Micael Widell Newsletter #59: My Favorite Camera Gear
Captain's log
February and March are generally months I don't enjoy a lot, since the weather is usually very bad here in Sweden. And weather-wise, this year was no exception.
But I still had a pretty great month I have to say, as I got to travel to Lisbon and do my first live insect photography sessions of the year. You can see these walks in my first two videos listed below.
I also purchased a lens I have been wanting to try for a long time, the M.Zuiko 300mm f/4 PRO. Such a cool feeling to have a 600mm equivalent lens that is super compact and can be shot one handed.
Finally, I did a comprehensive macro focus stacking tutorial, meant to cover everything you need to know to get started with macro focus stacking.
Here are the videos I made since my last newsletter:
- M.Zuiko 90mm f/3.5 Long Term Review – The Best Macro Lens Money Can Buy?
- Advanced Insect Macro Photography
- My Olympus Macro Photography Settings (OM-1)
- Olympus M.Zuiko 300mm f/4 PRO – My First Impressions
- Focus Stacking in Macro Photography – Complete Tutorial for Beginners
My favorite gear
The most common questions I get every day in youtube comments, emails and in DMs are about what gear I use. So I thought I would list my favorite pieces of kit that I own, in case you are also curious.
I still use both my Olympus and my Sony kit, but for slightly different use cases. Sony is my goto kit for video, portraits, landscape and low magnification macro photography. My OM gear is my goto kit for high magnification macro photography and insects. And I am currently also exploring using it for wildlife.
Olympus kit
- Camera: OM System OM-1
- Main macro lens: M.Zuiko 90mm
- Mini macro lens: M.Zuiko 60mm
- Extra magnification lens: Raynox DCR-250
- Wildlife lens: M.Zuiko 300mm f/4
- Flash: Godox v350o
- Camera strap: Peak Design Leash
- Diffuser: AK Diffuser
Sony kit
- Camera: Sony A7IV
- Primary macro lens: Laowa 85mm
- Macro lens for extreme magnification: Laowa 25mm
- Wildlife lens: Sony 200-600mm
- On camera flash: Meike MK320
- External wireless flash: Godox TT685
- Flash batteries: GP Photo Flash
- Camera strap: Peak Design Leash
- Diffuser: DÖRR on lens diffuser and AK Diffuser
Indoor Filming
- Camera: Sony ZV-E1 and XLR-K3M handle
- Lens: Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN Art
- Microphone: Sennheiser MKH-416
- Light: Godox SL60W with a Godox SB-UE 80cm softbox
- B-camera: Sony ZV-1
- Editing: Macbook Air M1 with Final Cut Pro
Outdoor Filming
For outdoor filming I prefer a small and simple setup that makes filming myself very easy and fast.
- Camera: DJI Pocket 3
- Monopod that I use as a tripod: Benro A38FD
Many of the links above are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission if you buy something via the links – at no extra cost to you. I greatly appreciate when people use these links, as it is an important income stream to help me pay my bills.
Inspiring photos from Instagram
Here are some photographs I have found on Instagram recently that I really love and find inspiring. Click the username to visit the photographer's instagram profile and follow them.
@1of1images
@fredrik.axling
@olivalclauca
@mc_macro_photography
Goodbye for now
Thank you for reading this far, and see you in a month! Feel free to follow me on YouTube, Instagram and Twitter in the meantime. If you like my work, please consider supporting me on Patreon. And lastly, feel free to tell your friends about this newsletter, and to reply to it if you have feedback or comments :)
/Micael