Carry-on Bag - Camera Bag

[38Deardorff]

The gear I am taking is pretty pricey. The X2D and XCD 55V cost me two grandchildren and an ex-wife. LOL Add in the 120 3.5 macro tele and we are talking way more than I want to lose. I'd like to bring along an A7 III also with two lenses. Then the batteries, filters and so on, it is way more than I can afford to replace. That gear tapped me out. So insurance is a must. As it comes to more than $5K I think I have to get pro coverage. That's OK, call it duck if you want. Just cover me. ;o)

I am really trying to get all my ducks in a row way before I leave. Last minute stuff is terrifying. Yeah, I could do it with an M9 and three or four lenses, but . . .

B, after your trip you'll have to tell us if you had just enough gear or ....too much.
Apart from road trips with a 5x7" & 4x10", the last trip i took a lot of gear was to the Himalaya in the late '80s. I had a Pentax LX w/ a 24 & 80-200, and a Leica M6 with a 35 & 50. Carried them everywhere for 30 days of trekking and i'm pretty sure i didn't have insurance on them. If i were doing the trip today i'd likely get by with less.... a 35mm Summilux & a 90mm for mountain close-ups would do it for me or just a Rolleiflex.... i always have trouble deciding..... but a single camera Rolleiflex or Leica....well that's almost like you know "wallet & watch."

 

[boojum]

For sure, need coverage on that gear. I was robbed in Madrid about 20 years ago, losing a Minolta Maxxum 7 camera and a few lenses for shooting street scenes. A couple began fighting, yelling at each other in the street where I was enjoying dinner outdoors with some colleagues, my camera bag set down in front of me below my seat. The woman shrieks, slams down a heavy package, and the couple runs off, distraction accomplished. I look down and my camera bag is gone: A carefully coordinated theft. Lesson learned, but at a not-too-high price to replace my gear.

Spain is notorious for theft now. Just another reason for me not to go. OK, who was your underwriter?

 

[boojum]

B, after your trip you'll have to tell us if you had just enough gear or ....too much.
Apart from road trips with a 5x7" & 4x10", the last trip i took a lot of gear was to the Himalaya in the late '80s. I had a Pentax LX w/ a 24 & 80-200, and a Leica M6 with a 35 & 50. Carried them everywhere for 30 days of trekking and i'm pretty sure i didn't have insurance on them. If i were doing the trip today i'd likely get by with less.... a 35mm Summilux & a 90mm for mountain close-ups would do it for me or just a Rolleiflex.... i always have trouble deciding.

I could do the trip with the A7 and the two lenses. But that X2D is just so damned sweet. I have no idea how the folks in Gothenburg got so good at tuning sensors but they sure did. It is just magic, sharp but not harsh, saturated color but not garish. I am so glad I had those extra two grandchildren and the ex-wife to exchange for that gear. Oh, wash my mouth out with soap. LOL

 

[besk]

Cameras: I am pretty much set o the A7 with the 1.8 55 and the 24 - 240, the zoom doing most of the lifting. Second camera? Yeah, the M9 is sweet, so is the M240 and the Q3 is an easy to use. But the X2D consistently does magic with light and color. The X2D is not that big, even with the XCD 55V on it. I'd bring along the 120 3.5. So that would be two cameras. I am just so impressed with what the X2D does that I would like it for its gorgeous subtlety.

But I have a few months to sort this out, too. The A7 is pretty much definite as it does so much and so well. Not perfect but really good. The Q3 is that way but one focal length.

Clothes, two pair of shoes, three trousers and four or five shirts and sets of skivvies and socks, Meds, I take a lot of meds so that gets packed. I have traveled across the country in this little devil and it worked fine with one suitcase and a camera bag. It's a 2001 Honda Insight, 50 - 60 MPG easily.

I will be riding or walking, no hiking. The X2D? With such a sweet camera why leave it at home? I will take my Swiss Army knife, it's on my key chain, and maybe the Opinel just for sentimental sake.

B0000393 Ma charette et moi by West Phalia, on Flickr​

Had an Insight. My brother still has his. Nice car if you can keep a good battery.

 

[boojum]

Had an Insight. My brother still has his. Nice car if you can keep a good battery.

I put a new one in my a couple of years go. I believe it replaced the original. I'll be making a run from NW Oregon to Covina and then to Cape Cod in mine, and back. It is a great road car. Mine is stick but I had cruise control put in. Great for those long hauls in the Midwest. It is a great car.

 

[DownUnder]

So how did you end up packing your camera gear for this trip, and in which bag?

I'm planning to leave for Malaysia and Sarawak in less than two weeks, so I need inspiration. Please help!

 

[boojum]

So how did you end up packing your camera gear for this trip, and in which bag?

I'm planning to leave for Malaysia and Sarawak in less than two weeks, so I need inspiration. Please help!

I am not final, but, . . . I think I can do it with the Sony A7 III, 55mm 1.5 and the 24 - 240 zoom plus the X2D, XCD 55V and 120 3.5 macro. OK, flash for the Sony, batteries for both, and associated crap. I think I will go for the Domke F-2 because it holds a lot and will slide under a seat. This is not final but it looks pretty good as it will carry all the gear and also can collapse enough for a day carry.

I am beginning to like the Q3 43. It is a B+ student, always good but not always great. It does a lot of things well. The X2D does all of it great and is the same field of view, an equivalent 43mm. It does have four or five crop teles in it so that is nice.

The Sony is a quick and dirty shooter. 24mm is plenty wide and 240 is a good reach tele. It can do high speed burst shooting. It does HDR and movies. Yes, I am bringing an external mic. It does good color and image. I could do just the Sony, but that HB is just so sweet. As soon as I started shooting with it I was OK with spending all that money. It is a good camera.

So that is my rationalization. I have a carry-on I will buy that meets the guidelines. I will have a checked bag of mostly clothes.

That's the deal. I hope it helps you some.