Photography Gear to AVOID! *What to Get Instead*

I only buy high quality UV filters because the clear filters are usually more expensive...

One of the best things I got are the Folding Grips by STC (the same like the filters). I got them for all my Olympus/OMDS cameras.

Very good advice indeed, for new photographers! My top 2: Head lamp with red light and a multi-tool/knife! I also carry a first aid kit a little larger than a pack of cigarettes. The case is watertight and has a very light small carabiner so I can clip on the outside of my pack on those rare occasions I'm packing the proverbial "Kitchen Sink" on a shoot which happens almost NEVER these days! As to filters. Yes, true today the UV isn't really needed but a very high-quality clear filter gives that extra security when out and about, but you can't skimp on price. They run, depending on size anywhere from 35USD/25GBP up to 125USD/100GBP and are very worth it. As good as the coatings are on lenses today, one errant nearly invisible bit of grit rubbed over your lens by a cleaning rag or even a brush can ruin your day! I'd rather blow 100 to replace a filter.

Now, not actually my worst gear, just less than expected was the purchase of one of the VERY FIRST EVER Peak aluminum travel tripods! They wanted "Fort Knox" for the carbon version, though at a big discount in the kickstart period which is when I made the purchase. That was still not worth the expense and not much lighter than the aluminum version. I found the stability compromised because the legs fully extended, tended to be very flexible and felt a little flimsy. The carbon version is a somewhat stiffer. I bought it because I fell in love with the elegant design and compactness. Guess what, 3 extra pounds and I still carry my Slik 780DX Pro around on a daily basis. That also has the height I like, up to 77" as, 60" +/- 1-3" is for midgets (oops not PC) but it's true for me as I'm tall and old and hate bending over even a little, unless the shot requires it. I came up with large format field cameras and Christ All MIGHTY the tripods were heavy and built like tanks. Ansel used to pack his gear deep into the upper regions of Yosemite on pack mules! So, I still really like a tripod that feels solid and doesn't ALWAYS require sand bags or my pack hanging underneath to make it secure. Again only 3-4 pounds extra weight and I can still pack in with 2 bodies (if both are mirrorless: QUITE light weight) and a couple of lenses. Often I'll go with my D850 and my Z7, two lenses and my FTZII quite happily slinging my 780DX along. We used to carry 70 pound plus packs with camping gear and equipment so a little 12-18 pound nicely padded pack is nothing.

It seems a little frivolous, this trend that's almost become everyone's personal competition/obsession to see how light you can make your carry and still carry the MOST gear even when 90+% of us NEVER use most of the gear we carry in. Of course, if you're a wildlife photographer predominantly and lugging around titanic focal length lenses then by all means it is necessary to really work at keeping the weight as manageable as possible. Most of the young Turks I see today are bending their backs under the ridiculous burden of a couple of mirrorless cameras and a few lenses, and going on and on about how light they try and pack and they're ONLY out on a day trek. For most of my day outings I carry one camera on the tripod over my shoulder and with a 24-70 or a 24-200 quite happy, skipping along whistling a ditty, small extras carried right in my cargo pants! NO need for a pack or to "Look" like I'm a serious photographer because I'm also carrying my darkroom along with me as Ansel did on occasion pack in on mules a portable darkroom.

For beginners I always advise: buy a good camera without too many bells and whistles and even the kit lens is often a good little wide to tele zoom lens, and stick with that. Do your research and ask questions of the sales reps or dig into the pro forums. Look at the major brands, Fuji, Sony, Nikon, Canon and decide on the one you like best. For the beginner it can be daunting but know those I mentioned are all good quality equipment. I happen to be Nikon loyal for almost 50 years now. There's less difference between major brands than back then. Pick your brand, and buy a good body anywhere between 500-800 USD and 1000+ USD. The reason I say this is that you'll keep your body longer than lenses and you don't need to buy a bunch of primaries or different zooms if you're beginning, just a good mid-range wide to moderate tele and as you improve your skills, trade that lens for a better lens or two and build as you go. Just what Mike implied here at the end. AND REMEMBER THIS as a beginner: LEARN TO SHOOT ON MANUAL! Even disable the auto focus at the start just to really get used to looking through your viewfinder instead of always at the live view back! Don't forget to adjust your diopter, that tiny little knob on the side of your viewfinder! Using the viewfinder makes composition more accurate in my opinion, more intimate, and removes visual distractions. When I compose, I NEVER use the live view back unless it's necessary!

Capture clip means you can not have an L bracket, so that is out the window. The Wacom takes editing to the next level and should be No 1 best accessorie.

💯 my Peak Designs clip has paid for itself many times over. Best piece of gear.

Swiss Army knife is good, but I don't use one anymore because of the number of times I travel on airlines. This will be confiscated and becomes more of a hassle for you to remember to put in and take out. A couple of small coins in one of my camera bag pockets are all I really need to tighten plates.

Some great tips here! Personally I especially support the last one for beginners: I just switched back from Sony Alpha 6000 to Nikon D7100. Why? Just because of these lenses and accessories you can buy for a bargain price easily for the Nikon. Bought a formidable Tamron 90mm Macro in condition A for less than 150 Euros last week. Try this with a Sony Alpha!

Surely a UV is good to protect the lens finger prints etc. I got a Hoya pro never use no filter

The VERY FIRST thing you put on an expensive lens is a neutral or uv filter!!! Buy a good one. It'll save you very costly repairs and it will protect the factory coating.

i use a UV filter to protect my lens

The L Bracket was an absolute game changer! I hated turning the camera on the side of the ball head! It is definitely my favorite accessory I own.

There are great headlights with a red mode. Very usefull at nightshotings. Look at Armytek Wizard WR. Great light, incredible bright if necessary. And the Lumix S5II got a red mode...

The Capture Clip is also available used through their website if you want to save a little 👍

Such great advice, can't believe I haven't bought that Peak Design clip yet. Just keep putting it off.

Of the 5 best, I have 4. Of the 5 worst, I have 1, so I guess that's a decent score.

The best bit of kit is your wife or girl friend who could carry your equipment and make the tea😂

I understand you would put custom tools and wacom tablet as your second worst. It's more of a gimmick or if you are really invested.
But I also disagree since I use the cintiq 27QHD tablet wirh the spacemouse enterprise and put the time to customize all the buttons. But I'm also a designer and use autodesk inventor so I'm used to those tools to make my design work go smoother and I started with hobby photography last year but still let my skills in design bleed over to how I work with captureone.

Careful with the L bracket recommendation. Those ballhead people are rabid. I saw an ad on IG for an L bracket and they went wild in the comments. LOL I feel like the ball head you have to reframe your shot. and that's too much of a hassle.

my worst gear I have ever bought was the Arsenal 2. I tried to love it, took it with me on many adventures but after the first few shots at each location I totally disagreed with the settings and ended up going back to full manual to get it right. learning full manual and how each setting affects the picture and committing that all to memory and practice has been the single most beneficial tool to my photography.

"anti-UV people" are almost as annoying as antivaxers... You are wrong. And some people who follow ur advices will cry a lot...

well about the UV filter. i do have a really high quality one on my medium range telephoto lens and it already has saved my lens once. I do quite a bit of sports photography (handball) and an (idiot) player thought it would be fun touching my lens. right on the front element. In handball players use resin to have better grip on the ball and that stuff can only be removed by very aggressive chemicals and hard scrubbing. If i hadn't had a filter on my lens would have been destroyed.

So agree with everything. Specifically the Wacom tablet! Mine is just collections dust in a draw. Setting up better sensitivity on the scroll wheel is so much better than using pressure with a digital pen.

the one piece of kit i can't live without... (kinda useless for landscape photography though) is a good strap.... i do streetphotography.... with an uncomfortable strap if my neck/back hurts the shoot is less fun and i'll be less motivated... a good strap will never hurt and i can spend 8 hours walking the streets.... countless pictures have been missed because people went for a stylish leather strap that's not comfortable enough

I don't always tell people what not to buy. But when I do, I make sure to put amazon affiliate links in the description.

I can't understand how people can be without a hand strap. It makes it so much more comfortable holding the camera and you can move your fingers freely.

I'm certainly an amateur photographer but a couple things I'd like to add. The lens filter is best used to protect your glass in situations where particles in the air are particularly bad, like factories or festivals where people throw water or color powder, etc... I have an Insta 360 OneX2 and I absolutely love it! Is it good for still images, or high-quality landscape videos? Not at all. What it is good for is an action camera, and in my opinion that's all it's good for but it makes an amazing action camera. I use mine for snowboarding, snorkeling, mountain biking, etc... If you try to use it outside of that lane you'll be disappointed but I'd certainly not call it a gimmick. Finally, also check out Cotton Carriers for camera mounts/harnesses. I got their Skout G2 and have absolutely loved it, and the price was pretty nice too. They have a few options depending on what you need. All that said, I appreciate this list and I'm going to be checking out more of your content. Thanks for doing what you do!

I use adapters to use some rifle scope anti glare filters to make wild life thorough a bit easier

I had the Peak Design messenger bag and the clip. I was out and about with my brand new (at the time) Canon 85mm 1.4 lens, my FAVOURITE lens to date, on my (at the time) new Sony A7iii. I noticed that the mounting plate for the PD clip kept coming loose and I kept tightening it, finally getting out my multitool to give it a good tightening. It didn't matter, shortly after my brand new camera and lens came crashing to the ground as it had slipped off. My amazing new lens has been forever damaged. I spoke to a PD rep at the ProFusion show in Toronto that year (2019) and was told that they had a fund for just such issues and told me to email him directly. I did. He blew me off to other people until all communication stopped and in spite of my repeated attempts to re-initiate communication I never heard back from them. I own a ton of Peak Design gear, all bought before that happened, I will NEVER give them another dime of my money.

In cold climates a flask is a must have.

I completely agree about bodies and lenses. I'm using some of the same lenses that date all the way back to my Nikon D100 from 15-17 years ago. Those lenses have been atop several camera bodies since then, and undoubtedly have a few more to go before they're done. They've even survived a DSLR to mirrorless transition, using an adapter. That said, my advice to anyone is to carefully select your lenses, and to buy the highest optical quality you can afford while choosing a decent body that matches your use case.

Don't get too mired into specs, or listen too much to the online manufacturer fanbois. You can spend hour after hour comparing specs in order to choose the very best camera ever made (until a year or two from now, of course) but it really comes down to this: does it work for you? For example: a Nikon D7ii is a superb landscape and general use camera. Its weakness is its focusing speed and frame rate, which is a negative for quick action photography, but unless you are doing something like sports or wildlife photography, it's more than adequate. Compare that to the new Nikon Z8, which has the same MP count, but does offer a 20 frame buffer and improved focus speed. It's a baby Z9 for action shooters, but is more expensive than the Z7ii. Look at the two...decide what you'll be shooting the most, then choose accordingly.

About how expensive photography is, its true. I've had my first DSLR in 2015, a 650D.ended up selling it couple of years later. I was looking into getting into photography last couple months and was ready to buy the Canon R10..but then I were like "well I don't need all that do I?" went on eBay second hand market and got myself a canon 750D with battery grip, couple original batteries and 3 different lenses for 350£ lol and on top of that, everything works amazing and shutter count its 6k. Out of 100k expected for the shutter. Sold the lenses that came with camera (apart from a 55-250mm) and got myself a 50mm 1.8 and a 24mm 2.8 lol a tripod, intervalometer, bag, variable ND, 128GB card and usb-c reader for under 600£.sometimes overspending won't guarantee results

I've got my canon setup to display red colours and black. It goes so easy in the eyes at night. During the day I don't mind using the other colour schemes

Shooting from moving cars and at the race track, I keep the UV filter on because of all the debris that gets kicked up.

In one of your previous videos I saw the camera clip on your shoulder and thought wow I like that, like you I'm thinking of the cost but have just bought an alternative on Amazon, hoping it's here tomorrow.

Excellent video, I did buy the pano head back in 2019 but now just do everything in post processing, so much easier, I also think another best gadget I bought was the Intervalometer, have used it so much for timelapse videos

On that last tip I can say I love that you said that. I am building up a Sony focused kit because I also plan to do video as well and I see that a lot of brands use sony lenses so I’d like to be able to buy the least amount of lenses per camera so my kit is still portable. So sharing lenses might help a lot

My Pentax camera has the option to change all the touchscreen red for astro photography nights

Buy a Gimbal for photography is the chaddest move

It's weird that the Canon G7X II has a "night mode" which turns the screen amber but my 6D Mk II doesn't.

I couldn't live without my Wacom tablet. It's a gamechanger when you get used to it.
Would love an L bracket however I have 2 tripods for different situations, one wth a swiss arca plate and the other not, so would be forever having to take the L bracket on and off 😟

I'd disagree on UV filter for some situations. If you are doing macros in nature, UV filter helps a lot, more than once I accidentally bumped into something while trying to get focus on a bug. Obviously for this kind of photography lens hood is out of the question as subject is like 5cm away from the front element. IMHO, a UV filter to protect both the lens and the filter threads is very good idea. I sometimes use it at beach as well, especially if its a windy day and/or camera is getting close to ground. Sand and salt water is not a combo I'd want on my lens coating.

I really like how you cut from scene to scene in your videos. I haven't seen anybody else use your method, and it feels more organic and immersive than traditional cuts. I hate when someone just sits at a table.

Regarding clip in filter, can there be a 3d printed bracket to quickly slot filter in and out

I still use a UV filter if they come with kits if I can't notice any difference in image quality. It's really for cleaning. Basically, when I have to clean the front of the lens, I'm a lot more comfortable 'rubbing' the UV filter with a cleaning cloth than the glass of the lens itself. I like to keep my wiping cloth clean, but you never know if it caught something that could scratch glass.

I'm inclined to agree with you on the clip-in filters, that fit behind the lens, they are a pain to fit, however the 10stop ND filter comes into it's own with wide angle lenses with a bulbus front element, where a flat glass filter on the front of the lens comes in eye wateringly expensive. I also find that on the Sony a7r4 I use the clip in UV filter to protect the sensor from dirt and dust, and this seems to work.

I think that blaming a drawing tablet or a 360 camera for not fulfilling expectations is a little harsh, they're not bad equipment like A cheap UV filter that would actually introduce issues to your images or be totally useless, they have their use cases and i think specially for the drawing tablet and specialized shortcut keypads, not everybody needs them but they're not bad products you should avoid, just products you might not use if you do landscape photography.

All solid good advise except for the Wacom tablet. A tablet is a must for any serious editing, you can not get anywhere near the control that you get with a mouse, not even with a track-pad; loop decks are only useful for large batch editing and only with certain programs, I have used PS for 25 years and always used keyboard shortcuts, so never bother with one, also cause I don't normally shoot jobs that requires conveyor-belt like editing, however I have 2 Wacoms a small one for on the go and a medium one for the workstation, the large ones are only really needed for graphics.

Great to hear a proper photographer speak words of wisdom. I can’t emphasise the last point enough. Bodies don’t change that much at all, spend your money on glass, your education and travel.

At night I use to switch to the red colored menu on my Canon.

The justification for using uv filters really depends on where you live or shoot
If your environment is horrendous like mine where dust pollution is so bad that it rains muddy water, a uv filter might not be a bad idea