I’m getting ready to go on vacation and it’s time to prepare and pack my photography gear. Packing for travel always means some compromise - it’s not feasible to take everything. This means making some hard decisions. My guiding principle, is to go small and go light. We always do a lot walking around cities, and lugging around a ton of gear is just not fun. This is what I take with me:
I made the switch to Fuji and don’t regret it one bit! My main camera is the Fuji XT1. It’s a little old now, but it’s still a great camera. The image quality from the X-Trans sensor is fantastic. It’s small and lightweight and it’s also weather sealed. When coupled with one of Fuji’s weather sealed lenses, it can handle almost any weather we would encounter.
I try not to take too many lenses with me, as that can lead to a analysis paralysis. Less is more here. My go-to is the often overlooked 18-135mm. Yes, it’s not super fast, but it is small and light and has a great range. If I don’t know ahead of time what I’m going to shoot, this is the lens most often mounted to the camera. It’s weather sealed too, which is an added bonus if the weather turns bad. Next up is the 10-24mm ultrawide. I love this lens! Image quality is great, as with all the Fuji lenses I’ve tried. When I want a versatile wide angle, this is what I use. Finally, there is the 35mm F1.4. There is just something magical about this lens. F1.4 means it’s super fast and good for low-light or night shots and it is a useful focal length too.
As a backup camera, the tiny X70 comes along. It has the same sensor and image engine as XT1, but it fits in a pocket! The fixed 18mm lens is a nice travel wide angle and useful for some street photography.
Since these are both mirror-less cameras, it’s important to bring a bunch of backup batteries and chargers. Nothing is worse than running out of juice when you’re trying to get a shot. I have tried some non-branded batteries before, but I find they hold significantly less charge than Fuji’s. They also don’t keep their charge as long when not in use, which results in reaching for a fresh battery to find it only lasts a few minutes.
Other useful accessories include a cable release for night shots and long exposures. A polarizing filter can be useful to reduce haze in the sky or cut down reflections. An 10 stop ND filter from Breakthrough Photography is useful to take long exposures during daylight and add some dramatic streaks to sky and water. With all this talk of long exposures, a small, lightweight tripod is very useful. It’s a delicate balance between weight and stability, but I find the MeFoto RoadTrip Travel Tripod does a good job. I also usually take a tiny folding tripod in my bag so I don’t have to carry the full-sized one everywhere. This time I’m taking the new Platypod Ultra for when I need a discrete stable platform.
For backing up and editing in the field, I use a Microsoft Surface Pro 4. It’s small and very light and using the smart pen to draw directly on the screen is useful for editing. The built in SSD is also fast, which helps backup and editing speed.
And of course, don’t forget to bring lots of SD cards! I format these cards before leaving and put them in a holder case ‘face up’. Used cards go back in the case ‘face down’ so I can quickly identify which have been used and which are empty. I don’t delete or format these cards until I’ve returned home from travelling and backed everything up.
All of this needs a back to carry everything. The Everyday Messenger from Peak Design is my go-to. It’s a great looking, versatile bag. It has some very useful accessibility features like the separate laptop pouch, top zip and passport pocket. Since I keep my camera gear small, there is some space left over for a top, or snacks or water - which can be very useful when you’re out wandering around strange new places!
