What's In My Camera Bag?
By Traveling Portrait · travelingportrait.co
First and foremost, the gear that I use currently is not required to create excellent images. Not everyone needs high-resolution camera bodies or professional grade lenses.
I remember reading about a photographer winning a National Geographic contest with an image taken from a GoPro.
So focus more on the fundamentals of photography rather than the gear.
With that said...here is what I'm currently shooting with in 2026:
Sony A7R V 61 MP Full Frame (Mirrorless)
$3298.00
Description:
The Sony A7R V is the ultimate high-resolution travel camera, wielding a staggering 61MP full-frame BSI-CMOS sensor, AI-powered real-time subject recognition autofocus, and up to 8-stop in-body image stabilization in a robust weather-sealed body that captures landscapes, aerial scenes, and fine architectural detail with a level of clarity, dynamic range, and tonal richness that has to be seen at full resolution to be truly believed.
$2398.00
Description:
The Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II is Sony's most advanced wide-angle zoom lens, delivering razor-sharp edge-to-edge image quality, a fast and consistent f/2.8 aperture, and an impressively compact and lightweight design that makes it the ideal choice for travel photographers who need a versatile wide-angle workhorse capable of handling everything from sweeping landscape vistas and dramatic architecture to low-light aurora photography and immersive environmental portraits.
$1398.00
Description:
The Sony 35mm f/1.4 GM is a stunning prime lens that combines a classic versatile focal length with Sony's finest G Master optical engineering, delivering breathtaking sharpness wide open, beautiful subject separation with silky smooth bokeh, and an f/1.4 aperture that excels in low-light travel scenes — from candlelit European streets to aurora-lit Alaskan skies — all in a compact and lightweight weather-sealed body that makes it one of the most irresistible travel primes ever made.
$2248.00
Description:
The Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II is the ultimate standard zoom lens for travel photographers, delivering breathtaking sharpness, a versatile focal range that covers everything from wide environmental storytelling to compressed portrait work, and a fast f/2.8 aperture that performs brilliantly in everything from golden hour landscapes to low-light aurora shooting — all in Sony's lightest and most compact G Master body ever produced.
$2698.00
Description:
The Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM is a professional-grade telephoto zoom lens that delivers stunning sharpness, fast and precise autofocus, and an impressive 400mm reach in a weather-sealed G Master body — making it the perfect travel companion for wildlife photographers, sports shooters, and adventure travelers who want to bring distant subjects dramatically closer without sacrificing a single pixel of image quality.
What I Use Each Piece of Camera Gear For
Real-world perspective from an adventure travel photographer
Sony A7R V 61MP Mirrorless
Sony has always been the true pioneers of mirrorless technology, and they never hold back with adding the newest tech into every A7 series camera body. The A7R V is perfect for large fine-art gallery prints (unless you can stretch your budget for medium format). The 61 MP provides excellent resolution for enhanced editing zoomed in on images and large printing. I use this camera for landscape, nature, travel, and portrait work. I'll also be using it for upcoming real estate/architecture photography.
Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II Wide Angle Lens
The Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II is one of those lenses that earns its place in my bag on every single trip without question. As a travel and landscape photographer, I need a wide-angle zoom that can handle the full range of what a day in the field demands — from capturing the sweeping drama of an Icelandic glacier stretching to the horizon, to pulling back wide enough to include a compelling foreground element that gives a landscape image genuine depth and dimension.
The fast f/2.8 aperture is what really sets this lens apart for the way I shoot — when the aurora appears over Alaska at 2 a.m. and the light is everything and the window is short, I need a lens that lets in maximum light without sacrificing sharpness, tells the story the way I want it told, and is light enough to forget it's even on the camera. The Sony 16-35mm GM II does all of that and then some.
Sony 35mm f/1.4 GM
The Sony 35mm f/1.4 GM is the lens I reach for when I want to slow down and tell a more intimate story. Where my 16-35mm is built for scale and drama, the 35mm is built for connection — it sees the world at a focal length that feels remarkably close to the natural human eye, which gives images made with it an authenticity and immediacy that wider lenses simply can't replicate.
I use it most on the ground between shoots — wandering through a small Icelandic fishing village at golden hour, shooting the quiet moments of travel that never make the highlight reel but always make the trip feel real, or isolating a single compelling detail within a larger landscape with that gorgeous f/1.4 subject separation that makes everything in front of the camera look like it belongs in a magazine. The autofocus is fast enough to trust in any situation, the low-light performance at f/1.4 is extraordinary, and the images it produces have a quality of light and rendering that I genuinely don't get from any other lens in my kit.
Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G
The Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM is the lens I pack when I know the subject I'm after is going to be far away, and I need to close that distance without physically moving an inch. In travel photography, that scenario comes up more often than you'd think — wildlife in Alaska keeping a respectful distance on a riverbank, a glacier calving at the far end of a lagoon, a dramatic volcanic peak sitting 20 miles across a highland plain that I want to compress and isolate against the sky.
The 400mm reach on a full-frame Sony body is extraordinary — it pulls distant subjects into the frame with a level of detail and background compression that genuinely transforms the way a landscape reads. I also use it for candid street and travel portraiture when I want to capture authentic, unposed moments from a distance without disrupting the scene in front of me. It's not a lens I carry every day, but when the situation calls for it, nothing else in my kit comes close to what it delivers.
Camera Accessories & Miscellaneous Tech Gear
See below what I use everyday in the field or at home in the office
Leofoto Carbon Fiber Tripod LS-364CX+LH-40LR
$489.00
Description:
The Leofoto LS-364CX carbon fiber tripod paired with the LH-40 ball head is a professional-grade travel tripod setup that delivers exceptional rigidity, precise camera positioning, and rock-solid stability in an impressively lightweight and packable carbon fiber package — making it the ideal field companion for landscape, aerial, and long-exposure travel photographers who demand uncompromising performance without the weight penalty of traditional professional tripod systems.
$239.75
Description:
The Synology DS223 is a compact and reliable two-bay NAS system that gives travel photographers and content creators a professional-grade personal cloud backup solution — storing, protecting, and accessing your entire library of high-resolution RAW files, 4K video footage, and creative assets from anywhere in the world with the peace of mind that your irreplaceable work is always safe and always within reach.
Wolverine 82mm Magnetic Filters
$419.95
Description:
The Kase Wolverine Revolution Plus Master 82mm Magnetic Filter Kit is a professional-grade filter system featuring shockproof tempered optical glass, an innovative quick-snap magnetic mounting system, and a complete set of color-coded CPL, ND8, ND64, and ND1000 filters — delivering ultra-low 0.1% reflectivity, zero color cast, and lightning-fast filter swaps in the field that make it the ideal choice for travel and landscape photographers who demand optical precision without slowing down to capture the shot.
$119.95
Description:
The BlackRapid Sport X is the original and most trusted cross-body camera sling for right-handed photographers, featuring a patented design that distributes your camera's weight across your shoulder rather than your neck, spring-loaded Cam-Locks for secure hip-level carry, an adjustable underarm stabilizer to eliminate strap slippage, and a locking swivel carabiner system that lets you glide your camera up to eye level in an instant — making it the most comfortable and fastest-access camera carrying solution for travel photographers who shoot all day in demanding conditions.
Think Tank BackLight 36L Backpack
$329.75
Description:
The BlackRapid Sport X is the original and most trusted cross-body camera sling for right-handed photographers, featuring a patented design that distributes your camera's weight across your shoulder rather than your neck, spring-loaded Cam-Locks for secure hip-level carry, an adjustable underarm stabilizer to eliminate strap slippage, and a locking swivel carabiner system that lets you glide your camera up to eye level in an instant — making it the most comfortable and fastest-access camera carrying solution for travel photographers who shoot all day in demanding conditions.
The Universal Essentials — Every Level
Regardless of your budget or experience level, these items belong in every travel photography kit:
Extra batteries and a multi-battery charger — Cold weather, long shoot days, and heavy video use drain batteries faster than you expect. Always carry more than you think you need.
A full set of memory cards with redundancy — Never travel with a single card. Cards fail. Carry multiples, and back up your files every night.
A portable hard drive or SSD — Samsung 1TB T7 Shield (~$287) is durable, fast, and compact enough to live in any bag pocket.
A lens cleaning kit — Sensor dust and lens smudges are the enemy of image quality. A blower, cleaning solution, and microfiber cloths weigh almost nothing and are used constantly in the field.
A waterproof camera cover — K&F Concept Rain Cover ($19.99) or similar. Iceland's waterfalls, Alaska's coastal rain, the American Southwest's afternoon thunderstorms — protect your gear.
Final Thoughts: Buy Less, Shoot More
The best travel gear guide advice I can give you — after years of travel photography across some of the world's most extraordinary locations — is this: buy the best camera you can currently justify, learn it completely, and then invest your next dollar in a plane ticket rather than another lens.
The world is full of extraordinary images waiting to be made. The fundamentals of light, composition, and patience will unlock more of them than any piece of equipment ever will. Start where you are. Use what you have. Get on a plane.
The gear will grow with you. It always does.
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