My latest video on my YouTube channel is another haul video about my most recent purchases related to tech and photography. I made a similar video back in June, but this one is BIG. Check out the video below and then read on for a list of each of the products I’ve bought recently!
If you’re a brand and you have some products you’d like my opinion on,
get in touch through my press pages and let’s see what we can create!
The products featured in the video
Here’s a quick run-down of each product shown in the video along with some thoughts about why I bought them. Just so you know, some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that by clicking them, you are helping to support this blog and keep the content fresh — thanks!
Røde NT1-A Microphone and Shock Mount
This is a microphone that I’ve read an awful lot of good things about. For accurate detail in vocals and event instruments, this mic will be perfect for voiceovers in my future videos. Luckily, Amazon had it listed in their Prime deals day, so I got it heavily discounted!
Hoya Circular Polarising Filter
I’m not a frequent user of filters, but really looking forward to experimenting with the features of this polarising one! These filters can make skies in landscapes more vibrant and also remove reflections from shiny surfaces and even water. Unfortunately with filters, you do need to spend quite a bit of money in order to get decent results, but they’re worth the investment.
Make sure to follow me on Instagram to see the results of using this filter!
Tiffen Variable ND Filter
This filter will primarily be used when I filming as it will allow me to control the amount of light reaching the sensor without adjusting my shutter speed, aperture or ISO which is critical for video use. Likewise with the polarising filter, you need to spend a lot to get great results with NDs. Having researched a lot into various ones, I decided up this Tiffen Variable ND — so far I’m very pleased with it.
Manfrotto Pocket
I didn’t technically purchase this as Manfrotto gave it to me at the end of the blogger event during the summer, but I thought I would feature it anyway as it would make a great gift for an aspiring photographer or someone who wants to do more with their compact camera.
Manfrotto PIXI
Likewise with the Pocket, this was given to me by Manfrotto, though I already owned one previously and thought I would feature it again! I use these little tripod/grips as a mini vlogging support for my G7 X — they also fit rather nicely in my pocket with the camera poking out above for quick access.
Lastolite Circular Diffuser
The final gift from Manfrotto was this Lastolite diffuser which will come in handy when filming or photographing outside in direct sunlight as it will soften the light for a more desirable image.
Manfrotto BeFree Carbon Fibre Travel Tripod
Sometimes when I go out with camera gear, I’m reluctant to take a tripod “just in case” because of its added weight and size. Unless I know I definitely need one, I rarely take one. With the BeFree carbon fibre travel tripod I will be so much more inclined to take a tripod with me, because it is literally half the weight of my other tripod! I’m so glad to have finally gone carbon fibre, so expect a whole range of long exposure shots and more to come soon!
Joby Gorillapod Focus
This is the Gorillapod I should have bought when I got my first Gorillapod. This thing is so much beefier than the original and with the added ballhead, it is much more manageable and faster to set up a composition. It’s also slightly larger than the original Gorillapod, so it should hold a larger amount of equipment too!
Native Union Belt Cable Lightning to USB for iPhone/iPod/iPad
I’ve been needing a spare iPhone Lightning cable for quite a while now for when I’m freelancing at various offices in London, so I decided to pop into Apple to pick up a standard cable. When browsing around I noticed these rugged looking cables and thought they would be a much better solution for me. An extra bonus is that they’re longer than the official Apple ones at 1.2m, plus they are MFi (Made for iPhone) certified which means that Apple approves of them!
Manfrotto Piccolo Stile Plus 3 Case
This was a bit of an impulse buy, if I’m honest. When buying my BeFree tripod, I stumbled across this little case. Initially I got it for my G7 X, but it turns out that it’s slightly too small for it. No doubt I’ll find some other uses for it though e.g. storing my GoPro.
Sony A7R II
Buying a new camera has been a huge dilemma for me over the past few years. To cut a long story short, I bought the Sony A7R II and am so far loving it!
For the full story of why I chose the Sony and an unboxing video, read up about my dilemmas of trying to upgrade.
Sony A7R II Battery Grip VG-C2EM
As with all of my other main cameras, I like to get a battery grip for the added stability and balanced weight with a hefty lens, as well as the extra portrait shutter grip. With a camera as small as the Sony A7R II, this grip also adds a bit of extra physical support for my hands. If I’m travelling light, I can always take the grip off for more compact piece of kit.
Oh, and of course it doubles your battery life too!
Metabones EF to E-Mount T Adapter IV
In order to use my Canon lenses with my new Sony, I needed to get an EF to E-Mount adapter. This one from Metabones is the latest generation version and supports all the features you would expect to have on a native canon camera; including auto-focus, aperture control and auto exposure.
There’s no physical loss in image quality because there’s no extra piece of glass involved, but there will be a noticeably slower auto-focus (though the A7R II is actually pretty fast at this!).
Lexar 128gb SDXC Memory Card
With almost every new camera I buy, I always get a few new memory cards to make sure I’ve always got enough speed and capacity for the new features each new bit of kit brings.
This time, I’ve gone for the Lexar 128gb SDXC card (the first time I’ve gone away from SanDisk 😱). With write speeds of up to 150mb/s this is plenty fast for 4K video recording. Not to mention, this thing is huge. 128 gigabytes?! So good, I bought two!
Micromuff Skinny Wind Muffler
To keep unwanted noise and rustling from video recordings in the wind, I have bought this Micromuff which sits directly on top of my Canon G7 X with a bit of velcro. I’ve tested it a little bit and it seems to work rather well which is exactly what I need!
For the G7 X, you will need the Skinny Micrmuff, not the original as I found out when I bought the wrong one.
That's all, folks!
So that’s it for all of my recent purchases! I told you it was a big one…
If you enjoyed this type of post, please leave a comment below and also make sure to subscribe to me on YouTube to catch each new video as it’s released!
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