I get a lot of questions about the kind of equipment I use on location, and although I’m not much of a gear-nerd I do find it interesting to see what other Photographers are using to get the job done so here’s a few details on the standard gear I use for most editorial and commercial work; additional equipment can always be hired as and when required but it’s rare that I have the need.
First up; good bags are essential. The LowePro Vertex 200AW has been my main bag for the past couple of years and I chose it because it was big enough to carry the essentials but small enough to meet the airplane carry-on requirements, while being relatively comfortable when walking or hiking despite the fully loaded weight of 20lbs. There’s also plenty of pockets for memory cards, gels, filters etc, as well as a pouch for a laptop which easily swallows the 13in MacBook I have for working on location. In here is a Nikon D3, a bunch of Nikon lenses and SB800 speedlights, Pocket Wizard and Skyport radio transceivers for triggering the lights, a Nikon D90 for video and production stills plus emergency backup, and loads of spare cards, cables, batteries etc.
My second bag is a LowePro Magnum AW shoulder bag which holds my Elinchrom Ranger Quadra kit: two heads, one pack/control panel and two batteries, plus cables etc. The Quadra kit came in a lovely purpose made hard case which looks pretty slick but I didn’t find terribly practical so it all went into the Magnum which works great although I’ll probably need to re-think it when I eventually get around to picking up a second pack.
Lastly I have a Kata lightstand bag which I bought after way too many times struggling with carrying stands (I’ve noticed that the new Manfrotto stands neatly clip together but sadly I only have one of those at present…) and houses a whole load of various Manfrotto lightstands, boom arms, and Elinchrom, Photek, and Lastolite light modifiers as required. Also on stand-by are rolls of seamless, various reflective panels and a Manfrotto tripod (important to have a good tripod although I’m not a fan of using them generally).
Any questions please hit me up in the comments and I’ll respond as soon as I can.
Thanks for taking the time to do the review. Would you mind posting a side-on photo or two of the Magnum AW shoulder pack? How long a lens can you fit in it, upright?
I’d rather not add more photos to the post (a Google image search pulls up plenty of side on photos) but I can tell you that the Magnum bag I have is eight inches deep.
I just bought a quadra set yesterday and am thinking of buying another bag so that I won’t have to remove the RQ-EL adapters. Is there any cover you are putting on the flashtube to protect it? From the pic above of your Magnum, looks like the bulb is unprotected.
Is this something that should concern quadra users?
There’s no cover on the flashtube; it doesn’t worry me too much but you should consider it when packing them into a different case/bag, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend throwing the heads into a bag loose. I have the dividers set out in the LowePro bag so that each head has it’s own padded compartment.
Hey thanks for the quick reply! I read your review on the quadra and had the same problem with the EL Skyport transmitter failing a couple of times and had to resort to my other radio trigger. How’s it going with you? Are you still experiencing the same issue?
Only once; just last week. I turned the pack off and then back on and it worked fine after that. Pocket Wizards are definitely more reliable but the Skyport system is so much more convenient…
Yes that’s what I did too. I’ve been testing yesterday and so far no problems.
What kind of Lowepro Magnum AW is it that you have (200,400,650) ? I have the Quadra Ranger pack and as you say, the “briefcase” they are delivered in is good but not that ergonomic…
Hi Robert,
It’s actually the original Magnum AW bag; the 200, 400 and 650 are all newer models. I recently sold the Magnum as I’ve been using a Lightware MF1217 case for the RQ kit for a while now.
Hello Simon,
Great post! I really enjoy your blog and your work! Congratulations buddy!
What kind of light modifiers you use for your portraits shots?
Regards,
Fernando Zecchinon.
Hi Fernando,
Thankyou. I use the Elinchrom range of light modifiers; my favourites are the Rotalux 100cm soft boxes (both square and octa).