Travel with your MF..?

Thanks again for your inputs.

Still looking at lots of different avenues. One that came up was the Dakine camera block, i think it would slip into my existing backpack well, but im afraid that the dividers wont well with the mamiya... aka, to far gone in the design for the standard slr shape. any thoughts?

http://www.dakine.com/snowboard/packs/photo/camera-block/

I bought a $30 small padded backpack from a local luggage store for my RB67. I bought some foam (about 3/8 inch thick) and cut it to fit around the RB67, then covered the foam with a slippery cloth I bought in a fabric store and fastened using fabric glue. I made another padding for the spare back, and a couple of others to put in film, light meter etc. I have lots of room left for another couple of lenses. In the meantime, part of the space is taken up with my FM3A. I still had space left over so I just rolled up the foam to fill the space so nothing would rattle around. A good foam to use would be the kind sold in sporting goods stores as a sleeping bag mattress.

Well, i got the Dakine Camera Block today, and i must say it works very well. I am totally maxed on space from the get go, but this could be a great solution. Now only if i had NOT stopped by my local camera shop to sample the wears, and tried out the Tamrac Expedition 8... I wouldn't be so bummed that this Dakine bag actually works so well! ( i wanted an excuse to go all out..lol ) Anyway, here is some pics of the bag itself, loaded up with my bare bones setup and my Arc'trex Bora 30, with the Dakine bag inside.




Mamiya RZ body with 180mm lens attached, extra RB prism, Pentax Z-XM body, 2 lenses for the Pentax, Top compartment has 6 rolls of 120 film in a case, my Gossen Luna Pro and some other odds and ends.




I will replace the extra prism with the 65mm KL lens that is on its way, seeing as i don't use the prism at all. Here is why for ME this is the perfect setup.. I like to travel light, and my upcoming Mexico trip calls for just that, so I can pack my Arc'trex with all my clothing and sundries, and carry the Dakine over my shoulder or by the handle.... Both can be carry ons. Then get to the rental house in Yelapa, dump my clothes, dump the Dakine in the Arc'trex and hike/walk/ travel comfortably with all my gear on my back. Too good to be true for a light traveler IMHO.

...........now to get going on a good solution for mounting the tripod on the backpack.

So ive loaded up the entire setup, new lens, ditched the 35mm setup ( my wife can carry that) and with the probable weight of my tripod setup ( still searching for legs) And it came to a total of 26.6 Lbs... It definitely feels heavy on my back... but then, so does a 200 ft rope, several pairs of rock shoes, harness, hardware ect... What sort of weights are people carrying on hikes?

I carry my MF equipment in a backpack and use it for ballast so that I do not tip over.

Steve

By backpacking standards (with an internal or external frame pack) 26 lbs is pretty light. Not ultralight, but light. My loaded pack for a 2 day solo hike was about 35 lbs including food, water, and some dog stuff. And I could trim a couple of pounds off of that.

Thanks! that puts some perspective to it.

endneu913,

Save yourself the time and frustration of looking all over the landscape for a backpack...

Call Bruce at Photobackpacker, he’ll have the ultimate solution()s for your needs.

What's more, his system is easily converted to other formats with ease.

If you spend your money on the right equipment the first time, you'll be farther ahead, and cheaper off in the long run.

Bruce's system might be a few pennies higher initially, but what you get in return, far outweighs the initial expense in the long run.


I've come to understand his system, and by just purchasing a few cases that easily fit in the backpack, I'm able to convert to any format when I need to change, or combine formats, if there is room available in the backpack.

I do not know Bruce personally, except for having him call me promptly about my needs when he was unsure of what I needed.

Here is his email:

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