The best Canon kit for travel photography

Gone are the days when travel photography was as simple as buying a disposable camera for a few blurry beach shots for a homemade family album.

With the explosive growth of photo and video-sharing social platforms and the rise of professional online photo books, only flawless images will now do. Smartphones are great, but to produce pictures and prints with the wow factor, you need a dedicated camera – one that performs well all year round, no matter what conditions you find yourself facing, while still being small enough to fit in your hand luggage. It's a similar story with lenses too, which need the versatility to keep pace with adventurous spirits without any compromise in image quality.

There's a lot to consider, but we’ve put together a guide to the best travel photography gear. So, whether you're a beginner excited to get started, an up-and-coming travel blogger looking to dazzle your followers, or a creator with a growing profile who’s eager to take your content and kitbag to the next level, you can feel confident you've got the tools you need to succeed.

• Canon Zoemini S2
• Canon PowerShot ZOOM
• Canon EOS R10
• Canon EOS RP
• Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III

Family holidays are more than just an escape from daily routines. They're precious time spent with those closest to us, where some of our most valuable memories are made.

With its 8MP sensor, the Canon Zoemini S2 is a brilliant holiday companion that brings treasured moments to life as you live them. An ultra-portable camera and printer, the Canon Zoemini S2 allows you to snap slick selfies, using its built-in mirror and ring light to perfect your pose and exposure. You can then choose to print on the spot in under a minute or save images to a Micro SD card and print later.

By pairing the Canon Zoemini S2 with the Canon Mini Print app, you can also check your composition in live view, customise images before printing, and even print photos straight from your smartphone.

The PowerShot ZOOM gets you even closer to the action, making it perfect for your next safari holiday. With an 800mm maximum focal length, this pocket-sized, superzoom monocular camera is the perfect tool for when you need a little extra reach. A 12MP sensor and 4-axis image stabilisation make this compact powerhouse a superb option for all forms of travel, as well as bird watching, sporting occasions and general family fun.

The Canon EOS R10 is the perfect choice for both new and experienced travel photographers. As an affordable entry into Canon's EOS R System, the EOS R10 opens up the professional-grade RF lens mount, offering beginners a wide range of fast-focusing lenses and giving them plenty of room to grow. An impressive tech spec, however, also makes this camera suitable for enthusiasts and established content creators, who need features that will elevate their content to new levels.

With its 24.2MP APS-C sensor, the EOS R10 produces beautifully clean stills and immaculate 4K video for professional-looking vlogs and stories. And by using an advanced autofocusing system, capable of tracking eyes, faces, animals and vehicles, your content will always be sharp, even in low light.

The EOS R10 also features a vari-angle touchscreen for successful composition whatever the angle, and a built-in flash for shooting into the night or when light is in short supply. And it weighs just 429g, so carrying it with you won't make sprawling cities or steep mountains a chore.

For photographers with multiple stamps in their passport, who are looking to take their content to even higher levels, a full-frame camera such as the Canon EOS RP can really help push creativity.

The large sensors in full-frame cameras are more sensitive to light than smaller sensors. This means they can capture a wider dynamic range – very handy when shooting in sunny climates – and produce less noise at high ISO. They also give extra control over depth of field for fine-tuning blur and bokeh, suiting them to cultural street portraits and capturing the glowing lights of a night-time cityscape.

With 4K video recording, access to Canon's professional RF lens range and the intelligent autofocusing you'd expect from an EOS R System camera, the EOS RP is ideal for creators wanting to produce pro-level content. It also weighs just 485g and is both water and dust resistant – ideal for adventuring.

When wanderlust takes hold, there's often only enough time to grab a rucksack and go. In these situations, where space matters most, the PowerShot G7 X Mark III is the perfect travel partner.

Striking the ultimate balance of performance and profile, the PowerShot G7 X Mark III features a large 1.0-type image sensor, offering impressive 20.1MP photos and 4K video inside a body under 11cm in width and just 300g in weight – so if you're short of space in your backpack, you can simply slip it in your pocket. You can also switch from stills to video and back again in one easy movement.

With its 180° tilting screen and livestreaming capabilities, this camera was also designed with vlogging-to-camera in mind, and its bright f/1.8 maximum aperture, face tracking AF and wide-angle zoom lens ensure you and your surroundings are always correctly exposed, in focus and in frame.

The PowerShot G7 X Mark III isn’t just for vloggers, though. Its affordable pricing and powerful range of features make it one of the most travel-friendly cameras for the beginner photographer.

About to embark on an adventure? Make sure you download the Canon Camera Connect app so you can connect your camera to your smartphone and share your travel shots straight to your social channels. The app also enables you to control your camera remotely for shake-free shots and steady video.

• Canon RF 15-30mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM
• Canon RF 35mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM
• Canon RF 50mm F1.8 STM
• Canon RF 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM

A versatile wide-angle zoom is a travel photographer's best friend. With its ultra-wide focal range, the Canon RF 15-30mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM will have no problems squeezing everything into frame, whether you're vlogging through a towering city centre, traversing the alleyways of a winding medieval town or capturing the vistas of a spectacular mountain range.

Compact and lightweight, this RF lens is an affordable addition to even the lightest traveller's kitbag, and thanks to its image stabilisation and bright f/4.5 maximum aperture, this lens is a solid performer in changing light conditions.

There's a reason the Canon RF 35mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM is favoured by street photographers, portrait photographers and travel photographers alike. Wide enough for expansive cityscapes, sweeping landscape shots and revealing close-ups, with an unobtrusive profile, fast maximum aperture and a MACRO magnification of up to 1:2, it works brilliantly for a range of genres.

Although designed for full-frame cameras, the RF 35mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM can also be used on APS-C bodies, such as the Canon EOS R10, where it would capture a field of view equivalent to a 56mm lens on a full-frame body.

A ‘nifty fifty' such as the Canon RF 50mm F1.8 STM is the first port of call for beginners who want to start getting creative with their travel photography. This lens' wide f/1.8 maximum aperture allows you to achieve an incredibly shallow depth of field, for beautiful portraiture that really expresses the cultural identities of the people you meet.

It also lets in plenty of light, meaning you'll be prepared for whatever lighting scenarios your adventures throw at you. Fit this to an APS-C camera, and you'll have the equivalent of an 80mm field of view on a full-frame camera.

Travelling light and have room in your backpack for only one lens? The all-purpose Canon RF 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM is an excellent choice. Its sweeping focal range offers incredible versatility, suitable for everything from handheld vlogging to stunning portraiture. What's more, it wraps up this impressive range, along with 5-stops of IS for handheld and low-light shooting, in a body that measures under 9cm and weighs just 395g. On an APS-C sensor, this lens' focal range is equivalent to 38.4-168mm on a full-frame camera.

For adventurers, these backpack-friendly cameras, lenses and accessories really are the ultimate companions, producing stunning images and video without compromising your freedom to roam. For more travel photography inspiration, find out how pro Diana Millos fared when she spent 48 hours in beautiful Seville with the Canon EOS R10.


Written by Peter Wolinski