Thoughts on equipment for traveling

I have recently realized how my humble collection of techno-geeky photographic equipment has grown above and beyond anything I could have imagined just several years ago. This awakening came over me when I had to return a recently purchased photo backpack in favor of the “extra large” backpack at B&H.

Not to show off what’s in the backpack (because anybody with enough dough can purchase the same set and having spent six grand on lenses does not make anyone a good photographer) I just want to list the items to give you an idea of equipment I haul around to weddings and other photo shoots:

• Canon 5D Body with Vertical Grip
• Canon 24-70 2.8 Lens
• Canon 70-200 2.8 IS Lens
• Canon 50 1.8 Lens
• Canon 15 2.8 Lens
• Canon 100 2.8 Macro Lens
• Canon 17-40  Lens
• 2 Canon Flashes
• EEEPC (covered in a post below)
• Batteries, Cables, Chargers, Card Reader, External HD for backups  ….

As you, avid photographers can imagine, this arsenal of lenses and electronics weights close to a small elephant. Although all of this equipment fits into the extra large backpack, traveling with this small elephant on your back in exhaustive and that’s where  the challenge of picking the right stuff comes in.

To be honest, it took me a very long time to find the right recipe for what to take on the road. Naturally, I want to bring all my toys with me but practically, I needed a good range of lenses to get me through the vacation without killing my  back. It’s also worth noticing that one of the Canon 5D’s caveats is that it does not have a built in flash – this means that I always carry an external speedlight.

So … to make the long story short, through experimentation of trial and error, I found the best equipment to haul around town, or bring overseas, is:

• Canon 5D Body without Vertical Grip
• Canon 24-70 2.8 Lens
• Canon 70-200 2.8 IS Lens
• Canon 580 EX  Flash
• Batteries, Chargers, Card Reader, Cables

… and miracously, all of  this fits into my smaller slingback bag. When traveling oversees, the EEEPC will prove to be a savior (this, I have yet to test) for backups, quick editing, blogging and communications when on the road.

Your friend and student of life

S.