What's in my Camera Bag - My YouTube + photography travel gear
2019-04-02 · Long video (solo, talking head or whiteboard) · Ali · recording, 5:39 · watch on YouTube
Topic: YouTube, writing online and creators · mode: Demonstration and walkthrough · tags: His own numbers
Ali tours the camera bag that has made his YouTube videos since he started: a £40 backpack, the Sony A6500 with three prime lenses (Sigma 30mm and 16mm F1.4, Sony 50mm F1.8), his DJI Mavic Pro and accessories, says a cheap bag is enough, and opens a series on how he makes his videos.
What is said
The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).
00:00:00 — Introduction: the camera bag he has used since starting YouTube
- ★★ Ali says he has used this camera bag setup since starting YouTube about a year and a half ago, taking it to Iceland, Singapore, Bali, Germany, France and around the UK. — 00:00:00 · Singapore
00:00:20 — The bag, the Sony A6500, three prime lenses, the Mavic Pro, accessories and the other pockets
- ★★ Ali bought his camera bag, made by Be Aspire (as heard), for about £40 on Amazon in 2017 as the best price for its reviews; the moral, he says, is that you can get by with almost anything cheap. — 00:00:20 · Amazon
- ★★ Ali says he has made all his YouTube videos and taken all his Instagram photos with the Sony A6500 since about September 2017. — 00:00:50 · Instagram
- ★★ The Sigma 30mm F1.4 is the lens Ali usually keeps on his camera and his most versatile prime: a nice focal length for portraits without having to stand far back. — 00:00:50
- ★★★ Ali shoots only with prime lenses; the Sigma 16mm F1.4 is his go-to vlogging lens, wide enough and with a beautifully blurred background at F1.4, and the lens he films his sit-down videos with. — 00:01:37
- ★★ Ali always carries the lightweight Sony 50mm F1.8 prime, which he calls incredible for photos of people at events and parties because it flatters them and blurs the background. — 00:01:37
- ★★ Ali has crashed his DJI Mavic Pro once, in Singapore; DJI's insurance sent him a new one for about £70, which he calls Hedwig Mark II because Hedwig Mark I died. — 00:02:06 · Singapore
- ★ Ali now carries a Manfrotto mini tripod, handy for recording a podcast or setting the camera down without the GorillaPod. — 00:02:48
- ★ Ali carries the Rode VideoMicro when he plans to vlog on a trip; he says it weighs about 10 grams. (hedged) — 00:02:48
- ★★ Ali says the battery life of Sony Alpha cameras is horrendous, so he carries a whole handful of spare batteries. — 00:02:48
- ★ For video Ali carries ND filters, including some for the Mavic Pro, which he calls sunglasses for the lenses. — 00:03:17
- ★★ Ali takes his Bose QC35 headphones when flying because they are incredible on aeroplanes, drowning out all the noise. — 00:03:17
- ★★ Ali keeps a GorillaPod in the side pocket but is waiting for the SwitchPod to come out, which he expects to suit vloggers better. — 00:04:06
- ★★★ Ali is working on a series of videos showing how he makes his videos (the gear, the settings, his philosophy of filming and editing) for people starting on YouTube; the camera-bag video is the first. — 00:04:06
00:04:20 — A series on how he makes his videos, planned upgrades, the gear from zero to 160,000 subscribers, sign-off
- ★★ Ali plans to upgrade his setup to the Peak Design Everyday Backpack and the Sony A7 III, with a few more things he will share later. — 00:04:35
- ★★ Ali says this equipment has run his YouTube channel from zero subscribers to 160,000. — 00:04:58
- ★★ Ali calls the Sony A6500 a thousand-pound camera; for his first few months he used the Sony A6000, which costs only about £300. — 00:04:58 · Sony A6000
Threads in this video
- restate · What gear do you need to make YouTube videos? — Ali bought his camera bag, made by Be Aspire (as heard), for about £40 on Amazon in 2017 as the best price for its reviews; the moral, he says, is that you can get by with almost anything cheap. (00:00:20)
- refine · What gear do you need to make YouTube videos? — Ali shoots only with prime lenses; the Sigma 16mm F1.4 is his go-to vlogging lens, wide enough and with a beautifully blurred background at F1.4, and the lens he films his sit-down videos with. (00:01:37)
- progress update · Ali promises a vlog about his trip to Singapore and Bali (2018) — Ali says a vlog about crashing his drone in Singapore is coming at some point soon. (00:02:06)
- promised · Ali promises a series of videos on how he makes his videos: the gear, the settings, filming and editing (2019) — Ali is working on a series of videos showing how he makes his videos (the gear, the settings, his philosophy of filming and editing) for people starting on YouTube; the camera-bag video is the first. (00:04:06)
- restate · Which tech is worth buying? — Ali takes his Bose QC35 headphones when flying because they are incredible on aeroplanes, drowning out all the noise. (00:03:17)
Where the stories that moved here went next
- Ali promises a vlog about his trip to Singapore and Bali (2018) — open (updates through 2019, not reported done); last: progress update, 2019-04-02
- Ali promises a series of videos on how he makes his videos: the gear, the settings, filming and editing (2019) — open (updates through 2019, not reported done); last: progress update, 2019-08-29
Mentioned
Central: Sigma 16mm F1.4 · Sony A6500
Also: People: Taimur Abdaal
Projects: Not Overthinking
Organizations: Amazon · Anker · dbrand · Instagram
Places: Bali · Cambridge · Cotswolds · France · Germany · Iceland · Singapore
Products: Apple Pencil · Apple Watch · Bose QuietComfort 35 · DJI Mavic Pro · iPad Pro · JOBY Gorillapod · Kindle · Manfrotto mini tripod · Peak Design Everyday Backpack · Rode VideoMicro · Sigma 30mm F1.4 · Sony 50mm F1.8 · Sony A6000 · Sony A7 III · SwitchPod
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