A camera bag can hold a lot of things. It fits the camera and lens, plus there are other things that may or may not be helpful for your photography. Sometimes, at first, there are so many things that seem necessary but are not used. How many things have you collected in your camera bag?
Depending on its size, a camera bag usually holds one or two cameras and a set of lenses. If you use flash for photography, the content will also have several flashes, lighting controls and items that allow you to place the flash somewhere, maybe even the Frio Hold system, which I recently reviewed on Fstoppers.
When we talk about camera bags, we usually only refer to the camera equipment inside. It’s about carrying the necessary lenses with you and leaving the stuff you don’t need for that particular shoot at home. There’s no point in having a macro lens in your pocket if you’re only shooting portraits, unless, of course, your macro lens doubles as a portrait lens. Another example is a long telescope lens, which has no real use for portraiture. Otherwise, leave a 50mm or 85mm lens at home if you plan to shoot landscapes. A zoom lens will work just fine.
Lenses and cameras are usually housed in the main compartment of the camera bag. However, most camera bags have plenty of extra pockets to hold small items. These bags can hold a lot of things and it’s all too easy to fill them with all sorts of accessories that may or may not be useful.
What Accessories Do You Take With You?
There are a few items that you should bring with you. Put one or more spare batteries and some additional memory cards in your camera bag. After all, you don’t want to run out of power or storage space. If your lenses need cleaning, a microfiber cloth can save you time.
But is it really necessary to carry a battery charger with you? Or a card reader? Or a set of elastic bungee balls? Or a bunch of different USB cables? Over time, you may have accumulated a lot of small items in the spare pocket of your camera bag, thinking they might come in handy one day.
Some items can be added to your bag because you need them once, while others can be purchased on a whim. It’s all too easy to keep these in your little pocket, even though you hardly ever use them. With many small bags, over time more items will be added.
What I found in my pocket
I recently bought a new camera backpack for my travel. I need a big bag that can carry some spare clothes and lunch. After I received the new bag, I emptied the old one completely. I was surprised how many accessories were inside. Some I put in my pocket because I thought they would come in handy if needed. The following accessories I found stashed in my old camera bag, accumulated over the years:
- Three carabiners (two sizes)
- Various charging cables (Lightning, USB-C and micro-USB cables)
- Power cable for battery charger (charger not included)
- Some lenses and camera caps
- Nodal slides
- Angle finder
- Velcro straps
- Elastic lanyard and elastic bungee ball loop
- Four microfiber cloths
- AAA batteries (some used even)
- AA Eneloop battery
- Allen hex keys have different sizes
- Some camera batteries
- Spare memory cards (even a few CF cards I don’t use anymore)
- Arca-Swiss . backup camera plate
- Two lens reversal rings (two sizes)
- Small empty accessory bag
- Trap . trigger adapter and cable
- Some pens don’t write anymore
- A tactical flashlight and a small Maglite
- Small cold shoe spirit level bubble
- Business card
- Rain cover for my camera
- A couple of shower caps (can also be used as an emergency rain cover)
- Reflective safety vest
- Wipes
- Op-Tech Camera Strap
Some of these things may be considered essential in one way or another. I mentioned spare batteries and memory cards. Other things on the list that I use regularly, like a carabiner, a flashlight, a rain cover, a safety vest, and a slide.
But other things I rarely use, if at all. Cold shoe spirit level bubbles are not needed as the camera now has horizon level built in. Trigger Trap can’t be used anymore because my phone doesn’t have a 3.5mm plug. The angle finder is redundant due to the LCD screen being tilted.
Bring only what you need
I got rid of a lot of accessories that were once essential but turned out to be superfluous. Many camera bags have enough storage space to hold these items without a problem, but they take up space. And while most accessories don’t weigh much, they all add up.
I have seen bags in my seminars and travels filled with all sorts of accessories. Some people are carrying a bag that weighs nearly 20 kg and is bulging on all sides. I advise everyone to take a close look at what you have in your camera bag. Ask yourself if you really need the accessories you have in there. If you didn’t use something in the previous year, you probably never will.
What do you bring?
Have you checked your camera bag recently? What kind of accessories do you bring with you when taking photos? Be honest and ask yourself if you really need all of that.
Perhaps you’d like to share what accessories you find essential for your photography, the ones you always have in your camera bag. I look forward to reading about them in the comments below.
