What items should you bring along for summer vacation? Here’s the list of all the tech items you should pack with you.
Summer season is upon us – finally! After global pandemic shock last (and this and probably next) year, we finally have vaccines and pandemic seems to be fading away. Time for the summer games!
Tech Gear & Accessories Travelling Checklist
- Smartphone(s) (bring 2 just in case – for backup!) + charger(s) (don’t forget those!)
- Tablet – useful mostly because of a larger screen, otherwise it is not really required.
- Action Camera – depends if you are into it or not really.
- Selfie Stick – again, useful in some situations, but be careful to never put yourself in any danger!
- Water-proof underwater smartphone or action camera case – cool for underwater seabed surface photography and videography. For larger depths underwater LED lighting is also required.
- Power Bank + spare charging/data cable
- USB OTG adapter(s) (micro-USB and USB-C types)
- USB flash drive stick (large capacity) to make on-the-go offline (not Cloud) backups from your smartphone device. If you have a regular USB drive with standard computer USB interface, you will need USB OTG adapter (listed above). If you have a compact drive with micro-USB or USB-C interface for mobile phones, USB OTG adapter is not required!
- DSLR and/or Ultra-Zoom digital camera – despite advancements in long tele zoom ranges in modern smartphones (up to 10x optical zoom), having a dedicated DSLR or more compact and convenient ultra-zooms such as Canon SX70 HS or Nikon P1000 can bring you much much closer to the far and distant subjects, and with better quality! With plenty of sunlight during daylight your photos should be fine, with lots of details and decent amount of noise.
- Memory Card(s) (plus extras / spares) for digital camera(s) if you decide to carry them.
- UV / ND / Polarizing Filters for digital camera(s) if you decide to carry them – you can achieve nice and fun effects with sky and water.
- USB memory card reader – useful if you have problems with your digital camera during the trip and wish to verify/make sure captured photos are still fine. Models which support microSD + SD combo or more formats are definitely more useful. Simply take out memory card out of the camera and insert it into memory card reader. Then plug the memory card reader (via USB OTG adapter) into the phone to read photos directly from it. Install File Manager app to make this job easier if you don’t already have it.
- Wi-Fi microSD to SD memory card adapter is very convenient for older digital cameras if you can afford it and your camera supports it.
- Tripod is necessary for sunset and night sky photography / videography, and also recommended for daylight long exposures using strong ND (Neutral Density) filters.
- Drone – You wish to bring a drone with you on your holiday? Who doesn’t!? But beware of local laws and regulations upfront and inform yourself if drones are allowed, be sure to respect no-flight zones and limitations, especially near airports. In general, low heights and distances up to 100 meters should be OK and enough to capture fresh perspective and beauty of the holiday sights (sea / ocean / lake / mountain views / beaches etc.)