Our Photography Gear: What I Actually Carry as a Working Travel Photographer

People ask us what camera gear we use almost every week, and the answer surprises a lot of them: it’s not the latest and greatest. I’ve been a working travel photographer since 2010, I’ve been a Vanguard Ambassador for years, and I’ve been using Peak Design products since 2015. The kit on this page is what I’ve actually carried, year after year, on real trips. Some of it is on its third or fourth body of the same model. Some of it has been replaced by newer versions I haven’t bothered to upgrade to. All of it has earned its place in my bag.

If you’re shopping for new gear, my guide to the best travel cameras is the place to start. This page is different. This is what’s in my bag right now, and why.

I started shooting on my dad’s film Canon AE-1 when I was around twelve years old, and I’ve stuck with Canon ever since (which is partly loyalty, partly muscle memory, and partly that I’ve already invested in the lenses). The AE-1 is in the attic. Everything else gets used.

My Current Kit at a Glance

If you just want the list, here it is. Detail and reasoning further down.

• Primary camera: Canon EOS R5, full-frame mirrorless, my main body since launch
• Backup body: Canon EOS 6D (×2), succeeded by the 6D Mark II back in 2017 but still rock-solid, used as second bodies on safari and as backups everywhere else
• Wide-angle lens: Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 IS L, the most-used lens in my kit
• Telephoto: Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II L
• Macro: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
• Wildlife / safari: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 (often paired with the 2x extender on the 70-200)
• Pocket camera: Sony RX100 V
• Action camera: Akaso Brave 7 LE
• Drone: DJI Mavic Pro (the original; new buyers see DJI Mini Pro)
• Main camera bag: Vanguard Alta Sky 49 (the Alta Sky 51D is the current version, use code FindingTheUniverse for 20% off)
• Travel bag: Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L with Camera Cubes
• City day bag: Vanguard VEO Select 45BFM, or an Osprey daypack with a Peak Design Camera Cube
• Tripods: Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ 264CT (heavy days), Vanguard VEO 2 Go 256HCBM (travel), Peak Design Travel Tripod (when packing space matters most)
• Strap: Peak Design Slide (×3, since 2015) and Peak Design Clutch
• Memory cards: 128GB CFexpress Type B (main) plus a 64GB SD card as backup

If your reaction is “that’s a lot,” it is. I don’t carry all of it on any single trip. I pack based on what I’m shooting that day. There’s a section on how I actually pack further down.

 

 

Camera Bodies

Canon EOS R5: primary body

The R5 is my main camera. Full-frame, weather-sealed, 45 megapixel sensor with in-body image stabilisation, dual card slots, and full compatibility with Canon’s RF mount as well as EF and EF-S lenses (via an adaptor, which I use for most of my lens collection because I haven’t replaced everything with RF versions yet). It’s a beautiful camera and it has earned its place as the body I reach for first.

The R5 II has been out for a while now and is the current top-of-line. I haven’t moved to it. The R5 still does what I need it to do. You can see my full EOS R5 review here.

 

Canon EOS 6D: backup body (×2)

I have two of these. Canon stopped making the original 6D not long after the 6D Mark II arrived in 2017, which is why I get asked the same question often: should you still use one in 2026? My answer is yes, if you already have one, especially as a backup body or a second body on shoots where you don’t want to swap lenses constantly.

It’s full-frame, the image quality holds up, the ISO performance is really good (I’ve shot Northern Lights with one), and there’s something to be said for a camera that’s been around long enough that you know exactly what to expect from it. On safari I’ll often run an R5 with the 100-400 on one shoulder and a 6D with the 16-35 on the other, because lens swaps in a dust-storm with a Land Rover full of strangers is not a great plan.

If you’re starting fresh and want something at the original 6D price point, the best travel camera guide covers what I’d buy now. But the 6D is a long way from useless, and if you can pick one up second-hand from KEH or MPB, it’s a capable camera for the money.

 

Lenses

Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 IS L: wide-angle

If I had to keep one lens, it would be this one. I love taking landscape shots, I love playing with perspective in tight interiors, and the 16-35 f/4 delivers both. It’s sharp corner-to-corner, has image stabilisation, and is light enough that I’ll happily carry it as my only lens on a city day. It’s the most-used lens in my kit by a long way.

I used to use the cheaper Canon EF 17-40 f/4 L before this one. I wouldn’t go back. The 17-40 is soft in the corners, especially wide open, and the lack of stabilisation matters more than I expected. The 16-35 f/4 is the upgrade I should have made years earlier.

Canon also makes a 16-35 f/2.8, which is heavier and more expensive. I shoot most of this kind of photography from a tripod, so I’ve never needed the extra stop. If you do a lot of astrophotography or fast-moving event work, that’s the version to look at.

 

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II L: telephoto

This might be the best telephoto zoom Canon has ever made, and I’ve been carrying mine long enough to back that up. Fast through the whole focal range, sharp, and the image stabilisation makes my tripod almost optional for everything except the very longest exposures. It’s heavy and the price is eye-watering, but I’ve been carrying mine for years and it has paid for itself many times over.

It shines for portraits, wildlife (with the 2x extender on, more on that below), event work, and any situation where I want compression in the shot. There’s a Mark III version out now, and a few cheaper f/4 alternatives in the same focal range if the f/2.8 is more than your budget will stretch to.

 

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM: macro

We sometimes take close-up shots of products for posts, or flowers and insects when we’re out walking. The 100mm macro gives us 1:1 magnification, which is what you actually need for macro work. Nothing else gets that close, no matter what the lens marketing says.

There’s a more expensive “L” version of this lens that adds image stabilisation. We don’t do enough macro to justify the cost difference, and the standard version is sharp enough that I’ve never felt limited by it. I also use this lens occasionally for portraits, and 100mm f/2.8 on a full-frame body is a beautiful portrait combination.

 

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6: wildlife

The wildlife and safari lens. The reach you actually need for animals you can’t get close to without ending up as their dinner. It’s not in the bag for every trip, but on safari, on whale-watching boats, and anywhere with birds worth photographing, this is the lens I want.

Pair it with the R5 (which has enough megapixels that you can crop in further with no real loss) and you’ve got a capable wildlife setup without needing a dedicated super-telephoto prime that costs as much as a small car.

View on Amazon

 

Canon EF 2x II Extender

We don’t shoot enough wildlife to justify a dedicated super-telephoto prime, and the 2x extender bridges the gap. Stick it between the camera and the 70-200 f/2.8 and you’ve got a 140-400 f/5.6, which has been very useful for everything puffins in Iceland and sealions in the Galapagos to a wide range of wildlife in between.

It’s small, light, and a fraction of the price of a dedicated long lens. There’s a Mark III version available now too. If you already own the 70-200 f/2.8, the 2x extender is one of the best-value additions you can make to your kit.

 

Other Cameras

Sony RX100 V: pocket camera

Sometimes you don’t want to be the person carrying the obvious camera. The RX100 V slips into a pocket, has a 1-inch sensor, a fast f/1.8 aperture at the wide end, full manual controls, and shoots in RAW. The line is now several generations on (the RX100 VII is current), but the V still does what I bought it for, which is take pictures when I don’t want to be carrying a backpack full of gear.

If I were buying new today I’d look at the current RX100 VII or one of its closer competitors. See our full guide to the best compact cameras for current options. But the V earns its place in the bag (or coat pocket).

 

Akaso Brave 7 LE: action camera

The R5 is many things, but it’s not the camera I’m taking under a waterfall in Iceland, or on the front of a kayak, or strapping to a bike helmet. For that I use the Akaso Brave 7 LE, which is a fraction of the price of a GoPro and produces image quality I’m happy with for the situations I use it in.

It’s not the category leader. If you’re buying new and want the best, GoPro and DJI are the names you should be looking at. See our action camera guide for the current picks. The Akaso is what I picked up years ago for a fraction of the price, and it has done the job. It charges via USB, controls from a phone over WiFi, and comes with a waterproof housing and a small mountain of accessories in the box.

 

DJI Mavic Pro: drone

I have the original DJI Mavic Pro, which is a number of generations behind the current Mini and Air models. I bought it because aerial perspective opens up shots that are otherwise impossible (or illegal, in the case of climbing the building you’re trying to photograph). It’s small, it folds up, it’s stable in surprisingly windy conditions, and it shoots in RAW.

If you’re buying new, the current DJI Mini Pro is the model I’d look at first for most travellers. It’s smaller, lighter, and has the sub-250g weight that exempts it from registration in many countries (always check local laws, since drone rules change often).

 

Bags

I’ve tried a lot of camera bags over the years, from converted hiking packs with inserts through to dedicated photography backpacks. Different trips need different bags, so I have a few.

Vanguard Alta Sky 49: main camera bag

The Vanguard Alta Sky 49 is my workhorse for heavy gear loads. Safari, multi-day road trips, long hikes where I want both the tripod and the full lens kit. It carries everything I’ve listed above, plus a tripod on the side, plus space for a jacket, water bottle, and a sandwich. I’ve worn it for hours at a time without my back complaining (much).

The Alta Sky 49 has been replaced in Vanguard’s current line by the Alta Sky 51D, which is the equivalent for new buyers. Mine is still going strong. It’s been up hills, dropped in puddles, and survived an Icelandic waterfall up close. If you want to find the discontinued 49 second-hand, it’s worth looking. If you’re buying new, the 51D is the replacement.

 

Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L: travel bag

The bag I take for the actual journey. The Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L is a clamshell-opening travel bag rather than a dedicated camera bag, but with Peak Design’s Camera Cubes dropped inside, it becomes one. The Cubes are sold separately in small, medium and large; I have a small and a medium, which lets me dial the camera-vs-clothes ratio for any given trip.

This is the bag for trips where I’m flying, packing for a week or more, and want one bag that works as both my carry-on and my day-pack. It’s not as comfortable for long hiking days as the Alta Sky, but for everything else it’s the bag I reach for.

 

Vanguard VEO Select 45BFM: sleek city bag

The VEO Select 45BFM is the bag I take when I want to look less like a photographer and more like a normal person walking around a city. It’s smaller than the Alta Sky, doesn’t quite fit the full kit, but easily takes the R5, the 16-35, a spare lens, and a few accessories. For a city day where I’m shooting wide-angle and don’t need the long lens, it’s perfect.

 

Osprey daypack with Camera Cube: incognito option

The least obviously-a-camera-bag of the lot. An Osprey daypack (any of theirs work) with a small Peak Design Camera Cube dropped in the bottom. This is the option for places where I don’t want to advertise that I’m carrying expensive gear. It’s also what I use when I’m hiking and the camera is a secondary concern, not the reason for the trip.

Jess hasn’t quite settled on a camera bag yet. Most camera bags are designed for men’s body shapes, which is a real and persistent problem. The Peak Design Everyday Backpack 20L and Everyday Sling 6L are the closest she’s found so far.

 

How I Actually Pack

This is the section I wish more gear pages had, because the kit list above is misleading without it. I don’t carry all of this on any single shoot. I pack based on what I think I’m going to be photographing that day, and the bag changes accordingly.

• Landscape day: Alta Sky 49 with tripod strapped on, R5, the 16-35, often the 70-200, filters, spare batteries, lens cloth. Possibly a flask of coffee.
• Wildlife day: Same setup, but swap the 70-200 for the 100-400 and bring the 2x extender as backup. Add a beanbag if I’m shooting from a vehicle.
• Light city day: VEO Select or the Osprey with a Camera Cube. R5 plus the 16-35 only. Maybe the RX100 in a coat pocket.
• Safari: Two-body setup. R5 with the 100-400 on one shoulder, 6D with the 16-35 on the other. The two-body approach is specifically to avoid lens swaps in dusty environments, both because dust on the sensor is a nightmare to clean in the field, and because the action you’re trying to photograph never waits for you to swap glass.
• Road trip: The full kit stays in the car in the Alta Sky. I grab what I need at each stop based on what’s there.
• Rain: A dedicated camera rain cover (a ziploc bag is not the answer), plus a rain cover for the bag. We learned this the hard way next to an Icelandic waterfall, where the spray is essentially horizontal.

One thing I never do: check camera gear on a flight. Cameras and lenses come in the carry-on or they don’t come at all. The risk of damage, theft, or simply the bag not arriving when I do is too high to gamble with.

 

Tripods

Tripod models tend to come and go quickly, see our guide to the best travel tripods for up to date recommendations as the specific models we use have largely been superseded by new model numbers.

Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ 264CT: heavy days

A tripod is one of those bits of kit that everyone resents carrying until the moment they need one (and then they’re very glad they brought it). For landscape work at small apertures, for night photography, for star trails, for time-lapse, you just need one.

I’m a Vanguard Ambassador, which means I have rather more Vanguard tripods than is strictly necessary. The two I actually use are the Alta Pro 2+ 264CT, which is the one for heavy work where weight is less of a concern, and the VEO 2 Go 256HCBM for travel.

I pair the Alta Pro with a Vanguard BBH-200 ballhead, which has an Arca-compatible plate. Quick on, quick off, and the camera goes back on level every time, which is a small thing that turns out to matter a lot when you’re working fast.

 

 

Vanguard VEO 2 Go 256HCBM: travel tripod

The travel tripod is the one I actually use the most, because it’s the one I’m willing to carry. The VEO 2 Go is light, packs down small, and is robust enough for the R5 with a long lens. There’s a current VEO 3 GO version which is the equivalent if you’re buying new. You can read my full review of the VEO 2 Go here.

 

Peak Design Travel Tripod: minimalist option

The Peak Design Travel Tripod is the one I take when packing space is the constraint. It collapses down to roughly the diameter of a water bottle, which makes it fit in places no other tripod will. Where the Vanguards have the edge in stability and head flexibility, the Peak Design wins on packability. For travel where every centimetre counts, the trade-off is worth it.

 

Vanguard ambassador discount

As Vanguard Ambassadors, Jess and I can offer readers a discount code that gets you 20% off everything in the Vanguard USA, Vanguard UK, Vanguard Spain and Vanguard Germany stores. Use code FindingTheUniverse (case sensitive) at checkout.

 

Camera Straps

Peak Design Slide and Clutch

I bought my first Peak Design Slide back in 2015 and have never used another camera-strap system since. I now own three of them (one for each of the three bodies I might be running), plus a Peak Design Clutch hand strap for situations where a sling isn’t what I want.

The Peak Design system is built around quick-release anchor links, which means I can move a strap from body to body in seconds. The straps are tough, comfortable, and backed by a lifetime warranty (which I’ve never had to use, but it’s a nice thing to know is there). The full Peak Design strap review has the detail.

 

Filters

That expensive front element on the lens needs protecting, and the cheapest way to do that is a UV filter. I’d warn against putting a cheap filter on an expensive lens, because the optical quality really does matter at that price point, and a bad filter will undo the optical work the lens is doing. I use a B+W 77mm MRC UV filter on my main lens. B+W make filters in all the standard thread sizes.

I use a circular polariser a lot, particularly for landscape work. It brings clouds out of skies, cuts reflections off water and glass, and reduces the glare that washes out colour on bright days. I use a B+W 77mm polarising filter.

For long exposures (waterfalls smoothed to silk, clouds that streak across a sky, that sort of thing), you need neutral density filters, which reduce the light entering the lens so you can keep the shutter open longer. The big-name brands are Tiffen, Singh-Ray and Lee. I’ve been using Haida ND filters for years. They’re less well-known but the optical quality is excellent for the price. I have a kit with a 3-stop, 6-stop and 10-stop, which can be stacked for up to 19 stops of light reduction (which is, frankly, more than you’ll ever need, but it’s nice to have the option).

If you want the longer version, I’ve written a post on filters and a separate guide to why you need neutral density filters.

 

Memory Cards, Batteries and the Practical Stuff

Memory cards

I shoot in RAW, which takes up serious space, but I’d still rather have one big high-quality card than three smaller ones. For the R5 I run a 128GB CFexpress Type B in the main slot, plus a 64GB SD card as a backup in the second slot. I’ve never come close to filling the 128 on a single trip, and the SD acts as an in-camera backup of the most important shots in case the main card fails (which it has never done, but I am a paranoid person about losing photos).

For the action camera and the drone, I run the manufacturer-recommended cards in the speeds and capacities each manual specifies. There’s no value in over-spending here, since the camera can only write as fast as its buffer allows, and a more expensive card won’t make it any quicker.

 

Spare batteries

Running out of battery on the shot you’ve been planning all day is one of those mistakes you only make once. I always carry at least one spare for every body I’m running, charged the night before. The R5 takes a Canon LP-E6NH (older LP-E6 and LP-E6N batteries also work, with reduced performance). The 6D takes the same LP-E6 family. The drone takes its own DJI battery, which is essentially a small computer with wings and should be packed with respect.

 

Wireless remote

For long exposures where the press of the shutter button itself causes a wobble, for self-portraits, and for time-lapse, a wireless remote earns its place. I use a Pixel TW-282/N3, which works from up to 100ft away and has been reliable for years.

 

External hard drives

Shooting in RAW eats hard drive space faster than you’d expect, and on longer trips my laptop’s internal drive can’t hold a trip’s worth of files. More importantly, I never want my photos in only one place. Losing a trip’s worth of images to a stolen laptop or a dead drive is a horror I plan never to experience.

I currently travel with a Crucial X6 SSD, which is small, fast, and has a generous capacity for the price. SSDs have come down enough in price that there’s no good reason to use spinning-platter mechanical drives for travel any more. SSDs are smaller, more rugged, and faster.

 

Dry bags

This sounds odd for a camera kit list, but if you’re shooting in places where the weather isn’t reliable, where you’re on a boat trip in the Galapagos, or working a waterfall up close, a dry bag is the difference between coming home with photos and coming home with a very expensive paperweight. I travel with a couple of cheap dry bags that have kept my gear bone-dry through everything from Icelandic waterfalls to torrential downpours up Thai waterfalls.

 

Selfie stick

Yes, really. Not every photo we take is with a serious camera. Sometimes we just want a quick shot of the two of us together, and it’s hard to do that one-handed without a wide-angle phone camera and some help. We use a Bluetooth selfie stick, which folds down very small and pairs with the phone over Bluetooth, so there are no fiddly wires.

 

Lensball

Pure fun. The 80mm glass lensball is one of those bits of kit that you don’t strictly need, but every now and then it produces a shot you couldn’t get any other way. It’s heavy for its size (it’s solid glass), and it’s a niche tool, but I’m always glad when I’ve packed it.

 

Photo Editing Software

Everything above is half the workflow at most. The other half is post-processing, and for that I’ve used Adobe Lightroom for over a decade. The Photography Plan bundles Lightroom, Lightroom Classic and Photoshop together, and it’s the cheapest and most useful Adobe subscription I pay for.

If you’re looking for alternatives, I’ve got a guide to the best photo-editing software that covers the main competitors (the standalone Capture One, Affinity Photo, Skylum Luminar Neo, and a few others). Lightroom remains the one I keep coming back to.

You’ll also need a computer that can run that software well. Photo editing is more demanding than most people realise, particularly with AI-driven features like denoise and generative remove. I’ve written a separate guide to the best laptops for photo editing if you’re shopping.

 

Photography Learning Resources

All the equipment in the world won’t help if you don’t know how to use it, which is why I wrote a travel photography course a few years back. Over 2,000 students have taken it, and the feedback has been really kind. The course covers everything from the exposure triangle through to composition, lighting, and post-processing, all in the context of travel photography specifically.

If you want to take your photography to the next level, come and have a look.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are you still on the R5 and not the R5 II?

The R5 still does everything I need it to do, and a working camera that pays for itself many times over isn’t something I rush to replace.

The R5 II is unquestionably the better camera on paper, with improved autofocus, a stacked sensor, and better video. But “better than what I have” and “worth the upgrade for what I do” aren’t the same question. I’m not shooting motorsports or fast-action sports where the R5 II’s autofocus would change my keeper rate. For travel and landscape work, the original R5 is still excellent.

Is the Canon 6D still worth using in 2026?

Yes, particularly as a backup body or a second body. Canon stopped making the original 6D not long after the 6D Mark II arrived in 2017, but it’s still a full-frame camera with good image quality, a workable autofocus system, and excellent ISO performance for night and low-light work.

If you can pick one up second-hand from KEH or MPB, it’s a capable camera for the money. I wouldn’t recommend it as a primary body for someone buying their first interchangeable-lens camera in 2026, since the mirrorless world has moved on. But as a second body, or for a beginner working with a tight budget, it has plenty of life in it yet.

What’s the one piece of gear you’d upgrade first?

Lenses before bodies. A new body gets you incremental improvements in autofocus and high-ISO performance. A better lens changes what your photographs look like. If I had to spend money on one upgrade, it would be moving the 70-200 from the EF version (which I use via an adapter on the R5) to the native RF 70-200 f/2.8, which is meaningfully smaller and lighter for the same image quality.

For a beginner, the answer is different: a tripod, then a fast prime lens, then a body. A 50mm f/1.8 on a beginner body teaches you more about photography than any sensor upgrade.

What would you tell a beginner who can’t afford this kit?

The R5 plus a few L-series lenses is professional kit at professional prices. Almost no one needs to start there. A used Canon 6D (or a current entry-level mirrorless body), a 50mm f/1.8 prime, and a sturdy tripod will teach you more about photography than spending ten times the money on the latest gear.

Photography is mostly about light, composition, and being there at the right moment. Better gear opens up more options once you know what you want to do, but no camera will replace the time spent learning to see.

Why Canon over Sony for travel photography?

Mostly inertia, and partly the lens collection. I started with a Canon AE-1 when I was twelve, moved through Canon DSLRs into the EOS line, and by the time the mirrorless transition happened I had a closet full of EF-mount glass that I didn’t want to replace.

If I were starting fresh in 2026 with no existing investment in any system, Canon and Sony are both excellent choices. Sony has been the technical leader on autofocus and sensor technology for several years. Canon has caught up significantly with the R-series. Both produce excellent images. Pick the one whose menus and ergonomics you prefer. That’s a more important factor than most people give it credit for.

What memory cards do you actually use?

For the R5, a 128GB CFexpress Type B in the main slot and a 64GB SD card as a backup in the second slot. I’ve never come close to filling the 128 on a single trip.

The CFexpress is fast enough to keep up with the R5’s burst speeds and 8K video. The SD is there as in-camera redundancy. The camera can be set to write the same files to both cards, so a card failure doesn’t lose the shoot. For a working travel camera that you can’t easily replace mid-trip, that redundancy is worth the modest extra cost of a second card slot.

Where do you buy used gear?

KEH and MPB are the two I trust. Both grade their used gear accurately, both offer warranties on used equipment, and both are reliable for camera bodies, lenses and accessories.

For specific items I’d happily buy second-hand: camera bodies (especially older models like the 6D), L-series Canon lenses (which are built like tanks), and tripods. Lower-priced items I’d usually buy new because the saving isn’t significant.

 

That’s everything in the bag. If you have a question about a specific bit of kit, drop me a line in the comments and I’ll add answers to the FAQ above as they come in.