SLR camera carry

[blackyjones]

almost everyone wants to bring a camera. mostly digital these days, but a camera none the less. but most people take point and shoots. little, easy, cheap and stow away nicely. i am a big camera freak and absolutely refuse to comprmise on bringing my full size SLR. just a regular 28-90 lens with a filter or two. the thing im worried about is injuring it. i have looked around but not found much in the way of real strong protection like a hard case for mine. i know people have brought SLR's before and i need to know how to protect my little ole girl from damage. the second thing being, how can i manage to keep my camera within reach and not stuffed deep in my pack where i will be much less likely to pull it out for a shot or two? worse comes to worse, ill just have to make one, but id rather just buy something nice quality that will protect it and leave it somewhat within reach

[Desert Reprobate]

On the PCT, I carried a Minolta SLR in a Lowe bag. It was carried attached to the front of the pack straps. It was wider at the top and the camera went in, lens first, with a zoom lens attached to the body. Much too heavy IMO but it worked well and never gave me any problems. It was available at a moment's notice.

[wrongway_08]

You can get a water proof case from a dive shop but damn... thats a lot of weight. I lost one $300.00 camera to a stream when the carry case and camera fell into a stream. Lost anotherone to dirt.

Would be a shame to ruin a camera like that by not protecting it, but the weight on a good case would just be over kill. I didnt brint bring my little Nikon on the trip cause it weighted so much ... your SLR is a good chunk of weight.

I did see one person on my Thru that carried an slr, he didnt have a case and last I seen him - he had 500 miles to go and the camera was fine.

Most hikers I saw just used the freezer bag style (heavy duty) to cover the cameras and never had a problem.

[grizzlyadam]

i always like it when this topic comes up, especially since backpacking and photography are two things i'm passionate about and two things i've figured out how to blend together. here is an updated post i made about camera equipment before....

when hiking, i primarily shoot with a late 1960's model nikon 35mm.

the history of carrying my camera goes as follows:

• in october of 2000 i set off from springer with the slr in my backpack and a point and shoot in my pocket. i took literally no pictures with the slr and ended up sending it home two weeks later.
  
  
• in april of 2002 i set off from the roan highlands with the slr attached to a side compression strap on my pack with a small carabiner. this proved to be a decent method for me but i didn't like that the camera wasn't protected.
  
  
• in october of 2003 i set off from katahdin with the best system i have found. i use a Lowepro Off Trail 1. i use two small carabiners and some cord to attach the bag to my shoulder straps and thread the belt of the case around my torso (in between my pack and my body) and have no problems with it. the system doesn't bounce and the belt strap around my torso doesn't bother me.
  
  
• i used this same set up in 2004 on the AT, in 2005 on the NCMST and JMT, in 2006 on the AT, and am still using it to this day.
  
  
• in 2005 i walked the john muir trail and carried 15 (yes, i said fifteen) pounds worth of camera equipment with me. i carried my nikon with 3 lenses (28mm, 50mm, and macro to 90mm); a canon ae1 with a 16mm fisheye lens, and a bronica medium format with a 75mm lens and a 50mm lens. i would carry one of the cameras in my lowepro bag and the other two in another camera bag in the top of my pack. heavy but well worth the weight....

in the Off Trail 1; i carry my camera body, 4 lenses (21mm, 24mm, 50mm, and macro-90mm), extra rolls of film, a shutter release cable, a small spiral notebook and pen for recording the camera settings of each shot, and two small silnylon stuffsacks for when it rains.

when it does rain, i also have a larger waterproof stuffsack (OR/Sea-to-Summit roll top type of bag) that i put everything in and then store in my backpack. i don't take any chances.

although it is a little bigger and heavier (1.8 pounds) i also carry a Quantaray - QT-100 Compact Travel Tripod. i have found that this works quite well for those long exposure sunrise/sunset/nightime/moving water shots.

i don't think i could ever hike without an SLR of some sort. i'd go mad without that kind of control over my settings/images.

[boarstone]

Like you say Grizzlyadam, I too have been caught between 35mm and digital. I carry both. Digtial for "very quick shots" and my 35mm for those "composed" shots. Have yet to be swayed over to 100% digital.

[Ramble~On]

Tamrac and Lowepro make padded camera cases in every possible size and design you could ever dream of.
You can attach them to your pack in any number of places and most come with a shoulder strap.

[Lyle]

I used to carry my Nikon SLR in a ziplock, tucked in the top of my Kelty Tioga. Carried it many of miles and many of years without incident in this manner. Had to plan for photos tho.

I now use this (if I carry a SLR or dSLR):

http://products.lowepro.com/product/...ini,2055,8.htm

Just attach to your shoulder straps with carabiners. This has a reverse opening top, so it's quick to get the camera out. I still pack it inside the pack for an all-day rain.

[Froggy]

I've discovered the benefits of a small point and shoot camera. It's taken a while to work down to it, but I've got to admit that from this vantage point, and having previously (a very long time ago) routinely carried a Hassleblad, with its skinny leather strap and with the normal and the 250 mm lenses along, plus a separate spotmeter, I feel quite qualified to say, with a lot of respect and admiration for your hobby and your art - you guys are nuts.

[ChinMusic]

i am a big camera freak and absolutely refuse to comprmise on bringing my full size SLR. just a regular 28-90 lens with a filter or two. the thing im worried about is injuring it. i have looked around but not found much in the way of real strong protection like a hard case for mine. i know people have brought SLR's before and i need to know how to protect my little ole girl from damage. the second thing being, how can i manage to keep my camera within reach and not stuffed deep in my pack where i will be much less likely to pull it out for a shot or two? worse comes to worse, ill just have to make one, but id rather just buy something nice quality that will protect it and leave it somewhat within reach

I have decided on using a Syncpack for trips where I bring my Mark IIN. I found the Syncpack not only makes carrying the camera a breeze but it actually makes the pack feel better by removing the backward pull of the pack. It's a win-win.

http://www.thesyncpack.com/

[Jim Adams]

I love photography!
In 2002 I used a small 35mm point and shoot and shot print film.
In 2007 I carried a large digital that was almost adjustable as much as my SLR film cameras.
In 1990 I carried 2 SLR bodies, a 28mm, 50mm, 135mm lenses, a polarizing filter, a 2x converter (used it as an extension tube for macro photos), a small flash, a shutter release cable and a tripod. 1 body carried chome film and the other b&w print.
The 1990 gear was never readily accessable but the photos were incredibly superior to any of the others...digital can't compare!
I wrapped the bodies with the short lenses attached in pack towels and the 135mm seperately all buried in my pack. Never had a problem.
I carried the 2002 and 2007 cameras very accessable and found that I still didn't get any "quick" shots but did shoot more due to the accessability.

geek

[waywardfool]

I carried an SLR for years, section hiking. What I found worked best was clipping a carabiner to the camera strap, and clipping it to the haul loop/handle that's at the top of most packs above the shoulder straps. Put your arm thru the strap and let it hang at your side, and your hand can steady/control it from swinging. Kinda like just having it slung over one shoulder (same body side as the camera), but the haul loop carries the weight. For when I carried a second lens, it was in a padded lens case on my hipbelt. For weather, I used a drybag with rollup seal...either hand-carrying it by the loop, or a spare strap slinging it as described for just the camera. Easy to pull it out of the drybag and use...this for moderate rain, for a real toad-soaker, it would just go in the pack so I could keep my mind on moving.

I have gone to DSLR now, but the P&S have advanced so much...I usually just carry one (Nikon P6000), unless I am planning to take some down-time on a low-mileage trip for photography. I carry the P&S on a small belt-loop case on my hipbelt.

[yaduck9]

Besides useing a Lowepro with a water proof bag, you may want to consider getting a cheapo 35mm slr off of ebay or the used camera section of Adorama. I would suggest an Nikon n80. Very light, and dirt cheap. No tears if it falls into a stream.

check out this recommendation: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/n80.htm