Qatar World Cup 2022 Media Gear

Heading to my first World Cup and I thought it will be good to share how I pulled together my Qatar Word Cup 2022 media gear.

Firstly to state that it has been quite a journey to secure tickets from FIFA’s ticket portal. It was my first and arguably the toughest task.

When the ticket portal opened, the online queue was immense, the progress was very slow. Close to 30 hrs later I got in and was successful.

Only after acquiring the tickets you could book accommodation from the State agency that was specially setup as accommodation was limited.

After securing ticket and accommodation, next step was to apply for a permit to enter Qatar for the Games. You needed confirmed tickets and accommodation to apply for entry permit.

The exception is the day entry pass if you did not have accommodation and fly back or drive out of Qatar at the end of each day.

Gear Checklist

Two weeks before departure, I decided to do a proper gear checklist to avoid surprises and disappointments. Something I had encountered on my past travels. Lessons learnt.

As the World Cup was going to be once in a lifetime event for me and part of the bucket list, I wanted things to go well gear wise.

So here is the list that I came out with for media gear;

• Main camera – Sony ZV1
• Secondary camera iPhone
• DJI Osmo Action with image stabilizer for on move moments.
• Telesin 90cm tripod cum selfie stick for the Sony ZV1 / Osmo Action
• Mini Ulanzi tripod cum selfie stick for Sony ZV1 / Osmo Action
• Porodo bluetooth selfie stick for iphone
• Boya dead cat external mic for Sony ZV1 to avoid wind noise during video recording
• Samsung SSD for storing photos and videos and archival backup
• Cotton waterproof sling to hold all things above with one exception – the Samsung SSD. The SSD had to remain at the accommodation as a back-up
• Macbook Pro laptop

Batteries, charging and storage strategy

Once all the necessary media gear have been identified and placed in the bag, the next order of things is to charge all batteries and power banks including spares. Despite all the planning I did forget to get a spare battery for the bluetooth selfie stick remote.

Storage space is important as a lot of footage are raw and in multiples. If the lighting is not right, you need to bracket your shots ie. taking multiple shots with various degree of exposure.

Event coverage considerations

When you attend an event such as the World Cup, you need to consider the geography and environment – largely desert and the city built up, weather, day and night light, outdoor and indoor light and always its 2 sets – for the still photos and for the videos.

The next is culture, people and places of interest. It is never about just the Games – stadium and matches. It was much more. So you had to do your research.

Qatar is in the Middle East and home of the Arabs of Bedouin origin. What an excellent opportunity to see and feel a different part of the World. It is also the richest country on a per capita basis fueled by its immense gas reserves. It however has 3 million people with over 90% expatriates and migrants workers.

One thing I was mentally prepared for is the possibility of their “Souk”, their version of the bazaar being traditional, appealing and attractive. I did read about Souks of the Middle East giving way to modernisation and I hoped the Qataris held on to theirs. I was not disappointed. The benefit of research before travelling.

Trialing the gear

This is a near continuous process. First round is doing it before you leave. Test shots for both photos and videos and across all equipment. Angles and lengths to ensure ideal composition is next with various selfie sticks.

On landing at the Airport in Doha, once past immigration and security, the gear came into use. Some of the shots would go into the final production but when you reach the hotel you would be going thru them to see if there are any changes that need to be done.

It also gave me a sense which camera comes out first for certain conditions.

Hands down, it was obvious that iPhone and Porodo selfie stick was the most convenient.

The mental map of opportunities

One has to be mentally prepared not to miss opportunities especially fleeting ones. And I broke it down into 3 main categories as follows;

• On the way to the stadium – people, transport, event organisers etc
• At the stadium – crowd, eye-catching individuals, fan costumes and banners, the stadium design and the match atmosphere including the sounds.
• The souk – shops, shopkeepers, their goods, the colours, people visiting, people dining, various ethnicities, architecture, movement etc

Besides the three that I had planned, there was also unplanned events, people and places that one comes across and worthy of taking photos and videos. Be ready.

What worked well

Nearly all the media gear proved useful. All had a purpose and place and I was glad I did my preparation as the agenda was intense.

The iphone turned out to be the workhorse both day and night. It did well for photos and videos. With the Porodo selfie stick, the remote for both photo and video was convenient. It provided unusual and interesting angles.

From iphone 12 up till the current iphone 14, the camera has night capture capability and the technology advances are immense. The auto focus was fast for both photos and videos. I found landscape worked well for both types of media.

The selfies stick with remote was of immense value as the camera phone were not designed to be held by hand. It was meant to be a phone. So hand grip was difficult for landscape without a selfie sticks.

The Sony ZV1 was fantastic for night scene and vividness of colour. I had taken the same shot with the iphone and the ZV1 and you could tell the difference when it came to vividness and liveliness. It is invaluable. It came into its own in the wonderful souk with the kaleidoscope of colours and the cacophony of sounds.

The DJI Action camera was also an asset in the day and when on the move. Its image stabilisation was outstanding, hand held with the help of Ulanzi tripod stick. It played a huge part for category one of opportunities – the way to stadiums and back. It was not equipped for the night and felt silent in the bag once dusk set in.

The laptop

The only thing that remained unused was the laptop. I just did not have enough time to do any editing. I was just too dead tired at the end of each day. So the the capacity of SD cards for the various cameras and storage space of the iPhone became critical.

Out of all that media gear, the move to a compact cameras and a small sling bag made things easy and convenient. The days of lugging an SLR, multiple lenses, and full length and sturdy tripod were gone.