The Ultimate Travel Photography Gear List + Best Cameras for Influencers
Trying to find the best cameras for influencers and travellers can be intimidating. The most important thing to remember is that the best camera for you is the camera you have.
One of the questions we get all the time is what camera we use and which lenses we use. This post will take you through each piece of equipment we use on our travels.
While a good camera can improve your photos, you’ll also need to spend time learning how to shoot the best photos with the camera you have. You can find lots of tutorials on YouTube, and I share tips in my Instagram stories and Reels too. I’ve also got an entire post on posing tips for Instagram and one on apps for content creators including the editing apps I love.
If you are a traveller, you may prefer packing light and not want to carry around heavy camera equipment. If that is the case, consider that when deciding which cameras and lenses to buy.
Below is our full travel photography gear list including the best cameras for travellers and influencers to get the best photos on your travels as well as the best lenses, accessories, camera bags and editing tools.
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Best Camera Bodies for Travellers & Influencers
Camera bodies can range in price from affordable to extremely expensive. Depending on your budget, we are including a few options for camera bodies for a few different budgets here.
Canon 5D Mark IV
The Canon 5D Mark IV costs less than the 1D, but it is still an expensive camera body. This is the camera we used until about a month ago for all of our blog and Instagram photos.
With the 5D Mark IV, you can view your images on the screen on the back of the camera and even just tap the screen to take a photo (helpful when asking someone else to take photos). It also connects through built in WiFi to your phone so that you can use your phone as a remote when shooting with a tripod.
The only downside of this camera is the weight of the body. This is one of the heavier pieces of camera gear on this list, so if weight is a concern, you might want to look into other options.
Why you need this: Great for professional quality photos of your travels and for high quality video
Canon R5 Mirrorless
The Canon R5 Mirrorless camera is one of the newest Canon cameras. This one replaced our 5D about a month ago, and we are loving it so far. The photo quality is amazing, but it weighs much less than our old camera.
Mirrorless cameras are becoming more popular due to their lighter weight, but they can be expensive since they are the newest format. Because we travel so much and use our camera on the road, often carrying it all day with our lenses and other equipment, the mirrorless makes more sense for us right now.
Why you need this: Great for travellers as it weighs much less than the 5D
Canon Rebel SL3/250D
We have not used this camera, but the Canon Rebel is a great entry-level DSLR and much more affordable than the 5D or R5. It also comes with a lens kit which makes it even more affordable since you don’t have to buy a camera just to get started (the others only come with the body).
If budget is an issue, start with the Rebel which offers both manual and automatic settings for photography. It is a crop sensor camera, but if you plan to upgrade one day to a full-frame camera, make sure you buy lenses that will work on both.
Why you need this: Great entry-level DSLR and affordable too
DJI Mavic 2 Pro
A drone allows you to get creative photos you can’t get with a regular camera as you can capture new angles. DJI makes the best drones for travellers, and we use the Mavic 2 Pro currently.
You can look at the other options from DJI too, but the Mavic 2 Pro allows us to capture high quality photos and videos to use for Instagram, YouTube and brand collaborations. Many of their drones can also capture high-quality photos and videos, so you can see if there is a drone that fits your needs better for size, weight, budget, and quality. The Mavic and Air drones are the ones most often used by travel influencers and content creators.
The only con of having a drone is that some places do not allow them. If you are thinking about getting a drone, look into the requirements where you live and how much you will be able to fly it in the places you plan to travel. It may not be worth it if you live in a highly restricted area and travel to places where flying is not allowed.
Why you need this: Great for aerial photography and getting a unique view of a destination
GoPro Hero 9
We have used several GoPro cameras in the past, and they offer an affordable camera capable of capturing great underwater photos and videos in addition to regular photos and videos. We currently use the GoPro Hero 9, the newest GoPro.
If you love our underwater photos from the Great Barrier Reef, many of them were captured on our GoPro. We love how easy it is to use and to carry. It’s also great for the half underwater and half above water photos and great at evening out shaky videos.
If you need an affordable camera that is great for vlogging and still capable of capturing high-quality images, consider getting the latest GoPro.
Why you need this: Great option for vloggers and anyone travelling to tropical destinations and wanting underwater photography
CONTAX TVS POiNT & SHOOT 35mm FILM CAMERA
Film cameras give a distinct grainy appearance that gives images more personality compared to the clean, sharp ones from digital cameras.
Although film cameras are making a comeback in the photography world, they can come at quite an expensive price. The Contax TVS Point & Shoot 35mm Film Camera is a personal favourite, as it is much more affordable without sacrificing on quality.
Why you need this: I chose this film camera over the T2 and T3 because its much more affordable and still great quality
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Mobile phones have come a long way in the last few years with cameras. Some of my photos and Reels are shot on iPhone and most of my stories are from my iPhone too. I’m so impressed with the iPhone 12 Pro Max cameras right now.
If you are not able to afford a camera separate from your mobile phone, look into getting a mobile phone with a great camera. The iPhone 12 Pro Max isn’t the only phone out there with a great camera, and you can often find deals on phones that have great cameras to get both a phone and a camera for travel all in one.
Why you need this: One of the best mobile phones for photography
Best Camera Lenses for Travel
While the camera body is important, many times the lens is even more important. Yes, lenses can cost thousands of dollars on their own, but investing in a good set of lenses will help you level up your photography. You may pay a lot upfront for a lens, but look at it as an investment as you will probably be using that lens even after you upgrade your camera.
Canon mount adapter for ef - eos r
Because we recently switched from the Canon 5D Mark IV to the Canon R5, we needed an adapter to be able to continue using our lenses. Most lenses are made for a certain type of camera, either crop sensor, full frame, or mirrorless. EF lenses work on both crop sensor and full frame cameras. The mirrorless camera required a mount which is much cheaper than buying all new lenses to work with the new camera.
This Canon Mount Adapter for EF to the EOS R series is the one we use. Lenses are one of the most expensive pieces of camera equipment. Buying a new camera is already a big investment, so you have to decide what is best for you. Since we already have so many lenses for our old camera, it made more sense for us to buy the adapter. If you are new to photography or don’t have any/many lenses yet, you may end up just buying lenses made for the mirrorless cameras and not need the adapter.
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 or Canon 24-70mm f/4
The Canon 24 - 70mm f/2.8 is the lens we use, but the f/4 is the more affordable option depending on what your budget allows. This is a great all-around lens for travel and one we often leave on the camera body.
With this lens, you can capture fairly wide shots but also have the option to zoom in when needed. The f/2.8 allows you to capture sharp images and create bokeh with the background while keeping the subject crisp. The f/4 does this as well but not quite as well.
Why you need this: Great all-around lens, especially for travellers
Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 or Canon 16-35mm f/4
If you need a wider angle lens to capture more of the landscape or city skyline, consider adding the 16-35 to your travel photography gear list. We use the f/2.8, but again, the f/4 is the more affordable option. Both offer great photos and wider shots than the 24-70.
We love this lens for photos where the 24-70 can’t quite fit everything in the frame. With the Instagram crop playing a role in framing our photos, we sometimes need a wider angle lens to capture everything we want to make it into the Instagram photo.
Why you need this: Another good all-around lens for wider angle photos and landscape photography
Sigma 50mm f/4
A “nifty fifty” is one of the most used lenses by photographers, and this is the one we use. Sigma makes great lenses that are often more affordable than Canon lenses but don’t sacrifice on quality.
The Sigma 50mm f/4 is great for portrait photography, and prime lenses often offer extremely high quality images at that focal length. If you plan to take lots of portraits, you’ll want to get a 50mm, and this is the one we love.
Mirrorless RF version: Canon RF 50mm f/1.2
Why you need this: Perfect for portrait photography
Canon 24mm f/1.4
This is our other prime lens, and a 24mm prime is great for travel photos. It is often wide enough to capture the entire scene but the f/1.4 gives us more options for low light situations and for creating more bokeh in our photos.
Why you need this: Great for travel and low light situations
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 or Canon 70-200mm f/4
This is the one time where we actually use the more budget-friendly camera lens. We use the Canon 70-200 mm f/4, but the f/2.8 is another great option if you have the money to spend on it.
This is our telephone lens that is best for capturing wildlife from a distance. We also use it to create the illusion of the background being larger than it is, especially when zoomed in. You can capture different perspectives than the other two wider angle telephoto lenses, and you can capture details from a distance that we couldn’t capture otherwise.
Mirrorless RF version: Canon RF 70 - 200mm f/2.8
Why you need this: Great for wildlife photos and compression of background objects
Best Camera Accessories for Travellers and Influencers
Our camera accessories include everything from underwater housing to tripods to filters for your cameras. While these are not all necessary for great photos, we wanted to provide a comprehensive travel photography gear list.
AquaTech Dome House for 5D Mark IV
This is the housing we used with our 5D Mark IV, and we captured some of my favorite photos of the Great Barrier Reef (you can see more on this post too!) with this housing. It is not cheap, but it protected our camera (also not cheap!), so it was worth it to capture these photos. Be sure to purchase the dome port to get this split shots!
Why you need this: Protects your DSLR to get great photos underwater
AXISGO 12 Pro Max Water Housing from AquaTech
I haven’t bought this waterproof housing for my iPhone yet as I found it when looking for gear options for this post for those of you who use your phone for your photos, but it looks really cool. I may have to add this to our collection to protect our phones when using them underwater.
While the newest iPhones are water-resistant to certain depths, they do sometimes still have issues after going under shallow waters for a short time. It’s a good idea to protect it with some sort of waterproof case, and I trust AquaTech since we love them for our DSLR.
Why you need this: Protects your phone to get great photos underwater
AXISGO Dome from AquaTech
This part of the AquaTech line is sold separately from the phone water housing, but the dome makes it so that you can get the popular half above water and half underwater shots. It also works with the ultra-wide lens on the new iPhone Pro models, so you have more options for shooting underwater.
Why you need this: If you’ve seen the half above water half underwater shots on Instagram and want to get some of your own photos like this, you’ll need the dome.
Manfrotto Compact Action Aluminium Tripod with Hybrid Head
When travelling with a tripod, weight and size are important factors to consider. This one weighs in at about 1.2 kg (2.65 lbs) and is about 45 cm (18 inches) when folded up. When extended, it stretches to 155 cm (61 inches).
Why you need this: This is an affordable tripod that will get the job done on your travels without weighing you down.
National Geographic Travel Photo Tripod Kit with Monopod
This tripod works with equipment weighing up to 8 kg (about 18 lbs) and functions as both a tripod and a monopod. Made of carbon fibre, it weighs in at just under 1 kg (2.2 lbs) and folds up to 37 cm (14.6 inches). When extended, it stands 158 cm (62 inches). It is slightly lighter, folds up a little bit smaller, and extends a little bit longer than the Manfrotto tripod.
Why you need this: Versatile and lightweight, this is a tripod that can handle heavier equipment
Manfrotto universal smartphone clamp
This smartphone clamp from Manfrotto works on any smartphone up to 8.4 cm (3.2 inches) wide. It allows you to attach your smartphone to your tripod which is helpful for group shots or couple shots when no one else is around. If you are a solo traveller, it can also help you capture photos of yourself without needing to wait for someone to walk by or asking a stranger. It helps stabilize your phone for photos and videos you are taking as well.
Why you need this: Attach your phone to your tripod to capture photos from your phone of yourself or your group
Urth X Gobe Circular Polarizing Lens Filter in Various Sizes
This polarizing filter works with most lens sizes, so make sure you buy the ones that fit your lenses. Polarizing lenses cut reflections on surfaces like glass and water and can bring out the colours more in your photos. I love this brand for the quality of the products, but they also plant 5 trees for every product purchased in areas impacted by deforestation.
Why you need this: Great for cutting reflections and for shooting with a wider aperture in brighter light
Best Camera Bags for Travellers
A camera bag is an important part of photography gear for travel bloggers and travel influencers. Our camera bags go with us everywhere and help us get our gear to all of our locations when we travel.
Lowepro ProTactic BP 350 AW II
Accessibility is one of the most important parts of a camera bag, and this bag makes it easy for us to get to all of our gear when switching out lenses or needing to quickly grab a camera to get the shot. This is the camera bag we use now, and we love how practical it is for using the camera a lot while walking around.
Another favourite feature of this camera bag is the waist strap. Camera gear gets heavy when carrying it around all day, so we love using the waist strap to help with the weight of the gear. The bag has 4 easy access points to get to your camera and gear and allows you the freedom to pack it a few different ways depending on what gear you need to take with you.
Why you need this: Easily access your camera gear on the go
The Backpack Pro & The CIA Pro Camera Insert by Db (formerly Douchebags)
This was our old camera backpack, and it did the job well. We paired the Backpack Pro with the CIA Pro Camera Insert to have adjustable spots for our camera gear. The only complaint we had about this bag was that it was not as easy to get to our equipment quickly like it is with our new bag.
Other than that, we loved this bag and used it for a long time. Because we need to be able to get to our gear quickly and it has gotten heavier with added lenses and equipment, the Lowepro bag is the better fit for us right now. If you are not carrying your bag all day or don’t have as much heavy equipment, this bag is great since you can use it with or without the camera insert.
Why you need this: Works as a backpack or with the camera insert to carry your gear when you travel
Best Photo Editing Tools for Influencers and Travellers
When it comes to creating epic travel photos, the camera gear and accessories are only part of the process. Once you’ve captured your images, it is time to store and edit your images to bring your vision to life.
Apple MacBook Pro
We use our Apple MacBook Pro for editing at home and love it. It has been a game-changer for us to view and edit our images, and we highly recommend it to other creatives. Mac products may be known for being expensive, but they are worth it for how long they last and especially for influencers and content creators.
Why you need this: Best laptop for editing your images
Creative Cloud Subscription
The Adobe Creative Cloud gives you access to a variety of Adobe products including Lightroom, Photoshop and Premiere Pro. We use Lightroom to edit all of our images using our Lightroom presets. It is the best program out there for editing images and bringing out the colours that are often lost in RAW files.
Why you need this: Create Instagram-worthy photos with Lightroom
Photo Mechanic
When we travel, we take thousands and thousands of photos. I don’t want to upload all of those photos to Lightroom and sort through them in Lightroom, so I use Photo Mechanic.
After we take photos and upload them to our hard drive, I open Photo Mechanic and go into my hard drive. I can quickly flip through photos and select the ones I want to edit. Once I’ve sorted through them, I can go into the tagged images and drag and drop them into Lightroom. This makes it so much easier to keep my Lightroom clean and organized without having to sort through images every time I go into Lightroom.
Why you need this: Quickly and easily sort through your images
Lacie Rugged Mini Portable Hard Drive 4TB
Hard drives are so important as they hold all of our images, so we trust the Lacie Rugged. It comes with a case that helps protect it in case you drop it. While it doesn’t guarantee protection, it is more prepared for travel than most hard drives since it at least has some protection.
This hard drive comes in different sizes, but we typically buy the 4TB hard drives to store images. It’s a good idea to have your images backed up to more than one hard drive. For example, you may want to keep one at home with a backup of your images and travel with a second one to store images on while you travel. If something happens to it, you at least have your old images safe at home.
Why you need this: A rugged hard drive to store and protect your images.
APPLE LIGHTNING TO SD CARD CAMERA READER
When we need to get our videos and photos to our phones to quickly edit and post, we use this Lightning to SD card reader. You simply plug it in to the lightning port on your iPhone, and your phone will open the Photo app. You can also save your photos to your iCloud so that your full-resolution photos and videos are protected and backed up while you are travelling.
This card reader works for both JPEG and RAW, and it also makes it easy to share images with others with iCloud photo sharing or just through sharing the device itself. You can also use it with iPads including the iPad Pro.
Why you need this: Easily download photos and videos from your camera to your phone or iPad
What Travel Photography Gear Do I Need?
This question is really up to you. Think about the photos you want to take, where you live, and where you travel. For example, if you aren’t going to be in tropical destinations, you can hold off on buying the water housing. If you live in an area where you can’t fly your drone, it may not be worth spending the money on one when you can’t use it.
Once you decide on the gear you want, you don’t have to get it all at once. Start with a good camera and one lens that will work in most situations (if you need a lens to go with it). Learn how to use the camera you have or the camera you get to create the best images possible with it. As you save up, you can expand your collection to have more options for photos.
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