With CES Vegas opening today, I was inspired to put together a post showcasing my current gear setup, how I use it, and what’s used when.
Originally I was going to call this post something along the lines of “What’s in My Tech Bag”, but that wouldn’t be an accurate title since every trip, event or journey involves an ever-rotating assortment of cameras, chargers, headphones and cables.
BTW, the above shot was taken using my Nikon D90 with a 18-200mm lens. I mostly use the Nikon these days for in-office photo shoots.
I rarely take my MacBook Pro out of town. My trusty 13” laptop is a homebody and occasionally makes appearances at cafés or meetings. Since I’m often packing at least one camera, phone, charger, headphones and a tripod into my backpack, I slip an iPad Air 2 into the ClamCase Bluetooth keyboard.
Sadly, now that Incipio’s bought out ClamCase, this amazing keyboard is no longer being produced. I hold onto mine for dear life as I can pretty much use it open at any angle and the battery life is pretty sweet too.
I own two BOSE noise-cancelling headphones for two specific scenarios. My white and silver QuietComfort 25 headphones are ideal for zoning out when writing on my iPad. Because more recent iPhones no longer support headphone jacks, I had Belkin send me their handy Audio + Charge RockStar adapter so I can listen to tunes on both BOSE noise-cancelling headphones while charging my phone.
My BOSE QuietComfort 20 headphones are super compact and work miracles during a flight. I often travel with these and leave the larger headphones at the office, so I can pack more gear along for the ride. If I want to listen music without needing the Belkin adapter, I pack along their portable Rockstar Headphones with Lightning connector to trim down my gear weight.
Over the years, I’ve gotten a lot of use out of my LUMIX LX-100 micro four-thirds camera, but to be honest, last year I got an iPhone Xr and the photo quality I get from that is almost on par with the LUMIX.
As for GoPro and gear, I take along my HERO 7 Black for travel, especially when it involves snorkeling, boating and/or kayaking. My two fave GoPro accessories are The Handler (floating hand grip) with wrist strap and JOBY’s GorillaPod, which I’ve owned for ages (it comes with both ¼-20 tripod and GoPro mounts, swappable via the quick-release plate, great for time-lapses on both cameras).
[I’ve had my JOBY GorillaPod since owning a GoPro HERO 3!]
Whether walking laps on cruise ship decks, getting in a hotel gym workout or power-walking around the hood, I pack a tiny iPod Shuffle for two reasons: 1) obviously it’s tiny and 2) all it has is music so I don’t wind up taking my phone and being distracted by emails and texts.
That brings me down to one final must-have gadget: a solid charger. I’ve been using Belkin’s BOOST CHARGE 10K Power Bank with Lightning connector. It’ll charge up anything with a USB connector, plus having the Lightning connector means only having to bring along one USB to Lightning charger in my bag!
My collection has grown and changed up over the past decade, but this is my gear and how I get the most use out of it.
What’s your go-to tech assortment? Leave a comment; we’re always looking for new ways to streamline and learn about the latest and greatest tech on the market.
