How can I lighten the camera load. Too heavy these days.

[bjscharp]

I agree with the `bring one for a while' strategy. I'd replace the 50 1.8 with a sigma 30 1.4 or something similar

though. (28 1.8 is a bit lighter and cheaper, 28 2.8 is a lot lighter and cheaper, but 2 stops slower). That gives you a

bit more flexibility.

 

Then bring something wider if you plan landscapes or something longer if you need range...

 

Planning your shoot helps, really. I love my 17-40, but it's useless when I'm shooting a swimming match, so I don't

bring it. Likewise, I don't bring my 135 when I'm doing scenics on a crop body...

 

And a final bit of advice: ditch the batterygrip. It's a lot of weight, and battery life on the XT is good enough without it.

Bring one spare battery and a charger, and you'll be fine.

[frank uhlig]

Been there, done that: switched from an F100 (Nikon) with lenses from 20 mm to 300 mm, etc etc on my back to a Contax G2 rangefinder with lenses from 16 mm to 90 mm . About 1/3 of the weight, 5 times the pleasure, and about 2 times the number of good shots that can be framed.

 

So what if I don't have macro anymore, nor distant sports, long views? You all do macro so well ... and sports, who really cares. But my 4 pounds of weight don't ever bother me, even after 7 hours of walking through the world ..

 

"In der Beschraenkung zeigt sich erst der Meister" (use google translate .. ) More is less, any day, anytime.

[akochanowski]

Frank, for the past 5 years all I ever really carried was a body and one lens. Sometimes, rarely the lens was a shortish zoom.

Digital, film, doesn't really matter, a spare battery in my pocket, few rolls of film or an extra card and I'm all set for a

day.<p>Your G2 reference is apt. I used to have one, sold it a while back, now am again shooting with a G1 and the 35/2.

Super nice.

[dlakelan]

After hearing that you're carrying your stuff in a shoulder bag, I even more strongly recommend the backpack with a waist strap. I've carried 25 pounds of engineering textbooks and laptop and etc in a good backpack without ever having shoulder problems... the weight goes to the hips.

 

Once you've got a backpack, then start thinking about what to shave off... battery grip sounds like the first thing. Then probably choose between the normal zoom and the long zoom based on what you're out doing.

[mendel_leisk]

My trick is to use a shoulder bag, for immediate access to equipment, *and* bring along a smallish, regular packsack as well: typically to carry the usual junk: pens, glasses, lunch, clipboard, etc.

 

But if your shoulder is starting to kill you, you can take the worst offender (biggest telephoto lens) out of the shoulder bag, wrap it in a towel or similar, and stow it in the packsack.

[robert_thommes1]

You folks are great. Lots of really good suggestions. The battery grip has been put on the shelf for a while. And I plan to attempt taking only one lens on my DSLR for a while. Maybe just the 50mm, maybe the 28-75 2.8. Probably the latter. And if that works the best, which I feel it will, I might just let the 50mm go from lack of use.

Thanks to all for offering sincere, and helpful opinions. You efforts are greatly appreciated.

Bob

[Spearhead]

I always carry a spare battery. There are rare instances where they just fail, and if a rechargeable is close to the end of its life, it may not hold enough charge and you may not be aware that is has reached a low charge state. So I don't understand any recommendation not to carry an extra battery. It's not a major weight factor.

 

All those lenses, for what? Even on once-in-a-lifetime shoots, I usually carry one short or short-to-normal zoom and one fast lens, either a 35 or 50, for night shooting. The idea of covering all focal lengths has always struck me as better for the sellers of equipment than for the quality of photography.

[sjgcit]

Well I'd suggest you try a Tamron 18-250 if you must have that range. It's close enough and it's a very good general coverage lens.

 

I am, however, rather at a loss as to why you * must * have all that range all the time. This is just habit, I suspect ( it doesn't sound like you are talking about pro shooting ). I wonder if you weened yourself off this kit would you find it possible to survive without it ?

 

Before I got my K100D I wondered how I'd manage without the handy 28-300 my Fuji S9600 provides. I looked at all sorts of lens combos and all-in-ones ( including the 18-250 ). Well low and behold, I have found peace with my K100D and a single Pentax 28-105 f3.2-4.5 as my normal walk-around. Of course it's a compromise, but I've found it a very versatile compromise and capable of excellent results. Perhaps you can find a similar solution.

 

You do strike me as a potential purchaser for the Panasonic G1. :-)

[robert_thommes1]

Stephen,

It's not that I "need" my full range with me at all times. In fact, the folks here are doing a good job of convincing me to hook up just one lens, and head out with it. I'll get what I can get, and try not to worry about what I couldn't get. Not only would this be light enough to not be a weight issue at all, but would help increase my skills with the one lens that got the nod. Win-win situation, almost.

I'm really not wanting to make another equipment purchase if I can avoid it. I'm quite happy with the results that I'm getting with the gear that I have. I just need to try and re-arrange my thinking about how and when I choose to use it.

Thanks to you (and others) for the comments. This IS helping me.

[sprouty]

One body, one lens.

 

 

I have owned exactly one zoom in my entire life, a Nikon 17-50 f2.8. I was very pleased with the results, but I hated the size and weight. It was even a struggle to get it in and out of the bag. Bought a Sigma 30mm f1.4 (sort of like a 50mm on a D200) and after that the zoom almost never left the bag (and eventually stayed home). After the D200 was liberated, it was replaced with a D700 and a 50mm, f1.4.

 

That's it.

[summitar]

I own a Nikon D200 and most of the Nikon pro bodies. Also many classic Canon's, etc. When I travel, I usually take Canon Powershot loaded with lithium AA batteries. No recharging worries with foreign electricity, SM chips are huge and cheap, and the IQ is very good. My only wish is for lenses that are wider the 35 mm equivalent and that appears to be coming with the Canon G10 and the Nikon P6000.

 

My wife and daughter walked the last 100 km of Santiago pilgrimmage last September equipped with a Canon A95 and A620 and returned with hundreds of excellent photos.

[bobcossar]

Ditch the dinosaurs. Use a Panasonic LX3.....24-60mm equ. and an f/2 to boot. Leica lens too, and it fits in

your pocket.

 

If that's not long enough, add a Panasonic TZ5. There, Problems solved. Cheers, Bob

[jpo3136b]

I didn't read the whole thread; I'm sure you're getting good advice here; but, as soon as I saw your question, I had to

answer. I came across the same type of situation recently, I tried something new, and it worked out great for me. I call

it, The Variety Pack.

 

Thanks to some recent blessings, I have a fair amount of equipment nowadays. Over the years, I've accrued stuff. If I

was to pack all that out there, I would look like that old engraving we've seen of the photographer carrying his entire

darkroom on his back, with the wood frame backpack. So, I don't try to carry everything anymore. The result was, more

pictures! Better quality. Here are some of my strategies.

 

You know you are going a long way, but you have a car. Use the trunk of the car as a drop off point, if basic security

practices permit. Take what you need for a short while, go out and shoot some. Go back to the car. Rearm and refit.

Go out again. Use your car as a miniaturized version of a base camp. This way, you can have on hand a wide variety of

equipment; massive amounts, really, if you think you'd need it.

 

A refit point is a great way to handle those "secondary load" what-ifs. Like, macro equipment, or advanced lighting kits,

for example. Do you want to carry them all day? Probably not. Why not, though, keep them nearby? So, you can get

to them if you decide you need them later. Just like a work truck that carries heavy, infrequently used, but necessary and specialized

tools to the job site.

 

Rotate equipment in the bag. Time to dust off that old mechanical film camera. Bring along a good light meter. Add in

a notebook or a few filters and some spare rolls. Use that for a while. You don't have to carry just one of everything

forever. You can refit your kit bag as you desire.

 

Bring the tripod; leave the tripod. How many different formats do you use? You could bring them all. You could

duplicate for backups. You could rotate. Change up as needed; either from home, or hotel room, or drop off point of

some kind.

 

I once saw a photograph of a National Geographic photographer kneeling in front of all the equipment he was bringing

with him on assignment halfway around the world. Maybe you have seen similar photos. Any chance that guy was

wandering through the village, always carrying every bit of all that stuff? Not likely. Why should we?

 

As long as what you take along makes some sense; it fits; then your kit bag is alright. Okay, you might miss some

shots. Every fraction of a second of every moment of every day (and night) you're missing shots anyway. Pick one.

Use what you have on hand. You are smart enough to calculate exposure and make a picture with anything. That

equipment works for you; the photographer does not get controlled by the onboard CPU. Decide to take it or leave it

behind as you wish; and, don't feel constrained into carrying everything all the time.

 

It's wide angle lens day. It's fast film 15 minutes. It's telephoto time. Today, shoot everything in medium format and

small format, but with only a couple of lenses. For this important landscape, shoot every format, with a variety of lenses

from the same tripod setup. You get the idea. It's worked out great for me. I hope it works for you. Good luck. J.

[wmwhee]

I know what you mean. Lately I have been carrying a small manual slr camera and three compact prime lenses in a shoulder bag. I guess the bag and gear are relatively light in weight, but it's a drag and detracts from the enjoyment of walking about. So, lately, at least some of the time, I grab the camera and a single lens, sling it over my shoulder, and take off. The thing is, you don't need to carry all of your equipment all of the time. For a change, you could limit yourself to just one part of your kit. That said, I have not been able to bring myself to leaving the house without a camera. Why go out at all?

[graham_thompson1]

Bit of a new guy and should be on beginners forum!

Been out of photography 30 years and just come back in. I have a heart condition and whilst I will be ok for a good few

years yet I have a problem with walking any distance which is made worse by carring a load.

I was in danger of becoming kit bound and whilst I have a D300 + 12-24 + 16-85 + 105.2.8 Macro what do I take most of

the time. The D300 (A D40 would do just as well) and the 16-85. What has got me wondering however is a P6000 which is

arguably not a serious camera but seems worth a least borrowing to try. I think the point of the car boot (trunk to you non

proper English!) is sensible and I do it. It is also amazing just how many photographic opportunities you find within a short

walk from the car. I bought the macro to take up table top work which to means (I hope) a lot of enjoyment without having to

carry more than a cup of coffee to the workplace. My bestwork ever was I think when I first started. A C330f - no need for a

bag - all the lenses fitted in a pocket. I did the other day handle an Olympus OM1 belonging to a collector. So small and

light and the veiwfinder - so bright. The lenses all seemed to weigh in at about a third of the current digital ones. Still we

have moved on - or have we?

This site by the way brilliant. If you don't subscribe come and get the card out. 3 years sub for less than a crappy filter.

One to one advice in fact better than one to one a varied veiw from lots of really helpful people helps you make a balanced

decision. More than a book could ever do. Thanks to you all and sorry to rant on!

[brookref]

I know you've gotten some great advice here, and I see that you've decided on a plan of action - using the one lens and getting used to is is

probably the best way to go. I know you said you don't want to buy new equipment but I might suggest a really pleasant option that has

worked amazingly well for me.

 

Some have suggested the Canon G9/G10 as a backup, and I'd really recommend you consider it. The G9 (which I had until I left it in a cab in

Sao Paulo) is lightweight and offers amazing quality. I'd recommend this because the 35-210 lens will give you most of the telephoto you'll

want, in a nice compact body. If you scout around, you can get a G9 for about $300.