When we first began traveling, photography wasn’t really on our radars. We traveled with a GoPro and a point and shoot Nikon, and were completely happy with them both… at the beginning of our travels. But after a few months on the road and a few more backpacking in South America, we realized we both were more into photography than we thought. It was time to step up our game from handheld cameras and get the right photography equipment and accessories needed to have more control over our photographs.
We’ve been traveling with our Canon 70D camera since 2014, and have come to really understand what camera accessories are needed when doing travel photography and never leave on a trip without this camera equipment in our bags.
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Affordable Cameras For Travel Photography and Videos
Our Travel Camera | The Canon 70D
This camera is a little outdated at the moment because Canon has come out with a newer version to this class of entry-level DSLR cameras, which is the 90D. Both cameras are great, however, if you have the extra cash, I would go with the 90D, otherwise, you can purchase the refurbished 70D or 80D to save some extra cash for your lenses!!
If you are looking for a little bit of a smaller camera that isn’t as bulky as the DSLR but is still capable of doing the job of a 70D/80D/90D, then look at getting the mirrorless Canon M5. This small camera is great for pictures and video, little cheaper, and fits better in your camera bag, ultimately preventing the need of bringing along a point and shoot camera.
Our Handheld Camera | Nikon
This camera is a bit out of date, but we highly recommend having a point and shoot camera on hand for those situations where you need a camera at a moment’s notice and can’t access your big DSLR. If you want to spend a little extra on this camera go with the new Canon G7x! When we upgrade this point and shoot camera, we’ll surely be upgrading to the Canon G7x.
Waterproof and Action Camera | GoPro
This one is pretty self-explanatory… An action-packed camera that can go with you from the sky to sea, all with a fairly cheap price point to take you there.
Lenses For Beginning Photography
Best All Around Travel Lens | Sigma 17-50 mm
This lens allows for semi wide-angle shots to fairly zoomed in. It is great in low light because of its low aperture number of f/2.8. It is a great all-around lens to always keep on your camera for most situations that you will encounter, however, there are some restrictions, which is why we also carry the wide-angle lens listed below!
Entry Level Wide Angle Lens | Tokina Wide Angle
When you want to capture a building in a foreign country but it’s squeezed in between other ugly buildings, then you want an ultra-wide angle lens such as this one to get up close and personal to the building but still be able to get the entire building in your frame! It too has a low aperture of f/2.8, so this is a great lens for trying to capture the milky way, northern lights, or cityscapes in the night! We use this lens for nearly all our of night photography!
Best Affordable Tripods For Travel Photography
Travel Tripod | Mefoto Backpacker Tripod
When you’re wanting to take that epic picture of yourself, but no one is around to take it for you, look no further than this tripod here. It is super small (the size of a subway footlong sandwich) and can fit easily anywhere you want. Also perfect for taking those epic night pictures with your ultra-wide angle lens from above.
WATCH MORE | MeFoto Backpacker Tripod Review
Small Tripod for Vlogging | Versatile Grippy Tripod
If you want a grippy tripod that can attach to branches, phone posts, or hang from lanterns, then this will be perfect for you. This allows you to get those wild pictures that your backpacker tripod can’t help you out with. Also, it’s really great for using as a selfie stick. This is what we use when we vlog. It makes the shots a bit more stable and allows the camera to be far enough away from your face with an easy handle.
If you get this tripod, you’ll need the DSLR tripod head for simplicity of adjusting the camera and safety of your camera on the tripod!
Videography Gear For Vlogging And Videos
Microphone | The Rode Video Mic Go
If you are planning on doing any talking/vlogging with your camera, then this is a good bet! It’s lightweight and made for on the go vlogging! It also is great for picking up the little sounds of travel, when you want to capture live music, street noise, or animals grazing in the fields!
You’ll certainly want to snag one of these windscreens to go along with the microphone though, as the mic doesn’t do well without the windscreen in windy scenarios!
Storing Your Photos While Traveling
SD Card | 64 G
All the digital media you shoot needs to go somewhere, and we recommend a large SD card so it doesn’t fill up too quickly — especially if you’ll be doing any sort of videos! Trust us here, you’ll go through the storage quicker than you think, and with not always having time to offload your footage, you’ll maybe even want two SD cards!
We carry two large SD cards and two small SD cards with us at all times! That way, even when we do offload our footage, we can leave it on the SD card while we finish up traveling in case something happens to the hard drive we offload it to.
External Hard Drive | Seagate Hard Drive
Offloading and storing photos and videos is always a nervewracking thing. We’ve heard stories of people’s hard drives crashing, getting stolen or lost and them not being able to access their photo files any longer. We ourselves even chose to store photos using a photo storing service that is no longer available and we’ve since lost all those photos! So now, we 100% recommend storing photos in multiple places.
We have four, yes, four, Seagate Hard Drives. Each of them a different size, and some of them holding the same footage as others, just as a backup! In fact, we keep one big hard drive at home locked up and have the smaller ones that we travel with to double up on storing photos on the road without losing photos and videos from previous trips!
Must Have Photography Accessories
Camera and Lens Cleaning Kit
In order to keep something in its perfect working condition, you must clean it, right? This kit is perfect for getting started and will maintain the life of your new photography equipment! We bring everything in this camera cleaning kit with us when we travel because, trust us, there’s nothing worse than having a dirty lens while trying to take photos!
The Best Camera Strap | Peak Design Slide Strap
This strap is perfect for those situations where you need a strap then all of a sudden think, I no longer want it on, but need it on later and do not want to go through the hassle of removing those annoying camera straps! It is super low profile, but heavy-duty while being lightweight, and has a lifetime warranty! It’s one of our favorite camera gear accessories.
If you have a smaller camera and are still looking for a strap, check out this strap by PeakDesign, built for lighter weight cameras.
Camera Safety in Hand | PeakDesign Hand Clutch
This clutch is so handy… get it? It’s amazing for all the times you do not want to have the bulky strap, but still need a little bit of security keeping the camera right on your hand. It is quickly adjustable, you can remove it from the body with no hassle, and the attachment points are interchangeable with the strap from above!
This clutch is clutch giving the extra security keeping your camera safely in your hand when walking around busy cities or hiking!
Backpack Camera Clip | PeakDesign Capture Clip
If you have ever wanted to attach your camera to your backpack or belt to free up your hands while hiking, navigating a city, doing a job that requires two cameras, or anything else, then look no further than this camera holder. In our opinion, it’s the best thing on the market.
It keeps your camera secure, with a lock that can engage and make it virtually impossible for someone else to come up and steal your camera off of you. And, also makes your camera easily accessible when hopping around things like boulders at Joshua Tree or catching a busy subway.
Our Camera Bag || PeakDesign Everyday Backpack
Probably our favorite pieces of our entire kit. Our Peak Design everyday backpack! If you can’t tell we’re pretty set that PeakDesign offers the best photography gear on the market. When PeakDesign named this bag, they really meant what they were saying. You can use this bag for school, work, travel—everything really!
It fits everything that I have outlined above and MORE!!! I can put my computer, notebooks, clothes, extra shoes/sandals, and some snacks along with all the photography gear for wherever we travel, and for however long we’re gone — as long as we aren’t planning on camping, this is the bag I use for everything!
If you don’t get any other photography accessories we recommend, you’ve got to at least buy this. You’ll thank us for it later! It’s a little bit pricey, but totally worth it with the water-resistant shell, movable compartments, safety features, lifetime warranty, and padded casing to protect all your camera gear!
Traveling soon? Need a credit card that you can use abroad without crazy fees?? We’ve got you covered.. and hey, if you’re purchasing camera gear for your trip, you’re sure to rack up all sorts of crazy points with ridiculous signup bonus!
READ MORE | The Travel Credit Card We Use and Love
Travel Tips + Inspiration
EXPLORE MORE | Travel Advice – covering flights, packing, money-saving tips and more!
SEE MORE | Check out posts we’ve done using the camera gear listed above!
