Holidaying with your SLR.

phildamb

phildamb

Suspended / Banned
Messages
42
Edit My Images
Yes
Hello all,

Im going on holiday in August and it will be the first time I will be taking my SLR away with me. I was wondering if anyone had much experience of the best bag to use. I dont want to use my slingshot bag and dont want a full size bag more one that will fit into my carry on for the plane. It needs to be able to contain the camera with a 55-250 lens attached and a 18-55 lens stored, plus charger and spare battery.

Any suggestions?

Regards.
 
not sure if this helps but i was planning on just taking my mini trekker when i go away next year with a couple of lenses in plus my 100-300 in the other halfs hand luggage

as long as your not over the allowed weight (5kg) then you will be fine which ever bag you take

sorry not much help, i would just use your daily bag to be honest
 
lol

mine will stay in the hotel room, only venture out on day trips, camera and lens. just for transporting everything together
 
If you are going anywhere with lots of sand make sure you take sealable plastic bags to put your equipment into even if you are storing them in a backpack style back. It'll help keep water and sand out.
 
The spare battery and charger may get security a bit excited. Might be worth putting the charger in the suitcase, just in case
 
Ok, I am going away from what you specified, but hear me out.
Instead of taking a camera bag, and putting it into a carry on bag, why not take everything in one camera bag?
http://products.lowepro.com/product/Photo-Trekker-AW-II,1992,14.htm
Thats what I did when traveling Australia, I could take my camera equipment, and have everything else I needed for the days walking about.
Just a suggestion,
otherwise what klmc said was good, crumpler are brilliant.
Good luck and have a good holiday :)
 
I think you have to really decide whether you want the camera gear in a bag that you can then get into an inflight holdall (with reading books , sunglasses, toiletries etc), or a bigger bag like the crumpler that you can put a bit of non camera gear into as well.

The Crumpler is probably a good bet, it allows you to carry a few extra bits n bobs which you will no doubt need during a day out sightseeing/shopping etc. It also looks less like a camera bag, so better security wise.

YOu can get one free (a XXL size bag) by subscribing to DigitalSLR User magazine at the moment
 
What's wrong with your Slingshot? I took my 300 on the plane to America with no problems... nice and easy to chuck over your back when going through the various queues etc, and plenty big enough to get SLR gear in plus PSP, iPod etc etc...
 
i used a Lowepro 160 when i went on holiday. Held my 400d + 17-85 and a 90-300 plus a few flash cards really well!
 
I have just spent 5 weeks in the Philippines and used a "jessops" brand "centron" ???? bag, I carried spare battery,charger,blower,and most important a big bag of silica gel to suck up the moisture , The bag went with me as hand luggage through terminal 5 heathrow and hong kong international , It went through at least three xray machines going out and two coming back, never got questioned on anything.
The bag did ok but would have been better with a zip rather than velcro but that is a minor detail.
If you stay in a hotel and there is a disposable shower cap in the bathroom put it in your bag and if it rains (and boy does it rain in the Philippines!) just put the shower cap over your camera and it will keep it dry.
 
I've used my mini-trekker and my Computrekker, depending on how many lenses I want to take. They've got extra room in them for the PSP, books other items etc.
 
I usually take my Pullman camera bag with my camera, lenses and memory cards, Julies camera, and a video camera in it, and carry it on the plane as my hand luggage, the batteries, chargers and tripod, + blower, go in my main case, and as someone already mentioned sealable plastic bags, to keep out the dust and sand,
 
/bump..

I know its been a few months since I posted this but I still havent decided lol. I dont want to take my slingshot as I want to fit into a standard inflight bag and dont want to take too much as the slingshot now with all the bits in is about 11KG and my allowance on board is 5kg? (XL air). I was looking at this one....

Kata Bags DC-439

http://www.fotosense.co.uk/bags/slrcompactbag/kata-dc-439-digital-case.html
http://www.kata-bags.com/Item.asp?pid=396&cid=38&perentId=4&ProdLine=4

I need it to carry:-

Canon 400D
55-250mm IS
18-55mm Canon
spare battery
3 x filters.

I will put my charger and other leads in my suit case.
 
all cables extra batteries filters - put them in checked luggage. People have said they have put samll lenses in shoes (wrapped in a few socks) to keep them safe if they need to save weight.

I used an orion trekker as id doubles as hand luggage with a seperate comparment. not to big for walking about. I had in the bottom bit. 50mm, 17-70mm attached to my 400D with grip. 70-300mm.

my chargers battery trays, filters, cables and tripod went in the checked luggage.
 
Mini Trekker AW gets my vote, I used it on last years holiday going round Costa Rica and Nicaragua, served me very well indeed. Its big enough to fit all my kit in (400D, 70-300, 18-55, 580EXII, Extension tubes and 50mm and still have room for my iPod, PSP and a book.

Some airlines can be a bit tricky with carry on luggage and this was the only one I could find which my carrier would allow on board due to the overall size, although you could chance taking a bigger bag but I decided the thought of my camera gear going in the hold wasn’t worth the risk.
 
Another vote for the Crumpler. I have the Pretty boy XL (£35 from John lewis). I can fit my 400d, 18-55mmIS, 55-250mmIS and 50mm, Its quite tight, but I can fit them with any of the 3 attached to my camera. I like to have as small a bag as possible. The bag feels really well padded, also there is a bit of space in the front pocket for a remote spare battery etc.
If you have a local John lewis they are quite happy to let you play, I took my equipment with me to check I was happy with the fit!
 
My vote goes to my Lowepro AW mini trekker.

Took it to Slovenia, curtesy of Easyjet, loaded with 400D, 70-200mm, 24-105mm, 10-20mm, 50mm. All the "additional" bits, I wrapped in various bits of clothing and put in my main luggage, including my tripod. I put passport, money, carkeys, book, sunglassess etc etc into the camera bag outside pocket. It all fitted into the lugagge cage tester at the airport, so although it was overweight, ;) no-one questioned it. I just had to make it appear not to be heavy!!! :lol:
 
I know that you said that you do not want to take the slingshot with you - but I had the same dilema between the slingshot 200AW and a basic Canon bag that I have. In the end I took the slingshot as hand luggage.

Got my 400d, 18-55, 70-300, 50, 10-20 all in the bag with extra batteries, cards etc. This left the front and top pockets for other toys and bits and bobs...... I didn't regret taking it all in one bag as hand luggage, but sometimes when I was out for the evening a smaller curmpler would have been great just for the camera and 1 lens.

I would use your slingshot for the transportation, but consider a smaller bag for the odd run out. Just a thought.
 
I'm having much the same dilemma - after some advice from here I have decided that I will take a smallish bag (Lowepro Nova 1) which will take the 400D with one lens attached and 1 or at a push, 2 others and spare battery and card. It will fit inside a larger rucksack for hand luggage and I will wrap up the other lens(es) (I should probably get proper lens bags for them!) and put them in my hand luggage too. All the other camera stuff will go in the hold luggage. Then I will select 2 appropriate lenses for the day to go out with me and that should just leave enough space in the bag for a wallet and phone.
A consideration for me was that I didn't want a rucksack behind me with my wallet in it as I will be visiting a couple of cities that have a bit of a reputation for pickpocketing - the lowepro is a bit of a walking advert for camera gear but at least it will be where it can see it!
All that said - I leave on Friday so I can report back in 2 weeks!
 
I totally blew the weight limit with my mini trekker last month going to Turkey but it wasnt weighed. It had a 400D with grip, 70-200, 35-80, 17-55, 100mm, Flash, charger, 2 spare batteries, Oly mju400 in waterproof housing +spare batteries and charger, all my cleaning kit, book for on plane, spare swimwear, mobile phone and various other oddments for during the journey.

I think as long as it fits the size limits and can be easily carried over the shoulder, it wont pose a problem. Just remember to check for any sharp objects and fluid containers over 100mm.
 
33L said:
all cables extra batteries filters - put them in checked luggage. People have said they have put samll lenses in shoes (wrapped in a few socks) to keep them safe if they need to save weight.

I used an orion trekker as id doubles as hand luggage with a seperate comparment. not to big for walking about. I had in the bottom bit. 50mm, 17-70mm attached to my 400D with grip. 70-300mm.

my chargers battery trays, filters, cables and tripod went in the checked luggage.
Click to expand...

You shouldn't check in spare batteries, as this is seen as a fire hazard. See here: http://safetravel.dot.gov/quick_chart.html

And when putting them in your carry-on luggage you should take some precautions aswell: http://safetravel.dot.gov/how_to.html
Last time I flew, I had 6 spare batteries for my 400D and I covered the contacts with some electrical tape and that was fine.
 
I find my Slingshot 200 AW to be brilliant for foreign travel as well as carting my stuff around closer to home. Here's a post I made about packing it for a three week trip to New Zealand. All up weight was 7Kg (on the limit for Air New Zealand) but that was for two bodies, four lenses, a 580EX flash and several other bits 'n' bobs....

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=4511118&postcount=23
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top