Quick take: My 2025 kit is built around the Fujifilm X-H2S in a rig I call Rigzilla, carried in a K&F Concept backpack with a Peak Design travel tripod. Add one ND, a circular polarizer, a DJI wireless mic, a gray and white balance card, and a tech pouch with cables, Llano chargers and an INIU power bank. My goal this year is to stop buying gear and shoot more.
My Goals for 2025
This one's a little overdue because I had a hard time picking my main camera. I'll still rotate cameras for different videos, but my big goal for 2025 is to make more YouTube videos: one a week, plus at least one short. My other goal is to not buy any new equipment. I think most of us already have more than enough, so I want to focus on taking photos, and making videos about taking photos.
Backpack: K&F Concept
I got this K&F Concept backpack for an Amazon video a while back and kept it instead of selling it. It doesn't look like a camera bag until a tripod is strapped to it, and it's a lot lighter than the Peak Design Everyday Backpack I used before. My gear also feels more protected.
The main compartment only opens from the back, so you have to take the bag off to get in. There's a quick-access pocket up top, but nobody can unzip the main section and grab something while it's on my back or sitting next to me. I like that extra security. It comes with a rain cover. The bag itself is water resistant, not water repellent like the Peak Design, which is probably part of why it's lighter.
Tripod: Peak Design Travel Tripod
The Peak Design Travel Tripod goes with me pretty much everywhere I travel. I don't think there's a better travel tripod, because it packs down so small and light. Mine is the carbon fiber version, but the aluminum one is great too, and Ulanzi makes a similar, cheaper design.
Rigzilla: My Main Camera Setup
It was a hard call between the X-T5 and the X-H2S. I like the X-T5's 40 megapixels, but the X-H2S does everything else better, so it's my main content camera. It lives in what I call Rigzilla, which lets me shoot everything without putting the camera down when I'm out alone:
Fujifilm X-H2S with battery grip in a SmallRig cage
A side Arca-Swiss plate. The cage has Arca on the bottom but not the side, so this lets me mount the camera vertically on the tripod
Insta360 ONE X2 on a stick, pointed at me, so you see my position and the world behind me
Accsoon SeeMo with my phone, recording the camera's screen so you can see what I'm framing and my settings
GoPro Hero 8 Black for a wide reference shot, so you can tell how far away things are when I'm on a telephoto lens
A SmallRig NP-F battery that charges over USB-C, which every battery should do
I limit myself to one lens a day. Usually that's my favorite portrait lens, the Fujifilm 50mm F1, unless I'm testing something. I'll often throw in the Sigma 10-18mm F2.8 for vlogging.
Filters
I always carry one ND filter, quarter- and eighth-strength Pro-Mist filters, and a circular polarizer. I barely use Pro-Mists anymore except late at night, to make lights bloom a bit without raising ISO. I've been enjoying the polarizer more and more, especially shooting through windows. If you've never taken portraits with a polarizer, grab a cheap one and try it. It's also great for cutting reflections on water and in cityscapes.
Microphone
My mic is the DJI wireless mic. I prefer the original version to the newer one because it records 32-bit float. I've been in loud city situations that would otherwise have clipped the audio, and 32-bit float gives me the best voice quality without having to turn the gain way down.
Balance Card
This has saved me so many times, even for photos. I know people say just shoot raw, but a combination gray and white card makes life easier. Hold it up in the light, or have your subject hold it, and set a custom white balance, even under those ugly orange lights. Mine is a no-name one that cost about $5. I prefer this style to flat cards because it holds up better over time and packs smaller.
Small Things That Save You
I always carry a body cap and a rear lens cap for whatever camera I'm using. If someone at the airport makes you separate the body and lens, you don't want to be stuck without them. On the front of the bag I clip the original Peak Design Capture clip. PGYTECH makes a good smaller one, too.
The Tech Pouch
This pouch goes from my personal backpack to my work backpack, so it comes with me on every client job and flight:
HDMI and micro HDMI cables and adapters. Zeller has been the most reliable brand for me. It's pricey, but worth it for work.
A wireless remote shutter that also works wired, for shooting over fences or crowds on a raised tripod or monopod, or for getting unusual angles with a wide lens
USB-C cables, including a Cable Creation cable with a readout that shows the wattage, so you know a device is actually charging
Spare Insta360 and GoPro batteries. My original GoPro batteries are starting to swell, so they're getting retired.
An Apple Watch charger
An SD card reader for my phone, plus a CFexpress Type B and SD combo reader. I sometimes edit X-H2S footage on my phone in LumaFusion, with a LUT on the log footage, which is a solid workflow for short-form content.
Llano dual fast chargers for every camera I own. They show a percentage readout, charge over USB-C and keep the batteries covered. Fuji's charger costs about one and a half to two times as much and leaves the batteries exposed.
INIU Power Bank
Full disclosure: INIU sent me this power bank for free. It's worth recommending, and it replaced the Anker power bank I'd carried for two years. The capacity is nearly the same, about 25,000 mAh, but it's almost half the length, so it actually fits in the tech pouch.
A 100W USB-C port in and out, enough to run a laptop for a couple of extra hours
A 45W port for most other devices
An 18W USB-A port, which is still useful for accessories that won't charge from USB-C PD, like my Lume Cube lights
About two hours to fully recharge, and it hasn't gotten hot
My favorite purchases are the ones that make life easier, and not having to hunt down a charger or give up a big chunk of my backpack to power is a big plus. If you can, buy it direct from INIU. It's a few dollars cheaper than Amazon.
Final Thoughts
The bag isn't stuffed, so there's room for an extra lens. In practice I almost never put the camera away. It's on a strap, ready to shoot, especially when I'm making a YouTube video. If you have questions about anything in the bag, let me know in the comments.
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