Chris Spiegl

Father. Traveler. Photographer. Thinker.

Currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand until Feb 2027

What I use

WIP — This page is a work in progress. It is not complete.

I keep this list to what I actually use. A camera that comes with me, hardware that earns a place in the bag or on the desk, and software I open every week. If it stops earning that place, it goes.

If you have a suggestion, email me. I’d like to hear it.

This will probably change. When it does, I’ll update this page at this permanent URL: ChrisSpiegl.com/uses

As of October 19th, 2026, this is the current set. Categories include Photography, Hardware, Software, and Services.

Photography

Leica Q3

Leica Q3

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Canon EOS R6 III

Canon EOS R6 III

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8

Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8

Over the years I noticed again and again that this is my area of shooting on full frame. It's a beautiful range for landscape captures as well as video (vlog and otherwise). And for shallower depth of field, I would always stay away from the 4.0 versions of these lenses.

 
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4.0

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4.0

After over a decade of only shooting with prime lenes I finally decided it was time for a zoom lens and play around a little bit to see what it can offer my video making and photography. The f/4.0 is not what I would prefer but at everything else about this lens is damn impressive!

 
Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM Macro

Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM Macro

Super light weight, razor sharp, and with shallow depth of field. This is a must have lins in my opinion. Helps make things look natural but you are not too far away from the camera. And it's really good for those portraits.

 
Canon RF 70-200mm f/4

Canon RF 70-200mm f/4

One of the constant dreams of mine is to have the f2.8 version of this lens. However, that one is significantly heavier than this one. So, for now, the f4 will be my travel companion to get those compressed portraits, that different perspective in landscapes, and overall open up a whole new range of photography and video work.

 
Insta360 3m Selfie Stick

Insta360 3m Selfie Stick

This stick can extend to up to 3m and only weights 300g. With the 3m it's possible to get almost drone like shots.

 
B+W Variable ND Filter (77mm and 82mm)

B+W Variable ND Filter (77mm and 82mm)

The first ND filter I ever bought (now I use two of them) and it's a game changer for film making. It also makes life a little harder (having to remember that there is another variable to take into consideration), but the results are visibly better when done correctly. This is a lovely ND filter and especially: it has stop points so no overdriving it at the ends.

 
Deity PR-2

Deity PR-2

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Røde Wireless PRO

Røde Wireless PRO

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Aputure MC Lights

Aputure MC Lights

Great small colorful lights to set some accents. I run two of these.

 
Peak Design Capture Clip

Peak Design Capture Clip

I have both clips - the pro and non-pro. I have to say: for almost all use cases I would recommend getting the non-pro. The pro is just not that much better (and it's even a little heavier). But that aside: I love the Capture Clip. I can use it with all the plates I use. It's great! I have one of these mounted to one of the straps of my backpack. The second is mounted to my belt.

 
Peak Design Large Camera Cube

Peak Design Large Camera Cube

I put this into the Travel Backpack from Peak Design and it just stays there. It's a great organizational tool and the back and side openings make it very easy to access everything easily.

 
Peak Design Slide Lite

Peak Design Slide Lite

I love the system that PeakDesign build with these little attachment things. They are everywhere on my gear. Camera, Lens Carrier, Field Pouches. It's so versatile. Just great. The best part: on my camera I can have a strap and then detach it in seconds. Where that takes forever if you don't have a strap system like this.

 
Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L

Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L

I upgraded my previously owned Peak Design Everyday Backpack to the Travel Line version mainly because of the back opening and more room for stuff. It's a much bigger backpack but it's so much more convenient.

 
Røde VideoMic GO II

Røde VideoMic GO II

This mic is a great replacement for the Røde VideoMicro. Inexpensive, nothing to charge, great sound, and you can use it with your computer as well for voiceovers and podcasts.

 
Røde VideoMic NTG

Røde VideoMic NTG

I love this video mic on top of my camera. It basically is always on there. Has auto shut off, sounds incredible, and is durable. Just an all round amazing mic.

 
2TB Angelbird CFExpress Card

2TB Angelbird CFExpress Card

Many new cameras use CFExpress. This is one of the best CFExpress cards on the market. Price/Storage is great, performance is incredible, and they are absolutley reliable. Storage media made for creatives!

 
Folding Tripod Mount

Folding Tripod Mount

Whenever I have to mount my iPhone to shoot some photos, timelapse, or video. this has a in built Arca-Swiss compatible plate and that's all I want.

 
Friction Arm

Friction Arm

A helpful little tripod alternative for small things (aka microphones, and stuff). I love it.

 
National Geographic Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod

National Geographic Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod

The new tripod on my side. It's really incredible what a difference it makes when you can actually stand in front of your tripod for filming — and ofcourse you can also stand behind the camera without being hunched over. This tripod is light weight, it's relatively small when packed, and has a great height of over 158cm when extended all the way.

 
PGYTECH MantisPod Pro

PGYTECH MantisPod Pro

The Vlogging tripod of 2022. It works wonderfully, is really flebixle, and super sturdy.

 
Quick Release Clamp

Quick Release Clamp

I have two of these adapter mounts. One is screwed to the Gimbal / Stabilizer, the other is on the mini Manfrotto tripod. It makes switching between these so much easier.

 
SIRUI B-00 Tripod Head

SIRUI B-00 Tripod Head

This is a great match for my National Geographic Tripod. It's light, has the safety pin, and all the adjustments I need.

 
SanDisk Ultra 128GB

SanDisk Ultra 128GB

You need storage in all the devices. So now I am only using these microSD cards. Not as powerful but easier. I have one type of card that could go into all of them. I have 4 or 5 of these!

 
Sirui T-025X Carbon Fiber Tripod

Sirui T-025X Carbon Fiber Tripod

This is an amazingly light tripod. And for me - traveling a lot - having a light tripod is one key thing.

 

Hardware

MacBook Pro 16" M1 Max

MacBook Pro 16" M1 Max

The new M1 Max MacBook Pro is absolutely incredible. The battery runtime, the efficiency, the power — the best computer I have ever owned. Your computer is the one thing tto bring it all together, and it better be fun to use!

 
iPad Pro 11" M2

iPad Pro 11" M2

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen

Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen

These are my favorite Apple headphones as of Sept. 2022! They have 6 hours of noise cancelation while listening to music and you can also pop them into the case for a charge and get up to 30 hours of music listening in total. Additionally, you have spacial audio, transparency mode and much more. They fit great and don't fall out of my ears and I'm just all around very happy with them.

 
Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID (USB-C)

Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID (USB-C)

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Apple Magic Trackpad (USB-C)

Apple Magic Trackpad (USB-C)

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Apple Watch Series 7 Titanium

Apple Watch Series 7 Titanium

I never owned an Apple Watch before but the Series 7 finally made me get one. It's a cool gadget featuring loads of health sensors, fitness and activity tracking, notifications, Siri, and more! So far, I would recommend it.

 
Bose Quiet Comfort 35

Bose Quiet Comfort 35

Editing video, photos, coding or just any work on the computer with other people or noises around? These are golden. I love the sound. I love the noise canceling. It's incredible. Get them! These are the best for planes and in coworking spaces or coffee shops. They have awesome sound quality, fold up, and are just generally awesome.

 
Crucial X10 8TB SSD

Crucial X10 8TB SSD

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Nexstand K1 Carbon Fiber Laptop Stand

Nexstand K1 Carbon Fiber Laptop Stand

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Elgato Cam Link 4K (HDMI to USB capture card)

Elgato Cam Link 4K (HDMI to USB capture card)

Doing some live streaming with a propper camera? This is a great solution to do so. Works nicely, only downside is that it makes the laptop fans scream for their lifes.

 
2TB Samsung 980 PRO

2TB Samsung 980 PRO

This drive is almost overkill inside the Acasis USB 4.0 Housing. But it's the only one that I found which supports 3 GB / Second read and write. I love this for media creations.

 
ACASIS USB 4.0 M.2 NVME Housing

ACASIS USB 4.0 M.2 NVME Housing

As a media creator, you need loads of fast storage to edit all the 4k and 8k video files. With this housing, you can use incredibly fast NVME SSD drives!

 
Angelbird CFExpress Card Reader

Angelbird CFExpress Card Reader

With the R5 C I also had to get a CFExpress Card and this is the reader. The benefit: CFExpress Cards are super fast in the read and write department. Runs smooth.

 
LED Headlamp

LED Headlamp

This is a no brainer for everybody who is traveling a little more. It's super useful, wether in hostels, or when you're going down some dark allyways when arriving to your villa on Bali. Just starp it on and walk with light.

 
Zendure Supertank Pro - 26800mAh - 100W

Zendure Supertank Pro - 26800mAh - 100W

A powerbank that outputs 100W to actually charge my MacBook Pro a second time. It's impressive! But not just that, it also charges my phone, camera, and everything else that supports USB-C. I love this thing.

 
Charger for AA & AAA Batteries (USB Type C)

Charger for AA & AAA Batteries (USB Type C)

As you may have noticed, I love USB Type C things. And sometimes I need AA batteries (for the Zoom H5 for example) and this is what I charge them batteries with.

 
Faber-Castell E-Motion Fountain Pen with Medium Nib (M)

Faber-Castell E-Motion Fountain Pen with Medium Nib (M)

Having written most everything of the past few years on a keyboard, I am really delighted to write with a fountain pen (for the first time since middle school). This is such a different league of a pen though! I truly enjoy it.

 
GL iNet AX3000 WiFi 6 Router

GL iNet AX3000 WiFi 6 Router

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Leuchtturm1917 Medium A5 Dotted Hardcover Notebook

Leuchtturm1917 Medium A5 Dotted Hardcover Notebook

I've gone back to paper note taking and journailng. These are lovey and I don't want to miss them ever again.

 

Software

Carrot Weather

Carrot Weather

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Cursor — AI Assisted Coding

Cursor — AI Assisted Coding

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Fantastical

Fantastical

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Reader by Readwise

Reader by Readwise

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Zen Browser

Zen Browser

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
iA Writer

iA Writer

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Creative Cloud

For a creative person, I guess this is a must have. Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, and Audition are the programs I use most out of this suite!

 

Services

Substack

Substack

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
XOLO

XOLO

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Audiio

Audiio

This is where I get all my music for videos from. It's a one time license so you don't have to pay a yearly subscription! And they have sound effects as well!

 
Cloudflare

Cloudflare

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
Firebase

Firebase

Laborum tempor quis cillum ea. Quis cillum ea aute cupidatat et quis.

 
NomadList

NomadList

I like checking cities that I am going to on NomadList to get an idea about what the city will be like, how much it will cost, and so on. It's also a great platform to remember where I have been in the past and where I am going next.

 
Revolut Banking

Revolut Banking

One of those new banks that's really powerful to use while traveling. Especially because you are able to hold many different currencies.

 
Riverside.fm — Remote High Fidelity Video/Audio Podcast Recording

Riverside.fm — Remote High Fidelity Video/Audio Podcast Recording

Riverside.fm is the number one tool I recommend for remote podcast recording. This tool recrods the video and the audio in seperate files so that you have the full flexibility while post processing. For high quality interviews, this is the go to tool!

 
Wise - Send Money Abroad

Wise - Send Money Abroad

When I get paid internationally, TransferWise is the best place to send big money through. It's pricing on international cross currency transfers is great.

 

A note on the links

Most links here are affiliate links. If you buy something through one, I get a small commission. You don't pay anything extra.

I list them because I use them. Don't buy any of it unless you actually want or need it.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.