What's in your camera bag?

Photography knowledge exchange.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
User avatar
R.Lynch
Posts: 33
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 8:43 am
Contact:

What's in your camera bag?

Post by R.Lynch »

When I see a really nice picture on the forum I'm always the person who asks the question, "What kind of setup are you using?" I don't know what it is, but I find it interesting to see what type of equipment other photographers are using. Maybe it's because knowing what other people use and the images they produced using that particular set up helps me decide what my next purchase might be?

So with that being said, I'm pretty sure that at some point before the crash this topic has come up already, but I thought I'd ask it again to refresh the Image Lab.

What set-up/ equipment do you carry in your camera bag?

I'll start:
LowePro Inverse Beltpack
Nikon D70s
Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR AF-S DX Nikkor Lens
Tokina AT-X M100 AF Pro D 100mm f/2.8 macro lens
Nikkor AF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED DX VR
Nikon SB-600 AF Speedlight Unit
Opteka softbox diffuser
Some cheap 50$ Tripod
Back up battery
Back up memory card

I'd say my macro lens is on the camera more often than not, and my 55-200mm commonly stay at home to save me from carrying the extra weight.

Anyone else care to share? And if anyone has any questions about someone else's gear go ahead and take this opportunity to ask!
User avatar
Matt J
Posts: 679
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 11:32 am
Location: Delaware
Contact:

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by Matt J »

While making this list I noticed I don't own much camera equipment and therefore carry general herp/hiking gear:

Lowepro Fastpack 200
Canon Rebel XSi
Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro (attached to the camera 99% of the time)
Canon 28-135 mm and a collapsible hood
Canon 55-250 mm
Two 4-GB memory cards
Handheld GPS
Field notebook and a couple pens/pensils/Sharpies
Field guide if I'm in a new state
Thermometer
Nylon measuring tape (though I never remember to measure anything)
Zip-lock bags
Granola bars
Small first aid kit
Two headlamps and a small 2-AA flashlight
Water bottle, unless I'm going to be taking long shots, then a mini-tripod that fits in the waterbottle pouch

Occasionally I'll bring a kitchen sink too, matters how long I plan on being out
User avatar
MattSullivan
Posts: 419
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 2:07 pm
Location: New Jersey

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by MattSullivan »

Canon 7D
Canon 60mm f2.8 macro
Sony A700
Sony 70-400mmG
Sony 100mm f2.8 macro
Sigma 28-200mm zoom
Canon Powershot G9

It still is the photographer not the camera though :D
bgorum
Posts: 619
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:46 am
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Contact:

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by bgorum »

O.k., I'll bite. I have to admit to having an interest in what other people chose to use; even though I know it's not the equipment that makes good photos.

My current setup is:

Nikon D200
Nikkor 12-24
Nikkor 24-85 AF-S
Micro-Nikkor 70-180
Nikkor 300 f4 AF-S
Pentax T132 diopter
2 SB-600s
Nikon SC-17 cord
Wimberly Macro flash bracket
Electronic remote
A little manfrotto table top tripod with a thingy that allows me to mount a flash on it
Head lamp
GPS
Rain Poncho
DEET
sunscreen
Ivy Guard (this stuff is a life saver for me)!

All this stuff gets carried in a Lowepro Nature Trekker AW backpack. I shlep a Gitzo G1340 tripod with a Kirk BH-1 ballhead over my shoulder or just carried in my hand at my side.

I've got an idea to make this thread potentially more interesting. How about posting some example photos? All of these are taken with my Nikon D200 set at ISO 100.

Image
12-24 @ 24mm, 1/80th second @ f9.5. Handheld, (actually with the camera resting on the roadway)

Image
70-180 micro @ 180, f16 with one SB600 on Wimberly bracket and connected to camera with SC-17 cord (iTTL).

Image
70-180 micro @ 122mm f9.5 with two wireless SB600s (one to front right at full power, the other to the front left at -1 stop)

Image
300mm 1/40th @ f8, tripod

Image
24-85 @ 24mm, 1/4 second @ f16, tripod. I had to go back a full year to find a picture taken with this lens. Definitely my least frequently used lens!
User avatar
Kyle Dickerson
Posts: 50
Joined: June 24th, 2010, 4:26 pm
Location: San Diego, CA
Contact:

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by Kyle Dickerson »

Nikon D700
Nikkor 17-35mm f2.8 AF-S
Nikkor 105mm f2.8 AF-S VR
Nikon SB-900
Lumiquest Softbox III
Lastolite EZBOX 24" Softbox
Manfrotto Nanostands

That's not all my gear, but its what I generally bring when my sole purpose is to take pics. I'm a weight weenie so for general hiking/backpacking, I bring

Nikon FM2n
Nikkor 20mm f3.5
Nikon 75-150mm f3.5 Series E
Gitzo 1541T + Markins Q3T
A few rolls of Fuji Velvia
Canon SD780IS
User avatar
chrish
Posts: 3295
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 11:14 pm
Location: San Antonio, TX
Contact:

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by chrish »

I guess it varies what I'm doing. Generally for (mostly) herping trips:

Sony Alpha 700 DSLR
long lens (usually Sony 70-400 SSM-G or Minolta 300 f/4 G)
Tamron 90mm Macro
Minolta 28-75D
Sigma 14mm EX
Sony FL-56 flash with Stofen Omnibounce diffuser
Minolta 50mm f/1.8
collapsible diffusers/reflectors
2 extra batteries for camera
up to 20Gb of CF cards
2 sets of AA Sanyo Eneloop batteries (for flash unit) - if you don't have these, you should! They rule.

Other things that get in there sometimes depending on where I'm headed:
- set of Kenko extension tubes
- 1.4x teleconverter
- second flash unit and macro bracket
- Sony 100-300 SSM G lens
dthor68
Posts: 295
Joined: July 26th, 2010, 1:26 pm
Location: South Carolina
Contact:

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by dthor68 »

I think the equipment does matter. I have had point and shoot cameras and they just do not give you the flexability of an SLR. At times I have got some good shots with a P&S and I have seen many awesome shots here with them. I just find I get much more keepers with the SLR. I do believe that when it comes to SLR brands they are all pretty much equal. However, the Canon and Nikon products have a much wider selection of lenses and accesories.

I use Nikon gear. Most of my close up stuff is done with the 105mm f/2.8 VR lens. When I need more reach I use the 300mm f/4 with a tube. My favorite nikon lens is the 12-24mm f/4. I use it for waterfalls, rivers, creeks and landscapes. A lot of folks dont like the 12-24mm, I love mine! I also use 28mm manual focus for closeups. I use 35mm f/2 and 50mm f/1.4 for lightning, landscapes and family stuff. I use the 70-200mm for the NHRA drag races and mountain landscapes. I really do not like the 70-200mm much. I have had several problems with it. Here lately at times the VR hangs up and it wont shoot, and it hunts a lot. I also use a SB-600, tubes and TC's. I use a Gitzo tripod with a Kirk ballhead.

I would show some pics but for some reason I am unable to upload pictures here? You can click on WWW to check out my website. Maybe someone here can help me figure out how to post pics, I emailed the Mod. like 5 days ago?
User avatar
Owen
Posts: 1924
Joined: June 11th, 2010, 12:35 am
Location: San Jose', Northern Catcrapistan

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by Owen »

I can fit a lot in the Lowepro Flipside 400:

Image

Image

But the usual is:

Sony DSLR-A700 w/ 70-300mm G (or I carry this)

Internally:

Tamron 200-500mm
Minolta 24-85mm
I have a Sigma 10-20mm, but I usualy leave it home when hitting the local spots
Rocket Blower
LED Flashlight w/spare set batteries
Dog Poop Bags (yes I clean up afler my dog)
(2) 4G 300x CF cards
(2) 2G 300x CF cards
Sony HVL-F36AM flash
Minolta 1200AF ringlight with MFC-1000 controller
(3) Sony NP-FM500H batteries
(8) Rayovac Hybrid NiMH AA batteries
small first aid kit

There's also room to throw in some breakfast bars, apples, dog biscuits if I'm hiking over 4 hours.

Externally attached

Schrade Lockback 6" filet knife
Pepper Spray
1 qt water bottle (extra 1/2 liter bottle if longer outing)
Dog water dish (yeah, I usually take my dog with me).

On my belt is a camera holster with Sony DSLR-A350 and Sigma 70mm macro
bgorum
Posts: 619
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:46 am
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Contact:

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by bgorum »

Derek,

You've got some very good pictures on your website. It is unfortunate you have not been able to post them here. What you need to do is to copy the image address, then click the Img button above the message window here on field herp forum, and past the image address between the brackets. You could also just type this in on either side of your image address. I went ahead and did it here with the box turtle picture from your website
Image
Hope to see more pictures from you!

Bill
dthor68
Posts: 295
Joined: July 26th, 2010, 1:26 pm
Location: South Carolina
Contact:

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by dthor68 »

Thank You Bill. I will give it a try.

Image


I have tried it several times. I went to website and clicked on picture I wanted. When picture came up I copied whole address from address bar. I then clicked on Img button here and pasted address between the Image
bgorum
Posts: 619
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:46 am
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Contact:

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by bgorum »

Derek,

I pasted the image address from your post into a web browser and went to photo.net. I then clicked on the image, (which brought up a larger version), and then copied that image address to copy here. That did the trick!
Image
dthor68
Posts: 295
Joined: July 26th, 2010, 1:26 pm
Location: South Carolina
Contact:

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by dthor68 »

Chris explained to me what I was doing wrong, so I think I got it now. Thank you Chris and Bill.

Image


Sorry for derailing your post Bill. And the last shot you posted makes me want to go out and get the 24-85mm. The colors and sharpness are incredible.
User avatar
Jason Mintzer
Posts: 101
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 7:25 am
Location: Orange County, CA

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by Jason Mintzer »

bgorum, those pics are stunning. The exposure on the atrox on the road shot is perfect. Did you use a flash?

Anyways, here is my setup.

Nikon d80
Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro
Tamron 17-50 f2.8
Nikon SB-800 flash with diffuser
When road cruising I also bring the Nikon R1 macro flash ring
bgorum
Posts: 619
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:46 am
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Contact:

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by bgorum »

Jason Mintzer wrote:bgorum, those pics are stunning. The exposure on the atrox on the road shot is perfect. Did you use a flash?

Anyways, here is my setup.

Nikon d80
Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro
Tamron 17-50 f2.8
Nikon SB-800 flash with diffuser
When road cruising I also bring the Nikon R1 macro flash ring
Jason, the atrox on the road did not get any flash. Unfortunately using available light only caused me to blow out the clouds, but a flash would have eliminated the nice hour before sunset light on the snake. In retrospect I wish I had taken two exposures of that scene and then I could have played around with HDR to get details in the clouds as well as the rest of the scene.
User avatar
Jason Mintzer
Posts: 101
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 7:25 am
Location: Orange County, CA

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by Jason Mintzer »

bgorum, thanks for the reply, again great picture. I would much rather have the clouds blown out than the sky.
Peyton
Posts: 3
Joined: August 20th, 2010, 8:39 am

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by Peyton »

Canon 5D w/ grip, L plate
17-40 f/4L
24-70 f/2.8L
70-200 f/4L IS
1.4x extender II
cable release

Heliopan CPL
Singh Ray Grad ND's, Reverse Grad ND's, Vari ND filters :thumb:

all stuffed in a F-Stop Tilopa, best packs out there:

http://www.fstopgear.com
User avatar
Nick Scobel
Posts: 232
Joined: June 10th, 2010, 9:35 pm
Location: Southeast Michigan
Contact:

Re: What's in your camera bag?

Post by Nick Scobel »

Canon 400D
Canon EF-S 100mm f/2.8 USM
Canon EF-S 18-55mm
Tamron 75-300mm Telephoto
Canon Speedlite 430EX II

Image

Image

Image
Post Reply