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If you ask ten different people on “What’s in your travel light camera bag? “, You will probably get ten different answers. What people consider light and essential for travels are quite subjective. Some would consider the Nikon D610 is a light weight camera, while others prefer to travel with a mirrorless camera. Regardless of your preference, all travel camera bags are bounded to one common objective, only carry the essential gear and keep the bag as light as possible. The keys in packing a travel camera bag are to accept compromises and knowing what kind of photos you are going to take. This means you will have to do a bit of study as to what lenses you will need, flash or no flash, back ups, do you need a tripod for night photos, and etc.
For me, this is what I typically take in my travel camera bag. I use the Think Tank Wired Up 10 camera bag which is actually designed for journalists and videographers that need pass through holes for cablings. I use it simply because it can be functioned as a shoulder bag or waist bag. The pass through holes are great for my iPod.
Inside the bag, I have picked the Fujifilm X-M1 as my body and a couple of lenses to go with it. At most I would only carry two lenses which are the Fujifilm 16-50mm kit lens as my all round lens and a Nokton 35mm f/1.4 as my fast/portrait lens. I chose the Nokton because it is extremely small, about half the size of the Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 and looks great on the X-M1. It has a better build quality, an aperture ring on the lens and a smoother focus ring, but it does require a Leica M to Fujifilm X adapter to use on the Fujifilm camera.
I do take a flash with me (Nikon SB-700) if I am planning to take photos of people, otherwise I will leave it at home. Amongst the main camera gear, I also have an ND filter, iPod, iPad Mini and Think Tank SD card wallet. The Apple products keep me connected to the world and most importantly entertaining on those long flights. With the built in WiFi function of the X-M1, I can transfer photos to the iPad and do all sorts of light editing, backups and upload.
Occasionally, there is a bit of variation to this kit to include the Macbook Air if some serious editing and backup are required. Also a light stand and modifier may be included in the mix if light is an important factor.
What’s in my travel light camera bag:
- Fujifilm X-M1 with Fujifilm 16-50mm kit lens
- Nokton 35mm f/1.4
- Leica M to Fujifilm X adapter
- Nikon SB-700
- iPad Mini
- iPod
- ND filter
- Think Tank SD card wallet
- Think tank Wir Up 10 or Think tank Urban Disguise 50
Last week on a trip to Melbourne, this is essentially what I took when I am out and about. I did take a tripod but packed it in the main luggage, all the chargers and cables are also packed in the main luggage using a Think Tank cable management 30.
Here are some photos taken using this kit.
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