Here’s the gear that I’m currently using to capture memories! Please note, this page contains affiliate links which means we may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you click a link and purchase something we have recommended. Please read our disclaimers for more information. Thank you for your support!
LENSES
Rokinon 14mm Ultra Wide-Angle f/2.8
This is the newest addition to my gear kit and I absolutely love it. It’s wonderful for things like:
- Wide Field Astrophotography
- Landscape Photography
Likes:
- large aperture of f/2.8 – great for astrophotography
- minimal chromatic aberration
- focus to infinity is bang-on
Dislikes:
- can see slight shadows at corners or vignetting at aperture of f/2.8
- focus starts to blur at the corners a bit
Bottom Line:
For me this was a great budget lens for Astrophotography. I love how sharp the image is at the center. It does start to get a little blurry at the corners but I’ve got to save my pennies if I want a pro lens so I can eliminate this.
My absolute favourite thing about this lens is that I can trust my Milky Way shots will be in focus if I just twist the focal ring until it stops at infinity. With some other lenses if I twist to infinity, the ring stops, but it’s almost as if I’ve focussed past infinity so then I have to dial it back just a smidge until it looks good to my eye.
Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM Lens
My husband surprised me with this baby for my birthday after seeing me research it time and time again. I wanted this lens because I really love landscape photography and oh boy does this ever do the trick! I find this lens great for:
- Landscape Photography
- Cramming more stuff into the photo, like family gatherings or whales. Ooh that looks bad, don’t read those two things together…
Likes:
- diameter of lens is 67mm – same as my kit lens, so my filters are interchangeable between lenses
- light and easy to carry
Dislikes:
- chromatic aberration is noticeable on high contrast areas. For example, I will see a red fringe around green leaves against a white sky
- no numbers indicating the focus range and it doesn’t stop at infinity, so if I want to manually focus to infinity, I have to use the viewfinder and focus the best I can by eye.
Bottom Line:
Since I have a crop sensor camera, I really wanted a lens that would allow me to get a wide field of view and the 10mm focal length works out to look like 16mm which is nice and wide. Overall, a good value lens to get started with, but I will look at getting a pro lens in the future because the chromatic aberration does bug me a bit.
Canon EF 50mm 1:1.4 Lens
Seriously, this thing makes me look pro. I love it so much… because I’m not pro, but hey, it’s a good motivator! I love this lens for basically everything but mostly:
- portraits (of my dog of course)
- anything I want to have a soft background on, like mushrooms or flowers.
Likes:
- makes me look pro
- takes incredibly sharp photos
- gives me that beautiful shallow depth of field
Dislikes:
- when I use a different lens, I suddenly realize, I’m not pro
Bottom Line:
This is my favourite out of all my lenses. I even use it in some of my Astrophotography because I can open up the Aperture super wide at f/1.4 and let a whole lot of light in. Of course I don’t get a lot of the Milky Way in the shot but enough to make me happy!
My favourite thing about this lens is the shallow depth of field with the aperture of f/1.4. It really helps call attention to what I want my audience to focus on by blurring out the background beautifully!
Canon EF-S 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS STM Kit Lens
This is my kit lens. It’s my go-to lens if I’m heading out on an adventure for the day and I don’t want to have to carry my backpack around because it allows me to capture wide-angle all the way to telephoto shots.
- landscapes
- portraits
- wildlife
- the moon… and the list goes on….
Likes:
- one-stop shop lens
- great for practicing to understand what different focal lengths do
- diameter of lens is 67mm – same as my 10-18mm lens, so my filters are interchangeable between lenses
Dislikes:
- largest aperture is f/3.5 and sometimes I find myself wanting for it to open up just a little more so I can capture a more shallow depth of field
Bottom Line:
I’m so happy to have this as my kit lens as opposed to the 18-55 Canon kit lens because it really allows me to understand what type of focal length I should be using for a certain scene. I like being able to gauge how I would benefit from a certain focal length by using this one as the starting point and then branching out from there. For example, I loved seeing what I could capture with a 50mm focal length with this lens but then knew I wanted to create a more shallow depth of field. As a result, I knew I wanted a lens with a larger Aperture like the 50mm f/1.4.
This lens really gives a good taste of what a wide range of focal lengths can offer so as to allow you to find your niche and diversify from there.
ACCESSORIES
Canon RC-6 Wireless Remote
At first this little remote sat in my camera bag for quite some time until I realized how long my tripod shook for after pressing the shutter button – 10 seconds it shakes for! And let me tell you, when I’m trying to capture that speedy moon of ours, I don’t have 10 seconds to spare when I’m borrowing the 400mm zoom! In 10 seconds, it’s already moved out of the composition I so carefully created!
Likes:
- no camera shake (even with a wired remote, sometimes I worry about this, but never with this handy-dandy little guy)
Dislikes:
- only works when pointing at the front of the camera
- can’t be further than about 6 feet away
Bottom Line:
It’s not the best remote for all scenarios but I do find myself using it about half of the time (when I am using remotes) simply to guarantee that I will not have any camera shake in my photos. Overall, this little guy allows me to have total piece of mind when I’m using telephoto lenses.
Foto&Tech Wired Remote Shutter Release
I use this remote when taking time lapses or long exposure shots. I love that I can just set up my settings, plug this in, press the button and slide it up and just let it run.
Likes:
- no batteries required
- small and compact so it usually stays in my camera bag
Dislikes:
- must use with shutter speed options in camera. For example, my camera can only go up to 30 seconds unless I put it in bulb mode but then I have to manually hold down the button and time it myself.
Bottom Line:
I find this remote shutter especially handy when I’m taking 4 second exposures of the aurora. This way, I can just sit back and enjoy the show. When I look at my photos after, I have a beautiful series of photos to scroll through. Man, do the northern lights ever dance fast!
Neewer EZa-C1 Digital Timer Remote (Intervalometer)
I love this thing – unless I forget to bring two AAA batteries, then I’m not so much a happy camper. I like that you can set the exposure time, time between shots and also the number of shots to capture. With this remote, I can set up my Milky Way shot, push the button on the remote and then wake up 3 hours later when the time-lapse is done. Yay for sleep!
Likes:
- orange light up screen is very handy in the dark
- can set up the number of shots to get – very handy for time lapses
Dislikes:
- no on/off switch so if you leave your batteries in there, they will die…
Bottom Line:
This is my favourite remote to use when I’m taking super long exposures like 360 seconds. Try this on a moon trail (with a 8 Stop ND Filter on). It looks so awesome! I’ve forgotten batteries multiple times, but that’s just my silly issue.
ProMaster 67mm Variable ND Filter
There’s one tool that always stays in my photography bag and this is it!
I use this amazing filter to capture silky smooth water shots, be it the ocean, waterfalls, rushing rivers, etc. Other creative shots I’ve been able to capture with the help of this filter include star trails, stunning drawn out clouds at sunset, moon trails, and the list goes on!
Likes:
- allows me to capture very creative shots
- versatile – one filter lets in less light by 1-1/2 all the way down to 8 stops
- represents colours as I see them
Dislikes:
- lens cap does not fit overtop
- if I twist this past the max, I do see an x in my photo, so I just don’t go past the absolute max
Bottom Line:
I love that this filter is adjustable because I can set my desired settings ahead of time and just twist the filter until my photo is exposed perfectly! This is the key piece of gear use to make my photos stand-out above the crowd.
CAMERA BODY
Canon 70D
This is my DSLR camera body. This puppy is really what got me excited about photography. When I started playing around with it, I was blown away to see the quality of my shots with this camera compared to my little point and shoot. For me it’s perfect to use while I learn more and more about photography, but I can see myself looking for a full frame camera like the Canon 5D mk IV or the Canon 6D mk II down the road so that I can bump up my ISO and get some beautifully clear photos of our Milky Way!
Likes:
- fantastic for getting excited about photography
- flip out screen is incredibly handy
- touch LCD screen is great for quick adjustments
Dislikes:
- Highest I like to go with ISO is about 1600. Otherwise, I’m not happy with the noise I start to see.
Bottom Line:
For me, this is the perfect camera body to play with while I’m learning. I don’t feel restricted in any way (at least not yet) other than when I’m out capturing the night sky. Overall, I’m really happy to have this camera body in my camera bag.