What's in the bag?

We occasionally get asked what kind of camera equipment we use. Here is a list.

  • Canon EOS 70D

  • Canon EOS 80D

  • Canon EOS D5 Mark IV

  • Canon EF 16-36 mm f/1.2 LII lens

  • Canon EF 24-105 mm f/1.4 LII lens

  • Canon EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 L lens

  • Canon EF extender 1.4x III

  • Two Canon GP-E2 shoe-mounted GPS receivers

  • Canon EFS 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 lens

  • Canon EFS 55-250 mm f/4-5.6 lens

  • A couple of tripods and a monopod

  • Various lens filters, including UV and polarizers

  • Lightweight, foldable light reflector for panels that are half-shaded.

Sean uses the 70D and the EFS lenses. The smaller lens fits in a cargo pocket, so he’s usually only lugging the camera and an extra lens and battery. It makes him a bit more agile than me, who has all my equipment in a backpack. He’s also much younger and able to get closer to the rock art panels than I am, so it works well for us.

The D5 mark IV usually has the 24-105 mm lens attached to it. This configuration is my favorite and most used. The 80D usually has the 100-400 mm lens attached. The 80D is my go-to camera for panels high on the mountainside or otherwise distant. I really like having two cameras ready to go at all times.

I use the 80D for the high magnification shots because it has a crop sensor, meaning the 100-400 mm lens becomes a 160-640 mm lens. If I really need to reach out for a photo, I’ll throw on the 1.4x extender, making the magnification 224-896 mm. Putting the extender on does reduce the aperture by a full stop, so the lens becomes f/6.3-8, meaning there has to be a lot of light if I don’t want to push the ISO. I don’t particularly like pushing the ISO, so the camera slows down the shutter speed (we both usually shoot in aperture priority). So, a tripod is an absolute necessity when using super-high magnification. Remember, if your lens has image stabilization (IS), turn it off when the camera is mounted on a tripod. IS goes wild when it doesn’t detect any camera movement and can blur your shots.

The GPS receivers are for the 70D and 80D. We have a GPS receiver, but it’s a pain to try to record the GPS location of shots. I want that info in the properties of each photo. The 5D Mark IV has a built-in GPS.

Melissa uses her phone and takes better pictures that either of us.

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