What's Inside My Camera Bag

Over the course of my short photography journey, my camera bag has grown extensively. This is widely due to my many focuses, but also the requirements for paid work that grew over time.

I chose Canon in the beginning for an array of reasons, most of which are obsolete now due to the fact that I changed from a DSLR to a mirrorless camera body. And while I am extremely happy with my choice, I don’t believe it would have made an ounce of difference if I had decided on Sony or any other brand in the beginning. 

Remember, your camera gear will always be second to your creativity when it comes down to what makes a great photo. 

As you sift through this post, you’ll find details on all of my camera gear along with reasons for each purchase, what they’re best for, plus camera and lens equivalents for Sony. My hope from sharing this information with you is that you’ll be able to create the perfect camera bag to suit your style and fit your application.

We have kept our original Canon 90D as a backup camera body and while we don’t use it that often, it still serves us well. 

The Canon 90D served as a great first camera and provides good picture quality and video specs with the ability to shoot 4K and high frame rates in 1080p. Focus was difficult to attain for action shots when I had the kit lens installed, but the hit rate was greatly increased when I partnered the 90D with the L Series 70 – 200. 

That being said, the Canon EOS R6 drastically outperforms the 90D when it comes to action/sports photography and in my case – predominantly mountain biking photography. 

The Canon DSLR range is to be discontinued so while this is still a sufficient camera for serious beginners, it will be best to purchase the R7 or R10 instead.

Why I love it:

• Good video specs with the ability to shoot 4K and high frame rates in 1080p
• Exceptional battery life

What I don’t love:

• Low light performance is lacking
• Auto-focus accuracy struggles without professional-grade lenses
• Bulky

Sony Equivalent:

Sony doesn’t really have an equivalent to the Canon 90D DSLR camera body as they don’t really sell DSLR camera bodies, especially not in the same ballpark. However, the closest camera body to the 90D is the Sony A6600 mirrorless camera.

I purchased my first drone long before I had even considered buying a camera. My initial reasons were simple, it looked fun and would easily fit in my pack alongside my GoPro when I travelled. 

It didn’t take long for me to realise that my first drone, the DJI Spark, wasn’t going to cut the mustard once I began to take photography seriously. However, due to the fact that Australia has seriously strict laws against the use of drones, I held off buying a new one for a long time. 

Finally, I gathered enough reasons to warrant the cost and purchased the DJI Mavic Air 2s. It took me a long time to choose between the Air 2s and the Mavic 3 but in the end, the weight and price of the Air 2s solidified my decision. 

Even though I am unable to fly my Mavic Air 2s in many places in Australia, it’s still an invaluable piece of equipment that has served me well. Having the ability to shoot from a completely different perspective adds incredible value to video and landscape photography. 

Note: Make sure you are well aware of the rules and legalities of drones in your area or the area you’re travelling, it can be a serious offence if you’re caught flying one and your images or videos can be taken down also if found out.

On another note, A handy accessory for travellers is the USB-C charging doc capable of charging these batteries from any portable charger, meaning you don’t have to carry a bulky AC power adapter everywhere you go.

Why I love it:

• Lightweight and small, making it great for hiking and travelling
• Exceptional image quality 
• Super stable and easy to fly
• Battery life is quite good for a drone

What I don’t love:

• Limited aperture makes it hard to obtain the correct settings for video
• I have a love/hate relationship with the obstacle avoidance – they’ve actually made me crash on numerous occasions 
• Limited use due to ‘no-fly zones’

My GoPro is perhaps the only camera I haven’t felt the need to upgrade, not because it doesn’t need to be (it does) but because I rarely find myself in need of an action camera. 

In the past, I’ve simply taken my Canon EOS R6 with me on all our adventures, even through rapids while paddling the Arthur River! However, I don’t particularly recommend doing this and I do believe we will inevitably find more need for an action camera in the near future.

An action camera is an invaluable tool for adventure and underwater videography, and travellers wanting an easy, small and versatile camera. You can literally take a GoPro anywhere and capture almost anything, from the depths of the ocean to backcountry skiing.

However, there’s no denying the image quality of a GoPro is far less than a professional mirrorless camera, but that’s not really a fair comparison is it?

GoPros are awesome for what they’re designed for and the best part is, they’re relatively cheap and easy to use.

If we were to upgrade our action camera, I would purchase the GoPro 11 Black because I am familiar with them and already have mounts installed on many of my toys.

Why I love it:

• Super durable and easy to use
• A great affordable option for a waterproof camera compared to buying expensive waterproof housings for my mirrorless camera
• Lightweight and compact, allowing for the ability to take it anywhere
• Easily adaptable to many different activities
• You can really get some unique footage

What I don’t love:

• Image quality isn’t good enough for professional shoots
• The GoPro colour is far too saturated
• Battery life sometimes drains rapidly in extreme environments

Let’s begin with my favourite lens, period. 

The EF 70-200mm F2.8 Lens was the first ‘upgrade’ I added to my camera bag from the initial purchase of my DSLR Canon 90D and its 18-135mm kit lens. And I’m never getting rid of it!

After struggling to achieve perfect focus for quite some time in my mountain biking photography – and spending countless hours researching, learning, and experimenting with different settings – I finally came to the conclusion that my initial 90D and kit lens was the culprit for soft focus.

I then purchased a 13-year-old, second-hand 70-200mm lens and what do you know, my hit rate instantly increased. I went from getting one shot in focus out of a burst of 20, to 18 out of every 20 in focus – all from just changing the lens… and maybe months of practice!

The 70-200mm quickly became my favourite lens not just for mountain biking but for landscape and hiking photography as well. Being able to compress my images and create depth using long focal lengths has definitely become my favourite style of photography.

But just like everything in life, nothing is perfect. I own version two of this lens (EF 70-200mm F2.8ii L) and while the list of positives is long, its hefty weight and size is a considerable negative. 

Having a constant aperture of F2.8 throughout the zoom range contributes to this lens weighing a whopping 1490g! But even though it’s seriously cumbersome, I still find room for it on all our hiking trips – including the big ones like Frenchmans Cap and Mt Anne in Tasmania!

The only reason I haven’t completely swapped to the much lighter RF 70-200 F4 is mountain biking. Those extra stops of light are crucial for obtaining those epic forest shots. If you have no need for capturing fast-moving objects in low light, I would highly recommend the f4 version over the f2.8, you will receive the same image quality in a much smaller package at half the price. 

Note: The EF 70 – 200mm I own is an old style that needs an adapter to be compatible with the EOS R6. If you’re looking to buy a mirrorless camera, I would strongly recommend purchasing the RF version. These newer versions provide all the same benefits and are roughly 500g lighter.

Why I love it:

• I love everything about this lens
• Produces super sharp images time and time again
• 70 – 200mm is my favourite focal length for composition
• It’s ridiculously durable – having survived for over 13 years with many more to go
• Weatherproof

What I don’t love:

• It’s very heavy and cumbersome
• The lens is expensive but in my opinion – worth it

Sony Equivalent:

• New series: FE 70 – 200mm F2.8 GM OSS II
• Old series: FE 70 – 200mm F2.8 GM OSS
• F4 Version: FE 70 – 200mm F4 GM

The Sony equivalents are basically identical in performance, the only difference being the newer versions still have internal zoom. Canon’s RF series have reverted back to the old telescopic style. The benefit of the telescopic style is it packs down smaller, but the negative is having external moving parts which could lead to dust ingress.

My first wide-angle lens was the EF 16-35mm F2.8ii L Lens and to be brutally honest, I didn’t like this lens from the beginning. It was another second-hand purchase early on in my photography journey and like nearly every decision thus far, it was based on mountain biking photography. 

But everything about this particular lens seemed wrong. Even with the faster aperture and pro series label, all of my mountain biking images seemed rather soft. That said, I was very hesitant to invest $3,500 into what was basically a newer version of this lens, could it really be that different? 

But boy I’m glad I did. 

The new RF 15-35mm F2.8 lens performs extremely well in every situation I put it in. The fast aperture allows for great mountain biking and astro performance and the overall sharpness of the lens makes it an invaluable tool for landscape and hiking photography.

How is it so different from the first wide angle I had? I have no idea – but the difference was astronomical. This is a great lens for a landscape photographer looking for a versatile wide-angle lens. 

Note: While I do recommend this lens, I believe just like the 70-200mm, if you don’t need the extra low light performance, then your best bet is purchasing the F4 version for the exact same reason – half the weight and price.

Why I love it:

• Weatherproof
• Produces super sharp images
• Its astro performance is rather good for a zoom lens
• Solid build quality

What I don’t love:

• Most of the time, I don’t like using the wide angle and therefore don’t have as much need for this lens as I originally thought
• Heavy 
• Expensive

Sony Equivalent:

• FE 16 – 35mm F2.8 GM

The image quality is on par with the Canon RF 15 – 35mm with the only major difference being the Sony lens doesn’t support image stabilisation.

If I could only take one lens on an overseas adventure or multi-day hike, the RF 24-105mm F4 L would be it!

This is the lens that I was missing for the majority of my photography career, the lens that would complete ‘The Holy Trinity’.  I held off for a long time and looking back, I really wish I didn’t! 

I spent the majority of my career as an adventure photographer with my wide-angle lens attached to my camera and the telephoto lens in my bag for those long shots that just look so good. But with that combination comes the pain of interchanging these lenses continuously throughout a day of vigorous hiking and to be honest, it sucks. 

But with the 24-105mm now sitting on my camera for most of my travels, I find I’m spending less time fiddling with my setup and more time shooting and enjoying the outdoors.

The RF 24-105 F4 L is a versatile zoom lens with a reach that covers everything from standard wide-angle to mini telephoto. There is a cheaper alternative – the RF 24 – 105mm F4-F7.1 – but I would rather pay the extra money to have a constant aperture of F4. 

Why I love it:

• Its versatility in focal length saves me from constantly changing lenses 
• The lens provides good edge-to-edge sharpness
• No noticeable decline in image quality between this lens and my other L series lenses
• Great for videography and compact enough to mount on a gimbal

What I don’t love:

• F4 aperture limits low-light and sports photography

Sony Equivalent:

• FE 24 – 105mm F4 G OSS

There are many different types of filters you can purchase and the main ones you’ll come across are UV filters, polarising filters and ND filters. I have all three and each serves a different purpose that I find valuable. 

Along with the different types of filters you can buy, there is also a range of mounting methods. I prefer circular threaded filters as they are easier to use, smaller, and don’t require an extra mount. These filters screw onto the front of your lens and allow multiple filters to be screwed together to create any desired effect. However, they do have minor performance issues – particularly when paired with zoom lenses – but I think the compact nature outweighs this negative.

UV Filters

A UV filter is traditionally used to reduce the amount of ultraviolet light that passes through a camera.

While some may use a UV filter for its main purpose, most people treat them as protection filters aiding to stop any scuffs or scratches affecting the lens. And with the purchase of my first brand-new lens, I thought it best to add one to my kit.

You might be interested to know whether I noticed a decline in image quality and I can honestly say, no. I never take the UV filter off and haven’t had any issues with sharpness. However, there are some super cheap third-party lens filters that will more than likely have a negative impact. 

The only time I’ve ever noticed a UV filter causing negative effects was during an astro shoot on a really cold night. Condensation built up between the filter and lens, causing it to fog. However, I fixed this issue by using a lens warmer.

I have two different UV filters which are listed below.

The Promaster HGX Prime is quite an expensive filter, though I can’t fault it in any other way. It fits perfectly and the thread is smooth, making it easy to add additional filters in front. Along with that, the thread is deep enough that the lens cap doesn’t butt up against the filter. 

The Urth UV filter is a cheaper option than the Promaster and I haven’t noticed any difference in performance between the two. The only downside to the Urth filter is its thread is too shallow which causes the lens cap to scuff the glass.

Variable ND filters are useful to control the amount of light entering your camera, allowing you to manipulate shutter speeds. I primarily find myself using my ND filter for videography and waterfall photography – this is how you can create that milky smooth effect. 

You can purchase ND filters with a single stop of light reduction. These generally perform better but obviously, you need to carry more filters and you’ll have to interchange these based on each circumstance. 

I chose a variable ND filter because I value the versatility over the potential of vignetting you’re likely to see at the extreme dark end of the scale.

The ND filter I own is the Hoya Variable ND, its variable ND is perfect for long exposures and controlling shutter speed in video content. While I rarely have an issue with this filter, I am restricted with its uses on my wide-angle lens as major vignetting occurs on dark settings. This is the trade off of variable ND’s

This filter sits higher on the price scale but I didn’t want to compromise on performance as cheaper ND filters are renowned for obscuring colours.

A circular polarising filter’s purpose is to cut through glare by filtering out light that has become polarised. This is beneficial for shooting landscapes with water in the foreground and any other circumstances where harsh glare is common. They also provide more dynamic range and better colour contrast when used correctly.

I purchased a circular polariser predominantly for photographing water where a clear reflection was my goal. I have seldom used it for anything else and don’t particularly find this filter as useful as the two above. 

One thing to be aware of when using a CPL with a wide-angle lens is that an undesired vignetting effect can occur. This causes dark areas to appear in your sky and can only be rectified with good editing skills. Sean Bagshaw has a great video explaining this issue.

Again, I went with Urth and have been pleased with its performance. The Urth CPL Polarising Filter + works wonders at cutting through glare on a lake and I’ve managed to take some perfect reflective shots. 

As with the Urth UV Filter, the CPL Filter’s thread is also thin but I rarely leave this one on the lens.

I never gave camera bags much thought until I began riding mountain bikes with my camera on my back. After my first attempt with my valuable set-up stashed at the bottom of an old backpack, I realised I could easily eliminate unnecessary stress by buying a camera bag. 

I now have three camera bags that cover my wide range of photography genres. My main camera bag is a large, padded Lowepro backpack. My mountain biking and short day hiking pack is the GoPro Daytripper and for my multi-day hikes, I have the Osprey Aether Plus which has additional external pockets that work perfectly for extra camera lenses.

I have an extremely old second-hand Lowepro bag that is a beast. I purchased it for $50 from a retired photographer that was happy to see it going to an aspiring photographer. I would 100% recommend doing this if you can find a good quality second-hand bag. You will save serious cash without sacrificing quality.

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what model my bag is as I couldn’t find a thread of information online. All I can tell you is it’s a large, extremely comfortable and supportive bag that can fit two camera bodies, three lenses (including my telephoto), my drone, spare batteries and every other essential accessory. 

I primarily use this bag for storage and professional shoots that don’t require a multi-day hike – it’s even comfortable enough for my big mountain biking shoots. If I were to purchase a new bag, it would be the Lowepro Flipside Trek BP 450 AW II. This pack would suit all applications I need including mountain biking, day hiking, travel and professional shoots.

I purchased the GoPro Daytripper as my mountain biking camera bag and to be honest, I kind of regret it. Without dedicated inserts, it’s rather difficult to pack in a way that won’t damage my gear – especially while mountain biking as I have an inability to take it easy…

In saying that, the GoPro Daytripper is an affordable option that offers some water resistance and increased durability due to its thick face fabric. I can comfortably fit my EOS R6, 70 – 200 mm and 15 – 35 mm lenses with the use of the lens cases to keep them safe. 

Of course, this bag was designed for a GoPro and would be sufficient in that aspect. However, as soon as you add a little weight to the pack it doesn’t provide the necessary support. Therefore, I’d strongly advise against buying this bag unless you keep it under a couple of kilograms.

Osprey Aether Plus 85L

Rather than purchasing a camera-specific hiking bag, I chose a dedicated hiking pack that would be sufficient for carrying my camera gear. The major reason for this is that hiking-specific packs are far superior in support and comfort. 

I have the Osprey Aether Plus 85L and while it’s not cheap, Osprey is the leading hiking backpack brand and is well-known for its durable and innovative packs. The Aether Plus has two external zippered pockets that fit my extra lenses perfectly and the supportive design allows me to pack the bag to the brim without feeling the heavy load.

If you are solely a stills enthusiast then skip this section as you will not be needing any of these items. But for those looking to get into the world of motion, here is a list of my basic equipment that packs a punch while coming in relatively inexpensive.

Note: If you have a limited budget I would only invest in a quality microphone. Sound is honestly the most important part of a video, and with a decent camera, drone and microphone you will be able to create epic films!

To put it plainly, the Zoom H5 Stereo Recorder is the bomb-digity! 

I knew the sound would be better than the internal stereo microphone in my camera, but I was blown away by just how good it is! I primarily shoot outdoor scenes and having the ability to pick up all the surrounding ambience has hugely improved my videos. 

The Zoom H5 is not only a stereo microphone, but it’s also a recorder which means you’re able to record sound without using your camera. This is super beneficial when you want to eliminate the noise of your own feet moving when you’re capturing a scene. There are also two XLR ports allowing for two extra microphones to all record at the same time. 

While this microphone is perfect for most applications, it’s not so good when you’re attempting to capture a specific sound such as someone’s voice in an interview or a mountain bike’s tyres ploughing through a soft berm. For this type of sound recording, I have the Rode VideoMic NTG, a mono (directional) microphone. 

Note: You’ll need an extra memory card (between 4GB and 32GB) to use the Zoom H5.

I purchased the Rode VideoMic NTG shotgun microphone at the same time as the Zoom H5 and love it just as much. I use both of these every time I’m filming and they’ve made a huge difference. 

The Rode VideoMic NTG is a directional microphone, meaning it only picks up sound from the direction it’s facing. This is highly beneficial for recording voices and singular sounds such as a mountain bike tyre. 

This type of microphone is designed to be mounted on a camera and needs to be plugged in to work. It can be used off-camera, but you’ll need an external recorder such as the Zoom H5 to power it. 

While there are cheaper options out there, I have found the VideoMic NTG is a great bang for your buck. It’s small, portable and easy to use.

Purchasing a gimbal was another game changer in my videography by drastically increasing my range of dynamic movements. But while it is an invaluable tool for filmmaking, it can also be cumbersome and tedious to set up. Most people that purchase a gimbal barely use it due to the initial learning curve and the above-mentioned disadvantages. 

However, I found that once I took the time to understand the process and practiced balancing the gimbal, I can now whip it out of my bag and have it ready in less than a few minutes. 

I own the DJI RSC2 Combo and cannot recommend it highly enough. It’s robust, easy to balance and packs down relatively streamlined so I can fit it in my day pack. The only downside to this gimbal is the restriction of camera/lens size. Make sure you check if your set-up is compatible before purchasing – DJI has a compatibility chart on their site.

I purchased the Benro Aero 2 tripod at the same time I got my first camera, the Canon DSLR 90D, and it hasn’t missed a beat. While it’s not the lightest option you’ll find, having a sturdy tripod that can withstand harsh winds is far more important to me. 

I’ve put the Benro Aero 2 to the ultimate test, taking long exposure shots on a mountain top in extreme conditions and still received crisp shots with no motion blur. The only thing I’ve changed since my original purchase is the head of the tripod.

I bought the tripod with a fluid head thinking it would be more useful in the long run, however, I soon realised that while it’s ideal for video, a ball head is more versatile for photography. 

Recently, I purchased the Neewar Pro Metal Tripod Ball Head to use with my original Benro Aero 2. The new ball head has proved to be sturdy, reliable and unrestrictive due to its ability to rotate 360 degrees.

The Move Shoot Move Star Tracker is my most recent purchase and boy does it make a difference! This compact piece of equipment moves the camera in the opposite direction to the earth at the same speed in order to eliminate unwanted star trailing. 

This has allowed me to attain clear and sharp astro shots when shooting a long exposure of 60 seconds or more. And I purchased this particular star tracker because of its size and portability. Even on big treks, the Move Shoot Move is so small and light that it isn’t a burden to carry. 

Of course, this device is only necessary if you’re serious about astrophotography or plan to print images of stars.

You might wonder why I’m including my power bank in my list of camera gear, but if you’re a keen landscape photographer who travels to remote places for an extended period of time, you want a durable and powerful power bank to keep all your electronics charged. 

We purchased the Belkin 20k power bank for its build quality and positive reputation. While it’s quite large and heavy, it has the ability to charge 2 head torches, a mobile phone, a camera battery and power my lens warmer for approximately 3 hours – only to lose approximately 30% of battery! 

If we didn’t spend multiple days hiking in the wilderness or plan to travel for an extended period of time where charging might be difficult, we would have gone for the Belkin 10k.

I learnt the hard way that a lens warmer is an (almost) essential tool if you plan to shoot astrophotography. Due to your camera and lens heating up as you shoot the long exposures necessary for astro, the contrast between that and the cold night air causes condensation on the lens – and trust me, no amount of cleaning will fix the problem! 

It took multiple ruined shoots due to the lens continuously fogging for me to purchase the Kiwi Fotos DHS-1 lens warmer, yet as soon as I did I eliminated the issue completely. I’ve since shot over 7-minute exposure in -2 degrees Celcius with no fogging whatsoever. 

Note: You will need a portable power bank to power the lens warmer, which is why a durable one that can withstand cold temperatures and potentially moist environments is a must.

As primarily an adventure travel photographer, I want my camera readily accessible at all times on my hikes – rather than buried deep in my hiking pack. For too long, I simply carried the camera with a strap around my neck for security, which was uncomfortable and made climbing steep routes rather challenging. 

I finally purchased the Peak Designs Capture Clip which gives me the ability to leave my camera secured to my backpack’s shoulder strap. But although this is a genius design and allows for quick access to my camera at all times, the clip is a little glitchy and I will always recommend slinging the camera strap around your neck in case the clip fails.

The more I began to research memory cards – things I had no idea would have such a strong impact on my camera’s performance – the more I realised just how many options are out there. 

After hours of investigating, I chose to buy the Sandisk Extreme Pro 128GB with 200MB/s speeds and I cannot fault it. My camera buffer fills before I exhaust the write speed of the card and this little beast has enough power to handle 4K 60fps C-Log3 footage! 

128GB is a great deal of storage but the flexibility is well worth the small increase in price. This amount of storage allows me to shoot both high-quality video and raw files, and still has plenty of space on the odd occasion I forget to transfer previous files onto my hard drive. 

I’ve only maxed this card out once on our 4-day Arthur River paddle – after 20 hours of video footage, several time-lapses and thousands of single images! 

In addition to the Sandisk 128GB memory card, I also have a 64GB backup (which would be more than enough for most on its own) and a 32GB for the Zoom H5.

Expansion drives can be an oversight for many photographers but in reality, working from portable hard drives is far cheaper and easier to organise in the long run. You’ll save a substantial amount by investing in portable drives rather than beefing up the internal memory of your computer.

There are a few different types of drives and it took me a little trial and error to come up with the perfect setup for my workflow. 

I started off with a portable hard drive which I used for both storage and workflow – this wasn’t ideal as I had no backups! As my photography skills improved and I started doing more complex edits, this quickly became frustrating as the speed of the hard drive was limiting. 

In addition to the speed, hard drives can be more prone to failure which is highly undesirable when you have years worth of content stored on them! But the flip side is, they’re much cheaper. 

I recently upgraded my storage to a desktop HDD and two portable SSDs, this has enabled me to back up all my content as well as provide a faster, more reliable and organised workflow…

But this setup comes at a hefty cost which, in my opinion, is only necessary if you’re a professional photographer/videographer.

I have the Seagate 10TB Desktop Hard Drive which I use solely as a backup drive, allowing me to keep two copies of all my content. I don’t work off this for the same reason I switched from my original Seagate 4TB Hard Drive.

For my workflow, I use a Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD and a Sandisk Extreme Pro SSD. The reason for utilising two was to completely separate videos and photos for increased organisation. 

The Extreme Portable SSD provides more than enough speed for photo editing and most video editing. The Extreme Pro SSD is arguably the best you can buy and only beneficial for working on complex video edits. I barely use it to its full potential but I purchased it for the 4TB size as the Extreme Portable is limited to 2TB.

Final Thoughts

One thing I’ve learnt from writing this post is – man I have spent a lot of money on camera gear and I don’t regret a single second of it.

The purpose of this post isn’t to convince you to buy everything on my list. Instead, I want to give you an insight as to why I chose my gear so you can make an informed decision about what you need. 

If you set yourself up by making the right decisions and purchases from the beginning, you’ll not only save money but I promise that you’ll enjoy your photography journey so much more. If you have any questions about any of the gear on this list, please feel free to leave a comment below or email us – we are always happy to help and provide extra information.