Wear a light vest or other to carry small items?

jay moussy · May 23, 2021

Back in the early eighties I was wearing a light vest with a few handy pockets, then left photography for a while.

Now I find myself wanting something, maybe like the old vest, or something else?

For the the 35mm and MF folks (excluding LF, with its own requirements), do you wear a special or repurposed garment to carry the small odds and ends needed?

radiant · May 23, 2021

I use a hiking backbag with good back support and front strap. Not the large ones but like a normal backbag size. Plenty of pockets to divide stuff. It works even for my 5x7" + tripod while bicycling.

AgX · May 23, 2021

Over here we got the icon of the guy with the pocketed vest.
https://www.weltkunst.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Peter-Sevriens-Grüner-Prophet-J.Beuys-1981-Silbergelatine-Print-405-x-30-cm-Kopie-810x1070.jpg

I think I'll leave it to him.

Horatio · May 23, 2021

Didn't these begin as repurposed fishing vests, back in the day?

There's always the fanny pack.

dkonigs · May 23, 2021

If you want to have stuff within easy reach while walking around and shooting, ThinkTank's belt system works quite well.
I've used vests a few times in the past, but they're not so good for holding lenses.

Backpacks are great for "getting it all to the place", but you can't actually "work out of them" so easily. At least when you're shooting handheld.

Of course when I'm just out with the family and carrying a camera around, I go for a simpler shoulder bag. The problem is that if you put too much stuff in one (and it really doesn't take that much), the weight starts to hurt after a while.

gone · May 23, 2021

Nah, I don't dress for my camera. I carry a sidebag almost everywhere to stash my journal, sketchpad, pencils, etc. Most everything goes into that, and there's always the fanny pack. All I ever need are a Y fltr, a R fltr (in little cases), and maybe a handheld meter if I need it for my 'flex. I don't like to get loaded down w/ stuff, and what I carry now is way too much as it is. Years of carrying an F4 w/ an AF 70 200 2.8 bazooka lens ruined my L shoulder, so I try not to aggravate that. Going to come up w/ a plan to cut what I tote in half. Getting the Leicaflex meter fixed looks really expensive, so until that's fixed, I have to carry that meter w/ me. Not a lot of bulk or size, but it adds up, especially if you travel exclusively by cruiser and eBike.

Pieter12 · May 23, 2021

I like to have some sort of camera bag to put the camera and lenses,etc. when I go out. I don't generally like to lug the camera on my shoulder or neck if I'm not actively shooting unless I'm doing street photography. I find shirt and jacket pockets are fine for stashing away filters an lens caps but they end up back in the bag when the camera goes back. When a jacket or such has too many pockets, I eventually forget where I put something and have to search for it. When I want to travel light, it's just the cmaera and one lens and one filter and a spare roll of film. Don't need many pockets for that.

radiant · May 23, 2021

dkonigs said:
Backpacks are great for "getting it all to the place", but you can't actually "work out of them" so easily. At least when you're shooting handheld.

That is correct. But I argue that the threshold to pick something from lets say messenger bag rather than backbag is pretty same and the level is actually quite high. Atleast for me.

This is not answer to this topic but I try to not to take any bags with me. Even the camera strap might sometimes be too much. I've written a rant on this here https://medium.com/@admn/camera-bags-are-evil-2b88e5dc8b1f

Arthurwg · May 23, 2021

I was just out in the desert with my Hasselblad, thinking I would love to have a vest. I'll probably get one soon.

pentaxuser · May 23, 2021

AgX said:
Over here we got the icon of the guy with the pocketed vest.
https://www.weltkunst.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Peter-Sevriens-Grüner-Prophet-J.Beuys-1981-Silbergelatine-Print-405-x-30-cm-Kopie-810x1070.jpg

I think I'll leave it to him.

Even with a lot of pockets he still seems unhappy and his face is several shades lighter than his hands. Perhaps he is unhappy because he realises that wearing a hat gave his face too much shade so it never caught up with his hands' colour

pentaxuser

wiltw · May 23, 2021

And then there is the group, including photographers themselves, who think the photography vest screams 'Photography Nerd'!

jay moussy · May 23, 2021

I was thinking single-lens, street photography attire, light meter, small note pad for that important detail to use later.

pentaxuser said:
Even with a lot of pockets he still seems unhappy...

pentaxuser

I think he forgot to bring something in one of the pocketses.. "What has it got in its pocketses...?"

MattKing · May 23, 2021

I wear a more typical vest regularly when out for photography.
Not one like a pure fishing vest - just one with a couple of exterior and a couple of interior pockets.
That gives me a place for my meter, a place for the lens cap, and a place to keep my keys at hand but out of the way.
The extra bit of padding on the shoulder helps with heavy camera bags and tripod.
And being sleeveless, it is cooler than a jacket.
This one is similar: https://www.amazon.ca/Outdoor-Light...B08BTS93DZ/ref=lp_10287284011_1_11?th=1&psc=1

wiltw · May 23, 2021

jay moussy said:
I was thinking single-lens, street photography attire, light meter, small note pad for that important detail to use later.

A jacket works. Or if it is too warm for that, a small utility bag that goes on shoulder or your belt
https://www.amazon.com/Protector-Pl...ds=utility+bag+for+men&qid=1621790034&sr=8-19
https://www.amazon.com/FUNANASUN-MO...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

There are padded photography belt systems that permit attaching lens bags or small accessory pouches, that would pull down your pants, either!

Pieter12 · May 23, 2021

jay moussy said:
was thinking single-lens, street photography attire, light meter, small note pad for that important detail to use later.

You don't need anything. A small light meter like a DigiSix will fit a shirt or pants pocket, as will a small notebook & pen. A vest is over-the-top for street photography, attracts the wrong kind of attention.

pentaxuser · May 23, 2021

Pieter12 said:
You don't need anything. A small light meter like a DigiSix will fit a shirt or pants pocket, as will a small notebook & pen. A vest is over-the-top for street photography, attracts the wrong kind of attention.

Your knowledge of what draws the wrong attention in the U.S. or at least your part of the U.S. is something I bow to but certainly what Matt linked to would not merit as much as a second glance in the U.K.

pentaxuser

Pieter12 · May 23, 2021

pentaxuser said:
Your knowledge of what draws the wrong attention in the U.S. or at least your part of the U.S. is something I bow to but certainly what Matt linked to would not merit as much as a second glance in the U.K.

pentaxuser

I was not referring to what Matt had posted. That has fewer pockets than a regular jacket and really has no extra utility value unless you're wearing it over a t-shirt. I was referring to a multi-pocket travel or photo vest.

pentaxuser · May 23, 2021

Pieter12 said:
. I was referring to a multi-pocket travel or photo vest.

OK and thanks but the multi-pocket travel or photo vest would not draw any attention either in the U.K. Just out of curiosity, what kind of unwanted attention would the garments to which you refer draw in the U.S.?

Thanks

pentaxuser

Arthurwg · May 23, 2021

Amazon lists many different styles....

Pieter12 · May 23, 2021

I wrongly assume this was for street photography, where one would like not to be noticed or identified as a photographer at least until you've made the shot. This is too wearisome anyway. Whatever floats your boat.

BobD · May 23, 2021

There are jackets and shirts that have multiple pockets that are either hidden or at least not very visible.

CMoore · May 24, 2021

I carry a backpack.
I personally never needed to get anything "Immediately".
Besides a camera, my Sekonic 308 is the only thing that i, occasionally, carry outside of my backpack.
I can get that in a pocket, around my neck or strap.

Maybe if i used an auto winder and shot a lot of frames, a vest with a pocket for film would come in handy.?
If i need something, i just take off my pack, and get it.

DWThomas · May 24, 2021

Enh -- so far in my eternal search for the Perfect Solution To Everything(tm), I have acquired about seven or eight shoulder bags, two backpacks. a fanny pack, a couple of belt packs, and a sling bag. As well, sometime in this millennium I did indeed pick up a fishing vest sort of thing. Since its acquisition I've used it maybe twice, and at this moment can't even recall where it may be hiding.

So what's the answer? "It depends!"

Oh -- and when the weather isn't too hot, cargo pants or cargo shorts can be useful also.

benjiboy · May 25, 2021

I usually wear an M 65 field jacket, because they have four large pockets, and also carry a small light camera bag.( Manfrotto Pixi).

Auer · May 25, 2021

Levi's 501's can hold a few rolls of film and I clip a knife to the belt. Sometimes a Olympus Infinity Stylus goes in one pocket too.
That's about it.

Wear a light vest or other to carry small items?

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