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Editor in Chief Chris Gampat’s Kit: Travelling Light with the Sony a7r III

Chris Gampat
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03/14/2019
5 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Sony a7r III review product images

Editor in Chief Chris Gampat’s working kit for most of the location work done for the Phoblographer is done with his Sony a7r III.

I’m going to move on past the fact that I just referred to myself in the third person and instead focus on the crux of why you probably clicked on this link: you want to know how I do travel work with the Sony a7r III and what’s in my every day carry kit for work. While I adore my Fujifilm gear, not all of my lenses are weather sealed and so I’m sort of limited in certain situations. But all of the lenses and cameras that I own for Sony are weather resistant, and so for that reason combined with their compact size, I tend to bring them with me when I need to get actual work done for the site. While I’m a good enough photographer where I can use anything that you put in my hands, the Sony a7r III provides me with lots of resolution, versatility, performance, and a lightweight package that is also really small.

Editor’s Note: This is not a sponsored post. You can see our policy on sponsored posts and see how we clearly label them if you’re interested though.

What I also tend to pack into my camera bag along with the Sony a7r III and a bunch of batteries are Rode microphones (a shotgun and a lav that connects to my iPhone) a Sony a7 original, and batteries for that. I like the Sony system a whole lot, but what I wish is that the batteries didn’t drain as fast in cold weather. Canon and Fujifilm tend to hold their own much better in that regard. Luckily, with the Sony a7r III the battery life is still more than good enough for a lot of the work that I do. So when I’m traveling, this is the main camera that tends to come with me because of the fact that it is small, lightweight, reliable, versatile in both photo and video, and allows me to pack more stuff into my bag while keeping the overall package down.

So now, I’m going to go into what I carry with me.

Sony a7r III

I choose the Sony a7r III not really because of the resolution (though I print a whole lot) but more because of the color depth. I’m really big into having the most versatility when it comes to colors and it’s very noticeable with what’s possible with the Sony a7r III. On top of that I can’t fault the autofocus, the video capabilities, the ergonomics, the size, and the selection of lenses that I can mount to the camera.

Check out our review.

Pros

  • Weather sealing
  • Lots of RAW file versatility
  • Sony a9’s autofocus
  • Nice ergonomics
  • New battery makes shooting with it for prolonged periods of time so much better
  • RAW files work fantastic with Capture One
  • Touch screen capabilities for shooting
  • Fast shooting capabilities
  • Silent shooting abiliites

Cons

  • No one is going to actually use the Pixel Shift imaging mode because it’s so complicated to work with and few people want to use Sony’s own software
  • I’d love a top LCD screen
  • I’d love to navigate the menus with the Touchscreen capabilities
  • Sony got rid of the PlayMemories apps and therefore all abilities to do more with the cameras such as the touchless shutter. It absolutely baffles me as to why Sony doesn’t just put all that stuff into the cameras.
  • Wireless flash capabilities need to be enabled via the menu in order to use them

Buy Now: Amazon

Sony Zeiss 55mm f1.8

One of Sony’s sharpest lenses but also one of their best bang for your buck options. It’s a bit longer than a 50mm lens too, so you get a tad more reach.

Check out our review.

Pros

-Sharp images

-Creamy bokeh

-Weather-sealed

-Smooth & large focusing ring

Cons

-Lens hood adds a good amount of length to the front

-No depth of field scale

Buy Now: Amazon

Sony Zeiss 35mm f2.8

Sony’s smallest 35mm lens is pretty compact and weather sealed. F2.8 may seem slow but when you consider how good the high ISO output on the Sony a7r III is, then you don’t care. On top of that, I typically don’t end up shooting above ISO 400 most of the time. I use a lot of flash with my work.

Check out our review.

Pros

  • Sharp image quality
  • Good bokeh
  • Focuses pretty much as closely as the Sony version. It isn’t as accurate in low lighting or as fast though.
  • Affordable
  • Weather sealing

Cons

  • Focus motors can be a bit loud at times with later cameras.

ISO 51,200

Buy Now: Amazon

Sony 85mm f1.8

Sony’s 85mm f1.8 isn’t their G Master lens, but it’s still very sharp, lightweight, focuses quickly and renders gorgeous portraits when I need it to.

Check out our review.

Pros

  • Great image quality
  • Fast focusing with the Sony a7r II and in good lighting it will focus quickly with the Sony a7
  • Nice feel; though not as great as the G Master 85mm f1.4 lens.
  • Weather resistance built in
  • Compact size

Cons

  • Honestly, not a darn thing.

Buy Now: Amazon

Profoto B10

The Profoto B10 is a light that is about the size of a 70-200mm f2.8 lens. It can be a cinema light, a flash, and I have remotes for Canon, Sony and Fujifilm. Plus their bluetooth app is really nifty.

Check out our first impressions.

“I really like the Profoto B10 thus far. I think that for me it could be the perfect light and so I’m going to put in an order for one. As a photographer who mostly shoots on location and not in studios anymore, plus someone who blends ambient lighting with my own created lights, the Profoto B10 could be a perfect option for me. It gives me lots of light output, I can use it with umbrellas and such, and it’s compact.”

Buy Now: Amazon

Portage Supply Kenora Backpack

I adore the Portage Supply Backpack because of the fact that it’s canvas and leather. Plus it is comfortable, has quick access on the side, and can comfortably pack all the gear you need with enough separation between each piece.

Check out our review.

Pros

  • Rugged and well built
  • Nothing feels cheap
  • Weather sealed
  • Quick access on the side
  • When putting a tripod on the side, it doesn’t feel like it’s going to throw your back off; that’s a first for me.
  • Lots and lots of pockets
  • Really affordable

Cons

  • You really need to take your time to figure out the interior configuration.
  • The strap adjusters sort of just sit there and stay long. I wish there was a way to make them compact and out of the way.

Buy Now: Amazon

35mm 55mm 85mm backpack chris gampat light Portage Supply portraits profoto sony sony a7r III
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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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