What’s In Our Camera Bag? All The Gear We Use As Part-Time Travel Creators

Wondering what’s in our camera bag and what gear we use as part-time travel creators? Whether you’re simply curious or searching for the best beginner content creation gear, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve put together a complete list of every piece of photography and videography equipment in our collection, along with our honest recommendations on what gear you actually need if you’re looking to start creating content of your own.

David’s Camera

David is a Nikon enthusiast and uses a Nikon Z6 for all of his photography. His current lens is the Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8, and we typically shoot at 24mm, which gives that wide angle look travel influencers are known for.

It’s worth noting that David had been shooting with this camera for many years before we started traveling and creating content together. If you’re a beginner, we would not recommend investing in a camera at this level unless you’re serious about getting into photography. To be honest, even I can’t shoot with his camera beyond automatic mode!

For accessories, David uses a camera strap and a polarizer filter for his lens. A polarizer is especially helpful when shooting in bright sunlight, as it reduces glare and enhances color saturation for more vibrant, true-to-life shots.

Stella’s Camera

My camera is a Nikon Z30, which is primarily a vlogging camera — though it takes great photos as well. I chose it specifically because the screen flips out, allowing me to see myself while filming.

Although I love this camera, I’ll be honest — I rarely use it anymore when we travel. My handheld footage was far too shaky when shooting on the go, and it’s simply much more convenient to pull out my iPhone for quick video clips. These days, I primarily use the Z30 for stationary “talking head” style videos on a tripod. My one real complaint is that it tends to overheat quickly, which can be frustrating in the middle of a shoot.

For accessories, I have the Z30 Creator Kit, which comes with a small tripod, a clicker, and a “dead cat” microphone. I also use a camera strap and a polarizer filter, and I have a gimbal as well — though we rarely use it while traveling since it can be cumbersome to carry and set up on the go.

David & Stella’s iPhones

You might be surprised to learn that we shoot the majority of our YouTube videos on iPhones rather than our cameras. We’ve used everything from an iPhone 8 all the way up to our most recent iPhone 17 Pro, and the quality just keeps getting better. It’s so much easier to grab a phone and start shooting than to stop and pull out a full camera setup — which is exactly why a good quality smartphone is our number one recommended piece of gear for new content creators.

We also use polarizer filters on our iPhones. We love the brand Moment, as they make filter mounts and phone case mounts that work seamlessly together. I use a Moment universal screw-on mount, while David uses a Neewer case mounting system specific to his phone.

I’m also a huge fan of the newer phone cases with crossbody straps. Having my phone easily accessible makes it so much easier to capture content on the go. Plus, it definitely helps me not lose it, too!

We also keep a phone tripod on hand for “talking head” style videos while traveling. And for those of you who aren’t content creators, a phone tripod is also a fantastic tool for taking group photos on vacation!

Gimbals

If you want to be a travel creator, a gimbal is an essential piece of gear. Gimbals give you smooth, stable, balanced footage, which is exactly how we shoot most of our resort walkthrough tours. You can go with a gimbal that attaches to your phone or camera, or opt for an all-in-one gimbal camera.

We recently purchased the all-in-one DJI Osmo Pocket 3 and are absolutely obsessed with it. It’s super lightweight, easy to use, and far more discreet than a phone gimbal. We recently took it on a cruise and used it to film all of our footage and it was SO convenient! We think this is a fantastic investment for vloggers and travel creators who are ready to upgrade from a phone. Just keep in mind that this camera is video only, so you’ll still need your phone or camera for photos.

We also use the DJI Osmo Mobile 6 phone gimbal. We’ve tried several phone gimbals over the years, but this one is by far our favorite. This model also features an auto-tracking function that moves the camera to follow its subject — a total game changer for solo and couples creators!

Action Cameras

Action cameras are portable, rugged, and the perfect solution for capturing fast-paced, high-energy footage. We have two, but our go-to for snorkeling and driving videos is our GoPro Hero 8. It’s an older model that can be hard to find now, so we’d recommend picking up the Hero 10 instead. In our opinion, you don’t need the latest and greatest GoPro. No need to upgrade regularly like with a phone!

If you want to capture the half-in, half-out underwater shots you see all over Instagram, you’ll need a GoPro dome. We don’t use ours all that often, but it’s a great thing to have on hand. And here’s a handy little hack — the dome handle floats and has a wrist strap, so we often attach the handle directly to our GoPro without the dome for added security while snorkeling.

We also recently added an Insta360 camera to our collection, which captures a full 360 degrees of footage. Honestly, we haven’t done too much with it yet. I personally find both the camera and its editing software to be a bit confusing, and the footage style isn’t quite my preference. However, it may be worth exploring if 360 content appeals to you!

Drone

We fly the DJI Mini SE, one of the smaller and more lightweight drones on the market. It’s a fantastic option for beginners, as it takes up very little space and falls within the drone weight restrictions of many countries. Ours has seen quite a bit of wear and tear over the years, so we’ve been wanting to upgrade for a while now. Unfortunately, the recent DJI product ban in the US has put those plans on hold for the time being!

Audio Equipment

Good audio quality is incredibly important when making YouTube videos, so a wireless microphone set is something we highly recommend. For several years, we used a Neewer lavalier microphone set and it worked extremely well. Our only gripe was that the windscreens didn’t fit inside the carrying case — a small but strange design oversight.

Now we recently upgraded to the DJI Mic 2, and we love it. The mics are more compact and everything fits neatly inside the case. That said, we find the sound quality to be very similar between the Neewer and DJI sets, so either is a solid choice depending on your budget.

I also recently purchased a dedicated microphone for recording voiceovers on edited content — though if I’m being honest, I haven’t used it yet and have just been defaulting to our wireless mics. I think this type of microphone would be a better fit for beginner streamers and podcasters than travel creators.

Lighting Equipment

We use a mix of lighting equipment both at home and on the road. First up is a ring light, which we consider essential for filming “talking head” videos and short-form video content.

We recently added an RGB constant light to David’s gear collection as well. It’s been helpful for filming talking segments at night, and we’ve had a lot of fun experimenting with different colors for night photography. I’ll also admit — we may have used it as a flashlight on more than one occasion!

Our most recent lighting addition is a flash setup for David’s Nikon Z6, which includes the flash itself, a flash trigger, and a softbox. We’ve been experimenting with flash photography at the beach during harsh midday sun and have loved the results so far. That said, this is a much more advanced setup and is not exactly easy to take on the go — definitely one for the more serious photography enthusiasts!

Tech Accessories

Creating content on the go requires a surprising number of chargers, memory cards, and external hard drives. We’ve tried many different brands over the years, but right now we are loving the SanDisk 4TB Extreme Portable SSD external hard drive and its matching case. I think we’ve got four or five between the two of us! One heads up — prices on these have increased significantly as of 2026, so shop around for the best deal.

Backpacks

You might be wondering how we transport all of this gear, especially given that we travel carry on only. The answer is that David and I each carry a camera backpack as our personal item on flights. We also have matching crossbody sling bags that tuck neatly into our backpacks when we’re not using them.

I’m obsessed with my Brevite Jumper camera bag, which features removable and adjustable dividers designed to accommodate photography gear. I actually own it in both the regular and large size so I can meet the carry on size limits for different airlines.

David uses the Nomatic Peter McKinnon backpack — he gets a ton of compliments on it wherever we go. He also has two different sizes of matching Nomatic sling bags for carrying gear on the go.

Beginner Creator Gear Recommendations

So what do you actually need as a beginner content creator? Honestly, not much at all. We recommend starting with one of these two simple setups:

• High-quality iPhone + phone gimbal + wireless lavalier mic
• Pocket gimbal camera (such as the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 or Insta360 Luna) + wireless lavalier mic

That’s it! Don’t make the mistake of spending too much money on gear upfront. Save your budget and upgrade gradually as you start earning from your content — and trust us, for most creators, that takes time. It certainly did for us!

We hope this guide has been helpful. If you have any questions about our gear, want a specific recommendation, or are curious about what we used in a particular video, drop a comment below — we’d love to help!