5 Essential Camera Accessories for Travel Photography
When heading out on an epic travel adventure, I try to keep my packing minimal so that my bags are lightweight and I don’t need to check them at the airport. As a travel videographer and photographer, however, keeping my travel camera kit light can be challenging. Using a small travel sling can help keep the overall footprint of your camera kit small, but, let’s face it, there are certain pieces of camera gear you just can’t travel without. For some, it’s a wide angle lens for capturing epic landscape photos, while others need a zoom lens for environmental portraits. No matter the gear you bring, though, there are, in my opinion, a few essential camera accessories for travel photography and videography that I can’t travel without.
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Compact Air Blower
Have you ever snapped a photo and noticed blurry dots all over the image? It likely means that you have dust on your camera’s sensor. Never noticed this? Well, here’s some advice. Make sure you’re prepared to deal with this at all times because the last place you want this to happen is when you’re on an epic trip. The first time this happened to me, I was traveling in the Quebec mountains. After a few minutes of panic thinking my camera was messed for the rest of the trip, I remembered that I had just the tool for the job with me. And that tool is a compact camera air blower.
So, why is an air blower essential for removing dust from your camera’s sensor? Because your camera’s sensor is very sensitive. And I mean very sensitive. If there is dust or debris on it, you cannot wipe it away with your finger or a cloth. This can cause a lot of damage to the sensor, ultimately making your expensive mirrorless camera useless. The solution is to use an air blower, which blows air along the sensor, knocking dust and debris off of it without actually touching it.
Now, a lot of air blowers these days are quite large. As noted above, it’s good to travel with a fairly compact kit, so I actually carry a fairly compact, almost flat air blower. Mine is fairly old and I'm not sure if it's still available, but you can check out a fairly similar Compact Camera Air Blower here.
Microfiber Camera Cloth
As noted above, you don’t want to travel without the correct tool to remove dust from your camera’s sensor. Similarly, you don’t want to travel without the correct tool to remove dust, debris and smudge marks from your camera’s lenses. Luckily, the tool for this job is extremely small and compact. All you need is a decent microfiber cloth.
In a pinch, you could try using a soft shirt to clean your lens, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Given how much lenses cost, their glass should always be treated with care. And a good microfiber camera cloth takes up basically no space in a camera bag. They also cost very little. Do yourself a favour, and make sure you carry one with you and your camera gear at all times.
Bonus tip: if you pick up a compact camera air blower, blow the dust off the end of your lens first, and then give it a wipe. This will ensure that there is no debris covering your glass, leaving you with pristine looking images.
Here are some microfiber cloth options for your camera kit.
Circular Polarizer Filter
Arguably the most important filter for landscape photographers, a circular polarizer helps cut reflections on things like water and tree leaves, providing more saturation and contrast in your images. When travelling abroad to a place with epic landscapes, I’d argue that a circular polarizer is the one filter you should for sure carry in your kit.
As you grow as a photographer and videographer, you will likely acquire a collection of different filters for different scenarios. And sure, there are a ton of different filters that could be deemed essential for travel photography and videography. This article is focused on keeping your camera set up compact, however, and I think a circular polarizer filter is the one filter that is a must for an adventure that includes some epic landscape shots. You wouldn’t want to show up to an epic landscape only to find the scene covered in super harsh light, with reflections ruining the colour of the water you dreamed of seeing. A circular polarizer filter will help cut through the reflection, providing you with a vivid image, even in harsh lighting conditions.
There are a number of different brands that make good quality circular polarizer filters. I currently use PolarPro’s version, and have been really happy with the results so far. K&F Concept, Tiffen, Urth and B+W also make high quality filters. You can check out some of the various filter options here.
Just make sure you get a filter that matches the thread size of your lens! You can find your lens’s thread size typically on the end of the lens where the glass is. There should be a circle with a line through it, and then a number beside it. That number is your lens thread size. So, if your lens says 77, you need a 77mm filter.
iPhone SD Card Reader
In keeping with the compact travel camera set up theme, I generally don’t bring a laptop with me when I travel. This means that I need to somehow get my RAW images from my camera to my iPhone so that I can edit them in Lightroom Mobile.
Sure, Sony has their Imaging Edge app, which allows you transfer photos wirelessly. I have had mixed experiences with that app and it’s reliability, however, so I wanted a more consistent way to transfer photos to my phone while I’m on the go. Thankfully, Apple makes a USB card reader with a lightning plug so that you can connect your SD card directly to your phone and import RAW images right into Lightroom Mobile. It’s a super small piece of gear, so it takes up literally no space in your camera bag, and it takes away the hassle of hoping your phone connects to your camera’s in-house app for image transfer.
You can check out the Apple Lightning to SD Card Reader Here, or, for newer iPhones or other devices, you can check out the Apple USB-C to SD Card Reader Here.
Camera Wrist Strap
Camera neck straps are a great choice for a lot of photography situations, however I have come to find a small camera wrist strap is essential for a true compact travel camera set up. The camera wrist strap takes up literally no space in your bag, and it also keeps your camera’s overall footprint really small. This is key when walking around snapping photos in a local town, or when you’re out for dinner and you’ve left your camera on top of the table. The smaller the camera footprint, the less attention you’ll draw to your precious camera gear.
My favourite is the Peak Design Cuff Camera Wrist Strap, however there are a lot of great ones out there that fit a variety of styles.
Conclusion
Most travel photographers and videographers would agree that a reliable camera body, a wide angle lens and a few extra memory cards are essential for any travel camera kit. But there are arguably a few more essential camera accessories for travel photography that all travel photographers should carry. Inexpensive tools that keep your camera lenses and sensor clean, like compact air blowers and microfiber cloths, help ensure that your camera is always ready to snap great images - no matter the location. Circular Polarizer filters can certainly help elevate some of your landscape photos to the next level, while SD card readers for your phone can make photo editing a breeze. Either way, aim to keep your travel camera kit light, and you will be a happier travel photographer!