What’s in My Bag?

In my previous post, I dove into my photo equipment history and what lead me from using a DSLR to a mirrorless Fuji system. When I made the switch to mirrorless it was a shift in focus to street and travel imagery and a change in where photography fit in with my life. In short, photography became a purely creative outlet and a way for me to share my work. 

With that said I’d like to share where my gear has changed since that little Fuji x100s which I had for 5 years, and touch on how my current system works for my style of shooting. You may use something completely different for capturing street and travel imagery or simply have a brand you just like and I think that’s great. We all have our own styles of shooting and needs so what works for your vs what I use may be completely different and I think that’s fine. The most important thing is you narrow down what works for your needs so you can get the gear out of the way and start shooting. 

Below is a listing of the gear I use currently for creating all the new imagery on this site. You can use any of the links below to jump to that section of the article or simply scroll down to read it all. 

Camera System: Fuji or Sony

Camera: Fujifilm X-T3

Lens 1: Fujinon 23mm f2

Lens 2: Fujinon 50mm f2

Bag 1: Chrome Barrage Cargo Backpack

Bag 2: Manfrotto Shoulder Bag

Strap: Peak Design Wrist Strap

Camera Attachment: Peak Design Capture Clip

Battery: Watson B-2109

Additional Power: Anker Battery Pack

Tripod: SIRUI AM-025K Ultra Lightweight Carbon Travel Tripod

Filter Kit: Gobe Filters

Portable Storage: Sandisk External HD & USB Card Reader

Travel Computer: Microsoft Surface Pro 3 

When it came time to finally move beyond my little x100s in 2018 I looked at the camera market and ended up focusing on Fuji and Sony as the brands I would conder for my next camera. Nikon and Canon had just announced or released their systemes at this time, but I did not feel comfortable jumping into a new mirrorless system that just entered the market and instead wanted something a bit more mature. I had been keeping tabs on Sony as they had a really fleshed out system for full frame mirrorless with plenty of accessories, lenses, etc. In a similar way Fuji had established themselves on the APSC mirrorless end.

Both of them also met my initial criteria for interchangeable lenses, weather sealing, smaller bodies, and had great video and photo capabilities. For photography Sony had the edge in low light because it was full frame and had inbody stabilization. Sony also had great autofocus which today is really industry leading with their eye autofocus system. Fuji on the other hand had great colors that I’ve been very happy with, manual controls on the body, and decent low light and autofocus performance.  Both had a good lineup of primes so I could create a relatively small kit with either one, however Fuji would have the edge here as APSC is just physically smaller than full frame so the overall package would be smaller. 

What ultimately swayed me was circling back to how I liked to shoot which was using manual controls as I like the idea of just looking at my camera to know where my settings are at without having to look at my screen when I’m out and about. In addition, since I don’t shoot sports or fast moving things often I was completely fine with the focusing abilities of the Fuji. I also liked how Fuji had been supporting their cameras over the years with constant updates which had made their cameras improve over time which is great for someone that tends to keep their camera gear for a while.

When I looked at the Fuji lineup my choices were focused on the weather sealed models, the X-Pro2, X-H1, and X-T3 as I knew that I wanted to take photos in poor conditions such as rain or snow. After looking at them and holding them in my hand, the X-H1 took 3rd place for me because it had the biggest body even though the IBIS was very tempting. The X-Pro2 was very nice looking but lacked the video capabilities that I may want to play with in the future. This placed the X-T3 as my first choice and as it was just released around this time it had the most future proof features. So I ended up going with the X-T3 and all the new images I’ve been posted in the last 1.5 years have been shot with this camera.

Now with all the latest rumors of an X-T4 with IBIS it’s very tempting but I still feel like I’ve hardly scratched the surface of my X-T3 so I’ll likely hold off unless I start hitting walls with what i’m trying to do. 

Pros: 

• Great image quality

• Compact

• Weather sealing

• Great price for what you get 

Cons: 

• Not as great low light as a full frame

• No IBIS 

Since I shoot street and travel I stuck with primes as they provide great optics in a small package. Choosing my first lens to accompany the X-T3 was also easy as I wanted to keep the same focal length as what I was used to with the x100s. This was a focal lenght of 23mm (35mm equivalent in full frame). This focal lengh was wide enough for me to capture a street scene and if I wanted wider or a bit tighter I could move back or forward. 

Fuji has two great lenses at this focal length one an f2 and an f1.4. Both had great optics and build quality, but I ended up with the f2 version because it was smaller, had better autofocus, and most importantly was weather sealed. The f1.4 would be really nice but that weather sealing was a deal breaker as I know I wanted to shoot in tougher conditions. 

Pros: 

• Compact

• Great image quality

• Weather sealing

Cons: 

• Would be nice to have f1.4 with weather sealing

For the my second prime I had similar criteria in mind such as weather sealing and good optics, but a difficult time trying to decide on the focal length. I know that I wanted a lens for portraits so was looking at something above the 50mm range but not sure if I wanted to do something at the further telephoto end such aa 135mm equivalent. When I then sat down to think about how I’d use it I felt that having a lens at 135 would leave too big of a gap between my 35mm and possibly limit my options on what I could shoot.  It would also be a larger lense and as my goal was to keep as small of a kit as possible this challenged that notion. So I opted for the smaller size again and a focal length I could do portraits and other things with which that lead me to the 70 - 80 mm range. 

Fuji again had two great lenses in this range another f2 and f1.4, but only the f2 was weather sealed so that is what I went with. This was also the smaller of the two which was an extra benefit and this would give me a 76 mm equivalent focal length in full frame. 

Pros: 

• Compact

• Great image quality

• Weather sealing

Cons: 

• Would be nice to have f1.4 with weather sealing

When I stared out in photography I purchased a dedicated camera backpack that just had my camera gear. I would use this bag when I went out shooting and had another bag that I would use for going to work, hiking, etc. 

Now that I have a smaller system I don’t exactly need a dedicated bag and I also wanted to move to something that I could use for going to work, to the gym, or bring with me when I take photos. In addition I wanted a weather sealed bag to protect this equipment should I get caught in the elements. Lastly I wanted a backpack that did not look like a camera bag so I could be a little more discreet when traveling around. 

This lead me to look at what’s out there and I ended up going with a bag from Chrome. Chrome is a messenger focused bag company that makes sturdy bags that are meant to take abuse and keep the contents dry. This met my criteria and as it had no dividers inside I could fit all sorts of things in there and swap the contents with ease.

This has been my bag for the last few years and it’s held up well. It’s not the easiest bag to access equipment as there is only one big pocket at the top, but as I only need to open it up when I change lenses it’s not a huge issue. Also I’m willing to live with this minor inconvenience as it means it’s hard for someone to get access to my gear with it on. 

Pros: 

• Weather sealed interior lining

• Large open space

• Durable

• Multiple uses

• Does not look like a camera gab

• Only one way to access contents

Cons: 

• You have to buy your own containers to hold things in place

• Not a great bag if you want easy access to gear

Now that I had the Chrome bag I needed a smaller bag that would fit my camera gear and would fit nicely into this larger bag while leaving plenty of space for other items. I went with this Manfrotto bag as it was small and inexpensive. It can fit my camera, two lenses, extra sd cards, and a spare battery. So everything I needed for a little photo adventure fit perfectly in here and when I want to bring my camera along I just pop this into my bag.

Pros: 

• Small

• Inexpensive

Cons: 

• May be worth getting  a packing cube if you don’t plan to use the bag by itself. 

Since my days with the Fuji x100s I have not been a big user of neck straps and prefer to have my camera attached to my wrist. This allows me to have my camera in hand and ready to shoot as I walk around. This is where the Peak Design strap comes in as it can clip on to the camera and my wrist very easily and with the quick release I can take it off when I need my hands free. This accessory also works great with the Peak Design Capture Clip.

Pros: 

• Durable

• Quick release is easy to attach and detach

• Magnetics in the wrist strap allow you to wrap it around your wrist when not connected

Cons: 

• Not much I can think of

The Capture Clip has become one of my must have accessories when I go out shooting for any extended period of time. This simply attaches to the shoulder straps of my bag and has a second piece which connects to your tripod mount on your camera. You can then easily slide your camera into it to hold it in place. This is really helpful when you want to be hands free such as if you’re hiking or I use it all the time when taking public transportation. It reduces the needs to put your camera away in your bag which is again a plus as your camera is accessible.  Because it holds your camera in place it’s not flopping around which is why I prefer it over a neck strap where if you bend over or move around the camera can swing out or sideways. Lastly because of the quick release on the wrist strap you can easily move your camera from your wrist to the clip and back.

Pros: 

• Enables you to be hands free

• Holds camera in place and securely

• Can be attached to a bag without any tools

• Camera mount works for my tripod but may not work for all. 

Cons: 

• Camera attachment requires an allen key

• A little pricey

Compared to other camera companies, Fuji’s do not have the best battery life. So having an extra battery or two is a must. Since I don’t do a lot of video work yet I find that just having 1 extra battery is good enough for my style of shooting as I don’t shoot with the back LCD often and I actually turn my camera off/on while moving around. This is a habit I developed with the x100 and I still do it now with the XT3. So with one extra battery I’m usually good for the day. If I do need to power up a bit I bring along a battery pack which you can read more about next. 

Pros: 

• Not much to say they work and have proven reliable

• Cheaper than Fuji batteries

Cons: 

• Wish Fuji batteries would last longer

A battery pack has been one of my most recent purchases and has become such a great accessory when traveling or going out shooting for an extended period of time. This Anchor pack has plugs for USB C and USB A so it’s compatible with old and new devices. It’s also a more powerful battery pack so it can not only charge my phone but even my Fuji camera via USB C. This is very helpful as I don’t need to bring extra batteries with me and I can just plug in my camera when I have some downtime between shooting. Also even thou it’s adds quite a bit of weight it saves me the trouble of having to worry about locating power outlets or bringing along different charging plugs when I’m out. I just need the pack and a couple cables to plug my gear in and I have yet to ever use this pack 100% in a day. 

Pros: 

• Can charge my camera

• Reduces the need to carry adapters 

• Have yet to ever run out of power in a day

Cons: 

• Heavy

Another benefit of using a small mirrorless camera for travel and primes lenses is they do not weigh very much. So you can opt for smaller and lighter tripods which is why I picked this one up. It’s relatively affordable for a carbon tripod, packs down nicely, and will support my gear without issue. I strap this to the side of my bag and I can walk around all day without really worrying about it which is ideal. If money was no option I would probably pick up the new Peak Design Graphite Tripod as it’s similar in weight but packs down into such a small size. 

Pros: 

• Lightweight

• Compact

• Affordable for a carbon tripod

Cons: 

• No weather sealing

• Not as compact as the new Peak Design Tripod

There are a wide variety of ND filter systems out there to choose from, however for my needs I wanted a fitler system that had decent quality could be packed into a small package. I had watched some reviews and the Godox system seemed like it provided a good mix of quality and size. The filters screw onto one another so you don’t need any special holder for them and they take up little more space then an extra battery. If I was a landscape shooter I may opt for something more flexible but since I only shoot long exposure in certain situations this filter pack worked for me. However, because you have to screw things on and off it’s not as easy to work with as a filter system which you can just drop in different filters.

Tip: When buying filters opt for the setup that fits your largest lens and you can then buy inexpensive step up rings so you can attach the filter to your smaller lenses.

Pros: 

• Compact

• Screws onto a lens 

• Stacks well

Cons: 

• Not as easy to use as a larger filter system

When I got out shooting I always shoot to two SD cards at the same time just to be extra safe. I’ve never had a card fail on me yet but as you can pick up SD cards for not a lot of money I’d rather have the redundancy in place for that extra security. When I’m done shooting I simply plug the SD card into a small Transcend USB Reader that packs neatly into one of the pockets in my bag. In addition to this I also take with me a small 500gb hard drive by Sandisk. This one is very compact and provides another place for me to backup my files at the end of each day of shooting. I can then use this drive to look at my images when plugged into the computer and  again provides that extra bit of security for my images should a card go bad or get lost. 

Pros: 

• Small

• Includes USB C to A adapter

• Durable case

Cons: 

• None that I can think of

When it came to thinking about a computer device for travel I again focused on simplifying my hardware needs and looked for a device that can do a little bit of everything while on the road. Something that could be used as a computer when needed so I could backup my photos to my external drive and also a tablet for reading or editing while on the plane.  I originally looked at an iPad but 4 years ago it did not have the features that it does today such as external hard drive support. So I went with a Microsoft Surface and it’s been a great device. The surface is more laptop than tablet but I could plugin my external hard drive into via the USB port, I can run full PC software one it, and I could expand the storage easily by adding a Micro SD card. It’s been a reliable machine to this day however as it’s a few years old it’s starting to show it’s age and it may be something I upgrade over the next year or two. 

Pros: 

• Can plugin external hard drives

• A full computer

• Easy to expand storage

• Runs Capture One

• Detachable keyboard

Cons: 

• Battery life is not as good as pure tablet

• Not as good when used as a tablet as a pure tablet

In Conclusion:

Thanks for getting to the bottom of the post as I know that was long. I do hope this breakdown was helpful and provided some insight into how my gear selections fits my specific needs, which again may be very different then what you use but that’s also what makes photography fun.

Lastly, this post surprisingly took a lot more time to do than I expected because I wanted to experiment shooting the gear myself. I’m by no means a product photographer and this little experiment provided me with a whole level of appreciation for the amazing product photographers out there as it was not easy for me at least to do something straight forward like these shots. It was fun to try something different and I learned how important it is to get as much right in camera for these types of images as most of the post work involved me cutting the product out of the background. But if you’re curious these were all taken with my Fuji camera, a 7 year old single speedlight shot through an umbrella, some white and black paper, and all on my kitchen counter. The only image not taken with this setup was the photo of the camera itself. That was with taken with my phone and edited in Photoshop :). I also totally forgot to shoot the Surface computer or Hard Drive but next time I’ll have to create some kind of shot list so I don’t forget something. Anyways thanks again for reading and I’d be totally interested in what you use and why, especially if you shoot street and travel.