I recently returned from a two week road trip around New Zealand. Traditionally I’ve always travelled with a chunky DSLR (the Canon 60D with a handful of lenses), which made for sore backs and shoulders over the days and weeks of travelling. I’ve on the market for a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera for a little while now mostly for the purpose of travelling. After much deliberation and research, Fujifilm finally gave me a good reason to dive into their camera system with the release of the Fujifilm X-T10 in mid 2015. For the most part it met all my criteria for changing from Canon. Canon will always have a place in my photographic life and I don’t intend to be rid of it any time soon, however the Fujifilm system is inspiring me to get out there with my camera more with it’s lightweight and excellent camera and lens system.
I was very excited to be heading to New Zealand and imagined all the photo opportunities there would be, with it’s epic landscapes and countless hikes. Thinking about what to pack in terms of photography was on my mind for the few weeks leading up to my two week New Zealand trip.
I finally invested in a proper camera backpack for this trip (more on the Lowepro Photo Hatchback 22L AW in a future post) and this is what I ended up with in my bag carry on backback, with plenty of room to spare:
- Fujifilm X-T10 camera
- Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 R lens
- Fujinon XF 27mm f/2.8 lens
- Fujinon XF 18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS lens
- Fujifilm X-T10 hand grip
- Three camera batteries
- Four SD cards & card wallet
- Lenspen and cleaning cloth
- Polarising filter and step down rings
- Neutral density filter and step down rings
- Grey wrist strap from Straps by Elroobs (attached to the camera)
All my camera related gear stayed with me in my carry on which fitted perfectly under the seat of the airline, with the exception of my Induro AKB0 Adventure (stayed in my check in luggage or in the trunk of our hire card) and camera charger (stayed in my check in luggage).
Other essential travel items that I managed to easily fit in my carry on backpack included:
- Tablet (Gave me plenty of reading material throughout my trip)
- Sunnies (the light is beautiful but glaring in New Zealand)
- Prescription glasses
- iPhone 5
- Earphones
- Passport and other travel cards
- New Zealand dollars
With all the gear in my backpack it most definitely weighed under 7kg, which is the carry on weight limit for Air New Zealand and many other airlines. It was fairly comfortable to carry around airports, in transit to our accommodation or day-to-day throughout our time in New Zealand.
I used every photographic gear I carried with me at one point or another in New Zealand. I used the 18-55mm zoom lens plus the polarising filter most of the time (e.g. hikes, drives, tours). The 35mm was fantastic at night and the 27mm came out either at night or when I wanted something super lightweight and inconspicuous. Did I need any other lenses? Probably not. The tripod came out half a dozen times for long exposure shots or when self-timer shots were made.
I could always have all my gear with me if I wanted to. Given the small size it wasn’t an easy or obvious theft target. The beauty of these cameras are that they are compact, easy to carry all day long and produce excellent image quality. If I didn’t make the switch to Fujifilm, I’m not sure if my travels through New Zealand would have been as enjoyable as it was.
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