Riding With a DSLR camera

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    • #233300

      Has this been brought up before?  Anyone come up with a good solution for riding with a full frame DSLR camera in tow?  I’m trying to come up with a way to carry a Canon 6D with battery grip and one of my workhorse lenses (24-105 or 24-70).  May consider dropping the battery grip to save space, and just take more batteries.  Also need room for a couple of filters, etc.  I’ve looked at some backpacks, and tried my Cotton harness and holster stuff.  Harness and holster setup doesn’t really work for any kind of riding on even the least technical trail.  My current smaller camera pack that I use for urban and short hikes is OK, has plenty of straps to keep in place, but kinda bulky.  My larger, long hike camera pack is just too big for riding.  Of course, the biggy is protecting the camera from crashes.  They will happen, and there is a level of risk to the camera.  Where the camera sits in the pack is probably key on this.  There may not be a perfect solution for this, but any bright “out of the box” ideas… anyone?

    • #233305

      I have ridden with a DSLR pretty extensively, though not with all the gear your mentioned. My camera isn’t full frame, and the lens I usually carry is just 17-50mm, but I can fit it in a fanny pack. This keeps the camera fairly accessible so that I actually use it on the trail. 🙂

      There are packs designed specifically to carry more camera gear, like this one Michael Paul reviewed a couple years ago.

      Review: Mindshift rotation180 Trail Photo Backpack

    • #233361

      I never carry that much stuff, but I would say try the smallest firm sided case that will fit what you can get by with and carry that in a back pack.  Thinking something like this, https://www.amazon.com/SP-Gadgets-Case-GoPro-Large/dp/B00BCT9YLE/ref=sr_1_18?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1516803225&sr=1-18&keywords=SP+Gadgets+POV  but I don’t think the cases made for GoPros are thick enough. Or this https://www.amazon.com/Nanuk-Waterproof-Hard-Case-Insert/dp/B00BP8VARS/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1516803677&sr=8-5&keywords=nanuk+case

    • #233366

      I follow some pro photographers that are really into bags from a new company called Shimoda: https://www.shimodadesigns.com/pre-order

      They aren’t cheap, but neither are cameras.

      Evoc has a variety of different size camera packs and they are a little less expensive than the Shimoda. A couple of them are on sale at backcountry.com right now too: https://www.backcountry.com/evoc-cp-camera-bag-1098-cu-in?skid=EVC002B-BK-M&ti=UExQIENhdDpNZW4ncyBUZWNobmljYWwgRGF5cGFja3M6MTozOmJjLW1lbnMtdGVjaG5pY2FsLWRheXBhY2tz

      You could always get a small mirrorless camera for riding 😉

    • #233566

      Definitely ditch battery grip, one battery is enough to shoot all day long unless you use it for video. Consider smaller lighter lens, 35 or 50mm depends on where you ride. And just use a regular backpack as others mentioned.

      Or, if you don’t need highest quality, consider compact cameras like Sony rx 100, Lumix lx-series etc. these producing high enough quality pics, fit in your pocket and provide all manual controls you get in dslr. By no means such cameras can compete with dslr, but it’s so much fun to ride without that extra bulk and weight.

    • #233567

      I carry a canon 40D (quite on old camera nowadays!) along with a standard zoom (17-50), a spare battery and cleaning cloth. I occasionally also carry a mini telescopic tripod and gopro. I use a dakine snowboarding backpack, its a heli-pro (20l I believe) something like the below.  Of course as you know the more gear you carry the heavier it is, especially noticeable on the hills! I doubt your gonna find a bag that can protect camera equipment from a impact fall (unless its some kind of hard-case, in which case it will probably injure you!) I think you perhaps need to take less risks and ride at like 80% –  safe in the knowledge that your equipment will be in one piece at the end of the ride!

      https://www.dakine.com/en-gb/bags/backpacks/snow-backpacks/heli-pro-20-liter-backpack/

       

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