My Gear

Equipment I’ve used for the YouTube channel, social media, and this website. This list might not be up to date! This equipment isn’t necessarily great, but it gets the job done.

Canon EOS M6 Mark II

Atomos Ninja V

Nikon Z5

Sony A6000

Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN for EF-M

Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S

Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 S

Nikon Z 28mm f/2.8

TTArtisan 40mm f/2.8 Macro for EF-M

Sigma 56mm f1.4 DC DN for EF-M
See current prices on B&H, Amazon, Walmart, and eBay.
I had wanted a high quality native longer focal length option than the 32mm lens. In this case you get a more narrow field of view, yet still have a fast aperture. There are options you can adapt, but this is something to consider even though it’s 3rd party. A nice aspect of this lens is that it doesn’t extend while focusing compared to the Canon 32mm and 22mm primes.

Canon EF-M 22mm f/2
See current prices on B&H, Amazon, KEH (silver), UsedPhotoPro, Walmart, and eBay.
I use this often when I talk to the camera in a studio setting. It’s a nice field of view for that purpose with a large aperture. I’m close enough I can control the camera and see the flip screen. I also use it in casual photography settings like when I’m at conventions taking photos of cosplayers. This is much lower cost than the 32mm lens, so if you want a lower cost wide aperture native ef-m lens than this is it to start off.

Canon EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6
See current prices on B&H, Amazon, KEH, UsedPhotoPro, Walmart, and eBay.
I use this for straight photos when I want that ultra wide field of view. I also use it for vlogging and b-roll video. The stabilization helps out video for sure. It is larger and heaver than the kit lens, so sometimes I use one or the other.

BOYA BY-MM1 Mini Cardioid Condenser Microphone
See current prices on B&H (similar item), Amazon, and eBay.
I have two of these that I use for my YouTube channel. While they are probably not great in comparison with powered microphones, these have been sufficient with me. Keep in mind I do a decent amount of post-processing to my audio so don’t expect the results you hear on my channel straight out of the microphone (I usually do normalization, compression, equalization, and noise reduction in Audacity). There are many factors involved in getting decent audio quality. From how close the microphone is to the speaker to what levels you set the recorder/cameras to. These microphones are cheap and decent enough for now.

The official Canon EF to EF-M adapter
See current prices on B&H, Amazon, KEH, UsedPhotoPro, and eBay.
It works well enough and the construction of it is solid. You can find them used at a lower cost. I bought mine around half price. Make sure you get it with the tripod mount because that has a proprietary connection. It does exactly what you’d expect, allow the use of EF and EF-S lenses on EF-M.

M42 mount to EF-M adapter
See current prices on Amazon, and eBay.
If you have older Asahi Pentax or other branded lenses in M42 mount, these are fun to use on mirrorless cameras.

Nikon F-Mount to EF-M adapter
See current prices on Amazon.
Another fun adapter to use with older lenses. In this case NIkon F-mount. The one I have can work with G-type lenses, but the aperture control isn’t especially great. I usually have the ring taped down.

Fotga Extension Tube Set for Canon EF-M (10 and 16mm)
Find the set on Amazon.
These are great for getting close up photos using normal lenses. They feel a little bit cheap, but haven’t broken on me yet.

Andycine Boling P1 RGB & bi-color LED video light
Find it on B&H and Amazon.
This light was sent to me to try out and make a video on. Since then I’ve been using it for my hands-on filming of gear at the local camera shop and a few other things like b-roll. I also use it for macro photography. There is an internal battery with an integrated mount. The mount and included cold-shoe setup could use a better design…

Craphy PT-15B LED lights
I have a few of these lights I picked up off of Amazon. They are bi-color and have strong diffusion. I don’t think they are sold anymore.

There are a lot more accessories to include. Maybe at some point I’ll add more here.

Weeylite Ninja 400

Weeylite Ninja 20

Viltrox Ninja 10

GVM 1500D 2-panel kit

A video rig I assembled mostly from Smallrig, Ulanzi, and Slik equipment.


Equipment History:

Update 2022: Moved on from the Canon EOS M50 pair. Also sold the M5 before that.

Update 7/2017: I’ve been using a mixture of Nikon DSLRs and Fujifilm fixed lens cameras.

Update 11/2012: I’ve moved to Nikon DSLR equipment due to the desire for a true 35mm full-frame camera.

The majority of my photography is done with a Digital SLR camera.  More specifically, multiple Pentax DSLR cameras.

Here is an old forum posting I made in 2005 about my first DSLR:

I’ve been reading about dslr cameras for a while and decided on the *ist DS. My main reasons for choosing the DS over the others were the viewfinder, overall look, large lens selection, that it takes standard batteries (already had a few sets of nimh), and the price I got it for ($650 with kit lens).

I got the camera today and I like it. I was surprised at how heavy it was. Well, maybe because my latest camera was a Fuji S5100 (prosumer digicam)… I like the overall size of the camera, which is not too large or small. I usually wear glasses, but the viewfinder still seems to look pretty good. I like the fact that it has solid access panels rather than rubber ones some cameras have.

Things I’m not too fond of:
The camera’s plastic and grip material feel too “hard.”

The grip is my least liked aspect of the camera. It doesn’t seem to fit my hand too well. When I hold the camera with one hand the grip edge starts to push into the top most joint of my middle finger. So I kind of wish the grip was a little softer, rounder, or larger. I’m 6′ tall so my hands must be somewhat longer than the camera was designed for.

The camera will be going back the country of origin in 4 months as I plan on studying abroad in Nagasaki Japan for a semester.

I sold that camera to a friend in early 2011.  It is still completely functional and should provide him many years of faithful service.   As of the start of this blog, I am using a Pentax K-7 (now with a K-5), so a lot of what I write will have a Pentax spin to it for better or worse.