Proper waterproof bag...

chilohm

chilohm

Jack Sloan
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Hi.
I'm going up to South Uist in the Outer Hebrides this summer with a bunch of teenagers. We will be camping, pretty much on the beach, on the west coast. It rains A LOT and is constantly windy.

I'm planning on taking a Rolleiflex and either my Contax G2 kit or a D700 kit, and will need a properly waterproof bag. What would people recommend? I will be being very active, and will be carrying the kit around with me, but also want to be able to leave it lying around as photography will not be the main focus of my energy there.

Am I asking too much?

Here's a picture of the place we're going to - do you see my problem?!


Storm on Eriskay by jack_sloan, on Flickr
 
You could try the large plastic Zip Lock bag and place a small pkg of dessicant inside. Then place that bag inside another Zip Lock bag.
 
As storage you could look at something by Ortlieb. They make rolltop bags for canoeing and so on. For working from, forget it. Don't forget that saltwater spray is very different from rain-drops regarding the corrosion results!

While caving the best bet seemed to be a steel ammunition-box with foam cut from a camping-mattress inside. These boxes are relatively small and heavy but can be underwater for a while if the rubber seal is still ok. Size and weight might be a problem for your purpose though.
 
I carry everything in my normal camera bag but keep several small lightweight drybags in one of the pockets (they are cheap enough from outdoor shops). This way everything is as normal but, if it starts getting really wet, I can transfer equipment into the drybags - if you go this way then you might want to keep something like dryzone dessicant bags inside the dry bags because the worst thing that you can do is to put damp gear inside a waterproof bag - the resulting high humidity which cannot escape is not good for it at all. Salt water is an absolute killer for electronic gear (I know I've flooded cameras in the past).

Pelicases are great (I have too many) but are not really user friendly because they are heavy, awkward and not easy to access or carry - good for storage at base or in the car.
 
As stated previously a dry bag would be best but they are slightly impractical. Aldi had some recently at £6.96 each.

Alternatively, at the weekend I did see a rucksack that incorporated a dry sack and looked to be very useable. It may have been a North Face bag but cannot be sure, I am certain the Google will be able to assist.

Kind regards,

ft
 
This might be heresy, but I'd bring a waterproof camera like a Nikonos or the newer digital ones made by Olympus or other mass market manufacturers. This way, you won't have to worry about the camera, and the quality is decent enough in most daylight situations. My 2 cents.
 
agree with jmq. if photography is not your main priority, I'd be looking at a waterproof p&s. otherwise Lowepro Drizone packs might be a bit spendy but they'd do the job if you didn't want to haul a pelican.
 
went white water rafting and like you needed a waterproof bag. I considered a Pelican case or a Lowepro Dryzone, the Pelican is probably the best but the options were many and configuring for use a headache, anyway I found a Dryzone at the right price, it's good for various stuff and very easy to carry, but an absolute pain to get in and out of.. It sat strapped at the front of the raft and got soaked a few time through the rapids.... There was over £5k of body and lenses sat in it, so it was important it did the business..
My friend bought a waterproof housing for his Sony P&S.. a cheaper and less worrying experience..
That would be my choice next time.
 
Thanks for the advice. I'll look into the options people have suggested. I think the pelicases will be too difficult to lug around, but the Lowepro looks possible (if pricey!).

Has anyone used these? It looks small, but it would probably be ok for a morning or afternoon, and I could swap things out when I needed to. It's quite appealing not to have ALL my photography kit in the pouring rain too!

Thanks again
Jack.
 
Many Lowe Pro bags have a built in waterproof cover. You pull it out, then wrap it around the bag. They fit tightly and securely and are a bit hard to get stowed again. Strap remains free.

Garbage bag and twist ties an alternative. Leave the strap free.
 
chilohm said:
Has anyone used these?
Click to expand...

Imitation Ortlieb bag - there are plenty of these around since their original patents expired. Ortlieb bags do extremely well, and quality imitations tend to be no worse. As soft bags, any protection against knocking about or compression that they have has to be traded for sheer foam volume - but a big, soft bag will sometimes pack much better (most notably in canoes or on carry animals) than a much smaller hard rectangular container...
 
Last edited:
JMQ said:
This might be heresy, but I'd bring a waterproof camera like a Nikonos or the newer digital ones made by Olympus or other mass market manufacturers. This way, you won't have to worry about the camera, and the quality is decent enough in most daylight situations. My 2 cents.
Click to expand...

Very good idea. I've got a little Panasonic, 14MP with Leica glass that has been great for family snaps everywhere wet or dry.

P1000116.jpg
 
Chilohm, If I was travelling with a bunch of (crazy) teenagers, I would limit my gear to the bare minimum (1 body, 2 lenses) and ziplock them.
The Rolleiflex is maybe a bit fragile in these circumstances.
Just my 2 cents
 
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