[stepheno]

My bag, a Billingham 335, is now full and a bit too heavy. I can

a - Get a new bag with more space but just as heavy or

b - Remove some items from the Billingham.

Currently my bag contains

30D + battery grip
50mm
18-200mm
70-300mm
3 hoods
flash
assorted caps
2x4 Nimh rechargeables
2 spare canon batteries
3 Cokin adaptors
3 Cokin filters
3 CPs
Remote cord
light meter (which I don't use much)
and the usual pen, pad etc, etc

Now I reckon I can get up and go and cover everything but what, if anything would you leave at home? Or conversely what do you keep permanently in your bag?

[Joe T]

I always take a selection of kit which will depend on where I am going and what I intend to shoot. Sometimes I will even take two bags. I have a third bag in which I keep things I dont use often, and those items I am not taking with me for that event.

I have:
Lowepro Orion Trekker
Lowepro Nature Trekker
Hama bag - the cheap one from 7dayshop - this one keeps all the odds and ends in.

The Orion bag is taken when I dont need to take my 120-300 2.8. Obiovusly if I have the 120-300 2.8 I need to take the Nature Trekker.

[stepheno]

Thanks for sharing what you do Joe. I do have a second smaller bag so maybe that is an option - certainly when I'm in the car. I'll have to rethink what goes in which bag

regards

[Gary Bagshawe]

Despite the weight, I speak from experience, take it with you! the first time you leave it at home you will regret it.

[Steve]

I can only echo what Gary has said, the first time you leave something at home to save weight will be the first time you missed the best shot due to not having that item with you.

Joe's method of having sepearate bags is a good one, you could probably leave one in car and not have to carry it for the majority of the time but it would be available when it was needed.

[Dave]

I'll take a different stance on this. According to what you are trying to achieve on your day out the advice may differ.

1) I often find the idea of dragging lots of kit around puts me off taking the camera in the 1st place. So taking less & limiting potential shots is better than not taking it at all

2) I will sometimes force myself to take camera out with just one lens on it & adjust my shooting style to suit the lens. For example with the Sigma 10-20mm lens it forces me to think "wide angle" & therefore look at the subjects differently, hopefull improving my overall skills moving forward.

Of course the above may lose you that perfect shot, but on the flip side you may end up using your camera more & hopefully force yourself to improve one's skills.

[Mike]

I'd agree with Gary & Steve on this, since I bought my bag (a Domke look-alike from eBay) I find that I now can carry all my gear which includes the 350D body + Opteka battery grip , 4 lenses (including the Canon 100-400 IS L) - 380EX flash + diffuser - battery chargers + batteries - Fuji s7000 camera (which I've recently took out of mothballs ), and various other bits and bobs that I can't remember now. I don't necessarily carry it all around with me (although I don't find it unduly heavy), I usually leave in the car boot and take out whatever I think I might need.

Mike

[stepheno]

Well Dave and Mike have added fuel to the fire. Mike, I'd never heard of Domke before so I Googled and their F2 looks interesting, thanks. It could be an alternative to my Billingham, if I decide to keep everything in one bag.

regards

[Mike]

Originally Posted by stepheno

Well Dave and Mike have added fuel to the fire. Mike, I'd never heard of Domke before so I Googled and their F2 looks interesting, thanks. It could be an alternative to my Billingham, if I decide to keep everything in one bag.

regards

I'd definitely recommend the eBay version of the Domke bag Stephono, here's a link to the listing CLICKY

I've had mine for a couple of months now, and I can't really fault it, to be fair the pics posted on eBay don't really do the bag justice as it is a lot more spacious than it appears.

Mike

[noah]

i side with dave to an extent. i take out a couple of lenses, but try to stick to one for the duration as much as i can. it kinda gets your eye working in a certain way. esp the 10-20, you begin to see shots that you'd never have thought of otherwise

[Gary Bagshawe]

I guess it depends on what you are going out to shoot, I tend to take all my kit simply because I never know what might happen, I could be out shooting landscapes when all of a sudden alien invaders start practicing bombing runs at derwent resovoir , or I see a blue light somewhere in the distance, I swear part of my brain is from an insect, i can't resist being drawn to blue lights

[silkstone]

Originally Posted by stepheno

My bag, a Billingham 335, is now full and a bit too heavy...

So getting a bigger bag and putting even more in it isn't going to help, unless there's room for a helium balloon.

The Billingham may not be ideal - I have a 335 and don't use it these days. It's quite heavy even when empty, and doesn't hold as much as a Lowepro Nova 5 even though it's the same size externally. I prefer the Stealth Reporter 300AW which is more convenient IMO and holds as much as I'm willing to carry. (30D, 10-22, 70-300, 50mm, 18-200, tubes, filters, a couple of BP-511s, angle finder, remote release, cleaning stuff.....) Or it will hold the 550EX and some AA batteries instead of some of the other things, but usually I keep the flash and spare batteries in a separate cheapo canvas bag. Batteries weigh a lot, and so does the flashgun, and I find it easier to carry two bags rather than one very heavy one.

[stepheno]

Lo and behold even more cats among the pigeons. I do tend to think like Gary - be prepared for anything. Thanks Silkstone, I really do like the 335 but, as you say, it's already fairly heavy when empty and if....oh my head is spinning now . Might have a look at a 300AW. Appreciate all contributions to the thread.

regards