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Excellent timing on the thread, OP. I'm just about to head over to my local camera shop and browse for bags for my Pentax K10D. I'm looking for a holster, something that can hold my camera with my walk-around lens on it, and not be in the way while I'm doing something else. I'll be heading out for field work in the High Arctic in July, 6 weeks out in the polar desert (I'm a soil scientist; I study dirt). When I was chased off a beach by a polar bear a couple of years ago, I couldn't take a picture (to my everlasting shame) because to get at my camera would have meant putting down the gun. Even without large predators around, I'll be mostly busy with my hands, sitting down, standing up, moving around, and I want the ability to pull out my camera and get a shot quickly if something comes up. The rest of my gear (my other 2 lenses, for now) can be buried in my backpack. a foolish pianist posted:When I'm going hiking or climbing, I use my Lowepro Cirrus:
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May 1, 2010 19:49
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TsarAleksi posted:The ThinkTank belt systems are great for working journalists. Waffleimages appears to be down at the moment, so I'll just post a link, and you can marvel at the stereotypical photo nerd they put up as a picture of the user of this bag. EDIT: I've never used a Pelican case for a camera, but I've used plenty of their cases for various pieces of scientific equipment (frickin' lasers!). Expensive, yes, but not nearly as expensive as replacing your nearly-priceless gear when you're out in the middle of nowhere. The downside is they're pretty heavy, and basically all are carried like a briefcase, which means they get tiresome and awkward pretty quickly. On the other hand, when you get tired you can literally drop the case whereever, in a puddle, on rocks, in mud, doesn't matter. If you're willing to compromise the watertight integrity, you can drill or cut through the hard plastic to mount stuff directly to the case; we did this with a set of pumps and electronic controllers / valves for our gas-measurement system. Plus, airports are familiar with Pelican cases, and the average security guard can do a quick check on one in under 30 seconds. The small- and medium-sized cases are of the same size and shape as normal suitcases, so baggage handlers like them, too. EDIT 2: \/\/\/ I was pretty impressed by the price. The comparable LowePro offering, the TopLoad 50 (which didn't fit my camera quite as nicely), was only $5 cheaper. I paid $55 for my digital holster. I totally agree with you about the obvious thought and care in the design and build, though. ExecuDork fucked around with this message at 21:43 on May 1, 2010 |
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May 1, 2010 21:30
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How stupid is my current plan to stash my two smaller lenses (Pentax DA 18-55 and FA 35-80) in one belt-attachable lens bag, end-to-end? I like keeping my telephoto zoom on the body in the holster, and I'd like to have my other lenses reasonably accessible. Am I going to destroy my lenses this way?
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May 8, 2010 05:40
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Wooten posted:As long as they have caps on them and don't move around a lot it shouldn't be an issue. Where do you put the long telephoto when you switch lenses though? EDIT: I bought a ThinkTank Skin 50, a kind of general-purpose little bag with a bit of padding. It takes my two smaller lenses side-by-side, and I can get at either of them pretty quickly. It fits on my belt OK, and wasn't in the way when I took it for a walk this afternoon. It also holds the telephoto (without closing the top flap) when I've got one of the other lenses on the camera. I'm really digging this ThinkTank stuff, so far all of their bags I've looked at have been good. ExecuDork fucked around with this message at 05:21 on May 9, 2010 |
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May 8, 2010 22:13
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For those considering Pelican cases, here's a look at the two biggest models they make, using my own poorly-composed shots. We use these to cart around scientific equipment. The largest Pelican cases are available only in black. Pelican 1660 (very dusty)  It's a bit larger than a normal 48-litre picnic cooler. Pelican 1690 (too large for checked luggage on airlines!)  That's a tape measure inside, extended to about 14 inches. A 15" rugged laptop fits into the slot on the right. These cost upwards of $500, and most places that sell Pelicans don't stock them, so they usually take a couple of weeks to arrive. They're huge, heavy, very awkward, and difficult to work with - we had to air-cargo the larger one last year, and I think that cost about $100, and insurance was not available. They're each held closed by 7 latches. But they will protect your gear, guaranteed (except against sharks, bears, and small children).
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May 9, 2010 05:58
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I'm curious about the tripod carrying system of the Streetwalkers. What kind of shooting do you typically do when you're, um, Streetwalking? 
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May 9, 2010 19:49
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Not sure if this is of interest to anyone, but seeing DJExile's mention of an inside view of some of the smaller ThinkTank bags... Digital Holster 20  Click here for the full 800x560 image. That's a Canadian quarter and a 49mm lens cap for scale. Skin 50  Click here for the full 800x713 image. With my Pentax FA 35-80mm rattling around inside. Seconding the love for ThinkTank stuff. Once I accumulate some more stuff I'll be looking for a proper all-in-one bag, and I'll probably reach for the Urban Disguise series first.
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May 11, 2010 02:54
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Bongodrums posted:Do you think you can do a mini-review/post some photos of the bag with gear in it for me please? I'm in Canada and there are no local retailers where I can walk in and have a look, so I have to go by pictures and people's opinions and order online. I'm looking for buy the 10 for a summer trip to China. Where in Canada? I'm in Saskatoon, I bought my ThinkTank bag (not a Retrospective, but they had lots to choose from) at Don's Photo. They've got branches in Edmonton, Regina, Brandon, and head office (multiple stores) in Winnipeg in addition to the one in Saskatoon. I know there are good camera stores in Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, and Toronto, and I assume in other towns and cities, too. I'd be surprised if there truly are no camera retailers anywhere near you.
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May 22, 2010 23:15
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I'm looking for a big suitcase-style bag to hold all my camera stuff in one place. The idea is I could toss it into the passenger seat of my car when I go for my (nearly) weekly drives for fun. Anyways, broke-rear end graduate student here, so while something like a big shoulder bag (link goes to PDF) would be ideal, I don't want something brand new and $200. Let's put my budget around $50, and it will hold a Minolta X700 manual film SLR plus 3 small lenses and a big telephoto, a Pentax K10D (with grip) plus 4 lenses, and a handful of little accessories (filters, charger, spare batteries, etc). I'm thinking second-hand here, is there a place you'd go to look for such things? Value Village might have something, but would a pawn shop? Any other ideas? Also, do people still go to camera gear swap-meets, or has the internet pretty much killed that market?
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Sep 27, 2010 00:06
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I've got a bunch of filters kicking around, mostly cheap and silly things but a couple of polarizers that I like, and I was wondering how other people keep their filters from getting scratched or broken. Some of mine came with soft leather / fakeleather pouches, but some were just on lenses I bought and are now rattling around unprotected in the pockets of my bags. I don't have enough room in said pockets to keep all of my filters separate from each other so I screw them together sometimes. This is a pain, and doesn't really protect them very well. How big are those memory-card holders, would a 49mm or 52mm filter fit in one?
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Nov 5, 2010 01:47
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William T. Hornaday posted:Is there anyone that sells just the internal part of camera bags — something that I can just insert into a normal backpack? Tenba Messenger Pelican Case inserts Cut-your-own-foam Do-it-yourself tutorial from a blog assorted stuff on B&H's website I'm going to look into some of these, I've got a bunch of old bags and suitcases of various styles that I don't otherwise use.
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Nov 6, 2010 02:17
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My local camera shop (which is quite good overall) carries the National Geographic bags. They are distinctive, if nothing else - they certainly do look 1950's-on-assignment-like, which is almost certainly what the designers / marketeers were going for. I really like them, for the look and for the materials, they seem very well made when I've been in there fondling them. The problem is, they're fairly expensive. I'm planning to swing by the shop Saturday, they seem to carry the full line of LowePro, Think Tank, Crumpler, and NG bags. I saw one Domke (with an "employee favourite" label on it), possibly the F2 (can't remember exactly) a few weeks ago, but I've never seen a Kata there. Let me know what you're curious about and I'll try to check that out specifically. I like just browsing the store, too much stuff that tempts me so...
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Nov 26, 2010 03:06
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I had a chance today to really pick at the National Geographic bags at my local camera store. They seem really well made, good materials and some significant thought about how people might actually use these bags. The straps and buckles were all very solid with good brass buckles and sliders. On the big shoulder bag in their "Africa" series, the shoulder strap could be adjusted from long enough to hang below my hip across my chest to short enough to be at about elbow height hanging directly down from one shoulder. There's not an additional pad on the strap, but it's reasonably wide (about 1.5 inches); when it's full of gear you'd probably get a sore shoulder from the strap pretty quickly unless you were wearing a heavy jacket or something like that. The pockets and various small compartments for accessories were abundant and I thought quite good. The zippers are all very well waterproofed, and the canvas gave the impression it will last forever. There's no tripod holder on any of the bags I saw, but the shoulder bags have a top flap layout that looks like you could zip closed the main compartment, lay your tripod across the top, then fold down and secure the top flap with the buckles. Or something. The internal compartment is padded all around, with a piece that separates the laptop pocket. Rather than a set of velcro adjustable pads to divide up the space, they give you one brightly-coloured removable bag with a pair of moveable dividers inside; I guess you'd put your camera with walk-around lens inside that, with a couple of smaller lenses, and then your big telephoto and your flash or whatnot in the main compartment. Overall, the NG "Africa" series bags look very good if you're looking for a large shoulder bag or a large-ish messenger bag. At my local store they're all selling for close to $200, with the different sizes not much different in price.
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Nov 28, 2010 00:34
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AIIAZNSK8ER posted:Would I look like a complete tool if I bought the double sling black rapid system?  How fashionable you think that looks is entirely subjective, but, yes, there is a strong resemblance to a tool there.
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Jan 22, 2011 20:47
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They're not leather, but the ThinkTank Retrospective series isn't too different from that, for about $100 less. http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/retrospective-30-pinestone-shoulder-bag.aspx They market them as "inconspicuous". I don't know what effect that might have on potential thieves. My guess is somebody willing to lift a bag from a tourist is probably willing to lift any bag from a tourist.
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Jan 26, 2011 03:30
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The Tamrac System 6 I bought through Pentaxforums arrived yesterday. I haven't had a chance yet to really put it through its paces, and I'm not very familiar with the 7D or your lenses. Having said that, your gear *might* fit in this bag. They also sell a couple of bags that are a bit larger. I quite like the various pockets for filters, batteries, spare cards, etc. I got mine second-hand for $65 including shipping. Amazon.com lists it for about $80. Are you looking for a shoulder bag, a sling, or a backpack? Or something else?
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Jan 27, 2011 01:45
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ricepaddydaddy posted:Any recommendations for a slim shoulder bag that would take, at most a 50D plus a 17-55mm f2.8? I have a shoulder bag that can fit that, as well as nearly every other lens. I just need something I can take down the street to force myself to take photos everyday! http://www.thinktankphoto.com/categories/holster-camera-bags.aspx Lowepro also makes a line of holsters, among their toploaders. I have no experience with these bags. http://products.lowepro.com/catalog/Toploading,8.htm I like the toploader / holster style when I'm just carrying my camera, I can pull it out pretty quickly and stuff it back down again easily. That's kinda the point of the design, so at least for me it seems to work.
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Feb 5, 2011 02:41
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A5H posted:I really want a camo strap. Does that exist? Why isn't there a company knocking out straps? They'd be cheap to make and tons of idiots like me would buy them. If your goal is "not ugly, not utilitarian", a camo strap will not meet that goal. Unless you're actually hunting / hiding from the law.
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Feb 9, 2011 03:10
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