Cameras, lenses, tripods and other photographic equipment
On this page I present the equipment I use. I have written articles about some of my photographic equipment in the blog. I will link to these in the appropriate places. As far as possible, I will include links to the equipment on Amazon (affiliate links) or other sources of supply. I will only list equipment here that I have had good experiences with. As soon as something new is added to my photographic equipment and it fulfils my expectations, I will include it here.
Cameras
Pretty much any camera with an interchangeable lens system that was built after 2010 can work well at night, i.e. with long exposure times and/or high ISO values. The differences in noise behaviour and dynamic range between the various models of the different manufacturers are small. For example, if you now own a Sony α7 from 2015 and it works perfectly, there is no need to replace it with a newer or different model. The results in low light and night photography will only be slightly better, if at all. As a general rule, you should not go overboard with the resolution. 36 or more megapixels are not necessary to take impressive photos at night. Most lenses do not support these high resolutions and the amount of data increases. You therefore need more storage space in the camera, in the computer and on the backup media. The processing time of the images increases and the purchase price is usually much higher than for a comparable model with a 24 megapixel sensor. The only exception here is the Sony α7S III with a 12 megapixel sensor at a price of over €4000.
I currently use two Nikon Z5s. I had one of them converted to the full light spectrum. Sven Lamprecht from IRreCams.de removed the hot mirror filter and replaced it with clear glass. The Nikon Z5 has a 24 megapixel sensor in FX format. The image noise is low and the dynamic range is high. The camera has a list price of €1449 and is therefore €800 cheaper than the Z6 II, which has the same sensor. If you can do without a high continuous shooting rate and high video resolution with a high frame rate, you don’t need a more expensive Z6. The Z5 currently costs €1000 on Amazon (29/01/2025).
Lenses and lens adapters
In the meantime, many lenses have accumulated in my collection. I will limit myself here to the lenses that I frequently use for light painting and night photography. I will also introduce you to some lenses that are well suited for infrared photography.
Viltrox 16/1.8
I mainly use the Viltrox for photographing the starry sky at night. The large aperture of 1.8 allows a lot of light from the stars to be captured. Even with an open aperture, the Viltrox delivers good sharpness right into the corners. The lens is excellently made. The housing is made of aluminium and the focus and aperture ring run cleanly and precisely. The Viltrox is also well suited for infrared photography.
There are no alternatives. There is no other lens available with a focal length of 16 mm. The Sony 14/1.8 GM and the Sigma 14/1.8 would be slightly shorter. Both have a significantly higher price than the Viltrox. The Viltrox 16/1.8 for Nikon Z currently costs €599. It is also available for Sony E mount for the same price.
Laowa 12/2.8
The Laowa is an almost distortion-free ultra-wide-angle lens with good imaging properties. I use this lens very often for light painting. Due to the short focal length, the distance between the light source or illuminated part of the scene and the camera is short. The Laowa can also be used well for astrophotography. In contrast to the Viltrox, the Laowa is completely unsuitable for infrared photography.
The lens is perfectly finished. The housing is made entirely of aluminium. The Laowa 12/2.8 is not cheap, but in my opinion it is worth every euro. The Laowa is available for all standard connections.
Nikkor 17-35/2.8
The Nikkor is the only zoom lens I use frequently, especially when I turn the zoom ring during the exposure. As one of the very few zoom lenses, the Nikkor 17-35/2.8 has an aperture ring. This makes it possible to adjust the aperture during the exposure. Unfortunately, this lens has not been produced for some time. All successor models, such as the otherwise very good Nikkor Z 17-28/2.8, lack the aperture ring.
Used copies of the 17-35/2.8 are occasionally available on Amazon, MPB or eBay. I can recommend buying used equipment from MPB.com. The equipment is inspected, MPB offers a 6-month guarantee and the prices are usually more favourable compared to Amazon and eBay.
Tokina ATX-i 100/2.8 Macro
I use the Tokina 100 mm macro lens to capture small objects in light painting. The workmanship and image quality are good.
Old glass
I have written a detailed article on this topic in the blog: https://www.lichtkunstfoto.de/lightpainting-mit-altglas/
Nikon FTZ Adapter
To be able to use lenses with Nikon F mount on cameras of the Nikon Z system, you need an adapter. Nikon produces such an adapter. Alternatively, you can also use adapters from other manufacturers, such as Viltrox. Adapters are also available for other lens mounts.
Tripods and tripod heads
No photo in the dark without a stable stand. Especially with long exposure times, it’s better to leave the rickety travel tripod for €69.90 at home. I’ve worn out quite a few tripods in my life, both cheap ones and models costing several hundred euros. Based on my experience, I would advise against the very popular tripods from the Italian manufacturer Manfrotto. They are not very durable and also not very stable.
When choosing the right combination of tripod and head, you should first consider the weight to be mounted. Especially when mounting a slider, where the camera is moved far away from the centre of the tripod, the load-bearing capacity of the tripod and the tripod head can hardly be high enough.
At the moment I mostly use the BENRO TMA48 CXL. For most people, however, the smaller TMA38 version should be perfectly adequate. The TMA48 has a working height of over two metres. I have also been using an INNOREL NT404C for a few months now. This is difficult to obtain in Europe. I ordered mine in China. The very similar INNOREL RT90C is available from Amazon. Another very clear recommendation is the Benro Tortoise 34CLV. The larger, stable tripods from Leofoto, such as the LS365C Ranger, are also recommended. As the range of tripods on offer is vast, you are sure to find a suitable, sturdy tripod from one of the many other suppliers.
In the photo, a high-precision gear head, Leofoto G2, is mounted on the Benro tripod. This has a load capacity of 20 kg and therefore also securely holds the astro tracking system including an additional tripod head, camera and heavy lens. However, the G2 can only be adjusted by 15° at a time. You can either mount a ball head under the G2 or use the larger Leofoto GW-01, which can only carry a load of 5 kg.
I also use several ball heads, such as the 36 mm low-profile ball head from K&F Concept. This is inexpensive, very stable and does not sag after tightening. The smaller version with a 32 mm ball is also well made and stable. I have also had good experiences with similar heads from other suppliers.
I like to use a two-way panhead such as the VH-20 or VH-30 from Leofoto to mount an astro tracking system or a silder. These are very stable and can be adjusted precisely. Such panheads also provide good service when mounting motorised rotating aids in light painting.
If clean alignment without a tripod head is important, for example when mounting an astro tracking system with an integrated polar cradle (more on this below), I use a levelling base such as the LB-75 from Leofoto or a tripod with an integrated levelling base, such as the Innorel or Benro Tortoise mentioned above. The load capacity of these is specified as 25 kg or more and is therefore significantly higher than for the tripod heads mentioned above.
Remote shutter release and timer
I don’t usually use a remote shutter release when working in light painting. The camera is in “Time” mode. I press the shutter release, do the light painting and when I’ve finished, I press the shutter release again. The risk of camera shake is low. After all, the camera is on a stable tripod (see above). When I’m travelling alone, I sometimes use a simple radio remote release.
For timelapse, astrophotography and light painting, I use the LRTimelpase PRO Timer 3 from Gunther Wegner. I have rarely held such a good, well thought-out tool in my hands. I don’t want to describe the many functions at this point. Gunther does that much better on his website. The OLED display works reliably even at temperatures below freezing and shows all relevant information at all times. Operation via the rotary encoder works reliably even when wearing thick gloves. Admittedly, the timer is not exactly a bargain, but in my eyes it is worth every euro. I don’t even want to think back to the time when I struggled with cheaper interval timers. Aside from a number of control errors, the battery was often empty at the moment when reliable operation was important. I can also power the LRTimelaps Timer without interruption via the USB C port when the display signals that the internal battery is empty.
In addition to the commercial version of the LRTimelapse timer, there is also a DIY version. In addition to good instructions, you can download the software and the models for 3D printing. Alternatively, you can also buy the 3D printed housing. The control with the buttons is of course not nearly as convenient as with the rotary encoder. And the LCD display could also become sluggish in winter. But the costs are lower and you can hold a piece of technology in your hands that you have built yourself. The functionality does not differ from the commercial version. You can find all the information here: https://gwegner.de/know-how/lrtimelapse-pro-timer-free/
Slider
In addition to a self-made, non-motorised slider, I use the Shark Slider Nano from iFootage. The device is robust and works precisely. It is quite compact. You can stow the Nano in a large photo backpack. Operation is very simple. You move the camera by hand to the starting point and confirm this on the display, then you move the camera to the end point and confirm this. The last step is to select the duration of the movement. After clicking on Start, the slider then moves along the programmed path. Timelapse recordings can also be programmed. The slider is able to control the camera. This basically works, but the slider lacks functions such as interval ramping. For this reason, I only use the slider for movement and control the camera with the LRTimelapse timer mentioned above.
The slider can either be placed on a flat surface or mounted horizontally on a tripod. In the latter case, the maximum possible travelling distance is doubled. The Shark Slider can also be mounted vertically. The slider moves barely audibly. This is of no interest for timelapses, but if you are recording a video with sound, the noise would be very disturbing. Some other sliders are clearly audible.
A successor model is now available in two different lengths. I do not own this one. However, I assume that it works just as well and reliably as the old model. The price has remained at the same level.
Drone
I have been flying with the Fimi X8SE for a few years now. I use it to take photos and videos on the one hand and to illuminate the scene at night with mounted torches on the other. If I were to use the drone exclusively for photography and filming, I would probably have bought a smaller model weighing less than 250 g, such as the DJI Mini. However, you can’t mount torches on these small drones. Even if the drone were to take off and fly with the additional weight, the maximum permitted take-off weight for the class would be exceeded and I would still need a pilot’s licence for the next larger class.
The photo is not up to date. I now usually attach two Lumintop GT Nano Pro lights to the drone. These are very light and have a high luminous flux. The runtime at the brightest level is not very long, but corresponds roughly to the flight time of the drone. Some colleagues attach Lume Cubes to their drones. This may sound quite charming at first. What bothers me, however, is that the manufacturer’s information on luminous flux doesn’t have much to do with reality. The small cubes are unlikely to emit more than 600 lumens. I am not in a position to judge whether the cube lights from other manufacturers emit the promised luminous flux into the landscape. But they don’t usually blow such a big hole in your wallet.
Some light painter and photographer friends fly with various models from the top dog DJI. Most of them are very happy with their DJI drone. If the Fimi crashes at some point or flies off to nowhere, I will most likely switch to DJI as well, especially because the Fimi drones are now sold at similar prices.
Astro tracking
In order to compensate for the earth’s rotation and thus be able to control longer exposure times without the stars painting line marks in the image, I use astro tracking. The OG Star Tracker shown in the picture works very precisely. The deviation is only 15 – 17 arc seconds. Even with focal lengths in the telephoto range, you can expose for several minutes. The OG Star Tracker is a DIY project. You can find all the information you need to build the Star Tracker yourself on the website. You can also buy the machine as a kit or fully assembled. For a price of €235 you get the finished Star Tracker including a polar scope. This makes the OG Star Tracker the cheapest tracking system currently available. The only disadvantage is that the OG Star Tracker is quite bulky and large. I can’t stow it in my photo rucksack.
If you don’t want to work with long focal lengths and don’t want to expose for more than 2 to 3 minutes per shot, a smaller, lighter Star Tracker will suffice. Another inexpensive tracking device is the Move Shot Move Nomad. Including polar cradle and polar scope (Pro Kit A), the Nomad currently costs €356. I strongly advise against using a laser. This is probably not legal anywhere in the world. At the latest, if you use it near an airport, it can be a dangerous interference with air traffic and can quickly become very expensive. In addition, there is always the risk of dazzling uninvolved living beings.
We also recommend the widely used iOptron Star Tracker Pro.
The best tracking device currently available is probably the Benro Polaris Astro. This is a multifunctional tripod head. In addition to astro tracking, this machine can automatically record timelapses and panoramas including camera control. Combinations such as tracked panoramas of the night sky are also possible. Unfortunately, the price is quite high, but reasonable due to the many functions.
Backpacks, bags, suitcases
I stow cameras, lenses and accessories in one of my photo backpacks, or both if necessary. The smaller Benro Beyond is well suited for longer hikes. The large Lowepro Pro Trekker is quite heavy when fully loaded. I usually only use it when I can drive close to the photo spot by car. Both rucksacks are very well made and have been with me for many years. The organisation of both rucksacks is very well thought out.
I usually use plastic cases to transport my light painting equipment. Even sensitive tools are well protected in them.
In order to be able to transport the heavy equipment without straining my back, I bought a trolley about 10 years ago, actually for anglers. The trolley carries a lot of weight and doesn’t break down even on rough terrain.
If the route to the location is not quite so rough, I stow the equipment in a large bag with wheels. This has also been a reliable companion for many years.
Filters and filter holders
I bought most of the filters with a 77 mm thread. This is the largest thread on my lenses. To be able to use the filters on lenses with a smaller thread, I bought a set of step-down rings.
To take infrared photos with the modified camera, I use the following IR pass filters, among others:
I use the UVIR HA clip filter from Kolari Vision as an astro filter. In order to be able to use the converted camera as before the conversion, a Hot Mirror Clip Filter, also from Kolari Vision, is used.
The 12 mm Laowa lens does not have a screw thread for filters. A special adapter is therefore required to be able to use a polarising filter and up to two 100 mm rectangular filters.
I also use the following filters as 77 mm screw-in filters:
I stow the filters in this bag for transport.
Other accessories
Heating sleeve for the lens – prevents fogging of the front lens
Powerbank – power supply for astro tracking, slider, camera, heating sleeve and timer
Leatherman Wave – “toolbox” for your trouser pocket
Tools for photographers – hexagon socket in various sizes, wide screwdriver for quick-release plates, etc.
8-inch tablet – for controlling the drone and Timelapse
I hope this list is helpful for you at one point or another.
Good light at all times
Sven{:}