Over the years, we have put together what we think is a good quality camera kit for travel. While we need the kit to be as small and light as possible, the most important thing is that it can capture excellent images as well as video.
We also need our camera kit to function well in quite rough weather conditions. It has to work equally well on a hike among snow-capped mountain peaks, as on a walk through the streets of Tokyo. Below is our current camera kit as of 2021.
Important: The products recommended on this page is gear we personally use, and that we have bought and payed for ourselves We do not accept sponsored gear. Some of the links are affiliate links and we will earn a percentage of the sale if you purchase through them at no extra cost to you. This helps keep our site running – so thanks in advance for your support! ❤️
Travel Camera Kit
Sony AIV
We bought the Sony A7 IV camera because it takes both excellent video and photos making it in our opinion the best camera for travel photography, and because it’s fairly affordable. It is a mirrorless camera and fairly small and compact, yet it delivers excellent image quality. If you are looking for a good full frame camera for travel photography, you should seriously consider the Sony A7 cameras.
Sony 24-105 F4
The 24-105 is the best medium zoom, walk around, all purpose travel zoom for the Sony full frame cameras. We also travel with a 16-35 f.2.8 wide angle lense, as well as a small Sony 35mm 1.8 prime lense.
Peak Design Tripod
We are constantly trying to shave off some weight and bulk from our camera kit. The peak design travel tripod packs down really small yet extends to a full length tripod. It is not cheap but the quality is excellent and it has quickly become our favourite tripod.
DJI Mavic Air 2
Traveling internationally with a drone is not as easy as it once was but when it is possible, it can make for some unique pictures and videos. The Mavic Air 2 is the perfect drone for us with its compact size, high quality camera, and ease of flying.
GoPro Hero 10
We mostly use our GoPro when we can’t risk our Sony camera. River rafting, underwater video and photography, or clamping it the steering wheel of a bike. The inbuilt stabilisation is just crazy good!
Capture Clip
Peak Designs Capture Clip is probably our favourite photography accessory. This little gizmo lets us carry the camera in a belt or attach it to the shoulder strap of a bag or backpack. We wrote a capture clip review a few years ago. The Capture clip has since been updated, it’s now smaller and lighter and better than ever!
Samsung T5 SSD
We used to travel with a lot of heavy hard drives, but the Samsung T5 2TB changed all that. It’s super fast, super light, and very small. We have two of these and love them. They are not cheap but worth it!
Peak Design Slide
We’ve used the Slide from Peak Design for years now. The unique thing about it is that you can use it as a sling, neck or shoulder strap. Being 45mm wide makes it very comfortable to wear. It is also very quick to attach or detach the strap from the camera.
Sony Remote
This remote control for the Sony cameras is very small, cheap and light and makes it possible to trigger the camera remotely.
Polar Pro Variable ND
Th Polar Pro variable ND is a high quality ND filter that we use mostly to control exposure for video, but it can also be used for long exposure photography.
Wandrd Prvke
We’ve tried quite a few travel photography backpacks and the Wandrd Prvke is our favourite. We have the 31L model and it’s roomy enough for all our gear plus laptop and some clothes, while being sturdy and comfortable to carry. And the back access makes it quick and easy to get everything out at airport security.
Everyday Sling
We have Peak Design’s Everyday Sling 10L and it’s just large enough to fit our camera + lense and a small water bottle. Perfect for exploring a city with a minimal camera pack.
Photo Editing and Courses
Adobe Lightroom
We use Adobe Lightroom to process and catalogue our photographs. It is incredibly powerful, yet easy to learn. It’s available as a subscription.
Photo Mechanic
Photo Mechanic is a fantastic tool for previewing, sorting and organising raw photos. Unlike Lightroom which gets really slow Photo Mechanic is super fast even when faced with thousands of photos. It is the first tool we use before we send a selection of images to Lightroom.
Masting Labs Lightroom Presets
We’re not really huge preset users but the Lightroom Presets from Mastin Labs are very good at emulating those classic film stocks.
Photography courses
We are always looking to become better photographers, so we usually travel with some video courses or ebooks on our laptops. Some of our favorites are the photography courses by Mitchell Kanashkevich. The Photographing The World courses by Elia Locardi, and the books and courses by David Duchemin.
If you have any questions about our camera kit feel free to post a comment below 🙂
What would you say your primary lenses are when you travel? Do you just go with the mid?
I carried wide mid and long with me but think the long is too much. The wide works great for those narrow streets. Just found your website and am digging it a lot.
Hi Hunter,
Happy to hear that you are digging the website!
I’d say we use the 24-70mm f4.0 most of the time. On a full frame camera such as our Sony A7s the 24mm is wide enough for most archietcture and landscape shots and the 70mm end is an okay portrait focal length. We also carry a fast 50mm for low light shooting.
We are considering adding a 70-300mm and possibly an ultra wide at some point but it would add a lot of extra weight to our camera kit so we’re holding off for now.
Best
Espen
Hi, Great site!
Just maybe this recommendation is a bit off. Not on quality, but on price. Very few ppl can afford to spend 5000 USD on camera rig. I use an old canon sx280 that I had to shop for second hand… That is the limit of my budget. I am scared to read any suggestions you may have on computer hardware now, because it will probably be a MBP or or something of the sort 😉 hehehe. Software I use ACDSEE Pro; lot cheaper than LR and same results and tools.
Essentially half what you spent on camera kit I spent on a 3 week road trip to Namibia for my little family of 4, petrol and camping/overnights included…
Hi,
Thanks for commenting!
I absolutely see your point and I think we should add some cheaper options to the list or perhaps create a budget photo travel kit. This kit is aimed more at photography entusiasts looking for a great high quality travel kit than the casual traveler/photographer documenting their trip. These days a mobile phone camera is for many all they need.
We needed a kit that could deliver excellent stills and video quality in all kinds of conditions night and day while still being quite compact and that does unfortunately come at a premium. We’ve had it for three years and we use it almost every day so for us it has been worth the extra cost. But it all depends on what you need the camera kit for.
Most of this kit is a few years old and can be found second hand. The Sony A7s is last generation and has been reduced a lot in price since it was introduced. Lightroom and Photoshop are available as a bundle from Adobe at roughly 10 USD/month. In Norway that is about the price of a cinema ticket so its not terribly expensive in my opinion.
Road trip in Namibia sure sound cool!
Best
-Espen
Love your site! Really visually stunning. I was wondering however, what point and shoot do you use? Or do you even use one? I find it perfect for things like scuba diving with a housing and certain places where I don’t want a DSLR to get moisture such as a rain forest etc. Is there one you use or would recommend?
Hi Brady and Shelly!
We don’t have a point and shoot camera right now. We use our Sony A7s and sometimes our iPhones. If I were to recommend a point and shoot, I would take a look at the Sony DSC-RX100. We have been considering getting one just for its small size and excellent image quality. It also shoots 4K video. It’s not the cheapest point and shoot but I think it’s worth it 🙂
Just a tip…I’ve seen too many facebook posts where people have lost their cameras and all their precious photos, or people have found cameras and can’t find the owners. Take a photo of your contact details and leave that photo on your camera so that if an honest person finds it, they know where to find you! Just a thought…
Travel safe everyone!
Hi Kate,
Wow, that is an awesome tip!!! Will definitely do that! Thanks for sharing this tip!
Happy & safe travel!
-Maria-
Would you always recommend having a DSLR for starting a blog or is an Android phone okay for beginners?
Hi Teniesha,
You can most definitively start your blog using your Android Phone as a camera. We started our blog with a VERY old camera but it worked out just fine. The most important thing is to start writing. You can always update your camera later if and when you feel the need for it.
Best of luck!
-Espen