Trixology
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Steve on December 03, 2015, 03:26:06 AM
-
This thread was split off of another WeatherCat related discussion, as I got off topic. :) Feel free to use this thread for any general photography discussions.
Hi Bill, and welcome to the WeatherCat forum!
Edouard's SeaMonkey template is a great way to get started, and your implementation of it looks like it is working just fine.
As an avid amateur photographer, I took a look at your blog when Blicj mentioned you had a photo site. Perfect timing! I just read your "What's your bag?" post, as I'm considering a new bag. I have an old LowePro Off-Road convertible shoulder/waist bag with removable side pouches. It worked fine for my old Nikon D70 and then D200. But I just upgraded to a D750 w/kit 24-120, and it is a tight squeeze with the SB800 and assorted stuff. Plus I added a Tamron 150-600 to my mostly prime inventory.
My Off-Road, is pretty much the same as a Think Tank Speed Demon, and I was looking at the Speed Freak as a step larger. But I'd still need to tote the 150-600 somewhere. Probably a LowePro lens case or similar. Not sure I want to go the backpack route. Anyway, so great stuff, and I'm looking forward to reading through all of them.
Steve
(http://www.morrisgarage.com/clique/offroad.jpg)
-
Hi Steve-
Thanks for the look on the weather page, and for the reading of the Photo Blog.
I have a bag like the one you show - a Think Tank Retrospective 30. It holds my main camera and up to 5 lenses, or both bodies and a couple of extra lenses as an "over the shoulder" bag - and it works well. The bad part I found about that setup is that it makes the bag very heavy and way too uncomfortable for long hikes. So, I use that bag on shoots when I don't have to walk far but need all my stuff. One example was last year a shoot I did for a ferry company and I had to be compact enough to get through corridors on the ship and yet carry my stuff.
The bag is here:
https://www.thinktankphoto.com/collections/retrospective-series/products/retrospective-30?variant=1237589939
However, most of my work is shooting nature, wildlife and landscapes (I'm a conservation photographer at heart) and so the Think Tank backpack (weirdly named "StreetWalker) that is my current go to bag when I am taking one body and my three main pro lenses for that kind of work - all f 2.8 zooms (so big lenses...). This setup has worked well for me for the last 5 months or so, as my old backpack was just too big and heavy to haul around. I just this week did a shoot of a rare bird, and used the TT backpack and it worked perfectly.
Hope that all helps,
Bill
-
@bcurry The above LowePro bag is much smaller than the Retrospective 300 you linked. I don't use the side pouches 99% of the time due to added weight on hikes. The main bag held my D200 w/18-200mm mounted, the old smaller 50mm f/1.4, a 16mm, and my SB800. With the D750 and 24-120 mounted, there is only room for it and the SB800, and the camera with arca plate mounted is a tight squeeze in the bag.
Does the backpack cause problems in the field having to lay it down getting wet/muddy? I looked at the LowePro backpack that had the zipper on the shoulder strap side, so that you lay the non-strap side on the ground, keeping your back dry and clean. Still not sold. And using a backpack with a BlackRapid sling gets awkward.
I'll have to find a dealer that carries them and see how it works out. Thanks for the suggestions.
Steve
-
Dear Steve, Bill, and WeatherCat "shutterbugs," . . . . (http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Forum_support_documents/Custom_emoticons/camera_small.gif)
Thanks for starting up this topic! You guys are way ahead of me! However, since I have been stuck taking my photographs locally, I'm not going to be needing a fancy bag to carry all my gear for a while. Still, I can keep daydreaming! [sleep]
Cheers, Edouard [cheers1]
P.S. You two might see if you can get your fancy cameras to contribute something to this thread:
Moods of the sky around our weather instruments 2015-16 (http://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=1842.0)
It is kind of a neat way to combine two hobbies.
-
Hi Steve-
The backpack is no problem to take on and off, and I use Black Rapid straps myself. The Streetwalker is just small enough that I tend to carry a grocery shopping plastic bag with me if I'm somewhere where putting it down is an issue, and use that as a protective base. Since the bag is top loaded (that is my d800e and whatever lens (including the 70-200 f2.8 with teleconverter even is in the bag pointing don as seen from above), the bottom of the bag only needs to sit on the ground, and I can slip out the camera gear from there. It's only if I need to change lenses or batteries or some such that it has to go flat. I had tried some of the sling bags, but they are too awkward for my liking, as they don't stay put while hiking and shooting at various angles.
Hope that helps - bags are very personal because each of us has slightly differing needs...
Bill
Bill Curry Photography
www.billcurry.ca
-
+1 on the BlackRapid. I love using mine.
As for backpacks, I've never been a fan because I don't want to have to set it down to get into it. Therefore, I've really enjoyed the Lowepro Slingshot (http://www.lowepro.com/slingshot) bags. Comfortable on the shoulder, holds a fair amount, and then it slings around to my side/chest to get stuff out of it, instead of having to take it off and set it down. Like Bill said above, bags are a very personal thing, especially depending on what the shoot is covering. I love my slingshot, though!
dfw
-
I never got back to this thread after Christmas. My daughter got a LowePro lens case for me, and it works great. http://amzn.to/1KPlF8H
We've used it to toss in the back of the Outback, as well as over the shoulder to carry my 24-120 while using the 150-600 lens. Not the most comfortable while carrying the big lens on the shoulder, but works OK. With this on one side and the BlackRapid Sport over the other, I look like Pecos Pete or Yosemite Sam! :)