Do you carry your DSLR everywhere?

kja6 · Jun 4, 2013

Nope. As much as I love photography, sometimes it's a nuisance to carry a camera body and lens with/on me. Birthday gatherings, for example: I want to have a good time and (1) not have people hassle me to take a photo to later e-mail them, or (2) not worry about babysitting the gear.

Compact point-and-shoots are more than sufficient for some occasions, and mobile phones' cameras nowadays are amazing. The BlackBerry Z10 (or iPhone 4/4s/5) takes wicked photos.

But, I'm not a "professional" photographer and 0% of my income is reliant on selling prints... so it's a different story for me

Pallycow · Jun 4, 2013

If it's not on me, it's in my car. Always. I don't bring it out as much as I used to...but it's always within reach.

DGMPhotography · Jun 4, 2013

Ideally, I wish I could. I would have multiple cameras, leaving the others at home, and putting one in my car in a temperature protected lock box that's soldered onto the vehicle. I live in the city so risk of theft is something to consider. However, I don't have more than one camera, r a car, so I leave mine at home unless I KNOW I will be using it. If a UFO shows up, I have my cellphone camera.

Buckster · Jun 4, 2013

Almost everywhere I go, one of my DSLRs goes. I don't take it into theaters and have stopped taking it into Walmart. The few times I've been to casinos, I didn't take it in with me either. But that's about it. If it's not directly hanging from me, it's at least in reach within a few steps.

Pallycow · Jun 4, 2013

DGMPhotography said:
Ideally, I wish I could. I would have multiple cameras, leaving the others at home, and putting one in my car in a temperature protected lock box that's soldered onto the vehicle. I live in the city so risk of theft is something to consider. However, I don't have more than one camera, r a car, so I leave mine at home unless I KNOW I will be using it. If a UFO shows up, I have my cellphone camera.

Small town maine...so i'm lucky. I'm sure if I was back in Texas or Florida, I would not be leaving it in my car. lol

bratkinson · Jun 4, 2013

Since a gripped, bracketed, 5D3 is all I have, dragging that around 'everywhere' isn't really an option, in my book. Leaving it in the car at Walmart for example (yes, it IS insured on a rider!) is not desirable, nor having it 'cooked' sitting in the car on a hot summer day, or frozen in the winter.

For that reason, I'm toying with going back to my digital 'roots'...a Canon G-<something>. Full manual control, reasonably small enough to 'hide' in the car when being left behind, very acceptable IQ, and not a major investment to replace. But then, an SL-1 with EF-S 18-135 would really 'hit the spot' too...or mirrorless...or...

amolitor · Jun 4, 2013

Nah. I only take a camera if I am actively planning to take some pictures. I found that I'm simply not a guy who can take good pictures of "stuff I see" for the most part.

sm4him · Jun 4, 2013

I either have it with me, or in my car, about 90% of the time. As others have said, I don't take it WITH me when I'm grocery shopping or going to Walmart (but it IS often out in the car trunk, in its case even then).
The times I don't even have it in the car tend to be days when it's raining and I know it's not gonna stop, and I'm just gonna be at work or something boring anyway, days when I don't feel well and know that I'm not "up to" taking pictures that day, things like that.

I've started taking the bus to work on a more regular basis (largely because I work for public transit AND because we have a new route that stops TWO doors down from my house! Sweet!)--so, I can no longer make the choice to bring it but leave it in the trunk. However, I am (among other things) the "official" photographer for our transit system, so I still bring the camera with me to work most days. Not like I'm having to carry it that far, since the bus picks up so close to my house and then goes to the transit center, where I work--literally door-to-door service! Yesterday and today, I even grabbed the Sigma 150-500 and brought it with me, hoping to sneak out for a lunchtime photo walk along the river. Didn't happen yesterday, but maybe today.

runnah · Jun 4, 2013

I have to keep it on my person at all times for work. Most of the time I leave it in the trunk in case I see bigfoot or something.

TCampbell · Jun 4, 2013

runnah said:
I have to keep it on my person at all times for work. Most of the time I leave it in the trunk in case I see bigfoot or something.

That's probably sound advice. Every time I see Bigfoot, I've left my camera at home.

Gary_A · Jun 4, 2013

I miss a day here and there but typically it is with me, and I am still on a borrowed D5000. Hoping my D7000 will be waiting for me when I get home and will be about the same I plan to carry it more often then not.

bc_steve · Jun 8, 2013

I keep mine in a pelican case in my dirty work truck. don't have to worry about theft out here so it's not even locked.

I work out in the bush and see cool stuff on a regular basis, but unfortunately it is usually either running away from me or I don't have time to stop for photos. Yesterday I saw 3 black bears and an elk but they were all running away from me and wouldn't have been decent shots. The moose and calf I saw a few days earlier though would have been incredible if I hadn't forgotten my SD card :meh: (Moose tend to run down the road instead of into the bush, and the stop and look back frequently so I had plenty of opportunity ...)

PropilotBW · Jun 8, 2013

No. Like somebody above said, not everything is interesting. I don't get paid for my work, so I'm not attached to it like some might.
If I Come across something kinda cool, hey, I have an iPhone! (Which is attached at te hip).

usayit · Jun 8, 2013

DSLR no...

Camera most of the time. Usually a high end PS, micro 43 mirrorless, or my rangefinder. For the most part, they fit my daily life quite well.