What to bring

[TooTall]

I have only owned pocket cameras. I now have a DSLR and will be shooting landscapes and wildlife. We are campers and spend most of our time in the woods and sightseeing. Our outings last 2-4 hours. Besides the camera and a tripod what else should I bring? What do you all prefer to carry your equipment in? I have seen all kinds of camera bags for sale, is there some that are better than others? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[robbins.photo]

I have only owned pocket cameras. I now have a DSLR and will be shooting landscapes and wildlife. We are campers and spend most of our time in the woods and sightseeing. Our outings last 2-4 hours. Besides the camera and a tripod what else should I bring? What do you all prefer to carry your equipment in? I have seen all kinds of camera bags for sale, is there some that are better than others? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I picked up a used Lowepro Nova 190 a while back, love it. Has more than enough room for all my gear. Not sure if your DSLR and Lenses are weather sealed or not, but you might want to look into picking up a doodad or two to cover the camera in cases where you might get stuck in a torrential downpour. Worst case scenario bring a few plastic bags with you for emergency use.

 

[CaptainNapalm]

The best camera bag is one that fits everything you want to bring, is the most comfortable for you and is at least somewhat weather sealed.

 

[robbins.photo]

The best camera bag is one that fits everything you want to bring, is the most comfortable for you and is at least somewhat weather sealed.

Actually I would disagree wholeheartedly. While all of that is nice, the best bag is the one you can convince someone else to carry for you.. lol

 

[gsgary]

I use a Billingham Hadley Pro Jon Adair | Billingham Hadley Pro camera bag first impressions

 

[Derrel]

For 2- to 4-hour hikes and walkabouts, I like a fanny pack for the camera and lens(es), and the tripod carried on a neoprene sling, like a rifle would be carried. The neoprene straps from OpTech are the best, and reduce felt weight by around 50%, compared to a non-elastric strap or sling. If you visit any of the major sporting goods stores, you will see that fanny packs have become varied and sophisticated over the last decade.

 

[mikeyidaho]

The bare minimum for me to bring is my 10-24mm lens (or whatever your lens of choice is), expodisc, circular polarizing filter and a spare memory card and battery. I have two different bags of different sizes, one with room for just body and attached lens and filter/expodisc, and my lowepro flipside 15aw which can hold all 3 of my lenses and body and accessories and my tripod on the side of it. Just depends what you foresee needing, I always try to bring the bare minimum. My favorite brand for bags are Lowepro and Crumpler. Oh and if you have never tried a Black Rapid strap go do it now.

Sent from my Verizon Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2

 

[TooTall]

Thank You All.

 

[SCraig]

Decide on the things that you feel you absolutely, positively cannot do without. Lay them all out on a bed and remove at least half of them. When it comes to long walks having something and not needing it is NOT better than needing something and not having it. Excess baggage gets extremely heavy as the day goes by.

The vast majority of the time I have the lens that is on my camera and that's it. If it's my long lens I usually carry my tripod (carbon fiber with magnesium head). If I might need another lens or speedlight I have a ThinkTank belt and shoulder harness with pouches all over it that will carry a lot of stuff comfortably. If there is ANY chance of rain I stick a plastic trash bag in my pocket. If there is a significant chance of rain I'll add my rain jacket in one of the pouches on my ThinkTank belt.

 

[CaptainNapalm]

The best camera bag is one that fits everything you want to bring, is the most comfortable for you and is at least somewhat weather sealed.

Actually I would disagree wholeheartedly. While all of that is nice, the best bag is the one you can convince someone else to carry for you.. lol

haha
not gonna argue with that

 

[robbins.photo]

For 2- to 4-hour hikes and walkabouts, I like a fanny pack for the camera and lens(es), and the tripod carried on a neoprene sling, like a rifle would be carried. The neoprene straps from OpTech are the best, and reduce felt weight by around 50%, compared to a non-elastric strap or sling. If you visit any of the major sporting goods stores, you will see that fanny packs have become varied and sophisticated over the last decade.

I got a pretty nifty little gizmo I rather liked a while back, a Gitzo GC3320 Series 3 Tripod Holster. Fits on your belt and lets you easily carry a tripod or monopod, quick release so it's pretty easy to deploy. Rather like it myself for when I am going hiking and taking the monopod along, though I don't find myself using the monopod as much lately.

 

[runnah]

I have a lower pro bag with built in tripod carrier. Has chest and waist straps that help take the weight off. Only issue I have is when the tripod is attached it makes thing a bit top heavy when climbing stuff.

 

[sm4him]

What I carry on a 2-4 hour excursion varies greatly depending on where I'm going and what I plan to concentrate on shooting. If I'm just out for birds, I'll probably just do like Scott and take the camera with my long lens, *maybe* my 18-55 kit lens in case there's a landscape just begging for attention.
In that case, I just wear a fanny pack--kit lens in one of the two "cup holders" on the sides, two water bottles (if it's warm out, I freeze at least one of the water bottles so I'll have cold water for hours) in the main compartment, along with a couple of plastic bags and whatever other essentials.

If I think I might be doing some macro work, or simply have no idea--or if the weather or terrain dictates more gear (i.e., I need a rain jacket, or somewhere to put a light jacket if it gets too warm, or extra socks, etc), then I just take a regular backpack. Extra lenses go in a padded outside compartment, jackets, socks, first aid kit, extra water, snacks, etc in main compartment and I usually still take the fanny pack too, since I gives me much quicker access to the lenses I think I'll want most.
I rarely carry my tripod--mostly because I have yet to get a good one that doesn't weigh a ton. I sometimes take my monopod, which I either use as a walking stick or attach to the backpack.

EDIT: Oh, and sometimes I also carry a small, lightweight camouflage blanket that I can spread on the ground or wrap up in--especially in the winter!