Currently, I have this assortment of photography gear:
iPhone 14 Pro
A fabulous smartphone camera that makes you strongly consider not taking a real camera on all but the most photo-demanding trips. Tremendous photo performance in all fields except action, extreme darkness, or anything far away. Very good and consistent video performance.
Sony A7IV
A fantastic camera that can do it all. Only the top professionals would be limited by the performance of the camera. The only times it has failed me were due to human error. So, there is still a lot of learning needed to use the camera to its full potential.
The focus system is incredibly good but rather complicated; it will take some time to find focus modes and areas most suitable for your needs and customize the buttons accordingly.
For a serious trip with a lot of difficult photography, I would take the Sony A7IV with the 85mm and 17-28mm lenses. It makes a very versatile and not too big of a kit. I almost never bring the 70-200mm unless it is a wildlife-focused trip.
Tamron 17-28mm f2.8
Seemingly the best deal for a wide-angle fast zoom for Sony, as well as not too heavy. The focus is fast, optical performance is very good, while not as good as the Sony lenses with these specs (which are much more expensive). If you are not doing many landscapes, architecture or event, a 35 mm lens could be a more compact alternative.
Sony 85mm f1.8
An incredible lens with absolutely no flaws in my opinion. The only issue I am having is understanding the depth of field – sometimes at close distances, I have too much stuff out of focus even with a high aperture. So, it takes time to learn what to expect from certain apertures and distances.
Sony 70-200mm f4
A really sweet piece of glass, the lightest 70-200 Sony can offer, but still heavier than the Canon one. Stellar performance. The only downside is that it’s not exactly a travel lens if you travel with one carry-on bag as I do.
Fuji X100T
For short mountain trips, if they are picturesque, I would bring the Fuji X100T as it is very light and in some aspects (resolution, optics, dynamic range, colors) superior to the iPhone. It is rather good for landscapes, while the fixed lens has many limitations. I would often do panoramas with it to compensate for its aging 16-megapixel sensor. The batteries are small but do not last long. However, the focus is absolute crap, not suitable for anything that moves. That seems to be fixed by the new X100VI, but that thing is $2000, somewhat steep given the alternatives.
Peak Design Slide Lite strap
The most comfortable strap I have tried; the big plus is the quick-release system and base plate’s compatibility with Arca Swiss tripod plates.
JOBY Gorillapod 3K flexible tripod
For bigger trips in nature, I usually bring the Gorillapod. Usually, I would use it for Milky Way pics, long exposures of sunsets, volcanoes, etc. However, it is a bit too weak for the weight of the Sony A7 IV; for that camera, I would recommend the 5K version. I use a tripod maybe 3-5 times during my trips; if you use it more, I would recommend a proper tripod with extendable legs like Manfrotto Befree or Peak Design Travel or something cheaper from Sirui or K&F Concept.
Arca Swiss ballhead
As the stock ballhead of the Gorillapod was rather crappy and did not have a quick-release system, I got a simple ball head with the Arca Swiss plate. And it works with the Peak Design baseplate! Bye-bye to changing base plates.
Peak Design Capture clip system
A great solution to carry your camera when hiking as it frees your hands, and the camera is not swaying around on the strap. But the camera is still exposed, so not exactly safe for steep climbs or scrambles. The clip itself works perfectly.
Hakuba lens filters
Due to rather extreme environments I often do my photography in, it is essential to protect my lenses from dust and water (once in India it was human blood). The filter works fine, a bit more prone to reflections when the sun is in front of you compared to a bare lens. A lens hood would help a bit.
SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC UHS-II cards (2×64 GB, 1×128 GB)
While Sony A7IV supports CFexpress cards, those are overkill if you are not doing serious video. SDHC never gave me framerate or cache limitations for photography (while I shoot compressed RAW for action).
Dust blower
I am having a lot more dust issues with the Sony compared to my previous camera, Canon 70D, due to the lack of the mirror. So it really helps to have the dust blower around.
Generic 80cm reflector
Collapsible and thin, thus packs pretty good. It was very useful doing photography in Ethiopia in harsh sunlight – I used the white translucent layer to give soft diffused light. However, using that will require an assistant and you may create some tension with your subject.