Back in March I published My “Ultimate” Fujifilm Travel Kit. In that article I stated, “A good travel kit strikes a comfortable balance between practicality and petiteness.” I really feel that I accomplished that with this kit; however, I wasn’t completely satisfied with the lenses. Specifically, I had too many lenses, some of which didn’t really serve a purpose.
To quickly recap, my “ultimate travel kit” consisted of:
– National Geographic NG2344 Earth Explorer Shoulder Bag
– Fujifilm X100V
– Fujifilm X-E4
– Fujinon 18mm f/2
– Fujinon 27mm f/2.8
– Fujinon 35mm f/2
– Peargear 10mm f/8 fisheye
– 7artisians 50mm f/1.8
– Asahi Pentax-110 50mm f/2.8
So, nine months later, I’ve made some minor modifications. I’ve eliminated the Fujinon 35mm f/2 and the Asahi-Pentax 110 50mm lenses from the kit, although I still own and use them—they just stay home when I travel. The 7artisans 50mm f/1.8 remains for now, although I do hope to replace it with a Fujinon 50mm f/2 at some point, hopefully in the coming year. With the space that’s been freed up from the eliminated lenses, I’ve added a Ricoh GR to the bag, but obviously that’s not a Fujifilm item, so it’s an unofficial tag-along.
I mentioned yesterday that I’m an “Amazon Influencer” now, which means I have a “Shop” on their website. I can create, publish, and share “Idea Lists” in my Shop. How this relates to this article is that I created an Idea List for the current iteration of My “Ultimate” Fujifilm Travel Kit. All of the items currently in my kit can now be found in the “Ultimate Fujifilm Travel Kit Idea List” in my Shop. This might be helpful to some of you.
As my travel kit evolves, I will continue to periodically share with you what those changes are. Everyone’s wants and needs are different, and so I can only tell you what works for me. In the comments, be sure to let me know what’s in your Fujifilm travel kit, and why it works for you.
I was this year for almost 5 month in Karachi/Pakistan and I like to travel with my x100v, x-T4 ( before X-H1) and 16mm 1.4 ( only 10%) and mostly 56mm 1.2 (streetpotrait and therefore 90% on X-T4/X-H1).
23mm ans 56mm are Classic Wedding lenses and you don‘t really need more..
Awesome! I bet that was quite the experience. Thanks for the input!
In my case I have my Fujifilm X100S, Marumi Exus polarizer 67mm filter, 84.5mm reverse GND and square soft GND with adapter, H&Y ND1000 67mm filter. of course the filter adapter with the step up filter, and the Fuji X app in the cellphone. All this can be fit in a very small leather pouch bag :O the high iso means that I don’t need so much a tripod.
You really only need one camera with one lens, and that certainly makes for a compact kit! Thanks for the comment!
During lockdown I started to review all my pictures for the best shots. As a side effect I know which lenses really do something for my photography. Now I came out with two kits. “Daily” is my X-Pro3 with 23mm/F2 only. No special bag, just a wrapper. “Travel” consists of X-Pro3, 14mm/F.2.8, 35mm/F1.4 + 56mm/F1.2 and lots of batteries. Always at hand: Smartphone with FujiXWeekly-App for recipes. No flash, no tripod, no filters. The bag is an old “Crumpler Jackpack” from 2012.
That sounds like a solid kit that can do it all. Thanks for the input!
That’s still too much kit for me. When I’m on vacation, I don’t want to carry stuff around. I think the X100V and the X-E4 with XF27mmF2.8 are almost the same things. I would ditch the X100V and take the X-E4, XF27mmF2.8 for snapshots, and perhaps a 50mm/55mm for family portraits. Then lots of batteries. That all fits into a Peak Design Everyday Sling 6L that I can carry all day long.
I think the reason people bring too much kit is that they are afraid they won’t have the right gear when they want it. But it’s a vacation, not a photo workshop or field trip. I think minimising the kit is all about avoiding FOMO.
The X100V has some advantages over the X-E4: weather sealing, built-in ND filter, fill-flash, leaf shutter, etc. But the X-E4 is interchangeable, which adds significant versatility. Depending on the situation, one is a better option than the other.
I used to literally take everything: every camera body and lens, but I discovered that I didn’t use most of them. Now I take two bodies and a few lenses that fit nicely into this little bag.
But it’s a vacation kit. Hopefully you’re not vacationing during rainy seasons. 😂
Lol! Actually… I like to visit places in the “off season” because it’s cheaper and they’re less crowded, so that means there might be rain….
Fair enough. I do the same.
Maybe we’ll run into each other someday while on a trip somewhere….
I don’t necessarily want this “secret” getting out, but I find my vacations are so much more enjoyable this way, even though the weather might be less than ideal.
Now that you have the Ricoh GR,I would also ditch the Fujinon 18 f/2 and the Fujifilm X100V.
Oh, no! If you set a GR (any of them) and X100V in front of me and said that I could only have one, I’d choose the X100V hands down without hesitation. The GR cameras are nice, and great for street photography, or anytime you need a pocketable camera, but I prefer the X100V, or even the X-E4 with the 18mm. Placing a GR camera into the bag is simply a bonus, good for when I need something that fits into a pants pocket or if I need to be more inconspicuous. I appreciate the comment!
If the choice was only one camera then X100V every time but you are taking the X-E4 with several lenses that’s why I said leave the X100V.
Yeah, I’d still pick the X100V. I like the GR cameras when I’m not “doing photography” but want to have a camera with me. It slides into my pocket and is completely out of the way. Yes, the X100V or X-E4 could fit into a pocket, sort of… but the GR’s easily and comfortably do so. I love having a camera with me in this way, and the GR’s serve that purpose especially well. But to me, Fujifilm stands head and shoulders above the rest, including Ricoh. Still a fun camera that does what it does really well.
No telephoto lenses? You have some great cameras and lenses in that kit though. And I love the picture of Yosemite creek. Have a great Christmas and new year!
I’d put the 90mm in there if it would fit (trust me, I tried!). The 50mm is the most telephoto option I give myself, but I do think something longer would be more ideal, if only I could find one that fits in the bag. Thanks for the input!
I agree with stuart that a longer lens for landscapes would make sense.
The last time I was able to really travel was the Azores and I brought my x70 and a new to me x-pro1 with 35 f1.4. Since then I came to really love the x-pro1 and I use it more than my XT3. Currently I travel with the xpro1 and the 18 f2, the 35 f1.4 and the cheaper XC 55-230. All this fits in an Oakley element sling bag. I want to replace the 55-230 with one of the 60, 80, or 90mm. Thoughts?
I would go with the 80mm or 90mm (over the 60mm). The 80mm is macro, so there’s added versatility, but it’s also a little slower than the 90mm. Either one will be great!
My simple travelling gears are : X100S, XS-10 with 35/1.2 (7 Artisans), and GR2, which contain a perfect focal lengths from 28- 35-50mm in my tiny Billingham Small bag. And recently, my new cellphone Vivo X70 serves me a great photos and footages (4k/60P) equipped by Zeiss lens as an ideal backup to me. Cheers!
Sounds like a great kit!