Deciding what accessories to take with us when we go on a photography road trip is not always a straightforward affair. We need to weigh up how useful an item is compared to the amount of space the item will take up and how heavy it is. Fortunately, good things now come in small sizes.
We talk about cameras, lenses, bags, and filters all day long, but we don’t spend much time talking about accessories we use behind the scenes, we spend even less time talking about accessories that can be lifesavers when we’re on a photography road trip. So, in this roundup, we’re going to take a look at a few items that will help you get your gear ready to be used, power them. and that will help you store your images. Don’t underestimate just how important accessories like these are.
I feel the power — XCELLON Mighty Mini 100w 4-port charger
Chances are you’re going to have a lot of equipment with you on your photography road trip and most of that gear will need to be charged at some point. That’s not a problem. However what is a problem is how much space will be taken up by a charger for your camera battery, a charger for your laptop or tablet, a charger for your phone, your drone and so on. If only there was a multi-port charger that could replace all of those power bricks.
Enter the XCELLON 100w 4-port charger. This power brick features two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports and it’s powerful enough to charge your camera battery (while in the camera), a drone battery, a laptop and a phone all at the same time! This one power cube could replace all of your others and it will help save you a ton of space.
I have been using this XCELLON charger for a while now and it has worked like a charm. It’s fast-charge compatible, it has built-in protection to prevent short circuits, overcurrent, overvoltage, and over-temperature, and built-in and foldable prongs, which makes it even more compact. It weighs just 0.42lbs (191g) and it measures in at 2.4 x 1.1 x 3.4 inches. This should be one of the first accessories you pack for your photography road trip. Not in need of one this powerful? Check out the XCELLON 30w USB-C charger instead.
A travel photography savior — Sensei optics care and cleaning kit
The last thing you want to do is head out on your photography road trip without a way to clean your cameras and lenses. I’ve been there and done that and I don’t recommend it. The great thing is that these days you can get great cleaning kits that come in small packages. The Sensei Optics cleaning kit is one of them. Everything you need to clean your gear is stored in a handy travel bag that takes up minimal room.
The kit includes cleaning solution, lens tissues, a blower, a dust removal brush, a lens pen that removes stubborn particles, a microfiber cloth, and a squeegee to remove excess cleaning fluid. This kit will easily tuck into your camera bag and will make it easy to keep your gear in tip-top shape while you’re on the road. It’s a no brainer at under $15.
Share images from your photography road trip easily — XCELLON 3-port USB hub and card reader
Laptops and tablets these days are incredibly powerful, however, they have one major flaw. A lack of ports! I mean, who in their right mind thinks it’s OK to omit SD card readers and simple USB ports? Luckily there are hubs out there that don’t take up much room, that are light, affordable and that add a ton of functionality to your editing device.
On photography road trips, I edit my images with an iPad Pro. So, I need a hub like this to quickly get my images off my SD cards. The XCELLON 3-port USB-C hub has come in handy for me a number of times now. The hub features both SD and micro SD card readers, one USB-C/Thunderbolt port and two USB 3.0 ports. This little hub is just 3.5 inches long and 1.5inches wide, and it can transfer your images at speeds up to 5Gbps. It can be used with Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android devices and it’s under $25!
Backup your travel photography images — LaCie Rugged USB-C hard drive
SD cards and CFexpress cards can be finicky things at times. You can be humming along doing your thing and then suddenly, boom! The card corrupts and you lose of the images from your photography road trip. I’ve experienced this in the past and I never want to be in that position again. So, when I travel, I carry at least one external hard drive so I can make a backups.
The LaCie Rugged USB-C hard drive is one of the most respected drives in the creative world. I own one and wouldn’t be without it. The hard drive is as tough as old nails thanks to it’s 4ft drop shock design, and its ability to fight off rain and dust. This hard drive can even take being crushed under 1 ton of pressure.
The LaCie Rugged drive comes in four size flavors. 1TB, 2TB, 4TB and 5TB and they range in price from under $70 to $170. So, don’t be sorry when you’re on a photography road trip. Carry one of these bad boys with you and backup as you go.
For the power user — XCELLON aluminum 10-port USB 3.0 hub
Now, this hub might seem a little extreme for some who take photography road trips. However, I know creators who need all the access points they can get when they’re on the road. The XCELLON 10-port USB hub will allow you to transfer data from multiple sources at once. You can connect peripherals you might use for editing, external hard drives, and it will even charge your devices.
The hub connects via USB 3.0 or USB-C. The aluminum casing helps dissipate heat, and the hub transfers data at up to 5Gbps. However, it does have to be plugged in. Still, it does come with an independent power supply so that’s one less thing to worry about. I’ve used the hub with my laptop and it works flawlessly. The hub is a decent size and easily fits into camera bags. Again, this is an item for power users who need maximum flexibility when it comes to handling data while on photography road trips.
EZQuest 5-1 USB-C Card Reader
If you’re an Apple fan and you want an accessory that will match the Apple aesthetic, the EZQuest 5-1 USB Card reader will be right up your alley. This sleek card reader works perfectly with any device that has a USB-C or Thunderbolt port. It can read from five cards (SD, Micro SD, Sony Memory Stick Pro and Cfast cards) at the same time. It offers blazing fast read and write speeds as well. It’s another solid card reading option. Read our full review here.
