Whats in our camera bag
In our camera bag
Cameras
We have two cameras and and a range of lenses and other photography gear. Although when we’re travelling around the world packing size and weight can be an issue, we think the trade-off is worth it for better pictures — after all it’s our memories and we want to remember them in the best possible way!
Sony A7 Full Frame Camera
The Sony A7 is a 24.3 mega-pixel, full frame, mirrorless camera.
The camera is a palm sized powerhouse and performs fantastically in low light conditions with great noise reduction. It’s compact and also has a great range of lenses, the only downsize is being full-frame the lenses are heavier and more expensive. The camera itself is around half the body weight of many DSLR cameras though, weighing just 446 g (15.7 ounces) for the body only and 769 (21.7 ounces) with the kit lens (28–70 mm) attached. It is dust and moisture resistant and is equipped with Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity to easily share photos to a smartphone or to use the smartphone to remotely control the camera. One thing to bear in mind is that the camera itself doesn’t have image stabilisation, but we haven’t found this to be a problem as we use lenses with image stabilisation built in, tripods when needed or by keeping a steady hand!
Sony A6000 Crop Sensor Camera
The Sony A6000 is a 24.3 megapixel crop sensor, mirrorless camera.
This is another fantastic camera which is perfect for travel due to its compact size and low weight. There’s also a great range of lenses available and most are smaller and lighter than the full frame lenses, but still get the job done! The camera body weighs just 344 g (12.13 ounces) and with the kit lens (16–55 mm) it weighs 468 g (16.5 ounces). This camera also features the Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity to easily share photos and control the device using a smartphone or tablet. Bear in mind though that this camera isn’t moisture and dust resistant and it doesn’t have image stabilisation built into the camera. This is no biggie though as we just make sure we have a steady hand, use one of the many lenses that come with image stabilisation built in or a tripod when needed.
Drones
As well as our cameras we also carry two drones which we use for our hard to reach photos and videos. The drones are fantastic and open up a whole realm of possibilities for travel photography.
DJI Mavic Pro
The DJI Mavic Pro is a fantastic piece of kit, it’s compact and it folds up even smaller which makes it perfect for travel. For its size it really packs a punch having a stabilised camera that records 4K video at 30 fps and it takes 12 megapixel photos. In sports mode it can reach 40 mph (65 kph) and FlightAutonomy gives the Mavic Pro the intelligence to hover precisely and avoid obstacles. It also has a range of up to 4.3 miles (7 km) with 1080P/720P live feed. The controller is easy to use and connects directly to your smartphone. The battery life allows around 30 minutes of flight time. We recommend buying at least one spare battery to ensure you can always get the footage and shots you want.
Dji Spark
The DJI Spark is another fantastic piece of kit and we use it to take some great aerial photography, selfies and snippets of video, its compact size means it great for indoor shots and flying in tight spaces.
The drone has around 16 minutes of flight time and packs a 12 megapixel camera, it also records video in 1080p at 30 fps. What makes this drone even more useful is its really quick to set up, has some great flying modes and can take off from the palm of your hand. We use this drone more if we’re limited on time or on rocky terrain and struggling to find a flat surface to take off from. We highly recommend buying a couple of extra batteries so you are aren’t worried about running out of battery while you’re out and about.
Although the DJI Spark can be used with just the smartphone app, we also have the controller as this allows you to use the drone to its full potential. When flying the drone without the controller the maximum distance you can fly is 100 m (328 ft) with a height restriction of 50 m (164 ft). When flying with the controller you can fly as far as 1.2 miles (2 km) and fly as high as 152 m (500 ft).
Crop Sensor Lenses (Sony A 6000)
The good thing about crop sensor lenses is that they take up minimum room due to their small size and weight especially when compared to full frame lenses. We also feel it’s better to have a couple of decent prime lenses giving us a better range of travel pictures without compromising on the quality of the photo.
Sony 16 - 55 mm Kit Lens
We have a 16–50 mm f/3.5–5.6 OSS E-mount retractable zoom kit lens which we generally use around the city and as a point and shoot lens as it’s really compact but still delivers a decent image. It features Optical SteadyShot image stabilisation to help reduce camera shake and the autofocus is very fast. It weighs 116 g (4.1 ounces).
Sony 55 - 210 mm Telephoto Lens
We have a 55–210 mm f/4.5–6.3 OSS telephoto lens, we use this lens for wildlife and unobtrusive portrait shots. This lens weighs 346 g (12.2 ounces) and includes Sony’s image stabilisation technology. It is a sharp lens and when combined with the 16-50 mm kit lens you have everything covered from wide-angle to telephoto.
SAMYANG (Rokinon) 12 mm Landscape Lens
We use the Samyang 12 mm f/2 NCS CS lens for landscape and night photography, the wide aperture makes it great for shooting night-time pictures and the wide angle for landscape photos. If we’re being honest this lens was one of the reasons we bought the Sony A6000 camera. This wide-angle prime lens weighs 260 g (9.2 ounces) and is manual focus.
Full Frame Lenses (Sony A7)
The full frame lenses on the Sony A7 camera deliver high quality stunning images! The only downside is that these lenses are bigger and heavier adding extra bulk to your luggage. We carry two lenses for our A7 camera, a 50 mm prime which we use for portrait shots, night photography and some city photography. We also use a 28 mm prime, which we use for landscape pictures and skyline shots, these lenses keep our camera weight and size down to a minimum and give us great photos. Any short comings in focal length/range we make up with the A6000 camera, drones and our mobile phones.
Sony FE 50 mm Portrait Lens
We use the Sony FE 50 mm f/1.8 prime lens for taking amazing portrait shots as it has great bokeh, it still works well for most city photography and the large maximum aperture also allows for low-light shooting. It weighs 186 g (6.5 ounces) and is the most affordable full frame Sony lens on the market. We are really impressed with the images we are able to capture on this lens so would highly recommend it to anyone with a Sony full frame mirrorless camera.
Sony FE 28 mm Landscape Lens
We use this Sony FE 28 mm f/2 wide-angle prime lens for landscape and general photos, it’s a great lens and has a smooth bokeh when needed. It is 200 g (7 ounces) and features Sony’s SSM autofocus motor. For even wider perspectives there are the 21 mm ultra-wide converter lens and the 16 mm fisheye converter lens that be be purchased to be used this lens.
Additional lens
We also have an additional lens that can be used on the A7 and the A6000, but it can only be used on these cameras when in conjunction with a specific adaptor.
Sigma 120 - 400 mm Telephoto Lens
We use this Sigma 120–400 mm f4.5–5.6 DG OS HSM telephoto zoom lens for wildlife photography. The main reason we bought this lens is for Africa so we can get close up wildlife shots when on safaris and in the national parks. It has built-in image stabilisation and can be used with both full frame and crop sensor cameras. This is a heavy lens at 1750 g (61.8 ounces), so it would only be recommend for travelling if you are heading somewhere where you want to photograph wildlife. It is a Sony A-Mount lens so can only be used with the Sony A7 and Sony A600 if you buy an A-Mount to E-Mount adaptor — please see below for more detail.
Sony LA-EA4 Full Frame A-Mount Adapter
This Sony LA-EA4 Full Frame A-Mount Adapter is needed to enable you to use an A-Mount lens on an E-Mount camera, such as the Sony A7 and the Sony A6000. It has a built-in AF motor, translucent mirror technology and an aperture-drive mechanism which enables continuous phase-detection autofocus. There is also a tripod mount for supporting heavy lenses. It is 159 g (5.6 ounces) so it does add extra weight to a lens, but it also gives you a wider range of lenses to choose from when you have a Sony mirrorless camera.
Disclaimer: Hotels & Hand Luggage is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites at no additional cost to you. Please note we only link to products & services we personally use or trust.