Best Photography Gear on a Budget

We all love to take pictures of everything and anything but especially while we travel. But you also don't want to break the bank on photography equipment when you're just amateurs like we are and paid a bunch of money already to take a trip. We love getting great shots that we can treasure for a lifetime but we would never drop thousands of dollars on cameras and equipment. So we're here to tell you today what great budget friendly equipment that we use for taking our photos while we travel around the world!

DSLR Camera

This is our most expensive piece of photography equipment but it is totally worth it. We own a Canon Rebel T4i camera and we purchased it through Amazon a few years ago. Our model is an old one now so to buy something comparable today would be to get the Canon Rebel T6. Amazon offers amazing bundle deals where you can get the body, a couple of lens, a tripod, and a memory card for a very fair price. While DSLRs do cost a lot they are better than a standard point and shoot digital camera in terms of the photo quality that you will get. We recommend this to be your one splurge if you are wanting to get serious in to photography for whatever reason. Ours is mostly used for landscapes while we travel or aimlessly explore Chicago/Milwaukee, However, Canon isn't the only great brand out there. Do some research on what you would feel most comfortable with and even go to a store like Target or Best Buy and hold them in your hand. Weight and size really do matter from a comfort stand point and every person is different. The main reason we chose to get a Canon is we were most comfortable with how the features were set up (we looked at all different kinds of DSLRs every time we went to Target for months) and after extensive research we learned that Canon's give the best quality photos for outside landscape photos compared to the other brands that were comparable in price. Since that is mostly what we wanted to use the camera for, Canon was the winner for us.

Camera Phone

You're probably like what, are you kidding me, Cabrera? No we're not! Camera phones have really upped their anity the last few years. Ever since Caleb bought his iPhone 6, he has honestly preferred using it over our DSLR because the quality is so great! This way he doesn't have to lug our big camera around wherever we go. I purchased the iPhone 7 last fall and the camera is even better! A lot of our Italy photos were captured on Caleb's iPhone and all of our Disney World photos were captured on both of our iPhones. With this being said, we are Apple people but we're not here to knock down other smart phones! In fact, we are both very intrigued by the Google Pixel phone. Phones are obviously used for more than just pictures so stick with what works best for you. But before you go out and buy a really expensive camera, don't forget how good the camera is on all of these smartphones!

Tripod

We get asked all the time, how do you get photos of both you and guys while you're out and about? A tripod! A tripod is a very helpful piece of equipment for many reasons. Reason number 1 is for taking pictures with you in them. Sometimes you're all by yourself and want to be in the photo you're taking. Stick the camera on a tripod, set the timer, run in the frame, and snap! You've got the perfect photo. This also works if you have a very certain shot that you're wanting to get and it might be too much of a pain to find someone to ask and explain it all. I know I get a little shy when I have to ask someone to take a picture for me. Then they ask you if it looks good and you always say "yes it's perfect, thanks!" When in all reality it's probably far from perfect. With a tripod you can just keep trying yourself until you get it perfect. This way you won't annoy the crap out of someone to take 100 photos of you and you yourself get the perfect picture that you wanted. Tripods are also a great tool for taking steady photos. We're all human and all of our hands shake. If you want to take that DSLR off of automatic focus, you really should use a tripod to shoot your photos so that you eliminate as much blur as possible. They are also great for long exposure photos due to their steadiness versus holding the camera in your hand. Have we convinced you yet? I know you're probably thinking though, isn't it a pain to lug it around with you while you travel since it's so big and bulky? Our answer, nope! We have a light weight tripod that folds down that we bought from Amazon. We have a separate bag for it or we can stick it in one of our backpacks while we explore.

Gorilla Pod

Very similar to a tripod but a Gorilla Pod is for your phone. Yes they make aluminum tripods for phones and tablets now but the Gorilla Pod is small/compact and can be used by more than just on the ground. The legs are bendable so you can wrap them around an iron rod, a tree branch, you name it. We get some of our most amazing pictures thanks to this little guy! I will just keep it in my purse just in case we see a great photo opportunity wherever we are. Gorilla Pods can also be purchased on Amazon. 

"Camera" Bag

We actually don't own a specific camera bag. We use what we have and make it work to be completely honest with you all. We don't want to spend the money on an expensive camera bag plus have backpacks and totes to carry around with us when we travel. We use one of our better backpacks to safely carry it around. As along as there are compartments and padding, your nice camera will be just fine. Don't break the bank and add extra bags if you don't need to.

And there you have it! All the best photography gear to help get you started on capturing some of your most memorable moments while you travel. If you have any questions or even suggestions for us on great gear please reach out to us! We love hearing from all of you!

Remember, you can always follow along with us on our day to day adventures on our Instagrams! Diana | Caleb