One of the most common questions we’re asked by our followers on HedgersAbroad and by YouTube subscribers is some variation of “what cameras do you guys use?” While this might not be the most exciting or engaging topic to go into, we didn’t want to continue ignoring requests for information and thought we’d go into a little bit of detail for those of you interested in the tools we use to make Hedgers Abroad and our YouTube channel. If you aren’t a huge gear nerd like me, have no interest in photography and videography, or just enjoy reading the words we wrote and the stories we tell without paying much attention to the images, you can skip this post entirely.
To show off the primary camera equipment we use, we thought we’d share a quick video where we could discuss the aspects of our equipment that we enjoy as well as some of the downsides to our current gear setup. While we strive to capture the best images and shoot the most intriguing videos with our gear there are better and much worse options than we have, but we enjoy our tools and are forever striving to improve our content for the readers. If you have any questions about the gear specifics or want to know about some of our accessories/equipment that didn’t make the video, feel free to leave a comment in the comments below or on the YouTube video itself. Like they always say, “the only stupid questions are those that go unasked.”
TL;DR Camera Gear Video
Gear List from Video:
1. Canon EOS 6D (pictured above)
Digital SLR Camera that is capable of capturing stunning photos as well as video. Ryan has been shooting Canon cameras since his dad first let him borrow his Canon AE-1 to finish rolls of film while he was fly fishing in Colorado. Ryan has owned several Canon cameras of his own, but this one his favorite to date. With excellent performance in low light, stunning color capture, and the reliability of a Canon, this camera will almost certainly be the main camera for Hedgers Abroad for years to come.
2. GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition
This (nearly) indestructible little action camera is brilliant. Shooting stunning video from such a small package is a feat that still amazes me to this day. We love putting this little guy into action while scuba diving, snorkeling, or needing a camera is a location that most camera’s just won’t fit! We love GoPro, and this camera never stays at home when we’re on an adventure. Before getting our Canon G7X, we used this little guy to film most of our videos. The only downside was the microphone gets covered while it is in a case so we had to use an external microphone for all our audio.
3. Canon EF 24-105mm f4 L IS USM Lens
Excellent “all around” lens that captures photos and videos beautifully.
4. Canon EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens
Our sturdy (but very dated) backup lens. 90% of our blog photos/videos to date were captured with this lens before upgrading to the 24-105mm “L” lens.
5. Canon EF 40mm f2.8 STM Lens
The very thin “pancake” lens that I use constantly when the bigger zoom lenses are too much to carry. This little lens is as fast and sharp as it is compact. Affectionately called my “Shorty-40” and my go-to for tight markets and street photography.
6. Canon PowerShot G7X Digital Camera
Our newest addition to the camera family, the G7X was bought for many reasons. While Ryan typically detests “point-and-shoot” cameras for their durability, this one had received rave reviews from people who are hard on camera gear. The auto-focus in Video Mode, as well as having an articulated LCD screen (both of which the big camera lacks) made the G7X a no-brainer when we were wanting to up our video and vlogging game. Love this camera, and it’s almost always at our side.
7. Rode VideoMic Pro
An absolute Godsend for capturing high quality audio straight into your camera. This shotgun mic lives on top of our DSLR when we’re shooting video, but sometimes is plugged into an independent audio recorder to capture better sound when we’re using the GoPro or G7X on the fly. Definitely a great piece of gear and one that would immediately be replaced if broken. Like they always say, “viewers will forgive video quality, but not audio.”
8. DJI Phantom 3 Advanced
What can I say about the magic of drone footage that hasn’t already been said? We love the ease and reliability of this drone, as all DJI customers can probably attest. While we sometimes wish “Pigeon” fit into a smaller, more packable backpack, we constantly gush over the image quality and beautiful video we get out of this flying camera. Do we wish we’d waited 6 or 7 months until the new Mavic Pro came out? Yes. Are we continually happy with our experiences using the Phantom 3? Absolutely.
So that’s it: the basics of our equipment without the bags, accessories, extras, filters, etc. If you want to know any more about what we use to create this blog, let us know in the Comments section below!
Disclaimer: We aren’t sponsored in any way by the companies that make the equipment listed above. You might, however, notice that the provided links are affiliate links which would result in Hedgers Abroad receiving a small portion of the sale’s price from Amazon. We aren’t pushing anyone to buy anything and the links are primarily to provide specs for our gear. We just wanted to be clear on the links being affiliated in case anyone wanted to purchase these items but wasn’t comfortable with the Affiliate Program.
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