Travel Photography Tip: What Camera Gear to Pack

What I love: taking pictures while traveling.  What I DON’T love: lugging around a bunch of heavy camera equipment.

(Thanks to Vishen Lakhiani for this photo!) 

So what camera equipment is necessary to take on a trip?  It really depends on where and what kind of trip you are taking, but in general, this is the gear that I pack:

1. One camera body – Canon 5D
2. Two lenses – 24-70mmf/2.8, 50mmf/1.2
3. Camera charger
4. One camera battery
5. 16GB of memory cards

(And thank you Fallon Wong aka 'The Fallonator' for this photo and also the one below!) 

To go more into detail about each of the items:

1. One camera body – Canon 5D

For vacation, one body is enough. I only carry multiple camera bodies when I work.  I figure, in the slight chance that it breaks, it won’t be the end of the world.  If I’m in a developed country I can probably get it fixed somewhere.  If I can’t then oh well . . . it’s probably the universe telling me to enjoy my darn vacation without the need to snappity snap every 2 minutes!  Plus, I have an iPhone that takes pretty cool pictures.

2. Two lenses – Canon 24-70mmf/2.8, Canon 50mmf/1.2

The 24-70 is kind of heavy but it has the perfect zoom range/aperture combo for traveling.  It allows for great landscape, portrait, and also macro shots.  The 50mm is for nighttime shots in low light (since I never pack a flash).

3. Camera charger

Very important!  If I forgot this I would be pissed. Because it’s one thing if you camera actually breaks (see #1), but if you forgot your charger and the camera runs out of juice, you are carrying around all this gear that is unusable and 1.) It’s ALL YOUR FAULT, and 2.) It could have been EASILY AVOIDED. Boo. Don’t forget it!

4. One camera battery

Nowadays the batteries last for a really long time.  You can easily just have one and take it out of the camera at night to charge.

5. 16GB of memory cards

Typically I shoot 8GB or less.  I shoot in RAW and have never shot more than 16GB on a trip, or even for wedding.  If you like to snap a lot then I would suggest to bring more cards, but I prefer to be selective with my pictures and almost shoot like I’m using film.  To me, it makes your pictures turn out better (more awareness when you shoot), plus it’s less work in the post processing room.

Optional Equipment to Pack:

-Laptop
-Card Reader
-Power Outlet Converter (if traveling to a foreign country)

All of the above easily fit into a backpack.  I don’t have an official “camera” backpack; it is simply a Burton school backpack that I found at REI.

If anyone would like to add what works/doesn’t work for you while traveling, please add it in the comments section below!

Happy travels!