This is one of the most frequent questions that I get. And there are lots of different answers to this. Patience, dedication, heck even a little gumption. But really what people mean by this is “What camera gear do I need to take beautiful landscape photographs?”.
What photography equipment do you need to shoot Landscape Photographs
Well that is a much easier question.
There are really only three things you need. A camera, a lens and a tripod. Let’s dive into each in a little more detail.
What camera should I get?
With the evolution of technology in the last couple of years, most cameras are capable of taking incredible pictures. The best advice that I can give on selecting a camera to buy is to consider how often you will use it. Will this just be used for vacations, is this a serious hobby, or are you looking to go pro? A point and shoot or consumer grade DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) may be a good fit. Heck even cell phones are pretty darn fantastic these days.
But if you shoot pretty frequently, get up at zero dark thirty, put up with all kinds of terrible weather, drive long hours, and fight off mountain lions just to get your next landscape masterpiece you’ll definitely want a DSLR and probably one that is mid-level to professional level. A good feature of these mid to higher level cameras is weatherproofing and more rugged builds. If you are like me then you need these features. 🙂
If you are a true beginner and you don’t know which brand to buy, consider holding them in your hands and playing with them. For me one of them feels right and the others feel awkward. If you don’t have any camera stores in your area then try renting from lensrentals.com or borrowlenses.com. I always recommend try before you buy as you may save a bunch of money this way.
What lens(es) do I need?
Most DSLR’s come with a kit lens which is usually pretty darn good and covers the range of 28 – 70mm on a full frame camera. If you have a crop factor sensor in your camera (either 1.5 or 1.6) then you can multiply by that to get your effective full frame sensor. An 18-55mm on a crop factor sensor will work very nicely to start with.
Fancy lenses cost a lot of money and you could easily spend way more on them than on your camera. So be careful and research the lenses you are looking at extensively. Again renting is always a good idea.
If you are looking to photograph those wide sweeping vistas and magnificent skies then a super or ultra wide lens is recommended. There are tons of great options out there, but make sure that you don’t look purely at the name brand options. The 3rd party lenses are often great value and sometimes even beat out the first tier brands.
Anything else I need?
One of the most important pieces of equipment that will make or break your images is a good quality sturdy tripod and ball-head. During darker lighting conditions a longer shutter speed is required to capture the scene and a sturdy tripod will let you keep your camera steady.
I recommend spending a little more for a quality tripod because there is nothing worse than fiddling with your tripod rather than getting the shot. Metal or carbon fiber tripod legs are recommended as they are more rugged and more secure. Plastic tripods just are a waste of money. A ball-head will allow you quickly make adjustments and get you ready to take those shots quicker. Make sure to get a good quick release system to easily and securely get your camera on and off the ball-head.
What about all that other gear?
I do carry a bunch of other things regularly. Several more lenses (telephoto, macro, etc), filters (Polarizers, Neutral Density, etc), remote release cable, a backup camera are all part of my gear. But you don’t need any of those things. It is especially important in the beginning to not be confused by all your gear. Focus on the camera settings and your composition and in no time you too will be taking incredible images.
The next step is to learn how to use your camera. Stay tuned for that.
In the meantime sound off below and let me know if you have any questions.
