Hard-Won Gear Essentials That Still Make Sense Years Later

You keep buying gear hoping the next purchase will fix a real problem, and then half of it sits unused. This video breaks that pattern by focusing on the items that keep earning space in your bag and saving you time when you’re tired, cold, rushed, or traveling.

Coming to you from James Reader, this practical video lays out a short list of gear that has stayed reliable after years of real use, not just a weekend test. Reader starts with small, fast primes and makes a strong case for why a normal wide prime still matters even if you own fancier glass, calling out the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM as the kind of lens you keep reaching for on trips. He also mentions the more expensive Canon RF 35mm f/1.4 L VCM and why that still doesn’t automatically replace the smaller option. If you’ve ever tried to build a “perfect” kit and ended up with a heavy kit, his framing is useful. He also touches on the boring-but-effective standard zoom idea, the one lens choice that keeps you from overthinking a shoot.

The bag and strap section is where the video gets practical, because comfort and access are the difference between shooting and not shooting. Reader rolls with the Peak Design Capture Clip and makes a simple point: hands-free access changes how often you actually pull the camera out. For straps, he prefers the WANDRD wrist strap approach over dangling anchor-style systems. If you shoot events, he also leans on a dual-body workflow using the HoldFast Gear Money Maker, and his lens pairing examples hint at how he avoids constant swapping when things move fast.

The video gets into the stuff that quietly solves annoying problems on the road. The Peak Design Travel Tripod is praised for how small it packs, but Reader is blunt about pricing, especially once you start buying add-ons, and he contrasts it with a cheaper alternative like a Benro carbon fiber tripod. Filters get a similar treatment: the NiSi True Color Variable ND is his quality-first pick, while the Freewell Real Locking Variable ND Filter with CPL is positioned as a speed-first system when you’re bouncing between stills and video. For audio, he keeps it compact and even does a simple before/after comparison you can judge with your own ears.

Editing and travel utilities round out the list, and this is where you’ll probably catch yourself rethinking what counts as “essential.” Reader relies on a 14-inch MacBook Pro for photo work and heavy video timelines, especially when working with raw and H.265 footage, then pairs it with a tiny mouse instead of something bigger. He also calls out a small power bank as the kind of purchase you stop noticing until the day you forget it. He moves beyond camera gear into travel basics like tracking and weather layers. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Reader.