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How much gear do you carry?

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hi frank

i did this just 2 days ago ( really 1.5 days ago ) 1 camera, 1 lens and a handful of unexposed film.
and yesterday, i loaded a magazine camera up with 12 shots and went out with 1 camera and 12 exposures.
no need to carry everything you own, or a gaggle of lenses. ... unless you want to !
 
Went for a good walk this morning, one camera (Rolleiflex) with lens hood and orange filter attached before I left home, one Euromaster and invercone, and some film in my pocket, all I needed to take some, I hope, great coastal studies, in lovely, magical Autum light
 
I recently sold my medium format Mamiya C330F outfit and two Billingham bags a 550 and a 335 because I'm getting to an age when I can't lug them around any more, and the problem with big bags is you are tempted to put more gear in them than you can carry, and I have replaced the bags with a smaller lighterThink Tank Speed Freak bag, since I only have Canon S.L.R equipment now.
 
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I've gotten to where I would prefer to limit the amount of stuff that I carry when I'm out and just walking around the city. 35mm 1-2 lenses a flash, extra film, water, snack. The last two seem equally as important to me on a day wandering the city :-D 2 1/4" plus wandering the city is too heavy to be mobile and comfortable all day for me, so I've quit trying unless I go with a backpack for shorter excursions.
 
I started to think about my photog over time. Funny that I find that in the past I was more involved, more excited, enjoy my trips more when I was overseas despite having more gear now.

While I am home bound or car bound I can use the heavier stuff. For walks and trips I think I will make do with less stuff. One Nikon body and 2 lenses or the Hassie with 2 lenses and just maybe 2 backs at most.
 
I do it this way: I have a small bag I like, so I take whatever I think I will need that fits in the bag. I mostly shoot smaller medium format cameras, so this usually means one or two bodies, maybe a lens or two, film, and a few accessories. The exceptions to this are the tripod, which I take in its own shoulder bag sometimes; and the Mamiya Universal Press, which goes on the strap (because, of course, when fully assembled, it won't fit in the bag), while the bag gets filled with mostly backs. But generally if it doesn't fit in the bag, it stays home.
 
Just my good old (1954) Zeiss Ikon Contessa 35mm folding camera. Maybe a spare film. I use a smartphone app for exposure metering. It all fits in my pocket and with this I've made some of my best photo's ever!
Camera's don't make photo's; photographers do.
 
No doubt a backpack is much superior at spreading out the weight carried. The downside is accessibility of the gear.

https://www.amazon.com/Think-Tank-Pro-Size-Lenses-Position/dp/B0069S2K9Q

I did several 25-30 klick hikes last fall with two of these for balance. Beats any backpack for weight distribution (bags slide freely around; nothing on shoulders or back); beats every Domke for accessibility (and I'm on my sixth Domke now, I should know :cool:). Minor downsides: have to unbuckle for travel in the car (though not for sitting down in general--just slide to sides or back); look awkward in more urban--or urbane--settings (but then, can be comfortably carried on the shoulder for a while, saddlebag-style).

To answer the original question--large SLR with up to five manual primes on the hikes; same with something standard, something wide in town.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/vilk/29471824313
 
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As I get older, I CANNOT carry the weight I used to in high school and college. So I have to compromise.
One body, one lens (a mid-range zoom).

- Nikon F2 or F3 with a 35-105 zoom.
I used a 43-86 in the old days, and it worked just fine as a general purpose lens. The 35-105 gives me wider and longer, for more flexibility, with very little additional weight.

If I want a lighter kit than the Nikon:
- Olympus OM1 or 3, or OM2 or 4, with a mid-range zoom.

If I want to do something different:
- A TLR.

Also:
- Film; 100 and/or 400 speed film, depending on the weather and where I am shooting. Color or B&W, planned in advance. Though I may carry a roll of the other type of film...just in case.
- Polarizing filter.
- Small, light tripod, with a LIGHT head. Again weight is a major factor, so compromise is part of the selection process.
- Cable release.
- Lens cleaning kit. Murphey will make sure that the filter will get dirty when you don't have a cleaning kit on you. Besides the cleaning kit is small and light.
- Hand held light meter, if the meter in the old camera does not work.
 
I rotate through smaller Nikon cameras FM2, FE, FA, F3, FG and usually with just a single prime. Either 28 Ais, 50MM 1.8 close focus pancake (Japan only release), or a AF-d 35- 2.8.
If its not that its a Fuji GA645.
 
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