Here is the ALL the gear I am taking to Paris for the Summer Olympics!

Here we go!!! The Opening Ceremony for the Summer Olympics in Paris will be happening later this week, and I am packed up and heading out soon.

As you can see, I am taking a good amount of gear with me to Paris. Most of what you see here is the cameras and lenses, but all the supporting accessories are equally important to my success in the coming weeks.

With that said, I will start with the Canon gear. For this image, you can see that I have two of the Canon R3 cameras in the photo, but those are just placeholders since I will be picking up two of the new Canon R1 cameras when I get to Paris. I have one smaller camera (Canon R5) for times when I want to be more nimble and don't need the fast frame rate of the Canon R1. I usually use the smaller camera in the mix zone (where the press interview the athletes after each game), and also when I take photos around the city or the Olympic Park.

Here are the lenses I am taking with me:

* Canon RF 100-300mm (with RF 1.4x and RF 2x tele adaptors)

* Canon RF 100-500mm

* Canon RF 70-200mm 

* Canon RF 24-70mm

* Canon RF 15-35mm

* Canon EF 8-15mm fish eye

This will be my first Olympic Games using the new Canon RF 100-300mm lens. I am super excited about this lens for numerous reasons. For one, it is a perfect focal range for most of the action I plan to capture. Secondly, it is an f/2.8 lens which let's me shoot at lower ISO indoor and get super sharp images. Thirdly, it is smaller and lighter then my Canon EF 200-400mm lens. And lastly, I can add the Canon RF1.4x or Canon RF2x adaptors to extend the reach of the lens and still be at f/4 or f/5.6. I think that this will be my "go-to lens" for most of the Olympics.

I also have a plethora of other lenses I am bringing me with. I have the Canon RF 100-500mm lens for outdoor events where I might be handholding and want and even smaller lighter lens. I never go anywhere with my Canon RF 70-200mm lens, as this is my favorite portrait lens and is usually perfect for sports where I am close to the action (like tennis, gymnastics, fencing...). The wide lenses are generally for interviews and times where I want an environmental shot. Since Canon has the CPS area within the Main Press Center (MPC), I may also borrow some specialty lenses if needed. It is great to know they are there with all their goodies. I plan on sneaking back there and showing you all images of that multi-million dollar storage area. Oh, I even though flashes are not allowed during any Olympic sporting events, I still bring a Canon 600 EX-RT flash in case I need it for portraits or lighting a subject during night shots.

You will see that I have a whole bunch of the new ProGrade Digital CFexpress 4.0 Iridium memory cards and ProGrade Digital SD memory cards and readers with me. I will have two of each of these in each camera, with the larger 1.6TB cards in the second slot of the Canon R1, basically acting a backup. I always shoot redundant images to both cards. These are the brand new USB 4.0 cards that, when combined with the new USB 4.0 readers will transfer all of my photos at blazing fast speeds. This is critical for my workflow since my Olympic deadlines are 15 minutes. Yes - that means that I need to download and go through thousands of photos, pick the best, retouch them, and get them back to the team in that crazy fast timeline. 

Speaking of workflow, I am taking the new Apple MacBook Pro M3 Max laptop with me. This is going to be at my side all day and everyday, either at my shooting location or in the venue press center. This laptop has a really large SSD, 128GB of RAM, an awesome screen and enough USB 4.0 ports to keep me happy. Even though I love the size of my Apple MacBook Air 15 inch for my photo tours and ultra-portable scenarios, for the Olympics I need the extreme power of the MacBook Pro to achieve my goals. 

Before I leave I will be calibrating the monitor with the Datacolor Spyder x2 color calibrator to make sure that the screen is showing me accurate color representation. I will bring a calibrator with me as well, and probably do a second calibration mid way through the Olympics.

Even though the MacBook Pro has a ton of SSD storage (this model has 8TB), I still rely on external SSDs to backup my data. I have been using Crucial SSDs for many years and have taken them to numerous Olympic Games. But this year, I am really happy to take the new Crucial 4TB X10 SSDs which are smaller, lighter and faster than ever. I usually try to backup on at least 3 drives throughout the duration of the Games.

Installed on my MacBooks are a couple of key applications. They are:

* Photo Mechanic (which almost every Olympic photographer uses because it is so darned fast)

* Adobe Photoshop (my main retouching application)

I really like having UV filters in front of my lenses, especially at the Olympics. I tend to be a little harder on my equipment during the frenzy of the Olympics, and I like protecting the front elements of my lenses with the Tiffen HT UV filters since they are the highest quality glass around. But this year is even better, since (after years of me pleading with Tiffen to come out with a magnetic filter system) they answered those wishes! I will be bringing the new Tiffen magnetic UV filters as well as magnetic circular polarizers. Heck, I am even using their new filters for my iPhone.

I am bringing a couple of Black Rapid camera straps with me, because, honestly, I really love them and I don't like the Canon camera straps which go around my neck. 

Everything is being packed into two Thinktank camera bags. I have one larger rolling bag and one smaller bag, which gives me choices depending on which events I will be shooting and how much equipment I might need.  

I have two of my older Gitzo monopods which I rely on to save my back. Hand holding large lenses is fine for short spans of time, but to make it through the 3 week grind of the Games, I need some extra help. Tripods are also not allowed in Olympic venues, but I still bring my Gitzo travel tripod for night shots around the city. It packs up small and is always handy to have around.

I have countless other support items going along for the ride, including battery chargers, spare batteries, noise cancelling headphones, Apple AirPods, power strips, adaptors... Oh, and I am bring some clothes too!

After 2 years of planning, the Games are just about here! I am super excited to photograph the Olympics for my 8th time, and love sharing my journey with all of you. Feel free to share this blog with all your friends. The more people following, the more fun it is for me to create them!

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