Our Camera and Vlogging Gear: The Ultimate Set-Up 2024

We are huge camera nerds. Maybe Joey is a bit more than Katie, but we both love cameras and love photography and videography. So we might go a little “extra” when it comes to what we purchase but we want to shoot the best quality content for you all to enjoy.

One of the more recurring questions that we get asked in the comment section of our YouTube channel is “What camera setup do you use for vlogging” – well here ya go:

Camera Body: Canon R6 Mark II

• Fantastic camera that with amazing video capabilities (subject tracking and 4K UHD 2160p capture abilities).

Camera Lens: Canon RF 15-35 2.8 L USM

• The perfect vlogging lens, at 15mm it’s wide enough for both of us to be on screen while holding the camera at arm’s length and at 35mm it’s great for tighter shots on food and signs.

Camera Body: Canyon R5

• Joey’s camera is an absolute workhorse. It’s a 45 Megapixel Full-frame with High-Speed Continuous Shooting of up to 12 fps with Mechanical Shutter and up to 20 fps Electronic (Silent) Shutter which is perfect for photographing animals. The video capability really makes it stand-out, 8K RAW, 4K and Full-HD up to 120fps, 10-bit 4:2:2 with Canon Log, Canon Log3 or HDR PQ, Internal Recording in all Formats, with Auto Focus. What does this mean? It’s one of the most powerful mirrorless cameras on the market.

Microphone: DJI Mic

• Sometimes a big microphone on top of our camera is a bit obnoxious (people stare at it, it gets in the way, it only records good audio from a few feet away, etc) so we have a pair of these DJI Mics that work fantastic so far. They easily clip onto our shirts/backpacks and channel the audio wirelessly into our camera. We use these 90% of the time.

Microphone: Rode VideoMic Pro+

• Amazing microphone for controlled settings. Joey has had this in his camera bag for a few years and would use them for indoor interviews. We use this microphone 10% of the time.

Camera Support: Joby Gorillapod 5K

• Are you really a YouTuber unless you have the Joby Gorillapod? It’s infinitly adjustable to wrap around a tree brand, give us a little extra length when vlogging, or setting it up on a rock as we walk-by it. While it’s not perfect, it works great.

Camera Tripod: Manfrotto Befree with 3-Way Fluid Head

• Joey has had this tripod for a few years and absolutely loves it. It’s light enough to bring along on hikes and sturdy enough that it can support our heavier camera set-ups.

Camera Gimbal: DJI RS 3 Pro Combo

• We don’t shoot with the gimbal very often but when we do, we absolutely love the smoothness it provides our footage.

Gimbal Hardcase: Nanuk 930 for DJI RS 3 Pro Combo

• The DJI RS 3 Pro gimbal is expensive so we protect it with a Nanuk 930 case custom built to cradle it with hard foam. It’s waterproof and had a lifetime warranty. It’s worth the investment to keep your equipment safe.

Drone: DJI Mavic 3 Cine Premium Combo

• Did we mention we love camera equipment? Well Joey is also the king of overkill and wanted the ability to shoot Apple ProRes. This drone is good enough for Netflix and is beyond what we needed but it’s fantastic and the batteries last almost 47-min long! That’s so much better than the 18-min we got with our first drone.

Drone Hardcase: Nanuk 925 Waterproof Hard Case for DJI Mavic Cine Combo

• Just like the camera gimbal, we’ve got a Nanuk Hard Case that keeps our DJI Mavic Cine Drone protected. It’s water-proof, dust-proof, drop-proof, basically it’s Joey and Katie proof.

ND Filter: PolarPro 82mm Peter McKinnon Variable ND Filter (2-5 Stop)

• We can’t always shoot during golden hour when the light is perfect so we picked up a Variable ND Filter (2-5 Stop) that will allow us to put “sunglasses” on our RF15-35 2.8mm lens and keep our camera’s settings exactly where we want them.

Zeiss Lens Cleaner

• Nobody wants to see smudges on our videos so we keep our camera lenses clean with Zeiss. We never go anywhere without lens cleaner.

Camera Hardcase: Nanuk 935 Hardcase

• We actually have two of these cases because as you can see we have quite a lot of camera equipment. Between these two cases, the case for the drone, and the case for the gimbal we’ve got 4 hardcases that keep our equipment in perfect condition.

External Storage: SanDisk 4TB SSD

• SSD or Solid State Drives are the only hard drive we trust for our content because there are no moving parts and that means one less thing to break while we are on the move. They are a bit pricier than a HHD but are worth it in our minds.

Camera SD Card: SanDisk Extreme PRO CFexpress

• Our cameras take two different memory cards, the CFexpress and a more traditional UHS-II. We have the cameras setup to push every photo/video we take to both cards as a safety feature because if one card fails, we’ve got another memory card with the same content.

Camera SD Card: SanDisk Extreme PRO

• This is the 2nd memory card that our cameras take. These are the back-up cards incase our main cards fail.

Camera Sling: Black Rapid Sling

• We’ve been using the Black Rapid Sling for years now. It allows the camera to sit on our hips when we don’t need it. While it’s not perfect, we’ve not found a better camera sling set-up yet

Computer: Apple MacBook Pro (M2 Max)

• Seriously, what a glorious computer these are. We edit a lot of footage and these computers have done nothing deliver excellence. If you are serious about editing content effectively and quickly, a good computer is an absolute must.

Editing Software: Adobe Creative Cloud

• We’ve been long time fans of Adobe Creative Cloud for all things content related. Lightroom CC is how we edit all of our photos and Premier Pro CC is how we edit all of our videos. While Adobe is expensive, there is literally nothing better out there.

Music: Epidemic Sound

• Epidemic Sound is not just ours but many YouTuber’s go to source for music and sound effects. If you want country, they’ve got it. If you want jazz music, they’ve got it. For the price, it’s absolutely fantastic.