Essential Must-have kit for pro photography — 2019 edition
What equipment to start professional photography
There are thousands of guides across the internet that give you random lists of gear you must take for your photographer’s carreer. And the “Az” shop sometimes offers you all-in-one kits at prices above all competition. So you may be tempted to think that with this magic combo for less than 500 buckets, you’ll become the new Robert Capa
THAT’S FALSE!!!
If this type of gear kit allows you to start photography quickly, you will still find yourself limited as soon as it is necessary to take more complex shots for demanding missions. and sometimes, you will have to buy additional equipments. And that’s why we want to avoid : extra expenses.
The purpose of this article is to offer you a minimum of versatile equipments to deal with any situation for less than 3500$ and include everything (from to stabilizer, drone, and underwater work). This list is therefore intended for professionals or Pro-to-be who want to avoid unnecessary expenses. I will sort items by bronze or gold label (If you want to put some extra bucks on something specific). so let’s see together the different fundamentals elements of a pro photographer kit:
The device itself: around 500$ (yeah !)
It is the one who will condition all the other devices. This is due to compatibility and the choice of accessories. Sometimes we talk about system choices.
Bronze : Eos 750D/T6i or Sony a6000
First of all, I have a preference for Canon eos 750D/T6i. It is compact, rather recent, and it has wifi. a must-have criteria for me. it costs about as much as the 200D that was in the kit presented at the beginning of the article but it is MUCH better.
If you want to make video too, you will prefer the sony a6000. you stay on evolutive systems and correct sensors. for the same price. less pointed in photo but more comfortable with video. and it can be recharged by usb with a reliable powerbank
Gold : Eos 800D/T7i or 5D mark II
I still encourage to put a handful of extra bucks in then new entry level eos 800D/T7i : better processor, better reactivity in low light, and a handful menu with explanations to guide you if you are unfortunaly a very beginners (we can return to the classic menu at any time). you can also consider the old-but-pro eos 5D mark II in second hand for a snack.
The Lenses (Around 1600$)
You need 3 types of lenses: all-in-one, golden trio zoom, and prime
The Golden Trio is a must-have for a professional photographer: 16–35 mm, 24–70 mm and 70–200 mm. With these three lenses, any photographer is equipped to meet nearly 90% of his customers’ requests. The constant aperture at f/2.8 of the trio of optics guarantees the same shooting possibilities from 16 to 200 mm, makes it easy to play with the depth of field and to be prepared for low light conditions.
CANON SIDE
BRONZE : APS-C Prime Lenses set (with some handy zoom) : 850$
EF-S are budget friendly but can’t be mounted on fullframe camera like Eos 5D. you must choose in the EF series
The legendary basic kit EF 50mm f/1.8 + EF-S 10–18mm for 350$
The Sigma EF-S 17–50mm f/2.8 for 360$
The EF-S 24mm f/2.8 for 140$
GOLD : Fullframe Prime lenses set for 5DII : 1250$
EF are pricey but can be mounted on aps-c or full frame camera. above that, the value dont really change by the time so you can think about investment
First of all, the EF 50mm f/1.4 (350$)
You can pick The EF 35mm f/2 for 500$ if you dont like the 50mm
and go to the Tamron SP 24–70 f/2.8 (900$)
PS : you can have the premium canon lenses kit EF 50mm f/1.4 + EF 17–40mm f/4 L (with video autofocus) for 900$.
2. Everyday Lense : 750$–1000$
The EF 24–105mm F/4 L IS II USM off-road zoom stand for 1000$
But you have Sigma version (canon mount) for 750$. lower image quality but budget friendly.
Xtra Gold : Golden Trio FullFrame (Canon Mount) by Tamron
Tamron SP 15–30mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2–1200$
Tamron SP 24–70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 stabilised — 900$
Tamron SP 70–200mm F/2.8 Di VC G2–1300$
Sony side :
the E mounted prime nifty fifty 50mm of sony start to the incredible price of 250$ minimum
and the all-in-one 18–105 f/4 for 600$
Sigma offers this all-in-one (sony mount) for 750$
Note : Dont forget polarized filters for your lenses if you want to make some video
Flash sound: about 100$
I recommend to take directly a flash capable of doing HSS, kit flashes don’t have this function. and yet, in the battlefield, you will be happy to be able to shoot more than 1/250 without having a black trace on the image. experience talking.
Canon side :
Sony side :
THE AUDIO : 75-150$
For versatility, it is always a good idea to provide a dedicated microphone to record short videos, whether for vlog or short informative videos. Whatever you do with it, it will always be more qualitative than your camera’s built-in microphone
Rode VideoMic GO : the basic 75 buckets gun-microphone
Tascam DR-05 v2 - 145$ , A mid-entry recorder for more recording versatility with a professional XPIX lavalier condenser microphone, sturdy table tripod, 32GB MicroSDHC memory card, Samson stereo headphones, cleaning accessories, and 4 AA rechargeable batteries with a charger
and dont forget this :
a 5$ minimonopod hotshoe for your pro recorder
The Remainder : 150$
A good photo backpack: 50$
Nonone love to search lenses between some cables, plugs and rags in the bag. when the time come up, few seconds can be game breaking
Amazon has a basic bag for device and laptop but depending on your needs (waterproof, laptop space, antistealth, powerbank ready, drone ready, etc…), you will adjust
The tripod : 80$
You need one : lightweight and strong
like the Geekoto 77" for less than 80 buckets
Stabilizer : 70$
Neewer handheld Stab : 70$
Led Light :
Neewer 1900W (2 x softbox) — 100$
Lume Cube (wireless, bluetooth and rechargeable) — 100$
Controller
Wireless Remote Amazon basic for canon 10$
Godox Xpro kit 150$
Neewer wired intervalometer 25$
Studio Flash
Godox AD200 200Ws 2.4G TTL Flash Strobe 1/8000 HSS 300$
Power management
2 spare batteries (MINIMUM) + battery charger : around 50$
Memory management
a memory card reader in usb 3.0 : 10$
at least 2 high speed memory cards: 20$ /pcs
SDXC Ultra 64 GB from sandisk
An external hard drive: 50$
Toshiba 1Tb
Bonus
Drone (For God view) : 550$
Dji’s Spark (Fly more combo) 550$
or Mavic Air for a better image quality (830$)
Sport Camera (For Sport, Hyperlapse and Slomo) : 340$
Gopro hero 5 with accessories (280$+60$)
Portable studio : 350–700$
Portrait and Fashion : Professional Photography LED Studio Large Dimmable Shooting Tent Box ) — 350$
E-Commerce and Product : the Neewer Photo Studio Shooting Tent with 4 Colors Backdrops (60x60 inch/150x150 cm) — for 60$ (No light)
or the HAVOX’s Photo Booth HPB-200 -(47"x32"x78")—with LED Lighting 5500k for 350$
Here we are ! $ For a complete set ready to go
You can see all this stuff on my Kit account
I‘m open for questions
Sincerely,
the bush geek
