
Picture this: You're about to go on the destination footage trip of a lifetime, but you can't bring all of your favorite equipment with you we've all been there. Which camera should I bring? Will I need this lens or that one? Next thing you know, you're sitting on your luggage, using all your strength to fit the zipper around your folded up tripod. Traveling can be stressful especially if you're a videographer or photographer. Not only do you want to make sure you have the right gear, but you also want to make sure it stays safe.
Lucky for you, we gathered advice from a few of our top-selling contributors who are always on the road and in the air with their gear. VideoBlocks contributors Gavin Hellier and Daniel Hurst and our founder, Joel Holland share their travel tips and favorite gear for on-the-go videography and photography. Take the guess work out of your planning and see what these pros have up their sleeves.
Tip #1: Take What You Need Before traveling anywhere there is one question you should ask yourself: What am I going to shoot? Whether it's video, photo, aerial, or time lapse, the camera and lenses you bring should reflect your shooting needs. So before you hit the road, it's important to know your subjects and the gear that's best-suited to capture them.
Gavin Hellier shoots time lapses and video, so he brings a trio of Canon 5D Mark III's to keep his options open on the photo side. I usually work with three cameras. Hellier says. Two are set up to shoot time lapse and one to shoot stills. For video, Hellier uses the Sony Alpha a7s II to capture the views in stunning 4K.
Check out this video from Gavin Hellier.
Daniel Hurst's weapon of choice is the RED Weapon. This workhorse of a camera shoots cinematic 8K with a dynamic range as large as the Pacific. Weighing in at only 3.3 lbs, it doesn't get much better than this. Purchasing the camera will burn a hole in your bank account, but renting it for bigger projects would be worth every penny.
Watch this video from Daniel Hurst.
In addition to well-suited gear, versatility is key when traveling. You need equipment that can do it all while maintaining a light footprint. A perfect versatile setup is the Canon 5D Mark IV paired with the Canon 24-105mm f/4 zoom lens. A favorite combo of Joel Holland, the 5D Mark IV takes amazing stills and packs 4K capabilities for video. The 24-105mm focal length is perfect for wide landscape shots and provides a good zoom length to get more reach. If I had to travel with only one lens, this would be the one, Holland notes.
Watch this video from Joel Holland.
Tip #2: Get a Quality Backpack Your equipment is as precious as a baby, and it should be treated as such. A quality backpack will keep your cargo safe and make traveling a whole lot easier. Both Holland and Hellier use Lowepro backpacks. They're comfortable, well-padded, and have plenty of storage for all of your gear. The Lowepro Photo Sport BP 300 AW II also has a built-in camelback for easy hydration.
Check out this video from Gavin Hellier.
Tip #3: Use the Light Around You All three of our featured contributors use natural lighting for most of their shoots with the help of a reflector. Depends on the situation, Hurst says, many times a pop-up diffuser/reflector is all I will need. Again, pack what you need. It's just not practical to carry studio lights that require power when you're hiking in the mountains. And it's impossible to light an entire landscape with a light that fits in your backpack. The solution: follow the pros. Both Hellier and Hurst use pop up reflectors to bounce or diffuse light with ease. Hellier uses handheld reflectors by Lastolite. For bouncing light on a budget, check out Neewer's 5-in-1 reflector.
Check out this video from Daniel Hurst.
But what good are reflectors if you plan to shoot long exposures at night? This type of shooting requires another tool an intervalometer. Holland uses an intervalometer to reduce any shake that comes from pressing the shutter button on the camera resulting in clean and crisp long exposures.
Watch this video from Joel Holland.
If artificial lighting is a must, then LEDs are the way to go. Small and portable LED lights are hot right now, and you can find them just about anywhere at an affordable price. The Aputure H198 Amaran packs a punch for its size and is perfect for getting extra light while on-the-go.
Tip #4: Bring Extra Batteries and Memory Traveling usually consists of over-shooting and long days away from plugs, so power and memory are of the utmost importance. Fortunately, batteries and storage have become extremely affordable. There is nothing worse than missing the perfect shot because you didn't spring for an extra battery or memory card. Joel says.
Watch this video from Joel Holland.
While grabbing extra batteries is a must for traveling, this also means more things to charge. Hellier provides great insight into solving this problem: Most of my work is based out of hotels, so I carry a bag of plugs, extension cables, etc, enabling me to charge multiple devices at the same time.
Check out this video from Gavin Hellier.
Storage wise, a few terabytes of memory cards and extra hard drives will serve you well. That way, you can backup your content and clear the cards for your next adventure.
Tip #5: Carry-on the Goods Like most valuables, you probably don't want to check your bag filled with expensive lenses and cameras only for it to get tossed around on a conveyor belt. Hurst, Hellier, and Holland agree that you should carry on any fragile equipment. Check ahead with the airlines and know the restrictions for checked and carry-on gear, Hurst notes. You may have to make room for any batteries or electronics that are carry-on only.
Watch this video from Daniel Hurst.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
13/03/2026
Over a year ago, L3Harris delivered the first missionized Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Two ATHENA-R platforms now average 400+...
13/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/03/2026
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced Spectrum X Plus, the newest generation of its Spectrum X media server, offering double the channel density of previous ...
13/03/2026
When Ewing Covenant Church made the decision to return to its original, historic building, affectionately called 1867 Sanctuary for weekly worship, the congre...
13/03/2026
Marshall Electronics introduces its first all-IP 4K POV camera, the CV574-WP, at NAB 2026 (Booth C8339). The CV574-WP supports NDI |HX, providing ultra-efficien...
13/03/2026
At NAB Show 2026, Net Insight introduces Nimbra 520, a high-density media processing node designed to simplify live contribution and distribution across both ma...
13/03/2026
Abandon Editorial Signs With Micha l Dimitri for West Coast Representation
Brie Clayton March 12, 2026
0 Comments
Abandon Editorial is excited to part...
13/03/2026
Documentary The Bulldogs Shot and Edited with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton March 12, 2026
0 Comments
Editorial tools helped shape film in real time,...
13/03/2026
AE Captions as Fast as CapCut - No Plugins
Graham Quince March 12, 2026
0 Comments
Stop wasting hours clicking through nested compositions and manuall...
13/03/2026
New Music USA and Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice Announce 2026 Nex...
13/03/2026
RT has announced today that Rick O'Shea is the new presenter of Arena RT Radio 1's flagship weeknight arts and culture programme. Rick has been pres...
13/03/2026
Lights! Camera! Action! The 98th Oscars set to air live as RT backs the Irish n...
12/03/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 11th March, 2026 - Yospace, the trusted leader in Dyna...
12/03/2026
Utah Scientific Expands Technology Partner Program With Integrations From Audina...
12/03/2026
Techex, a global expert in live video solutions over IP and cloud, announces the appointment of Matt McKee as Senior Director, Sales, Americas, further strength...
12/03/2026
KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America has appointed Mondae Hott as Regional Sales Manag...
12/03/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, Interra Systems will showcase its latest advancements in a...
12/03/2026
The 15th National Games of China concluded after a two-week celebration of athletic excellence and regional collaboration. Held from Nov. 9-21 across Guangdong,...
12/03/2026
Live-production academic program Butler Sports Live produced a total of 40 fall-...
12/03/2026
The University of Nebraska's HuskerVision has completed the second phase of ...
12/03/2026
Grass Valley and integration partner Tab M Solutions have completed Phase 1 of a...
12/03/2026
The broadcaster expands its campus-production model as the university handles tw...
12/03/2026
Disney has announced the addition of March Madness - the NCAA Division I Men...
12/03/2026
Apple TV's Friday Night Baseball MLB doubleheader series returns for its f...
12/03/2026
The senior from New Jersey is making his mark in South Bend, both on the mic and behind it...
12/03/2026
After a relatively quiet January, the month of February was jammed packed with l...
12/03/2026
Long-time production partner Echo Entertainment is producing the broadcast, while Cosm played a vital role in the collaboration...
12/03/2026
By Jessica Herndon
We love kicking off each year by introducing the world to po...
12/03/2026
Samrat Chakrabarti, George Basil, Kiran Deol, Katie McCuen and Vishal Vijayakumar attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Didn't Die at the Lib...
12/03/2026
In Latin America, women are shaping music and defining its future. To kick off t...
12/03/2026
En Am rica Latina, las mujeres est n moldeando la m sica y definiendo su futuro....
12/03/2026
Let's turn back the clock 20 years: The music landscape was a world away fro...
12/03/2026
Bad Bunny is no stranger to Spotify's Billions Club. In fact, he has a whopp...
12/03/2026
Spotify was at the London Book Fair this week, joining conversations across the publishing industry about how people can make reading part of their daily lives....
12/03/2026
Mastering tool improves mono compatibility
Tokyo Dawn Labs' Ohlhorst Digital range is a series of mastering-focused plug-ins developed by Jan Ohlhorst, ...
12/03/2026
Wave FX processor integrated into four products
Lewitt have teamed up with Elgato to create a new processor for the company's Wave Next product range, i...
12/03/2026
Free tool for annotating audio files
Mix Notes is a new, free iOS App that provides users with a simple way to annotate their audio files. It's been cre...
12/03/2026
Side-chain ducking tool gets an upgrade
Devious Machines' popular side-chaining and envelope-shaping tool has just been kitted out with an improved enve...
12/03/2026
Ceremony to take place on 16 April 2026
The MPG (Music Producers Guild) have revealed the full shortlist for this year's MPG Awards, which will be takin...
12/03/2026
Emulates three classic dbx 160 variants
The latest arrival to Overloud's Gem Series plug-in range faithfully recreates not one, but three versions of th...
12/03/2026
New granular soft synth announced
Said to be their most advanced software synthesizer to date, Baby Audio's latest release has been built on a new granu...
12/03/2026
Latest version now live!
Edit 11 March 2026 - Bitwig Studio 6 is now live, and available for all to download!
The latest version of Bitwig's DAW softwa...
12/03/2026
Latest free eBook now available!
Designed for recording engineers, audio-technology students and technically minded musicians, our latest free eBook deliver...
12/03/2026
AFL and NITV partner to launch new First Nations led program Inside the Huddle&...
12/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity expands SITLine network encryptor portfolio - more...