I take my gear into industrial situations routinely, and if I worried about keeping it clean or safe, I would be out of work very quickly. So far, I've been able to protect it in the worst situations, and I've been rewarded with some amazing shots!

Love the work you share here on your channel Luc! I mainly work around action sports films (Mtn Biking, Motocross, Rally Racing...). The only way to get the right shots is to put the gear on the line! As much care pre/post shoot as we can, we have to play in the elements!

Great viewpoint, Luc! I was filming at a California beach a couple of weeks ago with my small camera (an R5 - small compared to my C300 mark ii's). Sometimes I was in the water, othertimes the camera was inches from the water, sometimes I was further up the beach. A hobbiest photographer was aghast I had my camera that close to the ocean water. I told him that if I want to get the shots I want, then I have to risk the camera getting wet. It's a tool.

One of my most proud photographer moments was when i realized i had over used my 1st DSLR and had to retire it (canon 70d and tamron 17-180) I HAD to replace my A cam and A lens because of over actualization for the focus mirror, and well the lens was Tamron.😂 this setup supported me for years, and thank god i had a collection of stupid primes until i could get my 80d and l series glass (on to fx3 now). Destroying gear in the pursuit of our craft is a badge of honor. That 70d is now a webcam with manual focus and the tamron is a paperweight, makes me gigle "do you even shoot brah"

I knew where you were going when I read the title…but this story very much exceeded my expectations. Thank for sharing this…great perspective on gear.

in saudi when someone buy new gadget we say "Tekserh bel Afiah" which roughly translated to "you shall destroy it safely" off course we mean by making the most of it!! great concept, and great video as always.

Subscribed and liked! I recently just came back from a trip to Ghana and it was my first real taste of travel documentary making. So far I've seen two of your videos and they have been excellent. I look forward to learning more from you and watching more of your content. I feel that documentary filmmaking is the next step I want to take in my career as an artist. Thank you for sharing your knowledge

I worked as a surfing photographer in Uruguay for about two years, and the damage the sea can do to the gear is insane. The salt that flies in the wind will get under the rubbers and grips and will detach them from every lens and camera body. All of them, no "weather sealing" gonna save you from the salt, haha. Note the Southern Atlantic isn't the most friendly of seas. Being that I spend over 8 hours a day on the beach and a few nights per month timelapsing, I had to re-glue the rubbers and grips once every two weeks or so. A little piece of weather cover can go a long long way, though uncomfortable to work with, will save a lot of hassle. And using a UV filter is a no-brainer because the same salt will have you kiss your lens coatings byebye if you don't use one. Needless to say the sand will always find its way into the gear but still, any form of cover will do great for your gear in those conditions. Killed two nikon D300s, a D7200 and almost lost a D610, and though the lenses survived, they were in rough shape. Never regretted it, I had some of the best times in my life. Thanks Luc!

Out of film school I bought a couple of entry level pro-sumer level cameras (one around $1500 another around $3000 just the price of bare minimum then) and honestly never got made my money back for either camera, just really wasn't pulling in enough work at the time and to this day they sit in my basement and while obsolete are practically mint. My first camera I absolutely DESTROYED was a couple years later, my first DSLR, a canon T3i. I used that thing as a backpack reporter while I was in grad school, shot with it eight hours a day every day. After about three years of owning it it just stopped working one day while I was on a shoot. Sent it in and the tech at canon repair told me I was about seven million shutter clicks over the camera's expected lifespan and there was nothing they could do for me. Probably the cheapest cam I ever bought professionally and probably the most worth the investment, and I think the big shift between the two purchases was really that the other cams I was "Trying to keep nice for pro work" but my T3i I just lived with, never babied it, never tried to keep it safe, just focused on getting shots and paying the bills.

I spent a long time in South America many moons ago, I know I missed some good photos because I was travelling with a camera I borrowed from my dad and he said it better come back in one piece. In hindsight, I've accidentally backed over a Nikon FM2 with a jeep and that thing kept shooting great photos for years after so ....... Yet another great piece of sound advice from Mr Forsyth.

I couldn't agree more! People buy gear and keep this gear in bags on top of their closet or on some shelf collecting dust. I would rather destroy 10 cheapish cameras and take 100,000 photos/videos over buying an expensive camera and let it collect dust on some shelf.

Great stuff Luc! Always enjoy your videos. I film a lot of fitness stuff where the talent has to where a lav mic and they destroyed a few of my sennheiser transmitters in the process. I used to use an unlubricated condom to cover the transmitter pack but what I found worked even better was small clear ziploc bags with the slider on them. It makes it easier to access the mic pack an change batteries when needed and saves 5 minutes of awkward jokes on set lol.

Yes!! I had my camera on top of a fully extended monopod and almost dropped it earlier today 😂. Worth it to get that overhead shot though!

Man oh man! Those video keeps on getting better and better! Great piece of advice. Like my grand grand grand father used to say, camera gear is like a good whiskey. Damn it looks good on a shelf

Luc , you seem to have such a rich experience with amazing adventurous projects. Seeing your CV, it’s almost unbelievable that you subscribed to AOD online course.. I commented on your review about it hoping to get more arguments from you but finally enrolled today. Hopefully will be worth. Keep up the great job

Talking about sacrificing a camera equipment still seems much smaller when you compare it with other industries of either past or even at some far rural place still present where the workers sacrifice their body organs & even life for fulfiling their duty towards their job. The concept is same but the world owns a different meaning for them.

This is something that has been on my mind for a long time. I realized a while ago that I always "preserve" my gear (music stuff, computer stuff, every stuff) so that it can last longer. But then I don't really use what I have to its full potential until in ends up being outdated and then I can't really sell it for a profit because it's old. When I bought my first 4k camera I figured "this is going to last so long because I can shoot HD until it's a thing of the past and then proceed to shoot 4k". But then I realized I'll just be going with the flow and aging my camera without ever using the full potential and without ever impressing anybody with a higher quality of work.

My KZfaq channel is about exploring underground mines. At best it's a harsh environment often crawling through passages we can barely squeeze through. I look at every piece of my underground gear as a "consumable" item. Every explore reduces its remaining lifespan. My Aputure F7 light got broken on my last trip when it got hung up on a beam as we climbed up 200' of ladders to get out of a mine. I had initially purchased two of them because damage is inevitable. I take care of my gear and am careful with it, but it goes with me places few people will.

The same goes for for our physical self, I want to get every ounce of life out of this body before I die! The broken bones, bruises, cuts, and contusions are proof of a life fully lived.

Good hook, great thesis....couldn't agree more....go make some stuff with this stuff! An aside: when you say you sent it to Sony, do you mean Precision? There's another story here...about that company telling owners they need a replacement because the "the repair is too expensive" to make it worthwhile to repair. Someone should look into Sony's relationship with Precision ....the only US authorized repair.

I hear what you say about gear. My approach is to keep everything properly fettled and spotlessly clean before, during and after a shoot, so if something does go wrong, like dropping a lens in knee deep mud, or getting mashed in a high wind, I can laugh about as I have done my very best and carried on until coming back with the goods.

Great video! If you be have not broken some gear, you are not filming enough stuff that actually means anything. I have broken mics, lights, lenses, and cameras. It is part of the lifestyle of video production. It happens, and as long as you aren’t being careless, it is perfectly normal. Get out there and shoot!

I had to replace the sensor in my a7s3; That hurt. No, It still hurts.

super appreciate the content! Any recommendations for a shoulder mount/rig? Likely grabbing an FS7 in the next few weeks. Thanks!!

AAANND THIS is how luc was never allowed to rent an Arri again...

boy, i imagine the clicks that thumbnail would get you- a lav receiver and open trojan wrapper. leqving money in the tables, Luc 😅

in 2005 was shooting track and field , my camera fell down from the monopod in the grass , broke the mount and diplay and damage the af of my big telephoto lent , lent toke 6 monts to get fix , was unable to work for a year , lost my job and got kick out of my hous , toke me 5 years to recover from it unless you have enof money to go buy next day new camera , don't put you camera to risk , broken camera for a photographer videographer , can be catastrophic

Back in the day at the small TV station I worked for, we routinely used condoms on hand mikes to protect them in a city that had frequent dust storms.

never leave a hotel/motel without pocketing the shower caps..

Good advice. If I was precious about my equipment, I would not be doing the amount of work I do.

Great video : )

That ok, if you have the money. But as a student of photography its madness to waste my gear. Because if I lose my 5D Mk2, I can quit. There is no money, that can buy me a new one and I am such a nobody, that no one gives me a paid job at this time of my life. (They are trying to catch me with cheap paid slavework, like "film us a whole 420 minute concert-documentary for 1400 CFR and pay hotel and train by yourself please!" Thank god, my professors stopped me, before I signed the contract...)

Impressive advice, indeed. I abused most of my gear when needed and they never let me down. I do take care of them but when I need something I'm more about getting what I wanna film/photo first and keeping it safe second. I think I'll stick to those small Sony alpha cameras as our monsoon season is a near constant drizzles/rain in a daily basis.

I haven't watched the video but just know this is going to be a gem :D

hehe nice title Luc :D

Wow, I just paid £1200 for an Fs7. Thats crazy for the repair

Can you make a video or help us with choosing business insurance?

ALL TRUE!

i bought the most expensive camera i thought i wanted and it lives in a pelican case. probably going to sell. aside from that one cam i dont treat my gear preciously. used to but casey niestat’s philosophy is similar to yours - get the shot.

Off to destroy my camera, will come back later to watch why.

Hipster video with money

11:51 that’s what we call protecting your equipment 😎🤙