The Best Travel Camera Bags for Experts and Amateurs Alike
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Traveling with a camera is always A Thing. It’s stressful and high stakes. The chances of damaging a camera, losing it, having it stolen, or misplacing a key accessory like batteries, are unfortunately high on a trip. Which is why investing in a decent camera bag and doing your research is essential. When a camera is along for the ride, a bag whose design thoughtfully and specifically takes your packing list into account is a godsend. It’s important to consider that different camera backpacks and bags work best in different environments—the receptacle that's ideal for skirting along the edge of a waterfall might not be the one you choose when walking for miles in Paris. Below, we’ve selected the best camera backpacks for every situation, with styles from trusted brands including Lo & Sons, Bellroy, and Thule.
This gallery has been updated with new information since its original publish date. Additional reporting by Meg Reinhardt and Louis Cheslaw.
Lo & Sons The Claremont
Best overall style
This sleek, luxurious bag from Lo & Sons is simple and beautiful, with rich, colorful full-grain leather and gold hardware. It’s a crossbody style that to the untrained eye looks like a standard purse, not a bulky camera case. Best of all, it’s specifically designed to transport and protect a DSLR camera, and even has space to throw in a small lens or external flash. Inside, padded foam compartments snugly fit the equipment, and there are also slim pockets designed to hold memory cards, as well as your keys and credit cards.
Noteworthy features: Quilted interior, turnlock clasp for security
Focus Camera square camera case
Best for Instax owners
Fans of Fujifilm’s beloved instant cameras will adore this accessory that makes bringing an Instax along for a trip so effortless and cute. The icy blue synthetic leather and artful stitching make this piece a stand-out. There’s even a detachable cover to take pictures without removing the camera from the case.
Noteworthy features: Detachable cover, adjustable strap
Only NY compact camera bag
Best for a day of street photography in Lower Manhattan
Ideal for city street photography and for small-scale cameras, this miniature camera bag from Only NY is no-frills and comes in black and camo print. It fits a camera in the padded main compartment, and has a small zip pocket for SD cards and other accessories.
Noteworthy features: Adjustable nylon shoulder strap, belt loop
Madewell The Transport camera bag
Best camera bag that doesn’t look like a camera bag
This classy leather crossbody from Madewell is perfectly suited for taking a point-and-shoot camera along for the adventure when you're city traveling, but it’s also cute enough to serve as a bag when you leave your device at home. Available in a warm chestnut as well as a glossy black, the vegetable-dyed leather is unique to each bag. We love that there are two strap options to choose from: one skinny leather strap, and one wide fabric strap in a crisp white.
Noteworthy features: Multifunctional, exterior slide pocket for your phone
Coach Mini Jamie camera bag
Best bag for bringing back your Y2K era
Coach is a classic for a reason, and while it epitomizes Y2K style, you can rock it with even more flair today, evoking nostalgia. The brand’s Jamie Camera crossbody camera bag is 9.5" x 7", making it an ideal size for a small device that you want to tote to a party—or have on your hip while you stroll an urban street abroad. It’s made of smooth, creamy leather and lined with fabric. Chic and functional.
Noteworthy features: Credit card slots, adjustable strap
Fjallraven Kanken Photo Insert
Best for flexibility
This accessory from Fjällräven can transform any bag or backpack into one for cameras, but is specifically designed to click into the brand’s Kånken backpack dimensions. It comes in two sizes, small and medium, depending on how much gear you have. It’s padded with foam compartments that protect cameras, lenses, and other gear like microphones or lights.
Noteworthy features: Water-resistant, Velcro for flexibility
Away The Front Pocket backpack
Best for business travel
For the trip where there is no time to be spared, a backpack from Away is the way and the light. Just like the brand’s much-loved suitcases, The Front Pocket backpack makes organization a cinch, thanks to the specificity of its design. A small, compact camera easily fits within the main compartment, and there's plenty of space for a laptop and photography gear—chargers, spare batteries, memory cards—and other loose, small travel items. The back of the pack has a space to stow your passport, and a key loop hangs from the bottom.
Noteworthy features: 15-inch laptop sleeve, trolley sleeve that secures to luggage
Bellroy classic compact backpack
Best for urban exploring
Bellroy’s classic backpack is already ideal for urban adventures, but this compact version might be our preferred size, as it's slim enough that you won’t bump strangers on the subway. It’s got pockets on pockets, a cushioned sleeve for your laptop, a key loop, and more. It even has a water-resistant, padded sunglasses pocket on top. A DSLR camera body with a lens would fit nicely within the main compartment, but this isn’t the pack for toting additional lenses.
Noteworthy features: 13-inch laptop compartment, accessible front pocket, lumbar support for your spine
Brevitē The Jumper backpack
Best multi-purpose bag
Designed with shutterbugs in mind, Brevitē's The Jumper backpack has a pocket for each and every essential: there's a sleeve that fits up to a 16-inch laptop; a compartment with removable dividers, meant to hold a full-frame DSLR, three lenses, plus a 70-200mm lens or drone and SD cards; a smaller zip pocket to slide a passport and phone into; a water bottle holder; an open inner compartment to store a change of clothes; and loops on the bottom to tote a tripod. When you want to use it as a standard backpack, take the dividers out to have one large compartment inside. Consider this the personal item of choice for photographers.
Noteworthy features: Quick side access to camera, luggage pass-through sleeve to secure to carry-on
Peak Design 45L travel backpack
Best for long haul trips
For travelers heading out on a longer journey—say, a safari or an Antarctic expedition—Peak Design's expandable carry-on backpack has plenty of space for everything on your list. It does require purchasing three pieces best used as a set: the travel backpack; a tech pouch for chargers, plugs, and back-up batteries; and a camera cube to safely organize your equipment. Because it can fit so much, it can also get heavy—but padded straps make managing that weight as comfortable as possible. (For a less spacious, but all-in-one option, consider the Peak Design Everyday Backpack, which comes with padded inserts you can configure according to your load.)
Noteworthy features: Expandable side pockets, easy access to gear, weatherproof
Lululemon crossbody camera bag
Best for day trips
For a last-minute jaunt upstate, to the Cape, or wherever your local getaway may be, this crossbody camera bag from Lululemon is just the ticket. It’s lightweight and hands-free, which means bringing your camera along will feel like a breeze (though as you can surmise from the size, it won't hold all the accessories you might want on longer trips). A back pocket to slip your phone into keeps essentials handy, and water-resistant fabric makes this one safe for a winter stroll by the shore.
Noteworthy features: Drop-in phone pocket, adjustable strap
Thule Aspect DSLR backpack
Best for skiing and snow sports
The camera gear needed to capture snow sports is a whole different ball game—and that includes the bag. This roomy weatherproof option from Thule has a padded storage compartment that fits a DSLR camera body and two lenses. A pocket accessible from the side lets skiers swiftly retrieve their camera while on the slopes. Front straps help to stabilize the load so that a skier's balance remains unaffected.
Noteworthy features: Space for a drone, sternum strap
OverBoard 20L waterproof kayak deck bag
Best for aquatic environments
If you’re bringing equipment you care about aboard a boat or dangerously close to a body of water of any sort—kayaking, paddleboarding, on a waterfall hike—you would be wise to go 100 percent waterproof with your camera bag. This one floats, and contents will remain bone-dry if it falls overboard.
Noteworthy features: Removable shoulder strap, webbing, interior pocket for documents, water-resistant
Lemaire camera bag
Best for formal events
This minimalist, geometric leather camera bag can be worn as a crossbody, shoulder bag, or around the neck. Molded into the basic shape of a camera itself, with a cylindrical magnet closure that mimics a camera lens, this statement item has a subtle whimsy while still being luxurious. It's an outfit-maker and one of the best camera bags if you are your friend group’s designated party, wedding, or night out photographer.
Noteworthy features: Magnet closure, handmade, adjustable strap
Mountainsmith Tanuck 40L backpack
Best for backpacking
Mountainsmith’s Tanuck backpack was designed in collaboration with landscape and adventure photographer Chris Burkard. Tough Cordura fabric means it is as durable as camera bags get. And for practical purposes, it might as well be Hermione’s bottomless bag from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: There's enough space for tripods, lenses, light stands, and accessories to go inside this 40-liter daypack.
Noteworthy features: Hydration sleeve to drink water through, hip belt, storm collar, and rain cover
