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What's in The Bag?

What’s in My Camera Bag?: Editor in Chief Chris Gampat

Chris Gampat
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12/22/2011
6 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer My Photo gear (1 of 1)

Yesterday, Technical Specialist Travis Lawton showed us what was in his camera bag. Inspired by him, I decided that it was time to put everything out on the bed for you guys. Over the years that I’ve been a photographer, tech journalist and the site’s Editor in Chief, I’ve both bought and had lots of gear donated. Admittedly, this isn’t everything either; I’ve given lots of it away to photographers in need. In this post, I’ll take you through everything here in the photo above.

First off, this photo was shot with the Canon 5D Mk II and 24-105mm f4 L IS; so those items aren’t shown in this photo.

ONA Street Union: This bag has become my everyday camera bag when I go to work. It is thin, stylish, padded and holds most of what I need including two camera bodies and my Macbook (also not shown here.) This was given to me as a review unit.

Think Tank Retrospective 30: This is the bag that I take to major jobs, trade shows, and anything that requires me to do lots of work. It has served me well and I highly recommend it. Also given to me as a review unit.

Domke F2: I bought this one off of Craigslist a while back; it just holds cameras now and rarely ever comes out with me now. It used to be my go-to wedding bag when I shot weddings.

ExpoImaging Ray Flash: As one of my favorite flash modifiers, this item holds a spot in my heart. When used correctly, you can pull off some really awesome results. The company let me keep this one.

Impact 5-in-1 reflector: That big white circle is my 5-in-1 reflector that I use as a background or to reflect/diffuse light. The company donated this to me.

Photogenic CL500: I love this light. It’s fairly portable and offers lots of power in the small and tough package that it is. Pictured here are also two 75 watt bulbs and three other bulbs. The stand is also not far from the light.

SB2432 Softbox: Though designed to be used with Photogenic lights, I’ve hacked it to work with speedlites.

Interfit 21 inch beauty dish: This is one of my favorite light modifiers for speedlites. My Gary Fong Lightsphere Collapsible lives inside this now to hold my speedlites. I bought this unit used. The grid for it is also pictured here.

Polaroid Land Camera 210: After going through two type 100 cameras, I finally found this camera that worked. I used Fujifilm with it though I have some Polaroid film as well. I bought this off craigslist too.

Nikon D5100 with kit lens: This is my first step into the Nikon side of things. It’s a great camera, if not an ergonomic nightmare for someone used to their higher end options. I bought this one from B&H Photo.

Yashica Electro 35 GSN: Without a doubt this is my favorite film camera. It reminds me of the Leica CL that I miss so much. This is another Craigslist find.

Rode Videomic: I often use this when recording videos for the site. This one was purchased from B&H Photo back in college.

Olympus EP2: This is my go to camera for street photography. B&H Photo gladly took my money for this one.

Olympus Pen Premium Case: This is the case that everyone asks about. I literally get maybe 7 comments a week asking what strap/case that is. I got this case with the EP2.

OCF Gear Nikon TTL Cord: Syl Arena sent me two of these to keep as review units. I’m working on testing them right now and they’re wonderful. The two cords are 30 feet long.

Kinotehnik LCDVF: If anything has helped my handheld DSLR video shoots, it’s this item. It’s perhaps the best LCD viewfinder that I’ve used at the price point and I couldn’t be any happier. The company let me keep this one.

Joby Gorillapod: I got this as a gift from Sal Cangeloso, the EIC of Geek.com and a good buddy/former boss of mine. It often holds my speedlites.

Olympus EPM1: I won this camera as part of the PEN Ready project. It’s not a bad camera though a bit quirky. The SLRMagic 12mm f1.6 is on there with the LCW Fader ND Mk II.

SLRMagic 26mm f1.4: Small and fun, this lens often goes onto the EPM1. SLRMagic lets me keep the lenses I receive.

SLRMagic 11mm f1.4: This lens was designed to be shot in the square format. If you’re an Instagram lover, you’ll digg this lens.

Samson Microphone: It’s a generic microphone from my days of playing and vocalizing in punk rock bands. For what it is, the sound is fairly good and useful for trade shows. I bought this back in high school; I’m 24 now.

8mm camera: Not even sure what brand this is, but I got it from a good friend. The Lens Loop is attached.

Think Tank Memory Card Wallet: I don’t know where I’d be without this. This was given to attendees at Photo Plus in 2010.

Arctic Butterfly: I’ve used this to clean my sensor and the sensor of other cameras often. It’s always with me on big jobs. This was a gift from Magnum Photos when I left the company as an intern.

Canon 50mm f1.4: Though I’m much more in love with my 35mm f1.4 L, this lens is still quite awesome. I bought this off a girl in Brooklyn.

Canon 35mm f1.4 L: My favorite lens. I bought this off a guy that lives in Upstate NY.

Canon 85mm f1.8: This lens has saved my butt so many times at weddings. I bought this new from B&H Photo.

Argus C3 50mm f3.5: This is a lens from the 1930’s, and I adapted it onto Canon EOS. I love the vintage effects that come with it being mounted on a 5D Mk II. I got the lens for free and a lens technician made the adjustments for me.

Hoodman Angled Viewfinder: This was designed for sports shooters, I’d admittedly never used it. It makes my viewfinder too dark. My boss gave me this one.

Visible Dust SensorLoupe: This little magnified light goes in front of your sensor so you can inspect for dust and smudges. My boss also gave me this one.

Phottix Odin TTL Radio Triggers: My favorite radio triggers of all time. Phottix gave me this.

Canon 7D: This was my backup body for weddings and I purchase it at the end of my paparazzi career. I still use it, and the color settings are calibrated to look just like my 5D Mk II’s. I bought this off of Craigslist.

ExpoImaging Rogue Flash Bender: I love this thing. The large one is excellent for event photography. I donated the small and medium ones to a friend who needed them. ExpoImaging gave me the units.

Rogue Grid: Though I rarely use them, ExpoImaging also gave these to me. I’d happily donate them to a photographer that needs them (or another staffer if they want it). I just rarely use grids for my style of photographer.

OCF Gear Canon TTL Cord: This is the second cord that Syl sent me. Expect a review.

Gary Fong Puffer for Micro Four Thirds Cameras: I’ve never figured out how to use this thing correctly.

Vanguard Nivelo Tripod: This tripod was designed to be used with mirrorless cameras. Indeed, it’s great to use when I shoot videos with my Micro Four Thirds cameras. Vanguard let me keep this one, and I’m thankful for that.

Pearstone Batteries: These rechargeable batteries are the best things I’ve used so far. Though the rest of the staff uses Enloop, I’ve never run into a problem with these. They charge quickly and almost never die. These were a gift.

Canon 430 EX II: My smaller speedlite.

Canon 580 EX II: My larger speedlite. Both speedlites were purchased from Craigslist.

Rogue Gels: These are samples I got from Photo Plus.

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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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