Camera gear I travel with

Last Updated on March 27, 2026

I often get questions about the camera equipment I use which is why I decided to put this page together to share the best camera gear for traveling. If you have any other questions regarding the gear I use, feel free to email me.

Best camera for traveling

In 2022, I switched from a dSLR which I had several lenses for, to a NIKON CoolPix 950. I mainly made the switch because I was tired of lugging around several lenses, and I barely even used them any more, since for a “quick snap”, my phone camera was good enough. If I was using any of the additional lenses in my camera bag, it was usually my telephoto zoom lens for wildlife.

What attracted me to the NIKON Coolpix was the built-in telephoto lens. I did a lot of research before buying the camera, and read a few complaints about a built-in lens not being as good as a separate telephoto lens, but I digress! I think the images the camera takes come out beautifully, but I am also not a wildlife photographer. That said, I am blown away how far I can zoom in on the NIKON, which has a 24-2000mm equivalent lens.

I bought this camera specifically for a trip to the Sumatran jungle to go orangutan trekking, and I was more than pleased with the pictures I took on that trip (see momma orangutan on the left).

My first dSLR

When I first started traveling full-time back in 2010, I used a Canon dSLR, and I have always been happy with Canon, even though I used a basic, light-weight model. During my years of traveling, I learned that the frequent use of a camera in deserts, at beaches, in crazy humid places or extreme heat has caused my cameras to have a rather short life span, which is why I don’t want to invest in a more expensive model (the Canon EOS 5DFull Frame Camera would be a camera I’d love to get). If you’re looking for an easy-to-use camera for traveling, Canon has various inexpensive models.

I love the lightweight 20 ounces (0.57kg) Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens

Lenses

The EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens came with the camera, and I also have a zoom lens and a wide-angle lens:

– Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM Telephoto Zoom Lens
– Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X116 Pro DX II Digital Zoom Lens

In addition to the camera itself, I carry:

Camera Cleaning Kit for DSLR Lenses, Sensors, and LCD Screens
2 spare Battery Packs
4 – 5 16GB SD cards (I usually don’t overwrite the images on the SD cards until I’ve backed up my photos in two different places.)
External hard drive (I’ve been using the My Passport Ultra Portable External USB 3.0 Hard Drive for a few years now and haven’t had any issues with them (yet… knock on wood!))

Underwater Camera

I bought an underwater camera before my trip to the Philippines, where I was hoping to swim with whale sharks and knew I’d want to take some underwater shots. So I looked for a lightweight, small and inexpensive underwater camera for traveling, and the one I found on Amazon had pretty good reviews. I took the picture below with it – what do you think?

AKASO Action Camera

I have since upgraded my camera to an AKASO underwater camera for video and photo – I’d describe it as a cheaper version of a GoPro. I don’t use the underwater camera often enough to justify purchasing a GoPro, but I’ve liked the AKASO enough to have bought three different variations over the years! The underwater footage of the grey whales in Baja in this article was taken with my latest AKASO.