In this blog you will read about our travel photography gear: what is in our camera bag while travelling, what camera equipment can we not travel without and what is according to us the best camera to travel with?
Travel photography gear: what’s in our camera bag?
At the end of May, we will take off on a trip around the world for several months. In addition to our clothing and bath towels, there is also lots of camera gear in our backpacks. Are you looking for a new (travel) camera, are you interested in travel photography, or are you just curious about what we take with us? Then read on to find out which camera and which camera gadgets are in our bag!
Ries is a self-taught travel photographer. He started with just a small digital camera (you know, the one everyone ones had) and slowly upgraded over the years to the following camera gear.
The best travel photography cameras (according to us)!
Below you will find the different cameras we use for travel photography. Not all of our shots are made with professional gear, sometimes we just use our iPhone X, which makes really cool photo’s!
Travel camera: FujiFilm X-T2 Silver
Since December 2018 we have been using the FujiFilm X-T2. This is a compact camera with a stylish design. The silver variant is really beautiful. What makes this camera body so good, is that it is weatherproof and has an autofocus system. Because of this you almost always take sharp photos. We used to take photo’s with the FujiFilm X-T 10, also a good quality camera and a bit lighter and more compact than the X-T2. However, the X-T10 does not have a splash-proof housing.
Click on one of the stores below to see the price and specifications of this model.
Travel drone: DJI Spark Drone + Combo Package
To make photos and videos from above, we use the DJI Spark Drone. This is a compact, lightweight drone that takes up little space in your backpack. We chose the Combo package because it contains extra batteries, a bag, protective cover and remote control. Especially the latter is very useful.
Click on one of the stores below to see the price and specifications of this model.
Tip: we wrote a blog about which drone to pick for travel photography!
Travel underwater camera: GoPro Hero 4 Silver
Yes, the GoPro Hero 4 is actually a very old model. However, the image quality is still good. We are considering switching to the GoPro Hero 7, which has better stabilization techniques. We now use the Karma Stabelizer (more on this below) to make images as stable as possible. Our GoPro is perfect for filming under water and during activities.
Click on one of the stores below to see the price and specifications of this model.
Travel phone for photography: iPhone X
Sometimes we don’t take our other camera equipment with us and just take photos with the iPhone X.
Click on one of the stores below to see the price and specifications of this model.
Which travel photography lenses do we use?
I am always surprised at how many different types of lenses there are. We try to travel as light as possible however these lenses are always adding weight. If we no longer use a lens often enough, we sell it. For example, we recently sold the FujiFilm Lens 18-55. We carry our lenses are in a lens cover, a bag that protects them from dust and hard shocks.
Travel photgraphy lens: FujiFilm Lens 100-400
This is the FujiFilm 100-400, our newest lens. This is perhaps the best telephoto lens from Fujifilm. Ideal for photographing wildlife and sports. Also ideal to break you back while carrying it 😉
Click on one of the stores below to see the price and specifications of this model.
Travel photgraphy lens: FujiFilm Lens 10-24 mm, F4
This FujiFilm 10-24 mm wide angle is perfect for landscape photography and is a ‘regular base player’ in our camera bag.
Click on one of the stores below to see the price and specifications of this model.
Travel photgraphy lens: FujiFilm Lens 23 mm, F1.4
The 23mm F1-4 is Ries’ favorite lens because of the beautiful bokeh effect (foreground sharp, background blurry) that you can create with this.
Click on one of the stores below to see the price and specifications of this model.
Travel photgraphy lens: FujiFilm lens 55-200 mm
This weather-resistant telephoto lens is much smaller than the 100 mm-400 mm and therefore more compact and lighter. You can easily take this telephoto lens with you on a trip. We leave this lens at home for Africa, but when we go to Asia, it will definitely be in our backpack.
Click on one of the stores below to see the price and specifications of this model.
Travel photgraphy lens: Samyang voor Fuji Lens 12 mm, F2
We have purchased this lens specifically for night photography. The wide angle lens is perfect for capturing the starry sky or the northern lights. This is the only manual lens that we use.
Click on one of the stores below to see the price and specifications of this model.
Travel photography gear and accessories
The best tripod for traveling: Carbon Fiber Tripod
This is the Sirui Tripod made of Carbon Fiber. The carbon makes it extra light and therefore easy to take with you when traveling. Sometimes we use this tripod to take pictures of ourselves, but mostly for night photography. Especially during our trip to Finnish Lapland, this tripod was indispensable!
Click on one of the stores below to see the price and specifications of this model.
The best stabelizer for traveling: GoPro Karma Grip Stabelizer
This is the GoPro Karma Grip Stabelizer, with this we stabelize our GoPro during filming. Perfect for when we are hiking, running, or doing an activity where you cannot keep the GoPro stabel all the time.
Click on one of the stores below to see the price and specifications of this model.
GoPro underwater filters
The deeper you dive, the less color there is to see. That is why we have purchased the GoPro Underwater Filters from WowCase on Amazon. These bring color back into the shots that you make with the GoPro under water. We have not been able to test these yet, so I am curious if they work well.
Click on one of the stores below to see the price and specifications of this model.
SanDisk Mermoriecards
We travel with three SD cards (one of 64GB and two of 32GB) for our photo camera and two Micro SD cards for the GoPro and the drone. We once made the mistake of not using a SanDisk, but a cheaper alternative. Result: all our films from Japan are damaged and a part is missing, such a shame! So please, always go for high quality products!
Click on one of the stores below to see the price and specifications of this model.
Battery charger with USB port
Also a new addition to our backpack for our trip to East Africa: the USB charger + 2 batteries. The advantage of this charger is that it does not have to be connected to a power outlet, but can be charged with a USB port. Perfect for when we are in the car and our batteries are empty.
Click on one of the stores below to see the price and specifications of this model.
What do we use to edit our travel photography?
So you took those beautiful photo’s, however that’s not it. Our fixed ritual (should be) is to first save all images on an external hard drive and then edit them. The reality is that we often first select and edit images and then save them on an external hard drive.
Best hard drive for traveling: LaCie Rugged Mini USB 3.0 1 TB
Really indispensable for us when traveling: an external hard drive that we use as a backup. This is the LaCie Rugged mini hard drive. This thing is really strong. It is made to withstand a hefty blow, perfect for a rougher treatment in a backpack.
Click on one of the stores below to see the price and specifications of this model.
Laptop and editing software
We use the MacBook Air 13 inch to write blogs, edit photos and create videos. We recently started using iMovie to edit videos, before we used Adobe Premiere Pro for a long time. We edit our photos in Lightroom and Photoshop.
To our next trip to Madagascar and East Africa, we will take all of this material with us. We don’t use a special camera backpack but use the North Face Router daypack which has a capacity of 35L. During day trips we take the Caruba camera bag with us.
↣ Click here to buy the North Face Router backpack
So tell us? What’s in your camera bag? Do you miss stuff here or do you have any questions about our camera gear, let us know!
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I also have the DJI Spark and love it! It's great but I never end up using it as much as I want due to weather conditions.
Hi Daniël, yes indeed, I really like the weight and compactness of the DJI Spark. The only downside of it is that because it’s so light and small, it cannot handle to much wind. Although we used it in Scotland with wind of 40mph!
Thanks for sharing your information.I have benefited from reading your article.
Thank you very much.
you are welcome :-)