My vlogging life began five years ago on a sweltering SoCal day in April of 2013. Fresh out of breath from scaling a steep hill on my trusty eBay-bought Cannondale road bike, I pulled my iPhone 5 out of my pocket, flipped the camera and tapped the big red button. Now, five years later, the subject (me) remains the same and today, I have a plethora of new and improved means of recording myself, my life and the world around me. While the content and creativity remain as the important ingredients in the recipe for a compelling vlog, the gear is a key component. 

"Assembling a kit can seem overwhelming, but my advice for anyone starting out would be, first, to find a camera that you like, get to know it, and you’ll see a natural growth in your toolbox from there." -Julien Solomita

At the heart of my current vlogging kit is my Sony α7S II. This camera has been my favorite way to capture video for just about three years now. My α7S II started out on my channel with a bang...literally. For my first vlog with camera, I took it to the roof of a Target in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles to take some traffic timelapses and random b-roll, As I learned to operate my new toy, all of a sudden an unannounced Trident II missile lit up the sky while I was in the middle of recording. I pointed the camera to the sky completely in awe knowing that I was capturing something I was positive nobody else had seen yet. My video was promptly retweeted by Khloe Kardashian and got me on the local news. And while I can’t guarantee you’ll capture a missile on your first day with this camera, I do strongly recommend it.

The a7S II is the heart of my kit and I've built my key lenses and accessories around it. See the full kit in my What's In My Bag article here.