Ultimate Day Trip Packing List for Photographers!
Over the years as the photography side of our business (and life) has grown we have found that our day hike/day trip packing list consists primarily of camera gear! Because of that we are constantly refining what we carry with us and what gear we view as most valuable. Here is our ultimate day trip packing list as outdoor/travel adventure photographers!
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REI Traverse 32 Backpack
First on the list is the bag that we currently use to carry all of our gear for every day hike or day trip! The REI Traverse 32. We both have this bag and have been using them for the last year and love them! We downsized from our old Kelty Redwing backpacks primarily because we were looking for something a little more streamlined and a little better suited for day trips and day hikes while still being functional to carry hiking gear and camera gear.
We are forever on the mission to find the “perfect” hiking/travel/camera backpack and have yet to find it so we always opt for a lightweight hiking style backpack because they hold the weight of gear better, are usually pretty supportive with good hip belts, and obviously double as our normal hiking backpacks!
2. Sony a7III Camera
Next on the list is our trusty Sony A7III camera! We have had this camera for 4 years now (crazy) and have taken close to 200,000 photos on it! We love this camera and it has performed amazing for us. It has all of the functions we need and we will definitely be staying in the Sony system going forward. We use this camera for every single shoot for both photos and videos. Eventually we may upgrade to an A7IV or A7RIV but for now we are sticking with the A7III!
3. Sigma 24-70 f2.8 Lens
Next up is the lens that we use for probably 80% of all of our photos and videos - the Sigma 24-70 f2.8. This lens is fantastic! The 2.8 aperture is great and we rarely find ourselves needing more (when we do we use our Sony 85mm 1.8). This Sigma 24-70 does so much for us and comes in at a much cheaper price than the Sony 24-70 G Master.
4. Sony 70-200 f2.8 G Master Lens
Next is the monster Sony 70-200 f2.8 G Master Lens. This is our most recent addition and we definitely love using it! The perspective/compression we can get shooting at 200mm is so nice for some of our work. This lens is used for the remaining 20% of photos that we don’t take with our Sigma 24-70. The only downside to this lens is the size (funny enough this lens alone weighs more than our entire camera set up from our first international backpacking trip) and the cost. However, we bought ours gently used and were able to save about $1000 on it!
5. Sony Zeiss 16-35 f4 Lens
This was the first lens we ever bought for our camera and the first “quality” lens that we used! For the first two years of traveling it was basically all we shot with (before we added the Sigma 24-70) and we definitely love it. We have outgrown it slightly, and are planning to upgrade to the f2.8 version, but for now it does the job when we need that ultra-wide perspective. This lens has seen it all from salt spray in the ocean, to falling/mildly breaking on rocks in Arizona, to getting covered in snow in Patagonia. It is much cheaper than the f2.8 g master version and we really recommend it if you are starting out/have moderate experience and are looking for a quality wide angle lens.
6. Peak Design Neck Strap
After ditching a camera neck strap for almost 2 years and opting instead for a wrist strap (or none at all) this was the neck strap that brought us back! The fact that it works with the same peak design quick connectors that they use for everything is what sealed the deal. It works great, is comfortable, and is easy to take on and off of the camera. Highly recommend!
7. Peak Design Wrist Strap
This is the wrist strap that we originally ditched our next strap for. It seems like everything that Peak Design makes is perfect and this wrist strap is no different. It uses the quick connectors, is easy to take on and off, feels strong and secure, and is very affordable. Definitely recommend if you are looking to try a wrist strap!
8. Peak Design Tripod
This was an upgrade for us. We originally spent about 2.5 years using this generic tripod off amazon. It worked great, was lightweight, and we brought it to 30+ countries and 15+ states. However, the functionality is a bit limited, the legs are fixed and there is less flexibility for odd terrain. As outdoor/adventure photographers, we often prop our tripod up on very uneven surfaces so we eventually upgraded to this tripod from Peak Design.
It is a little heavier than we would like, but that was our choice by picking the aluminum tripod instead of the carbon fiber version. To be honest we sort of hate tripods, but when you need one you need one! And we couldn’t justify spending almost twice the amount for carbon fiber. Overall we’ve been using this tripod for 1.5 years and have no complaints. It feels stable with our Sony A7III and 70-200 lens on it, it has a ton of flexibility when it comes to setting it up, and we would recommend it if you are looking to upgrade your current tripod!
9. Peak Design Capture Clip
The Peak Design Capture Clip is another photography staple! I leave it attached to my backpack all the time and often use it for hiking, especially when some scrambling is required and I need to use my hands. We have been using the same capture clip for 4 years and it has never failed on us. Definitely recommend having on your bag!
10. Sea to Summit Stuff Sack/Dry Bag
I use these Sea to Summit Stuff Sacks/Dry Bags as a miscellaneous gear bag/ditty bag. They are super lightweight and are perfect for holding things like extra SD cards, batteries, my camera cleaning kit, and anything else I need for the day. We have a variety of sizes and have no complaints! They are advertised as a dry bag but I would not recommend submerging them or using them as your only waterproofing method if you are carrying valuable gear such as a camera in them.
11. Extra Sony Batteries
Extra batteries are a must have for any photographer. We keep ~3 of these fully charged and with us at all times. They are definitely pricy but when it comes to batteries I try to always go with a name brand manufacturer and these ones in particular are really long lasting and work great.
12. Plastic Battery Cases
We use these plastic battery cases to keep our camera batteries in! They fit the Sony batteries almost perfectly and come with foam inserts that you can use to stop your batteries from rattling around. We have never had to test the waterproofing (luckily) but these give us piece of mind that our batteries will stay protected in most situations.
13. Apple SD Card to Lightning Reader
This Apple SD Card reader for our iPhones is such a nice thing to keep with us! We often use it to quickly access photos and videos that we take while out, and even use it to do “quick edits” when we are out shooting for clients. It helps us access files on site, wherever we are in the world. Then once the files are transferred to our phone we can use an editing software to do test edits to make sure we have all the shots we need. It is super small and definitely worth having with you!
14. Sandisk Extreme Pro 128gb SD Cards
These SD cards have read and write fast enough for our needs, have always been incredibly reliable for us, and are fairly inexpensive. We buy a few more every year and always keep 7-10 with us on shoot days! We buy the 128 gb size and they are good to hold around ~2500 photos (shooting uncompressed RAW) on our Sony A7III.
15. Generic SD Card Holder/memory case
This is another item that for some reason we spent almost 2 years without! I used to keep my SD cards basically loose in my bag (in their plastic cases that come with them) but this SD card holder/memory case is super cheap and works great.
17. Camera Cleaning Kit
First, clean your camera sensor at your own risk. Second, once I learned how to clean my camera sensor and realized how easy it can be, my editing time has dropped dramatically! I used to have all these dust spots constantly in my photos, and when I tried using an air blower nothing would get all the dust out. So I got one of these cleaning kits off Amazon and they have always worked great for me! Now instead of spending time clone stamping out dust spots, I can focus on actual editing and photography itself. I always bring this with me so that I have it during a shoot if I can tell the sensor is particularly dusty.
18. Buff
This buff is not only in my camera packing list, but I basically don’t go anywhere without it. Its great for a quick towel to dry off gear, I wear it on my face if it is cold, or on my neck to protect it from the sun. Its so small and lightweight and truly multi-functional that it just makes sense to have with you! I’ve even twisted it around my camera to DIY a light rain cover before. Get one, keep it with you, and you’ll find ways to use it!
19. DIY Photographer Gloves (Outdoor Research)
I have had these gloves from outdoor research for 4 years now and have used them on adventures all over the world! As far as gloves go, they are satisfactory. I usually run warm so I don’t need them to be super insulated, and these keep my hands warm enough down to 0 degrees. However, the real tip here is the DIY modification I made to make them the perfect photography gloves. I was tired of wearing a glove on 1 hand while my other hand that I was using to press the shutter, make exposure adjustments, etc. froze. So I cut half the fingertip off both the thumb and index finger on my right glove. This way I can flip the top back while on a shoot to expose my fingertips which makes using my camera a breeze! Then when i’m cold I just tuck my fingers back in.
20. Honorable Mention: DJI RSC 2 Gimbal
A gimbal, like a tripod, becomes a necessary evil especially if you are doing videography for clients. This gimbal from DJI truly works great and we use it often for high quality product videos, as well as videos we take while moving or hiking! It can be annoying to carry with you, but when you need it you need it. I don’t always carry it, but I do bring it if I am working on a video project.
22. Honorable Mention: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone
People seem to either love drones or hate them! I can definitely see the benefits of having one, and the perspectives it can capture are absolutely incredible. However, drones are banned in a lot of places (cough cough all national parks in the USA) so we really do not use our drone as much as we would like to. But, we do bring it with us when we are in locations that allow for it, and it is great to use when we can! This DJI Mavic Air 2, specifically the fly more combo, is a great started option if you are looking to get a high quality drone at a moderate price point!