The Verge’s favorite camera gear

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Ve

The range of knowledge and equipment used by practitioners can be immense when it comes to taking pictures. You can be happy just taking the occasional snapshot with your phone; you can own a reasonably priced camera and a couple of decent lenses; you can save up your salary for your dream camera along with some really good lens, straps, and tripods; or you can be a pro who requires

It wasn't surprising that we got a wide variety of responses when we asked the staff about their favorite camera gear. Recommendations ranged from $37 backpacks to $450 roller bags.

We want you to enjoy reading about some of our favorite photographic gadgets.

Camera lenses

Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 lens

Is the focus quick? It is not possible to say yes. Do you think the bokeh is perfect? It is not possible to say yes. I like this small lens. The A7C is a small full-frame Sony camera that is a must-have.

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

It is the right size for a small body and it is very affordable. It lives on my A7C and I take about all of my review product shots with it.

Fujifilm XF 16mm f/1.4 R WR lens

The most expensive lens I have ever bought is the 16mm f/1.4 lens from Fuji. It is my favorite because of a variety of characteristics that allow it to capture images in a different way.

A fast lens is appreciated, as it allows for a lot of light and provides separation between the subject and the background. It has a wide field of view and a close minimum focus distance. It's possible to get detailed, up- close images that still give a sense of the environment that the subject is in, if you put it all together. Thanks to the f/1.4 the background can be in focus or just a beautiful blur.

Photo by Mitchell Clark / The Verge

I don't think this is a must-have lens for every Fuji owner, the company makes other lens with similar focal lengths that are less expensive, have updated designs, or are more compact. While I have heard good things about the 16mm f/1.4, I don't feel the same awe when I look at images from them. It's worth taking a look at the 1.4 if you flip through some customer photos on B&H.

A 24mm wide-angle lens for X-mount cameras.

• $849 at B&H
• $849 at Amazon

Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM lens

I think this is the best full-frame lens on the market. I enjoy using it the most for a paid wedding shoot, taking pictures of my family, or even snapping shots of my cats at home, even though it isn't the most practical use of a $2,000 lens.

Photo by Antonio G. De Benedetto / The Verge

Even wide open at f/1.2 the sharpness is flawless. I usually don't stop this lens down to a smaller one. This isn't a lens that only has a "dreamy aesthetic" when doing so, and that's the kind of bullshit we throw around when we apologize for a lens being soft. The soft lens and vintage vibes are charming in their own way, but this lens is sharper. That razor-thin sharpness immediately falls off a cliff. It's a very expensive lens, but if you're shooting a Sony full-frame system and you love fast primes, it's perfect.

The FE 50mm f/1.2 GM has fast, highly accurate autofocus tracking and silent, low-vibration shooting.

• $1,898 at B&H
• $1,898 at Amazon

Tripods and other accessories

Peak Design Travel Tripod

Peak Design's Travel Tripod is a lightweight, compact tripod that is easy to take with you on trips and other adventures. It's portable and has a lot of useful features. It uses the same plate as many of the company's other camera accessories, it has an included phone mount in its center tube, and it has a reasonable amount of flexibility. It has a neat repairability trick in that you can break down the tripod and use the plate attachment tool on one of its legs to clean and repair it.

It costs more and is less heavy. The carbon fiber version is 20 percent more stable according to Peak Design. I am used to paying more for less, but I just couldn't justify the upgrade to the aluminum version. While it still wasn't an inexpensive piece of gear, the only regrets I have about buying the travel tripod are the times I've left it at home and missed out on a trip.

A lightweight aluminum travel tripod has a protective soft case, a standard plate, a mobile mount, and a tool for maintenance.

• $380 at Amazon
• $380 at Peak Design

Joby GorillaPod tripod

I have had one of the original tripods for a long time. It's easy to set up my phone on a flat service with this basic tripod. I can either wrap the legs around a pole or fold them together to make a stick. The mini Gorilla Pods took up less space in my backpack after I picked them up.

I would choose one of the other tripods that Joby sells. Barbara Krasnoff is considering the GripTight Pro 2, which lets you use your phone in landscape or portrait mode and has a second cold shoe mount on top for a mic or a light.

The mini tripod can be used to convert a straight or curved grip handle.

SmallRig Camera Cage for Sony A7C 3081

The SmallRig is the best thing that I have. If I drop or bang my camera, there is a good chance the cage will help protect it, but some protection is better than nothing.

I like all the accessories for it. The camera is more secured in my hands with the hand strap. I have a good handle for controlling certain types of video.

The cage is completely changeable as to where and how you put the accessories. You can either add the accessory you need or kit it out completely. It makes it easy to mount the camera.

MagMod flash accessories

If you throw a stone at a wedding, a photographer will use MagMod gear for their lighting. Modern camera sensors allow us to use more natural light, but flash is still needed for event photography. Thanks to wireless remote triggering that is built right into the flash heads, it is easier to use OCF, but shaping and controlling the light is just as important. You can swap modifiers on top of your flash head with Magmod's accessories. Like all pro-oriented camera gear, it doesn't come cheap, but the silicone rubber diffusers, grids, and gel holders are all quitedurable The real trick is attaching and detaching with magnets, making a quick swap or combining a grid and gel super easy.

MagMod's collapsible softboxes hold an even more special place in my heart. Setting up and breaking down is not something I like to do. It is easy, quick, and creates light. I work with a lot of wedding photographers who have one of these in their kit bag for everything from lighting a dance floor to outdoor portraits.

A built-in storage pocket, gel slot, and honeycomb grid are included in the camera softbox.

• $190 at Amazon
• $190 at MagMod

Bags and backpacks

Caden camera backpack

I used the carrying case that came with my Sony camera before I got my camera backpack. There is a fabric drawer on the opposite side of the backpack that can be used to hold my camera body and lens.

If I want to put my camera away, this backpack is a good option. If I go on a trail with snow or mud, I could slip and fall. While the inner portion of the backpack is limited, it is large enough to hold my small flash and lens cleaning bag. I can collapse the inner drawer if I want to carry the backpack without my camera. The laptop portion is snug but works with my MacBook Pro.

A waterproof drawer is located in the laptop bag.

Think Tank Photo Airport Security bag

I use the Think Tank rolling bag most of the time.

Rolling options have served me well because of my bad back. It fits the two camera bodies, five lens, strobe, and various accessories I usually have with me, but it is also sturdy, compact, and rolls like a dream. It can fit in the overhead space of an airplane and be used when you really need it. It's possible to strap tripods to the side. I have heard that the warranty is second to none and that it is lightweight, but I haven't had to test it out in a while. The bag shown here isn't the exact one I have, but I'm pretty sure this newer model is just as good.

Up to a 15-inch laptop and 10-inch tablets can fit in this rolling carry-on laptop.

Straps and apps

Peak Design camera straps

For the clumsy photographer who is used to the sound of their equipment hitting the deck.

HoldFast Money Maker Camera Harness

There is nothing better for event photography than using a HoldFast Money Maker or similar-style strap. I prefer to look less like a tool and more like a nerd when I use my big geeky cameras. I strongly recommend not getting the skinny version of the leather unless your shoulder size warrants it, since it is very high quality and it will last a long time. You don't have to worry about that with the standard Money Maker straps because the pads on that version slide around on me.

Carrying two cameras for shoots with straps like these is much easier if you don't use zoom lens. Don't kid yourself, you're going to use it whenever you please. It doesn't matter how cool these straps are in the nerdy world of photography; you look ridiculous wearing one of these walking down the street.

The straps for the cameras are real.

Artisan & Artist ACAM-102 fixed-length camera strap

If you use a smaller camera, I encourage you to use a fixed-length strap like the Artisan & Artist ACAM- 102. The cloth strap is 35 inches long and sits around your neck or under your arm. It's perfect for my Leica M6 and Q2 cameras, as I like to just roam with one camera over my shoulder, ready to shoot. I went with the black version because it's not all about leather or premium stuff. I don't like colorful straps for a pop of color or personal flair, but after seeing this one from a very prolific street photographer, I really liked his love for it and its simplicity. It reminds me to take some goddamn pictures.

The metal rings and leather flaps on the strap attach your camera.

Pixelmator Photo / Pro and Darkroom

I use it a lot on my Macbook Pro. I try to support the best software from small developers. Over the last several years, the go-to editor for my work on the Verge review photos has beenPixelmator. It is one of the best repair tools I have tried, and it is easy to clean my gadgets with the Apple Pencil and iPad Pro. On my MacBook Pro, I use the Pixelmator Photo on an Apple device. Darkroom is a great photo editing app that I use if I want to apply filters or a watermark to my images. There are a lot of filters and tools to use. I can do 95 percent of my photo work between these apps, despite the occasional thing I need to jump into.

The most powerful image editing tools are accessible to everyone.