It's taken a while for this post to come together. Mainly because I've been planning and finalising my South Island New Zealand trip. I'll be heading off to Queenstown early next week and if everything goes well, I'm hoping to bring you all back some breath taking photographs.
Packing for this trip (or any trip) is always going to be about efficiency and what your priorities are. If you're like me and you've given up the luxury of traveling with check-in baggage, you'll be more than familiar with the conundrum of equipment versus storage limit. Most airlines will have a maximum carry on luggage limit of 7kg. You could manage that pretty easily... If you're planning to shoot all your photos stark naked. Trying to find space for both clothes and camera gear to fit into carry-on is tough. I'm going to go through some items that I carry with me on most of my trips.
Just so you all know, these are just items I feel are essential for my style of photography. It may or may not suite what you do out in the field. I've seen photographers get into some seriously heated arguments over the pros and cons of different brands, lenses, cameras, tripods and even different varieties of lens cleaners (seriously). This is in part due to the fact that photographers are inherently passionate people. It's a great trait to have but just keep that in the back of your mind when reading blogs or discussing gear with other photographers as there's likely to be some element of bias. Before I purchase any of my gear I look at about a dozen reviews, but I also try to get my hands on them where possible. Camera gear can be expensive and is worth doing the research to manage budget vs specs.
Camera: Sony A7R Mark II
If you forget this, you're an absolute muppet. Your camera should be up there with your passport and your children. You just don't leave them behind. The Sony A7RII is a full frame mirrorless camera, but don't let its size fool you. This thing is deceptively heavy. 625g with a battery and an SD card to be exact. I opted for this camera because it's got a massive resolution (42 MP) and I can't be bothered traveling with a giant telephoto lens. For that extra bit of reach, I just crop the image. I also highly value it's silent shutter mode. It basically takes a snap without any noise to the point I couldn't even tell having my ear close to the camera. This kind of silence is invaluable in areas such as temples and special occasions when you want to take pictures of the moment without ruining it. I've written an article on the pros and cons of mirrorless and DSLR cameras HERE if you'd like more info.
Lenses
I take a total of 3 lenses with me on my travels. I usually only carry around one lens during the time I plan to shoot, leaving the other two behind at my accommodation. I hate having to change lenses. You increase your chances of getting dust on your camera sensor, increase the chance of dropping or breaking your equipment and personally, I feel a bit ridiculous wearing one of those utility belts... I'm not Batman. I like to have one variable zoom lens, one small prime lens and one wide angle lens.
Variable Zoom Lens: 24-105mm f4.0 Sigma Art
This, in combination with the MC-11 Canon to Sony E Mount Adapter, is my work horse lens. Many photographers will have at least one lens that is versatile enough for most occasions for their style of shooting. Unfortunately those lenses with a large variable zoom will end up being bulky and heavy. Because of it's size, this lens pretty much eliminates any benefit of having a small mirrorless body. The two of them weigh a collective 1150g and certainly give my arms a work out.
Why did I opt for this? Because Sony lenses are ridiculously expensive. I felt that the adapter's extra 2.5cm was worth it for the benefit of being able to use both Sigma and Canon lenses on my Sony body in the long run. Sigma, in my opinion, are underrated. They have some of the sharpest and high quality lenses out there with a much more sensible price tag.
Small and portable: 35mm f2.8 Sony Zeiss
This one is my portable light weight lens. 35mm is a good focal length to have because it's the closest focal length to replicating that of the human eye. For this reason, you'll be able to generate images that a lot of people will be able to relate with instantly. It gives your audience the immersive feeling of actually being there rather than feeling like another person just looking at a picture. Being a prime lens, its small in size and keeps it inconspicuous enough so you can take it around without attracting too much attention. With those giant telephoto lenses, you look like you're on reconnaissance for the CIA. For the above mentioned, this is my go to street photography lens.
Wide Angle: 14mm f2.8 Samyang
My 14mm is pretty much only used for Landscape and Astrophotography. Unfortunately, my 24-105mm only goes to 24mm which isn't quite wide enough for the landscape photos I like and the f4.0 aperture is nowhere near wide enough for astrophotography. Thankfully Samyang (or Rokinon) also make some fantastic third party lenses for a fraction of the price.
Filter: 10 Stop ND Filter
Neutral Density filters restrict the amount of light entering the camera. This allows for composition of long exposure shots to generate that nice smooth motion blur without over exposing your photo. If you'd like to familiarise yourself with the exposure triangle and shooting manual, check out this article HERE. If you find yourself frequently in front of a body of water, I highly recommend an ND filter. You can get all kinds of neutral density filters. The most common types include graded filters, variable filters and constant filters. I like to keep things simple and have a constant 10 stop ND filter. There are enough variables in photography as is. You don't need to make things harder.
Cleaners
There is absolutely nothing worse than taking a perfect shot and then realizing there's a small bit of dust on your lens or sensor. If you have one or two spots, it's not such a big deal. Most of the time your image will be salvageable with a bit of smart editing. On the occasion you accidentally end up with multiple smudges on your lens or particles on your sensor, you'll certainly wish you brought some cleaners with you. I bring along my lens cleaner, microfiber cloth and a rocket blower on all my trips. The lens cleaner applies a small amount of solution to help dissolve oily smudges. The rocket blower deals with the sensor dust without physically touching the sensor. You should never directly touch your sensor, and if there is a bit of grit that you can't blow away, take it to a professional camera shop to get it cleaned. Most sensors are highly sensitive and have a light protective coating that could be compromised if handled incorrectly.
Tripod: Manfrotto Befree
Not everyone needs one of these, but for my landscapes and astrophotography shots, this is kind of essential. A table top tripod would do, but I like the versatility of being able to travel with... well... a full size tripod for a fraction of the size and weight. Here are some photos of it collapsed and fully deployed. Manfrotto make some excellent tripods. The main down fall of this particular tripod, the Befree, is the price tag. Being carbon fiber, it's not cheap. If you do like to do landscape or astrophotography, I recommend that you invest in a good tripod. I'm don't intend to purchase another tripod until I run this one to the ground.
Batteries: x 2 Sony Lithium Ion batteries + Charging cable
Always bring a few batteries with you. I bring two lithium ion batteries because I have to. My mirrorless camera chews through battery power, but fortunately Sony were kind enough to supply me with a couple (I suppose they had to). Always remember to carry your batteries with you in carry-on when you fly. You should also have them out of your camera with the exposed pins covered by a bit of electrical tape. Some people recommend getting a lithium ion bag that prevents conduction of static charge but none of the airlines seem to care about it (or know what one is). Always check with the airline you're traveling with to be sure what the protocols are to transport your gear safely.
This isn't routine, but I do sometimes bring out with me a portable battery pack. It allows me to charge my camera on the go, especially during those picture perfect days that go on from sunrise to well past sunset.
SD Cards: One 64GB + one 16GB SD Card
I wont talk too much about this, but the number and size of your SD cards is dependent on your file size and how often you photograph. I bring one 64GB card with me because each of my RAW image files are roughly 80MB. The other 16GB card basically serves as a backup just in case something happens to the first. SD cards are small fiddly things, and you can quite easily misplace them, or in my case, have it stolen by a renegade seagull. I've never felt so much anger at one species of animal before until that moment. Best case, there's a store nearby that sells SD cards. Worst case, the rest of your trip is going to be documented through your phone camera.
Tablet
Not essential by most photographer standards, but it's certainly essential for me. I bring my iPad with me everywhere to edit. Because light room automatically uploads my edited images to the cloud, it also serves as backup (for when you have wifi). It also allows me to look at the full picture in decent resolution so I can pick and choose which image turned out the best from a series of shots, making my storage of photos much more efficient. My iPad has a storage capacity of 128GB so that always comes in handy.
Peak Design Clip
My very thoughtful girlfriend (massive brownie points right?) bought me a peak design camera clip for Christmas. This thing is the best camera accessory I own. It comes with a baseplate you attach to the camera (that also conveniently fits most tripods) and a clip. The clip itself can be attached pretty much anywhere. I use it on my backpack shoulder strap and have my camera hang down on my left strap (as shown in my outro below). You can also attach it to your belt, but I found that this made my pants sit unevenly and felt uncomfortable to walk with. It's incredibly secure and can be quickly released with just one hand. If your regular camera strap has your camera and lens flapping about as your walk, this could be a great accessory.
Drone: DJI Mavic Pro
This is a new addition to my gear. Obviously not one that's absolutely essential. I'm pretty excited about this little guy. It opens up quite an exciting avenue of travel photography and videography. Drones have really taken off (pun intended) in the last couple of years. They take experimenting with different perspectives to a new level and allows photographers to open up their creative potential. If you've been in the photography game for years and you're looking to gain something more from it, look into drone photography. They are getting smarter and more affordable every year.
If you do purchase a drone, always familiarise yourself with the local laws surrounding flying them e.g. In Australia, the max height is 120m and you're not allowed to fly within 30m of a person who is not directly associated with the drone operator. DJI make some of the most advanced drones in the business and even have embedded coordinates of restricted zones in the software so you can't physically enter those areas (kind of like an invisible barricade). I have no idea what this drone is going to do to my luggage limit, but I suspect I'll be dropping a lens and... maybe some clothes...
If you have some essential gear you couldn't travel without, let us know why in the comments below.
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