The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Camera Bags for Travel

Choosing your travel camera bag is just as crucial as preparing your gear for a trip. With every adventure, no matter how relaxed or rugged the journey can be, you always have to find the balance between keeping your bag light while still bringing all the camera gear that you might need. For the most comfortable travel, finding an ultralight backpack and knowing how to pack your travel rucksack is very important so you can enjoy every step of the journey.  

Determining the best camera backpack depends entirely on your preferences, the place you are going to, and the kind of photos you aim to take while you are there. There are various types of camera travel bags depending on the way you carry them, the amount of gear that can fit, and the kind of environment they were made for. Knowing exactly what you need for the gear you intend to bring and what will provide you with the most comfort and efficiency when travelling will mean a lot to the amount of fun and productivity you will have.   

Key Considerations for Choosing Travel Camera Bags

Size

It may seem easier to get the biggest mirrorless or DSLR camera bags for travel that you can find, thinking that having a large camera backpack with more room is always better. On travels that don’t require much walking and trekking, that may be acceptable. But you may need to consider other factors like it being the right size for a carry-on backpack. And for travels that can get more physical than usual, having a medium backpack with just enough space for your gear and personal items affects your comfort, efficiency, and even your creativity.

Weight

It is obvious that while you want your travel camera bag to protect your camera gear and personal belongings, you want to minimise the weight that you have to carry around as well. A good reliable bag should be well-padded and protected but should never add so much to the load on your back.   

Carrying Comfort

It’s important to ask yourself how much moving around you plan to do at your destination and how you carry a camera when travelling. Some travellers prefer carrying their gear on their back with travel backpacks that fasten to their body with a snug fit. Others prefer a relaxed sling body bag for easy mobility. For more compact gear, small camera bags for travel are very easy to carry on your shoulders or across the body.   

Protection and Weather Resilience

Some travels can be as easy as a stroll in the park. In these cases, camera bags only need to be light and easily accessible. Other travels invite us to deal with nature and everything that is unpredictable about it. Knowing whether you would have to deal with rain, dust, heat, or snow will guide you in choosing the right bag for your trip and finding the right water-resistant camera bag would be the answer here. 

Best for Versatile Outdoor Adventures

The Trekker Lite HP 100 is a camera bag that allows you to carry it in 3 different ways. This compact bag that can hold an APS-C mirrorless camera plus 1-2 small lenses can be carried as a shoulder bag, a small sling, or as a waist pack through the adjustable strap with an easy side-release buckle.

For slightly bigger gear requirements, the Trekker Lite SLX 120 can carry a full-frame mirrorless camera with an attached lens plus up to 2 extra lenses. The lower front panel has adjustable straps that can carry your tabletop tripod, a jacket or other portable accessories to keep your hands free while moving about. These rugged yet versatile options are made of 81% and 76% recycled and solution-dyed fabrics respectively, reducing the negative environmental impact of your travels responsibly. 

Best for Swift Travel Shooting

The Slingshot SL 250 AW III  is the perfect travel companion for on-the-go shooting while travelling. The dedicated bottom camera gear compartment can fit a mirrorless or DSLR with an attached lens, or a folding drone kit that can be accessed through the side-opening access door. The upper half can be room for other necessary accessories or personal travel items. Within that, a CradleFit pocket is embedded into the padding that can keep up to a 10” tablet safe as you explore. This sling bag can be kept in place as you move around through the stabiliser strap that can easily be unlocked to swing the bag forward to access your gear swiftly. 

Best for Full-Gear Travels

The Adventura BP 300 III and Adventura BP 150 III are camera rucksacks made for carrying all the pieces of gear that you need. The BP 300 III carries a full-frame camera with an attached lens, plus 3-4 extra lenses giving full padded protection to the entirety of the bag. The BP 150 III carries more compact APS-C cameras and 2-3 extra lenses along with personal items in the top compartment. Both bags have side pockets and attachment straps for tripods, water bottles, and other necessary accessories.   

Best for All-day Explorations

For those long days of exploring your destination where you have to be ready to shoot anything you might find, the Fastpack BP 250 AW III and Fastpack Pro BP 250 AW III are the backpacks tailored for you. The Fastpack BP 250 AW III carries your mirrorless or DSLR camera with 2-3 extra lenses or a foldable drone, along with a 13” laptop, a tablet, and personal items. The Fastpack Pro BP 250 AW III carries larger professional mirrorless or DSLR bodies or ones with portrait grip attached with 2-3 extra lenses or a drone. This also carries up to a 15” laptop in addition to the personal gear that can be placed in the top compartment. The Fastpack and Fastpack Pro backpacks have a QuickDoor easy-access side opening that extends to the front that gives access to the entire length of the camera gear compartment. These backpacks are also equipped to protect your gear through harsh weather with the included All Weather (AW) cover that reinforces the coated fabrics against rain, dust, and snow.

Best for Modular Lightweight Adventures

How do you carry a camera when backpacking? Some prefer keeping their hands free while some like to keep their stuff always within reach. For the perfect balance of carrying lightweight gear and being ready for more, the Trekker Lite BP 250 AW and Trekker Lite BP 150 AW backpacks offer the utmost logistical flexibility. Both backpacks are made to carry your travel essentials and personal items for a day hike or even longer. These lightweight backpacks made of 80% and 79% recycled and solution-dyed fabrics offer flexibility when you need more room. Each bag comes with a removable GearUp camera insert that can be accessed and pulled out from the side. This removable camera compartment can then be turned into a standalone shoulder bag through the supplied strap. The Trekker Lite BP 250 AW can carry a full frame mirrorless camera with an attached standard zoom lens along with an extra lens and a 15” laptop. The Trekker Lite BP 150 AW can carry an APS-C mirrorless camera kit, 1-2 small lenses, as well as a 13” laptop. On the side is an accessory pocket perfect for water bottles, and on the lower front portion are easily adjustable straps that can hold larger accessories like a jacket or a travel-sized tripod.   

Carrying with Purpose

Travelling is an exercise of freedom and curiosity. Photography is the process through which our travels become an art. When we go to places we’ve never been to, and photograph things we’ve never seen, we want to have our full attention on the experience and never have to worry about the gear we carry and its protection, discover our anti-theft backpacks. Having the right travel camera bag prevents us from being distracted as we wander around with our minds and our feet.