Every now and then, I would put all my travel gear in front of me and start reviewing which gear needs an upgrade and which one I could probably leave at home the next time I travel. My goal is to minimize the weight I carry in my everyday bag and keep my gear manageable.
Since traveling internationally is not possible at the moment due to COVID-19, I have decided to do a thorough review of all the things I used to carry in my everyday bag.
Through several adjustments, I believe I have perfected a strategy on how to balance the quality of my gear with the weight I have to carry, and I would like to share it with you here in this article.
Without further ado, let's begin by answering the many "Why" questions you are probably wondering before we go into the nitty-gritty detail of what gear is currently in my everyday bag.
Why Do I Need to Keep My Travel Kit Light?
Minimizing the weight is very important for a content creator like me, as I often find myself trying out all kinds of new camera gear to improve the content of this blog. This eventually leads me to carrying more than a 9kg load in my everyday backpack, which is not ideal.
As you can see from my work here on the BucketListly Blog, I am a hybrid shooter, which basically means that I need camera gear that allows me to shoot both photos and videos well enough to produce a variety of engaging content for you.
With the work I do here, I often find myself hiking in one of the most remote places in the world and trekking through forests for days on end. Even though I would like to have all the gear with me to maximize the quality of my content, that is just not feasible. Hence, why I need to keep my travel kit as light as I can without sacrificing too much.
Now that you know why I need to carry a lot of gear and why it is important for me to be reasonable with the weight I carry, let's take a look at the heaviest load of them all: my camera gear.
My Camera Gear
Camera Body
Sony a6500: This is my go-to camera for both photos and videos. In fact, it is the only camera body I have with me when I travel. The Sony a6500 is an APS-C camera, which means that the sensor is smaller than the full-frame cameras like the Sony a7 series, which in turn reduces the size of all the camera gear I would have to carry with it.
The Sony a6500 has built-in stabilization, which is great for shooting videos and fast-moving subjects while I go run and gun. The sensor is small, so all the lenses I need to carry with me are also smaller than their full-frame counterparts.
The video capability of the Sony a6500 is also exceptional, with the ability to take crisp 4K footage, which is great for my travel videos. The 24-megapixel sensor also allows me to take some stunning travel photos, as well as having the ability to capture over 10 frames per second. This is perfect for travel, as everything tends to happen randomly, and having a camera that allows me to shoot immediately is essential.
Not to mention, the Sony autofocus system is top-of-the-class, and that has allowed me to capture many spontaneous moments that I would not have otherwise been able to capture with other cameras.
That said, with such a small body, sacrifices have to be made. With a smaller APS-C sensor, the Sony a6500 is not as good in low light, and due to the crop factor, the bokeh you get won't be as creamy as that of its full-frame counterparts.
But in order to keep the weight of my everyday bag manageable, some sacrifices have to be made, and I think these sacrifices are reasonable enough for the space I saved in my backpack.
Camera Lenses
As mentioned above, one of the reasons why I stick to the APS-C camera is because of the decrease in weight and size of the camera body, as well as all the interchangeable lenses that I have to carry with me.
The Sony 16-55mm F2.8 lens is my all-purpose travel lens that stays on my camera 90% of the time. The focal length of 16-55mm (24-82.5mm full-frame equivalent) gives me a good enough reach for most of the photos I want to take.
The quality you get from this lens is pro-grade, with tack-sharp detail from corner to corner. There are no compromises here with this lens... except maybe its retail price of $1299 USD. Other than that, I am extremely happy with this lens.
The Sony 70-350mm super telephoto lens is a new addition to my camera arsenal. With its super compact size and the focal length of 70-350mm (105-525mm full-frame equivalent), the lens gives me the reach I never thought was possible without a giant, impossible-to-handhold lens.
The quality of the images is also great at most focal lengths, and it is priced quite reasonably at only 999 USD. What takes the cake for me is the size relative to its focal length. If I were using a full-frame camera, finding a lens this small with the same focal length would be impossible.
The Rokinon 12mm F2 is an ultra-wide, fast manual lens that I often use for my astrophotography or when I want to capture a wider landscape than with a 16mm lens. I don't use this lens as often as the 16-55mm lens, but it is good to have it in case I need it. Moreover, the size and weight of this lens are almost negligible.
The Sigma 56mm F1.4 is a lens I often use for portraits because it produces the prettiest bokeh out of all the other lenses. I have not done a lot of travel portraits yet, but I would like to do more of it. Having a fast compact lens with a tight focal length like the Sigma handy should help me improve my portrait game when the time comes.
Drones
DJI Mavic Mini is a drone I always have with me in my everyday bag, and it is one of the most space-consuming items of all. I had been contemplating getting a drone for 3 years before I jumped on the bandwagon when DJI announced the lightest, smallest, and most capable drone they have ever released.
I am still getting the hang of the weight and space requirements of having a drone, but I do enjoy seeing places from a perspective I was never able to see until now. The drone itself is pretty light, but with all the spare batteries, a remote control, and a charger, it definitely was a shock to the system of what I used to carry before.
Thankfully, I bought a Fly Combo version of the drone, which comes in this high-quality protective compartment that keeps all the extra drone accessories organized and in one place.
Camera Accessories
Variable ND Filter is a new addition to my kit. I have been watching Thomas Heaton's videos a lot lately, and I am inspired by his work in landscape photography. I wanted to improve my photography game, so I went out and bought an ND filter which I look forward to using in my future travels.
A travel tripod is another heavy camera gear, but a necessary one for solo content creators like myself. I often use the tripod to take photos of myself when there's no one around for me to ask. I also use it frequently for timelapse videos, as well as astrophotography.
Extra Batteries are essential for Sony a6500 Cameras as they are known to have quite poor battery life. I often run through at least 2 batteries in a full day of shooting photos and videos. I have 3 spare third-party batteries (cheaper) and one Sony battery that I use as the main battery.
SanDisk 128GB UHS-I SD cards is what I use to shoot 100 Mbps 4K videos. I have 2 SanDisk 128GB SD cards, and they usually last me at least a month before I need to back them up in my external hard drive.
Samsung T5 SSD 512 GB is what I use as an external hard drive when I am on the road. It is smaller than the regular disk drive, and it is fast enough for me to post-process my photos from it while I am traveling.
An Air Blower is essential because I often go to unforgiving places, and sometimes dust and debris find their way onto my camera sensor. The only safe way to clean it on the road is with an air blower.
Backpack and Organization
Backpack
The Herschel Supply Buckingham Backpack is the go-to everyday backpack that allows me to customize my own organization inside its huge 31L compartment. One of the problems I have with the usual camera bags is that they are often designed solely for camera gear and nothing else.
When I go hiking, I often need space for other travel essential items like fleece and outer shell jackets, gloves, beanies, not to mention snacks and food for the trails, and sometimes an extra shoe, etc.
With the empty main compartment of the Buckingham Backpack, I can customize the organization inside for each trip I am making without being stuck with the organization that comes with most photography-centric bags.
Camera Insert
How do I organize my camera gear inside my backpack, you asked? I simply get a cheap padded camera insert and fit it with all the camera bodies and lenses I need for my everyday bag.
I bought a medium-sized camera insert with dimensions of 26x15x14 cm. I can fit all four of my APS-C sized lenses, a camera body, and one filter, with some space to spare for other accessories.
Cable Organizer Bag
I also have a cable organizer bag to hold all the charging cables for my camera, smartphone, the drone, and a MacBook, all in one place. I also put most of the camera accessories I listed previously inside this organizer bag as well, to keep things organized for easy access.
Other Essential Gear
MacBook Pro 13 Inch (2015) is my work machine when I am on the road. It's old and rather slow, but it still has the most ports, which include a card reader, something I use very often, and I would rather not carry dongles around when I travel.
A water bottle goes outside of my backpack for easy access because I often go out for hours on end every day to either hike or explore a city, and this is how I keep myself hydrated at all times.
And there you have it, my everyday bag and every item I carry in my daypack when I travel, laid bare for you to see. I found this to be the most effective way of keeping the weight I carry manageable at around 5-7 kg, while not sacrificing the quality of the work I do too much.
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2 Comments
Surprised you not looked at alternatives for Macbok Pro 2015; it's pretty heavy laptop with everything else you are carrying! Not considered something like a iPad with a card reader?
Hey Kenny,
I do a lot of coding, editing photos, and videos and I find multi tasking on laptops to be much easier than on a tablet but I get what you mean. I am definitely holding out on the new Macbook that will supposedly come with an SD card reader, something I really need, and the last model that has it is, you guessed it, the 2015 macbook.
I was also waiting for the butterfly keyboard to die out which it did, so I am waiting now is an sd card reader and I'm golden haha. :)