Amanda has been an avid photographer for many years. She owns a Canon film camera and has taken college courses on Black and White film photography and the art of photography. She loves taking photos and editing our journey in her own artistic way.

Our Camera and Equipment

We get a lot of questions on what we use to film our videos and take our photos. We don’t gatekeep so we have curated this list to include the equipment we use for the travel blog, clients, and our socials. Keep in mind that photography and video editing is a skill that will develop for you over time.

Below you can see a few pictures Amanda took in 2015 at the beginning of her photography journey.

Fujifilm X-H2 Mirrorless Camera Body

I carry this camera everywhere. We have been wanting a mirrorless camera for years and decided to purchase the X-H2 Fujifilm cameras come with film recipes already built into the camera making this a no-brainer purchase for us. The camera hosts a groundbreaking 40MP BSI sensor compared with the ability to yield a single 160-Megapixel image with the help of the Pixel Shift Combiner software making this camera our top pick. The ability to shoot video in 4k and 8k resoltuion was a huge plus.

Camera Lenses

We have two lenses listed below that we are currently carrying around in our camera sling bag by Chrome.

Fujifilm XF16-80mm F4 R OIS WR

The XF16-80mm lens is my normal run and gun setup. The lens is a perfect mix of wide angles to the very beginning of a telephoto range. It has the lightning fast auto focus, all aluminum body and is weather sealed for those rainy and dusty days. This lens is my go-to for anything the day may bring.

Vintage Vivitar 135mm f2.8 Telephoto Camera M42 Screw Mount Lens w/ HCE 555mm Skylight 1-A

This vintage lense is perfect for portraits, wildlife and landcape. We picked this lense up in a antique store in Nevada City, California for a reasonable price of $10! It came with the HCE filter but not the Fotodiox adapter. The older vintage lenses are made of high quality glass and materials but they give the soft dreamy look that we love.

Best Camera for Under 50: Fujifilm FinePix S8200

We bought the Fujifilm FinePix S8200 for a good deal used at $35 USD from a random thrift shop. This camera captures early 2000s artistic-style images. It has a vintage look including built-in grain and softness that new cameras do not capture naturally. The Finepix is a camera you can take on adventures and not have to worry about and is great for beginners.

Your photos will look better than even the newest iphone because the sensor is bigger and it captures higher resolution photos at 16 Megapixels. You don’t have to buy this camera specifically but if you’re on a budget consider thrifting your camera as long as the specs are higher than 12 megapixels+ you’ll have some great photos for socials.

DJI Mini 2 Fly More Combo Camera Drone

As pilots we love to view the earth from a bird’s eye view. The drone helps us do that everywhere we travel. The DJI mini shoots video in a crisp 4K and takes 12mp pictures from the sky with ease. This has been a great tool for learning and experimenting with aerial photography.

Now that drones are becoming more sought after, the regulations have become more strict. Many places require permits, and it’s important to note that flying a drone is strictly prohibited in all national parks across the USA. Shooting aerial photography and video is becoming harder every year.

GoPro HERO10 Black

We have used GoPro cameras for years now and love them. They capture all of the video and still shots from underwater.

Best GoPro Camera for Underwater

The GoPro Hero10 is one of the best video cameras on the market for underwater events. We have used this camera in Mexico and French Polynesia. The camera is so small and light you will never notice you are carrying it around. With the right settings, you can capture some amazing underwater video and photos!

SHOOT Dome Port Lens

The dome lense gives you that perfect below and above water shot. We love swimming off boats and in beautiful locations the dome gives you the opportunity to experience both worlds. The dome is light and versatile. 

Best GoPro Camera for Vlogging

The GoPro Hero10 and above will be best for you to have for vlogging. You’ll be able to see yourself in the front camera view as you’re filming and for beginner travel vloggers it’s a very affordable all-in-one option.

Accesories

Chrome Industries Niko Camera Sling 3.0 Bag

I didnt want a huge camera bag so we went with the Niko Sling. Chrome builds amazing products that are tough and edgy. Chrome is well known in the cycling industry for producing great gear. I have been using this bag for a few months and love it. It’s light, small and tough.

Memory Cards

SanDisk 256GB Extreme PRO and the SanDisk Extreme Pro 512GB CFexpress Type-B are our go-to cards and currently live in our Fujifilm X-H2 full time. The SanDisk 64GB SDXC memory card is a back lives in the Finepix S8200.

Our Fujifilm cameras take two different batteries. When capturing content, some days can be quite extensive, so having extra batteries on hand will be essential. The X-H2 has a specific battery type so we use the original Fuji battery along with the SmallRig NP-W235 Camera Battery Charger Set. The charger allows you to monitor how far along the charge cycle is in the charger stand and allows you to charge two batteries at once. 

The Finepix takes four double A’s. We have found the Survival Frog EasyPower USB AA Rechargeable Batteries to be very helpful. You can recharge them in any outlet block for a 2.0 usb cable. 

Gopro Dual Battery Charger + Battery is a lifesaver as well. GoPros are notorious for having about 30 minutes of useful recording time. Having the cradle and an extra battery will keep you filming out on your adventure. 

Lastly the Anker Portable Charger keeps us charged up when we do not have access to electricity. We have 4 of these and will use them for charging the camera batteries on the go while we utilize the Smallrig cradle or the GoPro cradle.

Tripods

ATUMTEK 60″ Selfie Stick Tripod is one that we have used for a few years and found it to be extremely useful. When you want a certain shot and angle with your phone this will get you the image you desire. I love how it packs very compactly and you will not notice how much room it takes up in your bag. 

The PHOPIK Lightweight Tripod is a newer addition to our gear list. It snags those silky images everyone loves with our X-H2. It has the ability to hold a phone or a big camera. It’s lightweight and much more stable than the selfie stick tripod.

Camera Cleaning Kit

Keeping your lenses clean and body is a task that is ideal for perfect images. We love our K&F Concept 4-in-1 Camera Cleaning Kit to clear small bits of fuzz and smudges from sweat or fogging. The cleaning kit really does help you remove dust and sand that would scratch the lense if you used a T-shirt or other cloth.

I carry a Nomadix Bandana with me in the bag. The Nomadix lineup consists of 88% Post-Consumer Recycled Polyester, making it an incredibly eco-friendly purchase. I use the towel to dry off the camera bodies and protect them from rain and other potential hazardous events.

iPhone 15 Pro Max

Chase Jarvis once said, “the best camera is the one that’s with you.” We strongly believe this quote and live by it by having the new 40 MP iPhone in our pocket every day. Our most cherished images have been captured using the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

We have created viral videos for TikTok using the iPhone 13 Pro max and the iphone 11 pro max too. Addison and Alex have the iphone 11 and with the right settings we’re able to use video from these devices as well.

Editing, Software and Presets

We use many ways to edit and bring you content. I prefer to use the iPad Pro hosting the M2 chip and the comparable magic keyboard. This setup is light and powerful. Amanda prefers to edit and perfect photos on her 15 inch Macbook Pro.

We use a full suite of editing and software. We have been using LumaFusion since it was first released. Amanda has been using the full Adobe suite including Lightroom, Photoshop, and Illustrator. We just started using Fujifilm Capture One because they have the ability to easily switch between film recipes and preset options. Capture One I cannot recommend just yet because we are still learning it and it’s all new.