Bag (backpack) for Ebony 45s

[andrew_morgan]

Hi folks,

 

I was going to call this post "Where do I stick my 45s" but thought

that may promote much off-topic response.

 

I am looking for anyone with ideas for a backpack for an Ebony 45s. I

want to be able to carry the camera, 3 lenses, 5 dd's, a 6x9 rollfilm

back & my F100 with 2 small lenses.

 

I have a lowepro bag but it is too small and am a bit confused as to

the best way to pack these types of cameras as it is my first LF. I

am sure however that lugging it in its original box is not the best

idea 8^)>.

 

My main concern is getting a bag too big that I attempt to fill it

with every piece of camera gear + books etc. I do not have a pair of

sherpa's or a donkey on my payroll so keeping it relatively light is

preferred.

 

I am not into long overnight stays, mostly day trips with just the

gear and not too far away from the car.

 

Thoughts comments please!

[brian_ellis3]

You'll get lots of different suggestions, all of them most likely good. When the Nikon and its two lenses are added to your large format camera with its three lenses and the roll film back, plus (hopefully) film, a dark cloth, a loupe, plus your 5 dd's (whatever they might be) you've actually got a fairly large package. I'd suggest an F64 8x10 back pack. Although it's made for an 8x10 system, it's on the small side for 8x10 but provides some extra room for 4x5 and it sounds to me like you'll need some extra room.

 

Many large format photographers use camping packs rather than dedicated photography packs and if you can find a front loading one and are adept with a needle and thread or hot glue so that you can make compartments for your lenses and other equipment, that might be a good way to go also.

[Troll]

Have you considered a pushcart?

[claire_curran]

I carry a lot of gear and use the old style Lowe Pro SuperTrekker AW. The old style has outside pockets permanently attached to the pack. The new style has removable bags for which one must pay extra. You can periodically find the old style for sale on e-Bay. You don't say anything about film holders. These take up a lot of room, unless you are using QuickLoads. Go on Tom Till's website or look at Jack Dykinga's latest book, "Large Format Nature Photography." They both show you how they lug their gear around. Otherwise, Brian Ellis' recommendation of a backpacker's pack is the way to go. I also have the Lowe Pro Pro Trekker AW, the size down from the SuperTrekker. I doubt you could fit all the gear you mention into that pack.

[rick_durbin]

Dykinga's book pictures both the Lowepro trekker and

super-trekker carrying 4x5 gear. His article in March-April of View

Camera really illustrates a super-trekker. I have used both and

therte's no way you can get by with the smaller bag if you decide

to take all the gear you mentioned. No problem with the latter

bag, but by the time you add a tripod, water, some food, etc. , it'll

be quite a heavy load. Hope you're young and STRONG.

[tedharris]

I use the f64 large pack. It can carry all the stuff you mentioned and stillavhe

room for some other gear. You will find some that love it and others that think

it is not that well made.

 

My experience ahs been largely positive. I have had it on day treks and

overnight and even done a bit of rock and ice climbing with it .. not much as it

is too big for much of that .

 

Ted

[andrew_morgan]

Thanks to those who have contributed so far.

 

Looks like a bigger Lowepro or an F64.

 

Does anyone know of a site that sells the F64 online. They appear not to exist in Australia from the calls I have made.

 

Also, does anyone know if the F64 darkslide pouches can fit on a lowepro bag?

 

Cheers,

 

Andrew

[jason_greenberg_motamedi]

Hi Andrew,

 

I have the second largest Lowepro, which ever one that is. I manage to cram a

small 5x7, 3 compact lenses, 6 5x7 DDs, meter, loupe, cloth, Palm Pilot,

waterbottle, and all the little stuff into it. There isn't ANY room to spare. But it

works just fine. That said, it is IMHO a terrible backpack. Now, I'm a pretty

small guy, and many things just don't fit me right, so I am sure many others

can sing its praises. I have an old medium sized Kelty something or another

which fits me like a glove. When I have more than a few miles to go, I wrap up

my camera in cloth, take two lenses, and four DDs, and the rest of the junk,

and I am set.

 

As many here will also tell you, I have found that coolers make great LF bags-I

have different ones for different DDs. I use MC lenswraps for my lenses, and

wrap the camera in my cloth.

[tim_atherton2]

B&H photo has about the best prices online for them

 

I just bought the large version on ebay and was actually suprised how "compact" it was and yet takes my 8x10 deardorff + junk easily.

 

tim

[roberto_manderioli]

I carry almost exactly the same equipment in a Lowepro Trekker AW .

There is not much room left in the end but this is the biggest one that fits hand baggage limits when flying. It is also 3.2 Kg, so that's really the biggest one I intend to travel with. If you don't fly you might want to consider the Pro Trekker or larger.

Regards

[paul_owen]

Andrew, I pack an Ebony 45SW, 5 lenses (in Gnass lens cases),

meter, loupe, cloth, 452 extension back, filters, 10 dark slides,

plus the usual bits and bobs and this all fits comfortably in the

Super Trekker (I have removed the side pockets as there is

plenty of room without them). I had considered lookin

forsomething smaller, but as yet can't find anything that comes

close to the Super Trekker for space and comfort. One thing you

will notice with the Super Trekker is that when empty its heavy -

but as soon as its on your back and adjusted it does feel much

lighter!!

[arne_croell]

Andrew, I would second Jasons remark to maybe look beyond the dedicated photo backpacks. I've used several of them (the original 1st Lowe Photo Trekker, the Super Trekker and a Tamrac 787 - no experience with f64). I think the harness/carrying system are often not up to par with a good regular backpack and they are not that cheap. The reason may be that a good harness is a selling point for a regular backpack, but for a photo pack its more the volume and divider flexibility. Following a suggestion I read on usenet years ago, I now use the insert of a Lightware Multiformat case (MF 1217) with a regular front-loading backpack. For me the fit and carrying comfort is much better. The insert fits a Technikardan 45 with up to 7 lenses (in Calumet wraps), Pentax Digital Spotmeter, thin homemade dark cloth, Lee Compendium, a set of six 67mm filters, Readyload holder, glasses, assorted small stuff. The insert goes either into a REI Evening Star, which has additional room also for regular holders, or a Mountainsmith Ghost (only with Readyloads). A Kelty Redwing pack supposedly also works. It is an expensive solution, but one has to consider that it includes a good backpack to use for other things and the insert also fits a rolling carry-on case that I use for air travel. In my experience that makes a big difference: the last years, especially after 9-11, a backpack drew much more suspicion and scrutinization (wrt weight and size limits) from the ground crews when travelling. So now I put the outer backpack in my checked luggage

and the insert with all the camera gear goes in my carry-on rollercase.

[roberto_manderioli]

In my previous post I was referring to the Photo Trekker AW, sorry

for my incomplete information about the model.

[scott_killian1]

I own the Ebony 45S and carry mine in a Lowepro Trekker AW along with 4

lenses (3 in Gnass bag, 1 mounted on camera), 8 film holders and a

Graphmatic back, filters, meter, darkcloth and so on. I also have a Gitzo

carbon fiber strapped to the side and the whole mess fits very well in the

overhead of any regular sized airplane. I've had this set-up in the desert,

snow, mountains, etc... and it's been great.

[jose_angel]

I second the suggestion of the Lowepro Pro Trekker AW. I find the Super Trekker too big and heavy. In my Pro Trekker I can carry the equipment you are talking about plus another 5 4x5 film holders, meter, a big compendium lens shade, roll film, two small boxes (for the loupe, metric tape, adhesive tape, small items, etc.), six filters, the tripod and more... weight is over 10 kg. More that the weight I would like to carry in backpaking, but all the equipment needed in a "normal" use. If I would need more, I add a Domke bag to the car...

[mark_tucker2]

I am not trying to highjack this thread, and I'm not sure if the 45s

is a folder or not, but I have the 45SU and it's a nonfolder.

 

Here's what I envision:

 

A lightweight nylon bag with a lightweight metal "skeleton". A

toploading zippered top with velcro so you could leave it

unzipped during use. The top lid flips open, and you just drop the

45SU down into the bag, and it engages somehow in some kind

of "quickrelease" holder, like on my bogen six-sided tripod plate

adaptor thingie.

 

The camera would be in the middle, and then holders and

meters and other stuff would load on the outside. It would have

three compartments; the camera in the middle, then some kind

of lightweight fabric "walls/dividers" to keep the outside stuff from

smashing against the camera body.

 

You would carry it on your back, but then you could just easily

slide it off and plop it on the ground and immediately get to work.

I think if you have a nonfolder, your needs are quite different from

technika type bodies that fold up.

 

What do you guys think of something like this? I'm not a hiker; i

only shoot near my car, because i'm not really a nature guy, i'm

more of a city guy. but we have needs too!

 

MT, http://marktucker.com/

 

PS. When I used to shoot my old Fuji 680 monster, I made a

"steadicam" for it, out of some hardware from Home Depot. It

hooked on the front of my body, over my shoulders, and a strap

around my waist to keep it from falling off. Then a Bogen quick

release tripod plate; I could easily just snap the 680 on it and

walk around. The camera was set to stay right at my eye level. It

was quite ugly and many people laughed at me, but that's OK,

I'm used to it. I've been thinking about making something like

that for this new Ebony, where I could shoot kinda "handheld"

without a tripod.

 

Anybody ever done anything like this?

[bob.]

Andrew, whatever you get, make sure it has a decent waist belt - 1st rule of backpacking anything is to carry the weight on your hips - not your sholders. I am constantly amazed by the number of small backpacks, often made by companies that DO know better, with tiny half-inch waist straps and big, well-padded sholder straps.

 

If your favorite pack has a flimsy belt, you can beef it up a bit by hot-glueing a strip cut from a high-density foam sleeping pad (useful too for making dividers in the pack if you do not buy a dedicated camera pack). This is what I had to do - I bought the largest rear-loading day-sack I could find (35 litres) and adapted that.

 

Good luck in your quest for the LF photographer's Holy Grail: a comfortable way of carring all that gear over rough ground...

 

Cheers, Bob.

[kyle_sobanja]

If you're looking to get crafty, it may be fun to find a frame for an

external frame backpack (one that fits you well and can be

adjusted to fit your body) with a good hipbelt. Also find a hard or

semi-rigid case, maybe a normal boxy one (preferrably

water-proof) that fits your ebony and lenses, etc. This case could

have some way of fitting straps to it, be it by sewing or hot-gluing,

whatever. It should be as compact as possible, no wider than

your shoulders, holding only the gear that wouldn't properly fit

loose in another compartment. Then, buy some good nylon

strapping and maybe sturdy quick-release buckles (if you want to

be able to remove the case within a moment). Find a strong

sewing machine and some nylon thread (it doesn't rot), and set

to work. Fasten the case at about shoulder level, on the upper

part of the frame. If one was using a boxy case with no easy way

of attatching straps, one could sew a compression-strap basket

and just set the case inside, strapping it overhead with a

quick-release buckle or two to secure it.

Find a normal pack module to fit beneath it, for your changing

bag and hood and raincoat and lunch and maybe sleeping bag,

etc. your soft stuff should go at the bottom, especially if you have

a sleeping bag. Then, if you're on a slippery surface and take a

fall, the shock will be absorbed.

I've not yet done the research to find the appropriate components

for this proposed system, but if one looks around, there are

bound to be some options.<div></div>