My Equipment: Past, Present and Future

I by no means am claiming to be an expert but here is a little bit about the gear I’ve used, currently use and plan and purchasing soon.

After using DV camcorders and Sony handycams for my first few years I invested in my very first, and all-time favorite camera of all time, the Canon T3i. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE-VWdZUM1w I have shot my very first shorts as well as recently brought a hacked one to Seattle and got some beautiful results. https://youtu.be/UrDMakDV5Kk

The t3i has updated versions but the original holds up and is such an insanely cheap way to get a camera and start shooting.

During the days of theghostfiles.tv and A Brush With Evil our main workhorses were a pair of Cannon XA25s and a Sony FS100.. Over the 6 years we were producing ghost files content we used and insane amount of cameras and I won’t waste time reviewing all of them .

Season 1

• VX 2000

• Sony CX 550V

• Sony Z1U

• 4 or 5 random point and shoots and camcorders.

Season 2

• Canon 7D

• Canon T3i

• Panasonic GH3

• 2x Sony Pj710V

Season 3

• Panasonic Gh4

• 2x Sony PJ710v

• 2x Canon XA25

• Sony FS100

A Brush with Evil

• 3x Panasonic GH4

• 2 Canon XA25

• 2 Canon XA20

• Sony FS100

• 2x Sony PJ710

• Canon C100

Misc. videos and Shorts

• Canon 5d mk3

• BMCC

• BMPCC

• Sony FS7

The versatility pro audio inputs and color profiles make the XA25 my favorite camera for this kind of work. When paired with a 5d or better for B roll you can get some cinematic run and gun content. I fucking hated the GH4 then even tho I use it now A lot for events and vlogging. Although the GH4 is great it was just a little light hungry for the documentary work we were doing and we always went with full frame options whenever possible, after the mini DV years of course back then I was just stoked to use a camera with a square front end.

Since then I haven’t really had any hands on with other cameras except the Sony FS700 the A7s and a little bit of Red.

My current camera kit is broken up in 3 category’s Vlogging/Social Media, Video Production and Cinematography

Vlogging/Social Media

• Canon SL- 1

• Sony NEX 5

• Hero 4 Session

• Canon T3i (yes I still use it)

I know some of this stuff is dated and I in some of my content you can tell. I recently attempted to update my main vlogging camera to an SL 1 and I hate it so I still use my NEX 5 because of the flip screen and focus peaking. The SL1 is a powerful little tool especially when you hack it. I have yet to really test it but ive vlogged with it a little and it’s no good for that but it’s a good travel sized DSLR, there are defiantly more powerful compact systems out there. I always have it or my SL1 on me and when I know I’m going to be vlogging ill bring a go pro and occasionally dust off the old T3i .

most recent T3i video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrDMakDV5Kk

Video Production

• Canon XA25

• Canon 70D

• DJI Osmo

• Canon C100

• Dji Phantom 4

When I say video production I mean smaller client work, event coverage, YouTube videos acoustic sessions ect. A lot of my work is either event coverage or documentary/journalism type stuff so I use my XA25 for long hours of shooting and the flexibility of the zoom lens as well as pro audio inputs. For stills and specialty shots I use my 70D and DJI gear. On productions with more time for lighting and crew to wrangle gear we use the C100 as well.

Cinema kit

When I shoot my own shorts or get to do DP work I use a Canon C100, Sony A7S or a Blackmagic with ef primes recorded into a Ninja Assassin. I love motion so I love Glidecam and Gimbal shots or handheld with a rental EZ rig. I’m hoping to upgrade to a Sony Fs5 this year.

Sorry if this wasn’t very informative, thanks for reading and stay tuned for more gear and equipment blogs!