Aside from the oversized items such as cameras, lenses, and a tripod, there will always be many smaller camera accessories in everyone’s photo kit. This includes everything from remote cables, filters, batteries, and memory cards to cleaning kits, card readers, and charging cables. Unless you enjoy being frustrated, all these things should be well organized in a camera accessory bag or pouch.
Of course, camera bag manufacturers know this and offer various camera accessory pouches to compliment their larger camera bags. If you look at what’s available, there’s a surprising amount of variability in the design and function of these small accessory bags and pouches. In this guide, I’m sharing my favorite camera accessory bags for various specific uses.
Table of Contents
Shimoda Accessory Pouch – Best For Camera Batteries
The Shimoda Accessory Pouch makes the perfect camera battery case. Inside the main compartment is a zippered pocket made from stretchy elasticated nylon. This means the pocket can hold much more than it initially appears, making it perfect for battery organization. When my batteries are fully charged, they go in the main compartment, but as they get used up, I put the dead ones in the zippered compartment, so there is never any confusion about what needs to go on the charger when I get home. Read my review for more details.
Shimoda Designs has offered Shutter Muse readers a 10% discount on anything purchased through their online stores. US, UK, French, or German residents should use the discount code ShutterMuse10 after clicking here to access the store. Australian readers should use the same code on the local Shimoda distributor’s site, Maxxum, instead.
Shimoda Panel Wraps – Best For Small Items
Available in three different sizes, the Shimoda Panel Wraps are an ideal camera accessory bag for smaller items because the many zippered compartments will help you separate things into logical groups. The clear pocket panels also quickly remind you what is where which is useful for ensuring everything is packed for your shoot and finding things in a hurry when needed. The three sizes probably make this product the most versatile organizer in this guide. Read my review for more details.
Gura Gear Et Cetera Cases
Gura Gear makes an excellent range of zippered camera accessory bags called the Et Cetera series. Three flat pouches for cables and two cubic cases that have more rigidity, making them perfect for battery chargers. Styled to match their Kiboko backpack and Chobe shoulder bags, these cases are extremely high quality.
Gura Gear has offered Shutter Muse readers a 10% discount on anything purchased in their online store. Just use the discount code SHUTTERMUSE10 after clicking here to access their store.
Gura Gear Tembo Card Wallet – Highest Quality
The Gura Gear Tembo is a 12-slot memory card wallet for CFexpress Type-B, CFexpress Type-A, SD, and Micro SD cards built from ultralight X-Pac VX21 sailcloth material and fitted with a weather-resistant zipper. The wallet also features a dedicated Apple AirTag pocket and several additional pockets for a photographer’s must-have daily use items. Though the Tembo has been designed as the perfect partner for Gura Gear’s camera bags, this is a memory card case that any photographer should consider. I love the additional internal pockets that allow you to carry a few camera batteries, a lens cloth, your most-often-used camera tools, and even a portable SSD for photo backups. Check the Tembo review for more examples of what it can carry.
Peak Design Tech Pouch – Best For Hard Drives, Card Readers and Cables
The Peak Design Tech Pouch is ideally designed to handle hard drives, card readers, computer-related cables, and dongles required by any traveling photographer. Out of all the products in this guide, it has the most internal organization, but the clever accordion design still manages to keep everything easily accessible. You can find more photos and details in my Tech Pouch review or watch the hands-on video below. At $59, it isn’t cheap, but it comes with that excellent Peak Design quality we know and love and has more features than any other option on this list.
Tech Pouch Hands-On Video
Peak Design Field Pouch V2 – Best For Also Carrying a Camera
The Field Pouch V2 from Peak Design is a small accessory pouch with a shoulder strap that sells for $49. The bag is large enough to hold small cameras such as the Fuji X100 or Sony RX100, or you can mount a camera externally by adding a Peak Design Capture camera clip. See our review for more details, or watch the hands-on video below.
Field Pouch Hands-On Video
Think Tank MindShift Filter Hive – Best For Filters
The MindShift Filter Hive is the most fully-featured filter case on the market. It has slots for up to 6 screw-on filters and color-coded slots for 6 square or rectangular filters. The internal filter sleeve can be removed for semi-permanent installation into your camera bag, or you can keep it in the pouch. It also has a zippered pocket for a filter holder, a belt loop, and a strap to hang it on your tripod while working. If you want to read more about this, check out the review.
Think Tank Secure Pixel Pocket Rocket – Best For Memory Cards
The Secure Pixel Pocket Rocket features three zippered pockets, each divided into two sections. This memory card wallet has a universal design that will hold everything from CFexpress cards to SD, CF, CFast, and Micro SD. This is extremely useful because I can carry one card wallet with my cameras and drones. The bright green color is easily identifiable in my bag. This is part of Think Tank’s range of card holders detailed in our review.
US Customers get a free gift when they spend over $50 in the Think Tank/MindShift online store after clicking this link. For more details, or if you have any issues, see this post.
Think Tank Cable Management Bags – Best When You Need a Lot of Them
The Think Tank Cable Management bags come in four different sizes, and they are ideal for situations where you want to use many of the same bags to organize your gear. What makes them suitable for this is the large clear windows that help you identify the contents. For example, you might use one to hold all your microphone cables, one to hold your GoPro mounts or one for your tripod plates. The largest of the four sizes can even hold a pair of strobes. New for the updated versions of these useful bags is a zippered rear pocket with a further zippered internal mesh pocket for even more granular organization within one pouch. For more details, check out my Think Tank Cable Management series review.
F-Stop Accessory Pouch – Best For Battery Chargers
The F-Stop Accessory Pouch M is the perfect design for holding your camera chargers while travelling. One side of the pouch has a set of small dividers that perfectly fit and protect standard camera chargers. In contrast, the other side has mesh pockets that contain the necessary power cables and travel plug adapters. Although it could hold all things, the size and shape of this pouch suggest that the designers had this in mind as a perfect charger case. You can read more about this in the F-Stop Accessory Pouch review.
CineBags AC Pouch
The CineBags AC Pouch is the perfect organizer for a camera assistant or photographer’s essential on-set tools. This is where you keep all those hex wrenches, screwdrivers, and camera cleaning items that might be needed immediately. I keep this do-anything tool kit in my pelican case at all times. For more details about this pouch, please read my review.
CineBags Monitor Pack
Don’t let the name of this product fool you. Although the CineBags Monitor Pack is designed with on-camera monitor protection, it benefits all photo and video accessories. One-half of the case is heavily padded, while a zippered pouch makes up the second half. This is a great camera accessory bag for organizing things like microphones, lav mics, monitors, or larger battery chargers. I have one that contains video-related accessories and another that manages audio accessories. Please read my full review of this bag for more details.
CRDPouches
CRDPouches are a product from CRDbag. These camera accessory bags were conceived by a filmmaker who needed a better way to organize all his gear on film sets and in his Pelican Case. Compared to other zippered gear pouches, the CRDpouches have waterproof zippers, a built-in metal clip, a built-in Apple AirTag pocket and a space to add labels. The available larger sizes are also a standout feature for this lineup, giving you an option to organize larger items such as extension cords or camera rain covers. See our review for more details on sizing.
Note: Save 15% on purchases from CRDBAG by using the discount code SHUTTERMUSE15.
Where is the information on the green, orange, and blue drawstring bags shown in the lower right of the cover photo? That’s what I came here for, and it’s the one thing NOT talked about. 🙁