I’m Leaving!

I'm not leaving YouTube, but I am heading for a three-week trip. What gear do I need and why?

I’m leaving Edinburgh for a three-week break. How do I decide what photography gear to take?

Hi, my name is Rich Dyson from Edinburgh Photography Workshop, and this is Coffee Break Photography.

I’ve had quite an increase in subscribers recently, so first of all, don’t worry, I’m not leaving YouTube. By the time you watch this video, I’ll be seven thousand kilometres from my hometown of Edinburgh. Three years after getting married, we are finally getting a honeymoon and spending just over three weeks in Canada. I am lucky in many ways. First, my job doesn’t feel like a job. When I go on a holiday, my work tools go with me, and I take pictures every day, some of which will undoubtedly end up as stock photography. Secondly, my wife is happy that I’m taking photos and capturing memories of our trips.

This week, I thought I’d share with you how I decide what gear to take and how I safely transport it. I’ve never been to Canada before, so the only way I can decide on what I need to use is a bit of experience and a bit of research. So, let’s start with the itinerary. We are starting in Vancouver, travelling to Vancouver Island, where we’ll be hoping to catch some whales on a trip. Later on, we’ll head further North on Vancouver Island and do a zodiac trip to see some black bears come down to the shoreline to feed. We’ll then travel east toward the Rockies, which will be lots of landscape photography, maybe some night photography. If lucky, we might come across grizzlies as we drive 2000 kilometres before ending up in Calgary. With that in mind, let me talk you through my thought process for the gear I’ll take.

First things first. I am transporting my equipment on a transatlantic flight, then around Canada in our hire car. Until last week, I had already decided to travel using my ThinkTank Airport Express V2 roller bag. It’s been my trusty companion for several years. That was until disaster struck. The handle on my bag finally had enough of being dragged through many photographic journeys, so I had to look for an alternative. I’ve got to say that I didn’t look beyond ThinkTank. Their bags are superb quality and their customer service is fantastic. The ThinkTank Airport Advantage XT is carry-on sized and super-light for a roller case at 3.4 kilogrammes (or 7.5 pounds). Unlike the Airport Express, the bag doesn’t have the hidden shoulder straps, so I’ll need a different bag when I am in Canada, particularly when hiking in the Rockies. That’s why I’ll pack my ThinkTank ShapeShifter bag in my suitcase. Again, it’s really light and can fold to a thin profile when empty, but it can hold a fair amount of gear. With these two choices, I have a highly protective case that can be rolled around airports and hotel lounges, then a light backpack once we are in the mountains.

So what’s going in the bags? I’m going to be taking two camera bodies with me. From my research about whale watching trips, if we are lucky to see these giant mammals, they will be around a hundred metres away, so I’ll need a longish lens. However, now and again, they have been known to come closer to the boats, which will need something wider. There won’t be time to switch lenses on the boat; even if there is time, the conditions could lead to spray getting inside the body as lenses are being changed. Two cameras will allow me to switch from long to wide quickly and efficiently, so I’ll pop the R5 and R6 into the bag.

That leads me to decide on lenses. As I’ve said, I want a long lens for the whales and the black bears on the shoreline in Vancouver Island. So, my first choice is my Canon RF 100-500. At 1.5kg, it is pretty light, given the lens's reach. If I throw in the 1.4 times converter, I have a focal distance reach of 700mm. That’s going to be ideal for everything I’ll be shooting.

The next choice is whether to take a 24-105mm f/4 lens or a 24-70mm f/2.8 which I am using to record this video. The former gives me an overlap to the 100-500mm lens, but I will land with the f/2.8 lens. We have already had some spectacular aurora storms this year, and I’d like to be ready with an extra stop of light coming in the lens if we are lucky enough to be in the mountains when the northern lights are visible.

The next obvious choice is to get those wide cinematic shots of the glacial lakes in the Rockies. The RF 14-35mm lens is a great lens and a no-brainer to pop into the bag. My final decision when it comes to lenses is if I bring along a 70-200mm lens as well as the 100-500mm. I’ve landed with taking it and accepting the extra weight. I’m interested in taking portraits while travelling, and shooting wide open will give me some fantastic bokeh. Fortunately, the way I have configured the ThinkTank Advantage means that the lens can be transported upright, saving space (but not weight) in the bag. I might want to add a little fill light if I shoot portraits. I’ll take my Neewer Z2 flash and the QPro transmitter for this. The only modifier I’ll take with me is the magnetic dome that clips onto the front of the flash. I’ll also be leaving lighting stands behind – but hopefully, my wife will be a suitable replacement if I need it!

OK, so I have lenses and cameras. Do you know what? They are useless if you don’t have batteries and memory cards. My spare memory cards will live in this little wallet – empty cards go in face-up, and full ones are placed in the plastic holders. I will carry six batteries – two in the camera and four in this battery holder. I have a system that allows fully charged batteries to go in the holder with the rounded side upwards. When I’ve used a battery, it goes in the holder the opposite way, so I always know which batteries I can use and which are empty. Remember, batteries need to be charged, so don’t forget to pack the chargers. I’ll be taking two. This brings me to what I think is a neat solution to travelling and charging. 

So far, I have three plugs that need to be used: two for camera batteries and one for the flash. I’ll also need a plug for my laptop, and another for my mobile phone. Rather than buying multiple UK-to-US convertors and hoping there are enough sockets in the hotel rooms. I have one plug convertor which converts this neat little extension cable. There are eight plug sockets, three USB-A sockets, and a USB-C socket. In the plug convertor are another four USB-A sockets. I’ll add affiliate links to the video below to see them on Amazon. I’ll pack these in my suitcase rather than in my camera bag.

Next up are my filters. I have used Kase filters since I saw them about eight years ago at the Photography Show in Birmingham. Seeing them drop a filter from head height onto a rock on the floor and being amazed that not only did it not splinter into a thousand pieces, but there wasn’t a scratch on the Wolverine glass. I use the Armour system, which adds even more protection with this frame that fits around the filters. The benefit of the frame is that the filters attach magnetically to the holder. I’ll probably record a video of the system in more detail when I am in Canada. There’s a link below the video that links to my affiliate link. You’ll not pay any more for the system, but I’ll get a little bit of money to help fund these videos.

My tripod will also be packed in my suitcase, again it is being used to film this video. I have used the Slik Pro Cf-833 carbon fibre tripod for four years now. I wrote about it a few months after buying it, and all the positive comments remain true today. You can scan this QR code to see that blog post (https://edinburghphotographyworkshop.com/slik-pro-cf-833-tripod-review/). On top of the tripod will be my Platypod Extreme. I know it might get cold when we are up in the mountains. The system developed by Platypod means that there are no knobs to twist to adjust the head. Pump one button to release the ball head and then pump the other to tighten it. I love this head. Don’t forget to have something to attach your camera to the tripod when taking your tripod! I’ll take this neat and compact SmallRig L-plate for the R5 and R6 cameras.

In addition, I’ll be taking along a travel tripod, the LiteTrip LT35 from Neewer. This will allow me to take video footage on my phone. Also, I’ll be taking along the Neewer CM28 lapel microphones for video recording. The receiver plugs into the phone or camera, and the two lapel mics can either be clipped onto clothes or secured through clothing with these two magnetic discs.

Next up is memory. I know I’ll be taking a ton of still pictures and recording videos. I will help with storage by carrying a couple of external SSD drives. I have labelled one for video and the other for stills. Because the drives don’t have mechanical parts, they won’t be affected by the odd bump whilst travelling, and you can see they are super-light and small. There are four terabytes of data available in these two credit card-sized drives.

My next indulgence is the Camera field monitor from Neewer. For full disclosure, the guys at Neewer have sent me this to review, which I will probably do in Canada. Again, I am using to film this video, but it has a 5.5-inch screen, making setting up landscape shots much easier. It will also allow me to record the back of the camera whilst demonstrating techniques in the field. I have started using the field monitor in my Landscape and Seascape workshops, making it much easier to demonstrate to the small groups in my sessions. It needs a battery and a charger, so these, too, will be coming along with me.

Next up is my Insta360 Go 3S. This little gadget is excellent for capturing on-the-move footage. It can be attached to a headband, there’s a selfie stick option, and there's also a stick-on holder. It has so much flexibility and only weighs a few grammes. Again, it needs to be charged, so don’t forget to take the charging cable, which also transfers the video content onto my laptop and SSD drives.

My final decision is whether to take a drone. I have a DJI Mini drone, so there are no issues with needing to be licenced by Canada’s aviation authorities. The decider has been that, from reading, many of the National Parks have banned the use of drones. I am sure that some people ignore the rules, but I am not that type of person. So, given that there will be limited use, the drone will stay at home.

The last couple of things to pack are a power bank. This one holds quite a bit of charge and has a USB-A, USB-C, and Lightning cable attached. It’s worth having this with you at all times, just in case any of my devices need a top-up in the field. My laptop has an SD card reader built-in, but just in case it goes wrong, I’m also taking a plug-in reader as a backup.

One final thing I am going to be taking is this cable bag. I hate being unable to quickly put my hands on what I need. If you throw wires, memory cards, and batteries into the pocket of your bag randomly, it becomes a nightmare trying to find anything. The more organised you can make your gear, the less stressed you’ll be, and you can concentrate on taking pictures instead of finding ‘stuff’.

My final tip when embarking on a trip is to ensure you don’t forget anything. I’ve created a tick-list Excel sheet that I’ll use when packing up before I leave. I’m also going to take a few extra copies with me so as I move from location to location; I can quickly check that I haven’t left anything behind.

While I am away, I still intend to put up content. Hopefully, you’ll join me on my trip by clicking the subscribe button here.  If you’ve enjoyed this video, it would be great if you could like it and share it by clicking on the thumbs-up button below the video. That way, a few more people will get to see it. I send out a monthly newsletter to my subscribers with news about photography, as well as exclusive offers. Scan this QR code to sign up. My name is Rich Dyson, from Edinburgh Photography Workshop, and this has been Coffee Break Photography. See you next time in Canada!