Our camera is a DSLM Digital Single Lens Mirrorless. Compared to a DSLR Digital Single Lens Reflex, it is smaller and lighter. Because it does not have a mirror, it is much more compact; an optical viewfinder is not missing though, because it has a great backside display. A big advantage of the electric viewfinder is the image preview, this way you can check all of the adjustments, filters and effects before taking the picture – that way it can only turn out good! The only small disadvantage is the battery power, you should always carry a spare battery, but this is still more space-saving and lighter than a big DSLR and its accessories. For DSLM cameras there are a lot of compact lenses with different focal lengths available. Every manufacturer has a different bayonet connection though, only Panasonic and Olympus are working together. The main reason we chose a DSLM is the compactness, because contrary to a DSLR its pros are handling and weight and in relation to the quality of the image it is just as good as a DSLR.

We chose the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GH5 because it takes great pictures as well as videos. The Micro-Four-Thirds DSLM is an all-rounder and offers the best of both worlds: 6K photos and 4K videos – no time limit, this is great for YouTube. Other advantages are the great image quality until ISO 6.400, excellent Low-Light-Performance, fast autofocus, integrated image stabilizer, quick serial recording with unlimited JPEG-serial length, two UHS-II-SD-card areas incl. Hot Swapping and lots of direct keys. The magnesium body also has splash-water-protection. What else do you need for an adventure like ours?

There is an unlimited offer of memory cards. Before purchasing a memory card it is important to know the intended purpose beforehand. If you use a compact camera for occasional vacation snapshots, a reasonable priced memory card is enough, writing and reading speed are not as important. For Pro-photographers, who are willing to spend much more money on memory cards with up to 128 GB who are usually using high-resolution cameras, writing speed is much more important. We see ourselves somewhere in the middle, ambitious hobby-photographers with good intentions; we need a fast middle class memory card at a reasonable price. Our memory cards are from San Disk and they are usually on top of any list because they offer great writing and reading speed as well as capacities, and the price is right.

Using a lens with a fixed focal length (ours is 25mm) you are much more aware of the angles and the perspectives as well as the distance to the desired motive. This way you are able to learn to use your intuition when it comes to the photographic view. You automatically get the feeling for the right composition of an image. Fixed focal lenses have lots of advantages e.g. the image quality is way better than with a zoom lens, because there are less lenses installed. Because of their construction, fixed focal lenses are very light-intense and through the wide and open camera aperture a shallow depth as well as a nice bokeh effect can be achieved.

With a zoom lens (ours is 12-60mm) you can quickly change between different focal lengths and therefore are very flexible. The advantages of variable focal lengths are excellent for motives that are quickly moving and not controllable and also great when you are not able to change the distance to the motive (e.g. sport-photography). If you are travelling and do not want to carry lots of different fixed focal length lenses a zoom lens is great because it offers you a lot of flexibility.

The GoPro Hero 5 Black with 12 megapixels records videos in high resolution Ultra-HD with 30 images per second – pictures can also be taken in RAW. The features of this GoPro offer a convenient voice command, a touchscreen and it is waterproof up to 10 meters, no extra case required. This action camera convinced us because it is robust and keeps off dust and moisture and will be great for documenting our van-conversion (and it won´t break if it might fall down) as well as our traveling adventures, action included!

The small Rollei Monkey tripod has flexible and pliable legs, making it possible to attach it to the car, maybe with the GoPro on top? ;) The non-slip rubber feet allow you to use it on top of slippery ground and uneven ground can be easily settled.