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Bertie Gregory

To be an effective wildlife photographer/videographer you need the right equipment. And few would know the equipment better than National Geographic’s rising star, professional wildlife filmmaker and photographer Bertie Gregory.

5 must-haves for wildlife filmmaking

Bertie is the host of National Geographic Wild’s first digital series – Wild_Life with Bertie Gregory where he tries to track down and film the elusive coastal wolf on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada.

With that in mind, he shot his new 24-part series in 4K using Canon lenses and supported everything with Sachtler’s rugged Video 18, that provided nonstop durability during his three-month expedition for the show.

A filmmaker is nothing without their tools and we sat down with Bertie and asked him what gear he needs for those epic wildlife shots!

1. Rocket Air Blower

“I’m often working around water, so if a lens gets sprayed, I don’t put a lens cloth anywhere near it until I’ve pumped all the drips to the edges with my dust blower!”

2. Sachtler Video 18 S2

“I’ve had tripods where you take it on a windy beach, the whole thing just fills up with sand, and then I have to take it apart to clean it. I don’t know what Sachtler’s done with their gear, but whatever it is, it’s genius because I never have to worry about doing that with the Video 18.”

Bertie Gregory in a loaded raft

I was on the beach most of the time so there’s salt water and sand everywhere, along with a bunch of wind and rain. Basically, if you wanted to destroy your camera equipment you’d go on this trip.

Bertie Gregory

3. Anton/Bauer CINE 150 Batteries

“The CINE batteries are just epic. They last so long!” Delivering 12 amps of continuous power, these batteries are specifically designed for high power draw cameras, so you’ll quit before they do.

4. Swarovski 10×32 Binoculars

Whether you’re shooting birds in the park or doing something more exotic, binoculars are essential for wildlife photographers. Bertie’s choice are these smaller Swarovski binoculars made with exceptional technology. Great for on-location shoots, they weigh a mere 20.5 ounces and are only 5.3 inches tall by 4.3 inches wide.

5. F-stop Shinn Backpack

Specifically designed to haul large camera set-ups, the 80L Shinn is the largest camera bag Shinn has to offer. With an all-weather shell, it was perfect for Bertie’s latest assignment that helicoptered him to the middle of the Amazon.

Here’s the trailer for Bertie’s show:

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