The Studio Gear List That Actually Pays Off (And the Stuff That Doesn't)

Gear guilt is real when you’ve got a closet full of tools and a nagging feeling that the next purchase will finally fix your work. The smarter question is when equipment actually earns its keep and when it just sits there, quietly draining cash and attention.

Coming to you from Scott Choucino of Tin House Studio, this blunt video walks through a working studio and draws a line between “nice to have” and “needed.” Choucino starts with the unglamorous end of the spectrum: a small video corner built around convenience, not prestige, including a pocketable camera like the DJI Osmo Pocket 3. You get the point fast: sometimes the best setup is the one that stays ready, even if it’s imperfect. He also pushes back on the idea that image quality is the only metric worth caring about, using a real shoot decision where an older body was simply the right fit for a specific lens and look. It’s a useful reminder that “good enough” can still be excellent when the idea is strong.

From there, the video shifts into the stuff that actually carries a business, and the reasoning gets more specific. A camera choice like a Fujifilm GFX paired with a technical camera such as the Cambo ACTUS-MV isn’t framed as a flex, it’s framed as a workflow decision. He talks about why certain brands are ruled out even if they’re desirable, mainly because the files and the software ecosystem have to match what crews can handle on set, including Capture One and Hasselblad Phocus. He also gets uncomfortably honest about menus, friction, and the boring constraints that matter more than spec sheets when you’re trying to move fast. The part worth hearing in his own words is how he thinks about charging clients for equipment, and why “best on the market” can be a worse business choice than “easier to bill and support.”

Lighting is where he draws the hardest line, and it’s not subtle. For video, he points to high-output LEDs like the Aputure LS 600d Pro, but he also admits to keeping cheaper lights out day to day because they can get knocked over without heartbreak. Then he pivots to the gear that pays for itself: pack-and-head flash systems from Broncolor, including Broncolor Scoro, Broncolor Grafit, Broncolor Senso, plus heads like Broncolor Unilite and Broncolor Pulso. He’s clear that the purchase isn’t about owning fancy objects, it’s about making light that clients can’t easily replicate and reducing expensive cleanup later, especially when retouching bills can get brutal. The tradeoff he keeps coming back to is control versus upkeep, including storage, maintenance, and the reality that a studio full of equipment can turn into a cage.

What lands hardest is his timeline: years of scraping by with basic tools, then sudden jumps when the work demands it, not when ego demands it. He mentions building serious campaigns with Bowens softboxes and older Canon bodies like the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon EOS 5DS, and how the limiting factor early on wasn’t the kit. He also gives a rare, practical scenario where upgrading is the right move: when jobs scale up, crews need familiar systems, and backups have to be easy to rent. Near the end he flips it again and says you can buy something purely because you want it, like a Leica, as long as you’re not raiding money you actually need. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Choucino.