My gear

Being a Nikon shooter from after they released the revolutionary D1 DSLR camera. I switched to Nikon from my Minolta Dynax 7 film camera’s in 2003. My digital journey goes through the D2H, D200, D700 and D750 to switching to Nikon mirrorless camera’s in 2021 with the Nikon Z 6II.

Like i said above, I have switched from DSLR to the Nikon Mirrorless system. I know that Nikon lags behind in autofocus to other brands. But since I have invested a lot in good Nikkor glass, this was the sensible thing to do.

Bag: To carry my daily gear I use a Shimoda 50 camerabag. These bags are strong, watertight and big.

Camera: My main camera’s at the moment are two Nikon Z 6II with MB-N11 batterygrips .

I have a pretty nice collection of lenses, all but one Nikkor and for the most of them designed for the Nikon F-mount. The Nikon FTZ adapter works great as a go-between.

Fixed: One nice one to have is the AF Nikkor 50mm f1.4. That one doesn’t have AF on the Z camera’s. The only non-brand lens is the Viltrox Z-85mm f1.5 AF II. A nice lens at half the price of the Nikkor one.

Zoomlenses: These start with the AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f4G ED VR. Followed by the AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8G ED. The brand new Nikkor Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S replaced a very old 70-200 f2.8 VR1 which gave a lot of vignetting on the larger Z-mount. Lastly I have the pretty cheap but wonderful AF-S Nikkor 200-500 f5.6E ED VR for when I can’t get close enough.

Tripods: The ones I use are an old but great Gitzo Basalt G1297 with a Benro B1 ballhead. For lightweight travel I use a Benro TSL08CN00 carbon tripod which only weighs just over a kilo.

Image: I can and do use my photography gear for video also. One drawback from the Nikon Z 6II is that it does not shoot in LOG, which is a raw format for video. You can get a paid upgrade but will also need an external recording device. It is also pretty heavy to use handheld so for vlogging I use the new Nikon Z30.

Run and gun: I have a variety of small camera’s. The oldest is a GoPro 3+ Black which came together with a DJI Phantom II drone. For tactical work I use a MOHOC helmet camera and the newest addition is a GoPro Max which shoots 360 degree video. I have an original GoPro Hero somewhere laying around. That belongs in a museum by now.

Sound: For the best sound I use a Rode Videomic Pro+ and a set of Rode WirelessPro II receiver/transmitters and a Rode cordless lavalier mic when needed. To check the sound I have a Boya BY-HP2 headphone.

Tripods: When filming I use a Manfrotto MVH502AH fluid head on a SmallRig 4167 FreeBlazer Heavy-Duty Carbon Fiber Tripod. The Manfrotto is pretty big and heavy. I always have a lightweight Benro TSL08CN00 on the side of my camerabag. For those nice smooth moving shots I picked the DJI RS2 gimbal.

Accessories: To dress up my camera’s for video I use a cage, handles, matt box, focus puller and various other gear from Smallrig. My external monitor is a SmallHD Focus7 with a Smallrig cage and sunhood.

When I started doing model photography back in 2008, I was intrigued by the Strobist way of lighting with small strobes and lightweight lightstands. Now with adding video to my game I have added a lot of heavier gear.

Flashes: Nikon SB-24 (now in reserve), Nikon SB-800, Nikon SB-900 and Nikon SB-5000 , mostly controlled by a SU-800 commander on the camera. For off-camera flash outside I use a Godox X1 transmitter and three Godox X2 receivers. They work great and don’t cost a whole lot.

LED: Nanlite Pavotube II 6C, Nanlite Pavotube 30C, Nanlite Forza 300B Bi-Color.

Accessories: I have a whole variety of lightstands, from small to big and a large collection of modifiers. These range from 150cm parabolic to small 50cm shoot-through umbrellas.

Photo-editing: I use, as do probably most photographers, Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop.
For my video-editing I use Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve. It is not as intuitive as probably other video-editing programs but once you get used to it, it has a lot of advantages. One of the best ones is that a very complete version is completely free.

Music: I use Artlist. For an annual fee I can use rights-free music and sound effects in my videos. Remember that sites like YouTube automatically check if there is an infringement in copyright. With Artlist and similar services I, and clients, can post and use their music and sounds and not worry about copyright.

With personal gear I mean the things that keep me warm, dry and protected when I am working. When working with the military I occasionally need more than just clothes. Let’s start from the top.

Helmet: OpsCore Bump from COBBS. This safety helmet (non-ballistic) keeps my head safe when working in a dangerous environment or riding in armoured vehicles. These vehicles have all sorts of stuff hanging on the inside to crack your skull.

Head: To needed to protect my eyes, on firing ranges for instance, I use a set of Oakley M-frame ballistic glasses provided by Victory Outdoor. Protecting my ears is a 3M Peltor Comtac XPI headset.

Beanies: Keeping my head warm are a thick 5.11 beanie from Gearpoint or a thin DNS Alpha beanie from Victory Outdoor.

Jackets: All my jackets are from DNS Alpha, supplied by Victory Outdoor. I use the Light Insulation jacket, the Light Insulation Hoodie, the Heavy Insulation Hoodie and the Gore-Tex 3L LE rain jacket.

Trousers: When in the field I wear trousers made by UF Pro, supplied by Gearpoint. These are very sturdy and with lots of pockets to for all sorts of things.

Underlayers: When it really gets rough outside I wear a baselayer made by DNS Alpha, supplied by Victory Outdoor and a flame-proof NFM shirt provided by te manufacturer years ago.

Shoes: I fell in love with the Salomon Forces XA Mid GTX from Gearpoint when the first came out several years ago. I wear the extensively as they feel like sports shoes. I just got the latest version.