description
Five things worth packing for photography on the road, each with a professional pick and a cheaper alternative that still does the job: a travel tripod light enough to carry all day, a solar backpack so power is not tied to outlets, weather protection for the camera, backup that survives being dropped, and a way to keep shooting when the battery light starts flashing. Prices and ratings are from when the piece was written.
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Calling all Travel Enthusiasts!
We compiled a list of photography gear perfect for any traveler. The gear includes both professional and budget items. The budget gear will definitely get the job done, but it is good to know what the professionals use also.
The Gear
Travel Photography can mean many different things to many different people…and for those who _really_ do it, it becomes a sort of fevered passion that just won’t let go! For some like Chris Burkard, featured above, you travel the world and build an entire home & studio out of your car…and to others it’s simply some action-camera gear and a small backpack for a hike. So from the seasoned professional to the aspiring semi-pro, we’ve put together a small list of gear suggestions for the back-packing and adventure photography enthusiast!
Travel Tripods (Professional)
Price when this was written: $589
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3 Legged Thing’s EDDIE is probably the king of travel tripods. Coming in at under 3-lbs, carbon fiber, a ball head that can support nearly 27-lbs of gear, and is ultra-compact, this rig can get as low as 5″ from the ground! Pretty much covers any scenario you can encounter while on the road! One of the legs even unscrews to be used as a monopod! (They’ve also got a pretty fun YouTube Channel)
Travel Tripods (Budget)
Price when this was written: $74
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The Dolica Ultra Compact Tripod is a very decent travel rig! It also comes in at under 3-lbs in weight, and for just $5 more you can get it with the detachable monopod. Its minimum height is 18″ and can support up to 15-lbs of equipment!
Voltaic Solar Backpack (Professional)
Price when this was written: $389
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When you’re on the road, getting access to power for your devices can get tricky. The Voltaic Solar Backpacks can help! With a built-in 8-watt solar cell, a day’s worth of daylight (easy to do while you’re moving) can get you a full charge on a variety of devices.
Voltaic Solar Backpack (Budget)
Price when this was written: $129
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This bag packs all the same punch as the larger one, but on a smaller scale. A 3.5-watt solar cell charges fully in just 5 hours, but packs a slightly smaller charge than its big brother! Sometimes all you need is that extra 10 minutes of life for your phone or GPS and paired with its actual functionality as a backpack…how can you go wrong?
Vortex Media Pro Storm Jackets (Professional)
Price when this was written: $48
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No matter how much planning and prep you put in, we have no control over the weather! We can however, take charge of how it affects our shooting. With this storm protection jacket from Vortex you can keep your cameras free of rain, snow and dust in a flash! I personally keep one of these in my bag every time I leave the house!
Plastic Rain Shield (Budget)
Price when this was written: $7
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I’ve often referred to this as the “rain poncho” of weather protection for your gear. It’s not as nice looking or comfortable as the Vortex jackets, BUT it will still keep your camera nice and protected in the elements. I’ve even used this particular brand on a trip through Death Valley and it worked great!
LaCie Rugged 1TB USB3 Drives (Professional)
Price when this was written: $120
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When you’re shooting on the road, you never know what the environment will throw at you. With the LaCie Rugged drives, you can back up your files in a shock, rain, and pressure-proof hard drive that can take a beating and keep ticking! USB3 means faster transfer speeds (provided your computer is compatible) and it doesn’t require an external power source.
Dropbox Cloud Storage (Budget)
Price when this was written: Free or Pro Starting at $9.99/month
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For the photog who REALLY wants to travel light! Dropbox (and other services like it) can give you anywhere from 1GB of cloud storage, to TERABYTES! It won’t be much help if you’re in the middle of nowhere as you will still need internet access, but for a starting price of $9.99/month you can store up to 1TB from anywhere! (It’s free on a basic plan)
Extra Batteries (Professional)
Price when this was written: $59
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How many times have you been on the road, in the studio in the middle of a shoot, or even worse, 1/2 way through a wedding and you get that RED FLASHING WARNING OF DOOM from your battery?!? Here at Phlearn we believe it’s better to have spares and not need them, than to need them and not have them! This holds especially true while on the road. It’s always a good idea to have at least one spare charged and at the ready for your shoot.
Universal Travel Adapter (Budget)
Price when this was written: $10
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Maybe you’re extremely short on space and can’t carry spare batteries? Then being able to charge anywhere in the world is option number two! This universal adapter will let you plug in and recharge your gear in most outlets around the globe for a super low cost. Great for the trips where you know you’ll only be away from an outlet for a short time.
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