. I sent my A7RIII in for a full repair, and today it’s functioning as it did prior. This ended up giving me two bodies, which I needed for my commercial work anyway. You can do all your spec research for the A7RIV if you want. This is my main camera, and I’m obviously spoiled by megapixels.

Sony 16-35MM f/2.8 GM

I think having a lens that can give you super wide images when you need them is pretty critical. One of the biggest problems with super wide lenses though, is distorted corners. The Sony 16-35mm GM is nearly perfect in the corners, and while it’s a very expensive lens, it’s completely worth it to capture those big and epic landscapes that I love to capture. It’s pretty rare for me to shoot all the way down to 16mm, but you can find me hanging between 20mm - 35mm pretty often…especially for video work.

Sony 35mm f/1.4 GM

This is my most recent lens, as it took a lot of emotional processing to part with the Sony/Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/1.4. I loved that lens, and shot on it for years as my main lens. The 35mm is my go-to focal length. It’s my favorite, by far. I ended up selling the Zeiss and grabbing this lens because I was noticing a lack of sharpness when compared to my other lenses, which are all GM. I bought the GM version of the 35mm, and now I feel like I have quality consistency across all of my lenses. The 35mm works in nearly every situation - it works in landscapes, and it works in portraits. If I only had one lens, this would most likely be it.

Sony 50mm GM f/1.2

As an avid 35mm shooter, I’ve historically never really grabbed onto a 50mm lens. Until recently, the last time I shot a 50mm was in 2018, which was only a Canon nifty-fifty. Nothing special. But I kept seeing rave reviews for this lens (especially for video content), and after a friend told me how special it was shooting at f/1.2, I figured I’d go for it. This lens, while not my favorite focal length, is definitely magic. It’s only second in terms of magic to the 135mm GM, which I’ll cover in a moment. But the slight compression, creamy bokeh, 3D-pop, and overall experience shooting with this lens is an absolute job. I love every image I get with this lens. Period.

Sony 85mm GM f/1.4

If there is one lens that’s proves it’s not all unicorns and ponies, it’s this one. I just don’t love it. I got it because I felt like I needed an 85mm, but I’ll be honest - while I don’t mind the focal length, this lens is probably going to exit my bag for a different 85mm, or perhaps when Sony drops their v2 of this lens. If I take a dozen photos, at least half will be missed focus. Also, there is a different Sony version of this lens at f/1.8 which is much cheaper (basically a third of the pice) and if I’m honest, it shares the same strengths as this lens. Yes, I love the images I’ve gotten with this lens. But what you (nor my archive) won’t see are the many images I have to delete because of missed focus. But you can’t beat the 85mm focal length for portraits and compression.

Sony 135mm GM

I was at Disneyland recently with my kids, and as they took in the perfectly-crafted Disney environments, I thought to myself - this is magic. I hadn’t felt that feeling since a couple of years ago when I picked up the 135mm GM from someone on eBay. I took it out on a shoot and thought to myself - this is magic. This lens not the easiest focal length to carry around, but my goodness - the images you get with it are so freaking special. Whether I’m shooting portraits from fifty-feet away, or shooting tight landscapes, I’m always in love with what I get with this lens.

Sony 100-400 GM

I bought this lens for one reason, and it’s the only reason I ever pull this lens out - wildlife. I’m not always out shooting wildlife, but I get so thrilled when I find animals out in the west. In Yellowstone, this may be the only lens on my camera for a few hours at a time. It’s so sharp, and at 400mm I can reach right up into the face of any animal I can make out with my eyes. With the A7RIV camera, I can really crop in with amazing details, making my images - and those majestic critters - larger than life.

A Few Bonus Thoughts

Alright, that rounds up my main photography toolkit. You may have noticed a sticker on all of my gear… on every separate part of my gear. Every body. Every lens. Every lens cap. Every lens hood. And you can’t see it, but batteries, too. I threw a sticker together on Canva and ordered a sticker book from Moo. I then put a sticker on everything. Why? Because I shoot with others who use very similar gear or just Sony equipment, and this sticker lets me keep track of my stuff when we’re all sharing gear and grabbing equipment in-and-out of the bag…or car. So, stickers.

And one more thing. Put a UV filter on your lenses. I slipped and fell on the North Shore of Lake Superior in 2011, falling right into my camera body and lens. The UV filter shattered. The lens was fine. Most of my UV filters are B+W or Tiffen, and one is Moment. They’re worth what you pay, especially if you do something dumb like walk on smooth North Shore rocks in flip flops.

*Shattered UV, younger +25lb heavier Dave, 2011*

I hope this blog has been informative, helpful, and interesting. This is my kit and I love it. Most importantly - I’m content with it. I’m slowly getting over my GAS (gear-acquisition-syndrome) and living a normal, creative life. That is, until they announce the Sony A7RV and I’ll be shook. Or maybe sell a third of this list and get a Sony A1. Or sell it all and move back to Canon.*

*Never.

My Camera Kit