While preparing to travel into a remote part of the Peruvian Andes to shoot the second of three parts of a feature doc I’m currently DP’ing I weighed my options for what gear to bring and not bring and ultimately decided on bringing less, which turned out to be the right decision.
While in Peru, I never second-guessed myself as to what lens to use in any given situation, which is something I’ve done a lot in the past. I’ve brought way too much stuff to too many places over the years that just ended up slowing me down. Not this time.
I brought the following:
Sony FX6, FX3, and A1
Tamron 17-28mm f2.8, 35-150mm f2-2.8, and 150-500mm
Zeiss Loxia 35mm f2
Sachtler Aktiv 8 + Flowtech 75
Manfrotto Carbon Tripod
Ronin RS3
SmallHD Focus 5
NISI TruColor VND
I think 75% of my time in Peru was spent on the FX6 and 17-28mm. We shot WIDE! I haven’t spent much time on the 16-35mm type zoom lens in quite a few years and have a new found appreciation for spectacular wides if and when they help tell the story.
I primarily used the FX3 on the Ronin RS3 with the same 17-28mm but also used the FX3 and 35-150mm on sticks for B camera type interview and b-roll angles.
The 150-500mm was used for long lens landscapes, which is something I really love.
The A1 was used by my wife and I for stills and BTS and the Loxia wasn’t really necessary. My thought on the Loxia was that is resembled the Vista Primes we used in part one of filming but like I said, I lived on the 17-28mm.
Movement has to be motivated by action in this film per our director on this project - Therefore, we’re static on sticks a lot. The Ronin comes into play if we’re following some sort of action where it applies.
I’ll be sharing a ton more from this trip and about this doc as time goes on. I hope you were able to catch the stories on Instagram. Can’t wait and am super thankful!
Sony FX6, FX3, and A1
Tamron 17-28mm f2.8, 35-150mm f2-2.8, and 150-500mm
Zeiss Loxia 35mm f2
Sachtler Aktiv 8 + Flowtech 75
Manfrotto Carbon Tripod
Ronin RS3
SmallHD Focus 5
NISI TruColor VND
I think 75% of my time in Peru was spent on the FX6 and 17-28mm. We shot WIDE! I haven’t spent much time on the 16-35mm type zoom lens in quite a few years and have a new found appreciation for spectacular wides if and when they help tell the story.
I primarily used the FX3 on the Ronin RS3 with the same 17-28mm but also used the FX3 and 35-150mm on sticks for B camera type interview and b-roll angles.
The 150-500mm was used for long lens landscapes, which is something I really love.
The A1 was used by my wife and I for stills and BTS and the Loxia wasn’t really necessary. My thought on the Loxia was that is resembled the Vista Primes we used in part one of filming but like I said, I lived on the 17-28mm.
Movement has to be motivated by action in this film per our director on this project - Therefore, we’re static on sticks a lot. The Ronin comes into play if we’re following some sort of action where it applies.
I’ll be sharing a ton more from this trip and about this doc as time goes on. I hope you were able to catch the stories on Instagram. Can’t wait and am super thankful!
