Upcoming: ESL One Frankfurt

Destination: Frankfurt

I'm traveling to ESL One Frankfurt next weekend with eUrheilu.com, a Finnish esports news site. Frankfurt's Commerzbank Arena will host Europe's largest Dota 2 tournament, with 8 teams attending. We're going to do video interviews, match coverage, and of course event photos. There's going to be only two of us, and Benjamin "Notahax" Läärä will be focusing on covering the games and planning the interviews, so the onus is on me to produce good quality visual content.

I was in Frankfurt two years ago for the exact same event, so my expectations are high. Frankfurt was plenty of fun in 2014, and with ESL on the rise, this should be a good event, too.

What to Pack?

I'll be using separate equipment for stills and video. Even though the still camera is capable of recording video, I like to be able to focus on one thing at a time.

For stills, I'm using:

• Nikon D800e
• Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G VR
• Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G VR
• Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G
• Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G

The D800e is a dependable workhorse, suited for all kinds of situations. I've had good experiences shooting even fast-paced events, as long as I'm prepared. The autofocus speed is better with the newer models, pretty much the only thing I sometimes wish I had. For the lenses, the ultra wide angle zoom and the 35mm are my staples, and I'll probably shoot almost everything with those two. I do wish we'd have a 70-200/2.8 with us, another workhorse, but unfortunately the budget just isn't there for this event.

As for video:

• Sony NEX FS700
• Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6

The Sony is likewise a workhorse of a camera. The pre-amps are decent, and the image quality I find to be very good for web use. I'll be mostly shooting with a tripod, since the form factor isn't really suited for hand holding, and we won't be able to bring along other support gear.