Casual users setups. How much is too much?

[tdigi]

<p>Lately I have been making my setup smaller and smaller and now I mostly shoot with my camera and 2 primes. If you shoot for fun what do you carry? I read an bag review by Ken Rockwell about people lugging around big backpacks full of gear and it made sense. Even with my 5d2 and 24-105 I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb. I know this is a personal thing, I am just curious of what others do.</p>

<p>here is the review<br>

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/think-tank-speed-demon.htm</p>

[alan_green4]

<p>are you asking what i shoot with most of the time or what i would carry in a light bag. mostly, i shoot a 50 1.4 and 135 2.0. for a light bag, ironically, i might not carry either of those. i'd go with a short zoom, long zoom, one prime, a 1.4 converter, and a set of tubes</p>

[fmueller]

<p>In my Minolta film days my standard set consisted of one body, a 24/2.8, 50/1.4 and a 2x macro TC that could turn the 50 into 100/3.4 macro that could focus from infinity all the way to 1:1. I found that a very versatile set. </p>

<p>Once I switched to Canon and digital, my standard set became a Rebel XT with 17-85IS. Most of the time that's all I really need, but of course it is nice to be able to choose different gear from your collection on the basis of what you expect a particular outing to require. My Canon set includes 10-22, 70-210USM, 100-400L, 100/2.8 macro, 35/2, 50/1.8, flash, ST-E2, and so on, but of course I never carry all of that around in a bag. Part of gaining experience in photography is learning what gear to leave at home on any particular day.</p>

<p>As an aside, digital has somewhat simplified things, because one no longer has to keep various bodies loaded with different film speeds, slides/print film, color/B&W.</p>

[g dan mitchell]

<p>Let's not post the links to the infamous KR, OK? His game is to write crazy stuff in hopes of getting people to hit links, thus raising his ranking in search engines. It is an old trick pioneered online by a computer writer JD...</p>

<p>KR has little or no creditibility as a photography expert.</p>

[authoritee]

<p>In my backpack, I usually carry Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS and a Tamron 28-75 f/2.8, together with an XSi body, or most commonly, the 5dMkII (depends on whether the place I'm going is safe or not). You can add UV filters to each lens, and sometimes (in very specific occasions) a Canon 430 EX Speedlite flash. This kit works well for almost any event I assist to.</p>

[geoffs1]

<p>For <strong>really </strong> casual outings (ex. "wandering around with a camera"), I take my old 20D body sans grip and either my 28-135mm or 18-55mm lens (depending on whether I'm an a wide-angle or telephoto mood). Either combo fits into my Top-Loader bag if I want/need some protection.</p>

<p>BTW, another vote for no KR...</p>

[digitmstr]

<p>>>If you shoot for fun what do you carry?<<</p>

<p>Whatever gear I decided to have fun with that day. Seriously. </p>

<p>If on the other hand I am out with friends and/or family I only carry an XSi with the kit 18-55 IS lens.</p>

[ron_steedman]

<p>I skimmed the first paragraphs of KR's page. He says, "I don't know of any serious photographer who shoots from a backpack." He seems to be baiting photogs to entice clicks or discussion.</p>

<p>My small bag has room for a camera plus lens, an extra lens or flash, and a light-modifier... besides equipment that takes up little space like flash cards, batteries, and filters. What I choose to carry for any particular trip depends on the scenario and conditions I'm expecting.</p>

[aginbyte]

<p>Rockwell's line "I don't know of any serious photographer who shoots from a backpack" must be a provocation, or he doesn't know many photographers. I personally have experience with a world-class photographer who shot a three day assignment in LA with a single 35mm camera, two lenses, and a bag of film. He delivered sixty stunning images. </p>

[keith reeder]

<p>Rockwell is a complete tool. <em>Ignore.</em></p>

<p>As to the original question, I shoot "seriously for fun" but bird photography's my thing and I'm often out in the field and a long way from transport, for 6 or 8 hours at a stretch.</p>

<p> You can't do that from a bum bag (AKA a "fanny pack" on the other side of the pond) even if you "only" use a 100-400mm and gripped 40D as I generally do.</p>

<p>The point being - it surely depends on what you do, where, and for how long.</p>

<p> </p>

[henrik_lauridsen]

<p>Previously I would have carried my 400D along with 17-50 Tamron + 70-200 f/4L +50 mm f/1.8 in my Slingshot 200. However, a recent vacation trip to Berlin, where I brought just 2 film cameras (Eos 600 and a Yashica TL-Electro), made me reconsider. I really enjoyed just carrying around just the camera, no additional lenses etc. Since both the 600 and the Yashica are pretty rugged I just tossed them into a regular backpack, along with the Lonely planet guide.<br>

In the future, I would like to get a small Domke shoulderbag, that can hold just one body, and a couple of smaller lenses + film/memory cards, wallet, cell phone etc. The F-5XA could be a good option.</p>

[danny_low]

<p>I used to run around with a 24mm, 40mm and 70-210 zoom. However when I went digital with the Rebel line, there seem to be nothing but zooms around. Since my old primes could not be used on the Rebels I bought zooms. I now have a 10-20mm, 17-70mm, 70-300mm, 18-200mm . The only prime is now the Tamron 90mm Macro lens.</p>

<p>It is hard to do a proper apple to apple comparison between my old primes and the new zooms due to all the variations such as different cameras but the new zooms seem to be as good as my old primes. Lens technology has advanced in the 25 years I have been shooting. I see more lenses with APO and aspheric lens elements in them. That seems to have made a big improvement in zoom lens quality.</p>

<p>I normally run around with one body with the 18-200 in a 3 compartment bag. The camera is in one compartment, a bottle of water in the other and the third is normally empty. It may contain one of the other lenses depending on the situation or an external flash or even a sandwich. The alternative is a 4 compartment bag with the 17-70mm and 70-300mm but everything else is more or less the same. The 18-200mm is not as good as the 17-70mm and 70-300mm combo but not having to switch lenses has gotten me more than one shot I would have missed while swapping lenses.</p>

<p>The beauty of digital is I do not have to carry any extra film because I can do 700 shots in one memory card and the camera battery will handle that many shots. Batteries for the external flash is the only extras I carry if I decide to add in the flash.</p>

<p>BTW I have shot from a backpack. They make a good rest for shooting when backpacking.<br>

Danny</p>

<p> </p>

[mendel_leisk]

<p>Sounds like you're yearning for a "light" day. I can appreciate that, I typically carry a big shoulder bag with the 70-200 f2.8, 24-70, 50mm f1.4 and a 5D. I also have a 35mm f2.0. Just mounting that lens and leaving the bag and arsenal at home is a refreshing change of pace. 35mm on full frame is very satisfying and versatile. And the 35mm f2.0 is as compact as they come.</p>

[Brad_]

>>> I know this is a personal thing, I am just curious of what others do.<P>

 

Canon XSi + Tamron 17-50 f/2.8. For street. street portraits, whatever. Small and light. Primes make little sense for what <a href= "http://www.citysnaps.net/blog/">I shoot</a>. And while a heavier/larger FF body (and heavier/larger lens to go with it) might be technically better in some circumstances, the end result is far more driven by your eye and post-processing.

[matthijs]

<p>Either I bring "the entire bag" or I bring a crop and a 50.</p>

<p>(Don't tell G. Dan... I know that field of view is short tele but hey, I love to walk around with that or even a 70-200 on a crop camera.)</p>

<p>The totally lightweight version is my 400D/XTi and my 50/1.8 and the "yes I'm slumming but I want to use my better stuff" version is my 50D and my 50/1.4.</p>

<p>Have fun! Matthijs.</p>

<p>P.S. On my to buy list is a small 24/2.8 or a small 28/2.8 for walking around light.</p>

[bryanr]

<blockquote>Either I bring "the entire bag" or I bring a crop and a 50.</blockquote>

<p>Same here... Except I bring a crop and a 28mm.</p>

[john_bolton2]

<p>I carry my entire bag, which isn't much: 50D, 17-55 2.8 IS, 70-200 2.8 IS, and 580EX II, in a Flipside 300.</p>

[tdigi]

<p>Sorry I did not know he is so hated. I just usually like to keep my set up as small as possible when I am casually shooting and he made some good points.</p>

[anisshah]

<a href="http://www.rhymes.org.uk/a32-i-do-not-like-thee-doctor-fell.htm">Doctor Fell</a>

[JDMvW]

<p>Ken Rockwell often makes good points--the problem is telling <em>when</em> they are good.</p>

<p>There's a really good point to simply going with a simple light (in weight or mass) camera. What you sacrifice, of course is quality and/or flexibility. What you gain is lower expense for trusses and lower medical expenses from spinal specialists.</p>

<p>Just get a nice pocket camera, and shoot with it for a little while. See how it works for you.</p>

[dillan k]

<p>I carry 3 lenses: a 50mm f/1.8, a 24mm f/2.8 and a 100mm f/2.8. I also carry only one 5D and maybe my 420EX. If I'm really wanting to punish myself I'll bring my tripod, ND grads and other filters. Generally speaking I get away with a minimal amount of weight. That was the idea from the beginning. I am using a backpack, and it was fine for my recent trip to Indonesia. I needed a place for my laptop. I am thinking of getting one of those holster things for casual shooting.</p>

[tdigi]

<p>JDM, I do use a pocket camera from time to time and it does ok but a small DSLR setup is a lot of fun so hearing others small walk about setups is interesting. The right bag also makes a big difference. Again I did not post this to praise KR, just interested in what others do when they are shooting for fun.</p>

[dave_thomas8]

<p>I find my 40D and a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 is a nice walking around combo. I use a Think Tank Digital Holster 20 with the snoot compressed (because I own it), but I suspect there's some more compact belt pack holsters that would work if the aforementioned combo were the only intended contents. </p>

[pbizarro]

<p>For casual shooting I can carry either the 500D with grip plus 17-85, or the 5D MKII with grip plus 24-105L. They are easy to carry in a hlster type bag, or on a shoulder bag (where I can then accommodate a water bottle, snacks, etc).</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Tommy, you don't have to explain about KR to me. I was just trying to indicate why some of the people here react the way they do.</p>

<p>I repeat my suggestion that you purposely use the P&S for a while as a kind of koan to discipline yourself and to see what you really miss, if anything, in restricting your choices. Atget and lots of other early photographers only used cameras that were arguably less than the modern P&S cameras, at least in terms of technology, and often even in imaging quality. Just don't learn to do the 'crane punch' or whatever it was in <em>Kill Bill II.</em></p>