As a travel photographer, I need to be smart at the moment of choosing what to carry with me. The equipment I use has to be reliable and provide images of exceptional quality, but at the same time, it needs to be light.

Today mirrorless camera systems are ideal for travel photography because they are light as well as compact without any sacrifice in quality. That is why I chose the new Sony A7 mirrorless system.

What I’ll take on a trip will depend on what kind of shooting I will be doing. But the core bag is always the same regardless if it is a fashion shoot or if I am doing adventure, street photography, landscapes or cityscapes. What will usually change is the extra equipment I’ll take on the trip and the bag I will be using.

For example, on my recent trip to Italy, I was doing a fashion shoot in Venice as well as doing cityscapes of Venice, Florence, and Rome. While my main travel bag is the Think Tank Airport Commuter when shooting street photography or fashion, I switched to the Peak Design Everyday Messenger.

 

Cameras

I honestly believe that Sony is currently the most forward thinking camera companies in the world producing excellent cameras, especially for travel photographers.

What I love about the mirrorless system is that they are light as well as compact making them very unobtrusive when shooting.

One of my favorite features is the electronic viewfinder or EVF and the articulating rear screen. Because of the articulating screen, I can easily explore different compositions, to go low and high.

Mirrorless cameras also allow me to see what the image will look like before I press the shutter. The IBIS in camera image stabilization is perfect for street photography as it allows me to shoot handheld in low light situations.

I carry with me two cameras, the Sony A7II full frame camera, and the Sony A6000 cropped APS-C camera. The A7II is a 24mp full frame camera with excellent image quality and dynamic range. The size and the APS-C sensor of the A6000 make it a great street photography camera.

 

Lenses

The Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS is a landscape and cityscape photographers dream. It is small and lightweight but incredibly sharp. Because I mostly shoot at f8-f11, bt been an f4 lens it means that it is going to be lighter.

The Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS is my go to lens. It is the perfect focal range for portraits and travel photography. Compact and light, very sharp and perfectly balanced for A7 mirrorless bodies.

The Sony FE 70-200mm f/4.0 G OSS takes over right where the FE 24-70mm leaves off. It is great for portraits or scenes when you need a little extra reach to capture that candid moment Nicely balanced in size and weight for Sony a7 Series cameras.

The Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA has to be my favorite and one fo the sharpest lens I have ever own. It is the lightweight and portable king of Sony’s FE lens lineup. It is a must for street and portrait photography. It is super small and can easily fit in any gear bag.

The Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 is one of the best portrait lenses I have ever own. Access to Zeiss glass is one of the reasons I chose Sony camera system. It has beautiful creamy bokeh, great contrast, color rendition, and it’s extremely sharp.

 

Support Equipment

My travel tripod is the Feisol CT-3442 Tournament Rapid Carbon Fiber tripod with the Feisol CB-40D ball head. It is light, sturdy and very stable. It absorbs vibration well. It collapses to 23 inches when traveling and weights less than 4 lbs

I also carry the Feisol Mini Tripod TT-15 Mk2. Small, light, compact and made of carbon fiber. It has the Feisol CB-30D ball head. I use it often when larger tripods are not allowed. With the head weights less than 1 lbs.

Really Right Stuff PG-01 Compact Pano-Gimbal Head. I just love this head. If you want to do panoramas, this head is a must. It has the amazing built quality that has made RRS world renown and because it is lightweight is perfect for traveling.

Peak Design Straps. I honestly hate camera straps. They give me backaches. Throughout the years I have tried different systems, and for travel, I found that the Peak Design Slide it’s comfortable for me. At home, when I am shooting weddings or fashion assignments, I prefer using the Spider Light Camera Holster that comes specifically for mirrorless camera systems.

 

Accessories

I use Formatt-Hitech Firecrest ND filters and graduated ND filters. I love these filters as they do not have a strong color cast like other filters when doing long exposures. To hold my filters, I use the Mindshift Filter Hive. This is the best filter pouch in the market. Not cheap but worth every penny.

MacBook Pro. We chose Apple products because of their reliability, power, built, and ease of use. They just work out of the box as they should. This MacBook Pro is built to withstand the rigors of travel and adventure photography.

I use a SanDisk 480GB Extreme Pro SSD drive as working disk on the road and a Seagate portable drive for backup.

Vello Shutterboss II Wireless triggering system. A must for landscapes, cityscapes, and long exposure photography.

Sekonic Litemaster Pro L-478DR-U-EL Light meter.

Lexar Professional 1000x SD cards. Choose high-quality cards only.

 

Bags

The Think Tank Airport Commuter Backpack is my choice for a travel bag. It is the perfect size for international travel, and I can fit my entire kit in it. It can even fit under the front seat. Built to last. The best travel backpack.

The Peak Design Everyday Messenger Bag. Well constructed, lightweight and very comfortable to use. I use it as a shooter bag and not to carry all my equipment. Perfect for street photography.

 

What about you? What’s in your travel bag? Do you have any questions about the gear I use? Leave me a note below.