The Best Camera for Family + Travel Photos
I am constantly fielding messages from family, friends and clients asking what camera or lens they should buy. These are tough questions to answer, because my priorities (and willingness to pay $$$ to get them) are often much different than the average mom who just wants to be able to take better pictures of her kids. I have a post a while back that offers advice on choosing a camera to fit your needs (read that here). But today I’m going to dive into what I now actually use as my everyday camera.
As a photographer, I rarely leave the house without a camera. Not just my iPhone, but a dedicated camera. Sure my phone is handy, but I often find it lacking in difficult lighting situations. In the early days, I would buy bags that allowed me to take my big professional DSLR with me everywhere. I tried ALL. THE. BAGS. Scouring the internet for a bag that wasn’t too big, too small, too heavy, too ugly, or that made it too difficult to access my camera…
For years I lugged that heavy DSLR (and a diaper bag) all over town, to the beach, and on vacations big and small.
Until September 2018…
It was then that I decided to book a street photography workshop in Paris with the incredible Valerie Jardin, over one year in advance. Over and over again I heard her that she did not recommend using a huge DSLR for street photography. As a street photographer, you want to be as inconspicuous as possible. And well, a big camera is something people notice.
So I was determined to find less conspicuous cameras that would fit my needs and wants, be easy to carry and travel with comfortably and maybe even be something I would be able to use professionally. When I found the what I felt would be the best camera for me, I bought it and turned my research to a bag to carry it in.
Seriously y’all. I did SO. MUCH. RESEARCH and bought and returned so much gear (thank you Amazon Prime!) that my UPS guy teased me about how often he stopped at my house.
But enough of the stories. Let’s get to the good stuff…my perfect cameras, lens and bag combo for travel (and everyday use):
THE CAMERA: FUJIFILM XT-3
This camera has everything I want, and almost everything I need, all wrapped up in a compact, easy to carry and use package. The only thing stopping me from switching to it completely is that it just can’t compete with the low-light capabilities of my Nikon D850 (crucial for a birth photographer). Otherwise, it turns out some pretty gorgeous images. So good in fact, that I often find myself just sending the JPEGS to my phone to quickly edit in Lightroom mobile instead of taking the time to process the RAW images on a computer.
Besides the truly lovely images it makes, some of my favorite features of the Fujifilm XT-3 are:
External controls that keep me from diving into the menu to change settings while I’m shooting (these are a MUST for me).
Fujifilm’s Classic Chrome film simulation and the ability to set custom presets (Hello perfectly edited photos straight out of the camera!)
The articulating touch screen…on which I can touch to focus and touch to shoot.
TINY lenses that literally fit in your pocket.
Watch this video for more about the camera and all of the features I love. There is a bonus camera option featured in the video too!
I would so appreciate you using these affiliate links if I have inspired you to purchase the products featured in this video
Fujifilm XT-3 Fujifilm X100V Fujinon 23mm f/2 Fujinon 10-24mm f/4
THE BAG: PACSAFE CITYSAFE CX17 + TENBA BYOB 9
My list of must-haves for my camera bag might have been longer than my list for the camera itself. This bag needed to be large enough to fit the gear and personal items that I wanted to carry each day, but not so large as to be bulky or too heavy. It needed to be a safe place to store my belonging with compartments that zipped and places to hide my valuables (keep walking pickpockets!). I was headed to Paris and the French are known for being snazzy dressers on the daily, so the bag absolutely needed to be stylish.
Initially, I found a crossbody camera purse that I thought would be great for my trip to France with this camera. It ticked all the boxes. Stylish, the right size, a zipping main compartment and several hidden zip pockets too.
But then, three and a half months before my trip, I was in a terrible car accident that left me struggling with neck and shoulder pain. I was finding it difficult to carry any weight that wasn’t evenly distributed and begrudgingly came to the conclusion that I was really going to need a backpack.
Enter the Pacsafe Citysafe CX17. I could not have been any more THRILLED to find this backpack. The thought of carrying a backpack made me so nervous because they are just so easy for pickpockets to get into (and the ones that aren’t are pretty ugly…I mean utilitarian). But the Citysafe has an absolute plethora of anti-theft features and it’s a gorgeous bag to boot! I paired it with the Tenba BYOB 9 camera insert, which I found to be the perfect size for my Fujifilm XT-3 and more lenses than I should have brought.
Here are the features on this bag that I really appreciated while traveling with it:
Exterior side pockets. I actually brought the smaller Citysafe CX11 backpack with the intention of using it as my daily bag. It doesn’t have side pockets and after a day of opening it 145,697,843 times to get to my water bottle and umbrella, I switched to the CX17 for the convenience of having these 2 things accessible without unlocking and opening the bag.
Nylon Material. While this bag isn’t waterproof, it can handle getting wet. Which is great, because it rained the whole trip. (The Tenba is waterproof, so I wasn’t worried about my camera getting wet.) Scuff marks are easily removed with a soft toothbrush and dish soap.
Light lining that makes it easy to see inside
Anti-theft EVERYTHING.
Did I make you a video on all of these bags? Sure did!
I would so appreciate you using these affiliate links if I have inspired you to purchase the products featured in this video
CitySafe CX17L Backpack CitySafe CX11L Backpack Tenba BYOB 9 Insert JoTotes Allison Bag
There you have it, friends! My pick for the best camera for family and travel photos, some lens suggestions and the perfect bag to carry it all in. I hope this has been helpful.
On a final note, I want to stress that any camera is only as good as the photographer. Lucky for you, learning to take great pictures isn’t hard. You just need a little instruction and practice. When you’re ready to learn, check out The Mom Workshop, a hands-on video e-course that will have you mastering the basics and improving your pictures in no time at all.
