My Photography Gear List 2023 // Gear
It used to be a running joke in our family that after every trip, M had to upgrade something in our gear kit. Sometimes it was the camera, sometimes it was a lens, sometimes it was the computer. I think we’ve finally reached a happy stopping point, but who knows? Maybe I’ll be updating this again in a few years.
In any case, I am still a frequent traveler and petite human who likes minimal fuss, and still value these three things when choosing gear:
High quality
Compact and Lightweight
Captures 90% of all the shots we want.
The gear's beauty is a bonus.
My husband and I have bought and tested a LOT of gear, spending a lot of time refining this gear list. The best part is that it and all fits in one backpack, though we usually spread it across two when traveling to the location, then pick the gear for the day so that we can carry the least possible amount in one. Our previous gear is all included in another blog post, as our current gear is pretty pricey. Let’s get started!
Camera Bodies:
When Sony announced their Sony A-1, M decided that this was the camera to end all cameras, and we switched entirely to Sony. The photos that come out of these cameras are unbelievable.
This is Sony’s flagship “do it all” camera. It shoots 50mp photos, records 8k30p and 4k120p footage, and does it all nearly perfectly. It’s definitely a splurge, but if you want to travel with ONE body that can produce professional level results for photo and video, in our opinion, there’s nothing better.
This is our backup Sony camera that M uses for his webcam setup (extreme, I know). More details on his full webcam setup can be found here.
Lenses:
When we travel now, we shoot with this lens 90% of the time. The zoom lens is the perfect walking around lens because it’s wide enough to capture landscapes and scenery, while still being zoomed in enough to emphasize the people in that scene. It’s also fast enough to shoot in low light, razor sharp, and to quote M, “just awesome.”
If you’re looking for the perfect portrait lens, this is it. Everything that comes out of this lens just looks better. Just point it at a subject and watch the magic happen. The f/1.4 gives amazing depth of field, bokeh, and low-light performance. One of my favorite lenses ever.
Other:
Lightweight and portable, this drone comes with us everywhere. It folds up really small, and shoots HD video at 120 fps, or 4k60, but we mostly use it for the very high quality 5.4k video. We previously had the DJI Spark (which doesn't film 4k) and the DJI Mavic Air (which we crashed), but had issues with the range and connection quality with both of these. The Air 2S has been (again to quote M), “rock solid.”
It’s shocking that GoPro is now on the HERO11, because it feels like yesterday that we got our GoPro. But we use it all the time when we go on adventurous travels (primarily water or air), and it’s the best for capturing underwater life while snorkeling.
This is the lightest, most compact tripod that is still strong enough to support our gear, and is insanely affordable for a carbon-fiber tripod. My only gripe is that it sometimes isn’t tall enough.
SD Cards
You can’t film 8k on a regular SD card, so we use a super fast one for all the Sony videos.
And then a fast Sony SD 128gb for photos.
We like the 20L because it's not too big, even for me, to carry. It fits all our gear, including an extra water bottle and jacket.
Peak Design 15L Everyday Backpack Zip
We got this smaller, 15L backpack for days when we don’t need as much gear. When we fly, I carry this one and M carries the 20L.
We used to use the full neck strap, but now only use the hand strap. This does means we are either holding the camera and actively shooting, or it’s put away in the backpack, vs just slung across our bodies indefinitely.
We used to also carry a gimbal, a microphone, extra batteries, and another camera body, but have since cut those out of our lineup. The A1 has in-body stabilization, so the gimbal isn’t really needed, and the one we had doesn’t support the weight of this camera anyway. As mentioned above, our 2nd camera body is usually left at home, mounted above M’s monitor. If we go on safari or something, we might bring it.
Editing:
This computer is super fast and lightweight, and makes editing a breeze. M got it earlier this year when he was tired of how slow his previous one was.
11-inch iPad Pro (with Apple Pencil and Keyboard)
I love this machine, and use it all the time, to take notes, sketch ideas, and review photos quickly. I’ve had it for 4 years and still use it regularly.
Honestly, I do so much editing on my phone these days it would be unfair to not include it here. M has the 14 Pro, and I have a 12 Mini.
We upgraded our SSD hard drive this year, and it has made a shockingly large difference in my editing life. We have a NAS at home, and many many hard drives, but the only one we bring traveling is this SSD. It weighs less, it writes stupidly fast, and it stores more. It’s just a better solution. Its cable is also USB-C on both ends, which I really appreciate.
With all the craziness at airports this year, having an AirTag in each of our luggages and backpacks has given us such peace of mind. My dad got them for us for Christmas last year, and wow, he was ahead of his time. They are so easy to use and the battery lasts for about a year. We’ve even used them at home when we couldn’t find a backpack once (it was hidden under a large storage unit we have).
This is the main software I use for any kind of photo editing. I usually start with a preset I’ve made to do a first pass on my photos, then tweak them to my liking.
This is what we edit all our videos in. It's not the most user friendly, but it's super customizable and a powerful video editor.
Other:
For our other travel-musts, see my 2022 Travel Gear blog post.