Stuff I use, tech I love, and other things I recommend.

I get asked a lot about the stuff I use, things in my backpack, or other random crap I buy. Here’s a big list of some of that stuff.

Everyday Carry

All the things usually in my backpack.

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Big Fan

Traded in an old iPhone to get a decent deal on this mega watch. I don't frequently do Ultra things, but I do really love the larger screen. I also still have my Apple Watch Series 6 that I use as a sleep watch.

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Big Fan

This is my primary machine. I do have a few others, but being able to take this little mac that has truly desktop-class performance anywhere is incredible. The mega leap in performance from Intel to Apple silicon still does not make sense.

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Big Fan

This are the best wireless earbuds. Battery life? Insane. Noise cancelling? Insane. In my pocket? Always.

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Big Fan

I had fallen out of love with photography mainly because I was over having to spend so much time editing after. So I had turned to film...but that got expensive. So I spent even more money on a camera that emulates film. This camera has quickly become one of my favorite pieces of tech. Fujifilm has nailed mixing form with function.

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Big Fan

This bag is the smallest-huge backpack I have ever owned. It's super slim but somehow still got hammerspace. And its got a lifetime warranty (a zipper fell off my first one after a couple of years, and they just sent me a whole new bag with no questions asked).

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Big Fan

This little powerhouse can output 100W from its 25600mAh battery. No outlets? No problem. And it's transparent and got a screen on it so what is there not to love.

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Big Fan

I have had these sunglasses for forever. The way they fold all the way down makes them easily fit in your pocket and always shocks people when they notice how small they are.

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Big Fan

This is my favorite iPad ever. Yeah it has some issues, but the size is perfect and it fits in most of my pant's back pockets. I do wish its screen was OLED and had Pro-motion but I am still in love with this lil thing. When I am out shooting with my X-Pro 3, I throw this in a smaller bag or pocket so I can quickly import the photos directly from the camera via USB-C and have them upload to iCloud Photos via cellular right away.

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Big Fan

I am one of the maniacs who upgrades iPhones every year. The past few years I have gone with the smaller of the Pro phones, as they've got the same cameras as their larger siblings. I really don't need (or like) the larger screen that the Max has as I usually do my doom-scrolling and YouTube watching on one of my iPads.

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Big Fan

I have replaced most of my Apple power bricks with Anker boxes as they're significantly smaller and have multiple ports per brick. Love these things.

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Workstation

Some of this stuff is mobile, but most of it lives on my desk.

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Big Fan

This is a solid iPad. The M2 chip is SO overpowered for iPadOS but its battery life and beautiful screen are fantastic for photo editing and content consumption. To be honest, this iPad usually stays at home in the living room as usually I take my iPad mini with me. 😬

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Big Fan

This is my primary machine. I do have a few others, but being able to take this little mac that has truly desktop-class performance anywhere is incredible. The mega leap in performance from Intel to Apple silicon still does not make sense.

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Big Fan

Simply put this display is beautiful, from a display standpoint and from a chasis standpoint. I actually have two of them...one at home and one at my office. A 5K display in a 27" screen is the perfect mix of resolution, physical size and PPI. Obviously there are ways that it could be better, but it is hard beat Apple's ability to make something perform significantly better than it's specs on paper.

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Big Fan

They're hard to find these days, but I LOVE these speakers. Their look is very unique and their sound is very big.

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Big Fan

The best mouse that has ever been made. That is all. I have one at each of my desks.

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Big Fan

While this isn't my primary machine, this one is at my home desk and is always on and ready to get work done.

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Big Fan

The most overhyped web cam of all time. It started out as a small heater with a buggy mess of a companion app but has started to get better over the past few months. I routinely get compliments on the quality of my video on Zoom calls.

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Gaming

Stuff I game on. Right now I am in phase of giving up FPS for higher resolution or convenience.

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Big Fan

I built this PC in early 2021 and have upgraded parts over the years to keep it speedy. I mainly play CoD MW2, Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5. I used to have a 1440p 144hz gaming monitor from LG but I have recently simplified my desk and have been using with a DisplayPort to USB-C cable (who knew those exist) to game on my Studio display... The 60hz part kinda sucks but gaming with DLSS @ 5K with Apple's colors are insane.

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Big Fan

Possibly the worlds greatest ping-pong sim? Besides table tennis, one of my favorite uses for this is plugging it into my PC and zooming around Google Earth.

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Big Fan

The performance that Nintendo eeks out of this thing's ancient processor still doesn't make sense. I mainly only play party games and other Nintendo IP stuff on here...anything more serious I'll play on more powerful hardware. If you're getting a Switch don't buy the non-OLED version...spend $50 more and get the OLED one.

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Big Fan

I bought this for Gran Turismo 7... and it's amazing. I have also played some MW2 and Fortnite on it (gotta love cross-play and cross-save.). I have also built/customized both of my PS5 controllers, one for shooters with short-travel-clicky triggers and one for racing. Both have custom shells (fps, racing), upgraded joysticks and additional back buttons that can be mapped to anything.

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Big Fan

Being able to play most of my Steam library from anywhere is a magical experience. I have the 512GB version with the etched display and also have a 1TB micro SD card in there so I've got plenty of space to store all of the things. With all of that space, I also have it split into both SteamOS and Windows partitions. Being able to dual boot and have even more options on what to play is a game changer.

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Photography

Camera and tech used with said camera.

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Favorite

I had fallen out of love with photography mainly because I was over having to spend so much time editing after. So I had turned to film...but that got expensive. So I spent even more money on a camera that emulates film. This camera has quickly become one of my favorite pieces of tech. Fujifilm has nailed mixing form with function.

Acquired:
New
Favorite

I am one of the maniacs who upgrades iPhones every year. The past few years I have gone with the smaller of the Pro phones, as they've got the same cameras as their larger siblings. I really don't need (or like) the larger screen that the Max has as I usually do my doom-scrolling and YouTube watching on one of my iPads.

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Other Stuff

Some other random stuff I've got that I like.

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Big Fan

I portable speaker. It was a decent deal as an open box at Best Buy.

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Big Fan

I live in a small 1-bedroom apartment. This 48" OLED TV is incredible. 10/10 no notes.

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Big Fan

I don't use these all that often but I do love em. Are they too expensive? Yeah. But are they beautiful and mega comfortable? Also, yeah.

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Big Fan

I sold the 2021 Sony TV that I had in my bedroom, and replaced it with this amazing portable projector. While there are "better" projectors around the same price, this one caught my eye as it has a battery and can be used anywhere. And it is the size of a large can of soda. Incredible.

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Big Fan

Just a good ol' local backup solution that doubles as an always on server for running security cameras and other always on docker containers. Both of my Macs backup locally to this server nightly. My Mac mini also copies its iCloud Photos library over to Synology's photo library so it is all stored locally as well.

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