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What’s In YOUR Bag?

This time of year people start longingly eyeing the camera stores, thinking about how to answer the eternal question: “What do you want for Christmas?” There’s so much STUFF. Better cameras. Better lenses. Bigger and faster digital cards. More powerful electronic flash units. Sturdier tripods. And a host of accessories way too numerous to go into here. (Not to mention a new bag.)

So we thought we would show you what we normally carry around in OUR bags. Mind you, this is what we carry for everyday, walking around photography. If we, or you, are doing something more specialized, the gear would of course be different. This is what we take when we walk out the door to wander the streets, go to the beach, or visit the local market.

First things first: “It’s the singer, not the song.” “A good carpenter doesn’t blame his tools.” “The course of true love gathers no moss.” (Oops – that’s something different, and a jumble too.) The point is that you don’t need fancy and expensive gear to make good photographs—someone who puts time and thought into his or her photography can make good images with ANY sort of camera. Just think of all the wonderful pictures made in former times with big, heavy, awkward cameras. You don’t need to have the latest and greatest.

That said, it does help to have gear that will do the job you set out to do and that you feel comfortable and familiar with. You don’t want to waste time fiddling with dials and staring at menus when you should be shooting. And think about what situations you will be covering—that will determine the gear you need to carry. Do you really need to take the 300mm lens today? Or the tripod? Or the flash? Backs are precious things, and it’s hard to shoot (or walk) when your back is killing you. Carrying a heavy camera bag around all day is hard work—believe me, I know. So only take what you think you will need.

As you can probably tell, I’m a minimalist when it comes to gear. Mainly because I like to be able to move around quickly and reasonably unobtrusively, and to still have a little energy left late in the day. I’ve had enough backaches, and one of my shoulders is lower than the other from years of lugging gear.

Of course if I’m going off on a long assignment, I travel with a lot of stuff: at least one extra camera body, other lenses, etc. But I still try to keep it all to a minimum because of the hassle factor: I left for one assignment with thirteen cases—I had just about everything photographic you can think of in twelve of them, a few clothes in one. Just herding them through airports, customs, taxis, and hotels almost drove me nuts. I decided I would never do that again. The maximum since has been three. (And yes, I probably missed some shots because I didn’t have the right gear, but I got others I wouldn’t have if I’d been weighed down.)

Here’s what I normally carry around in my bag: a camera, two lenses, a flash unit, and extra digital cards are about it for actual photographic stuff. The rest is just helpful: a notebook and pen, a translucent plastic cap that fits on top of the flash, spare camera batteries, extra AA batteries, a flashlight, a Swiss Army knife, a small paint brush, a handkerchief, gaffers tape, and, because I wear glasses, a band that keeps them from flying off.

And here’s what Cary says:

What's in my bag? I used to carry a lot of gear but my back told me to stop doing that. These days it is one or two camera bodies. I still carry a prime 180mm and a 105mm macro because I love those lenses and I know how they "see" the world. Otherwise it is zooms. 17-35mm is my favorite and the 35-70mm is a workhorse. (But these lenses, with their internal electronics, seem to spend more time in the shop than my older lenses.) I also carry a flash with extension cord, extra cards, and a hand held meter (imagine that). Most of what is in my camera bag is not strictly camera equipment. Dig around you will find a compass (to figure out where the sun will rise and set), spare batteries, a bit of black velvet (to block reflections), white nylon (to diffuse light), a shower cap (to keep my camera dry), lens tissue and fluid, small colored gels to use on my flash, a notebook and pen, a tiny blower brush for dust, a flashlight, a knife, polarizing filters, a bit of gaffer tape (for everything), thumbtacks, and a lucky nut. But wait, there’s more: A miniature tape measure for documenting museum objects in inches and centimeters; ear plugs for working under deafening conditions; a tiny bubble level for leveling the camera. (There’s also an iPhone app for this purpose.) I often carry a small towel to keep the camera dry in light rain or protect it from dust. It is also useful to manage sweat in a very hot place and to steady a long lens (the bag is good for this too).

That’s just in his bag. Here’s how he travels:

I need to remind Cary that he forgot the kitchen sink.

Some details about the gear:

Camera: Unless you are making enormous prints, the megapixel value of a camera isn’t all that important—if you’re making “normal” sized prints (11x14 inches or less) or putting photos on the web, you end up throwing most of the megapixels away anyway. But the quality of the sensor IS important. Some cameras have an amazing ability to record terrific looking images in very low (as in almost no) light. They’ve somehow found a way to radically minimize “noise” (formerly known as grain). If you do or plan to shoot a lot in low light situations, it’s worth doing some research and finding one you like. Some cameras also shoot very high quality HD video, so if you are exploring that (as we are), stay tuned for a future TipsFlick and Actual Info.

Lenses: Years ago, zoom lenses were slower and not as sharp as prime lenses. But that has changed. I find that with two zooms—a wide angle and a telephoto—I can cover just about any situation I encounter (and can carry less weight than when I had to carry half a dozen or so primes lenses). I like 16-35mm f2.8 and 70-200mm f2.8, and don’t mind missing the middle range. But this is a personal choice: you should take the lenses you like most. Besides quality of the glass (VERY important), lenses with a wide aperture (f2.8, f2, or even wider) are really helpful—they enable you to use faster shutter speeds in low light without having to bump up the ISO, and to have greater control over depth of field. (Please see the “Sharp or Fuzzy?” TipsFlick and Actual Info for more about depth of field). Fast, high quality glass lenses are expensive, but they are worth it.

Flash: I use an electronic flash unit a LOT, mostly for fill flash when I want to add just a little bit of light to a subject. (There’s an upcoming TipsFlick and Actual Info about fill flash.) It’s a great tool, and not as hard to master as you might think. It’s important to have a pretty powerful one so you don’t have to get TOO close to things with teeth (like the croc at right).

Digital cards: I always carry several so I don’t have to stop shooting because my card is full (and in case one goes bad). Card manufacturers make different versions of cards (with names like Ultra, Elite, Pro, etc). The main difference between different models of the same capacity is the speed at which they record data. If you’re shooting sports or something else where you want to keep the motor drive running (or HD video) it’s good to have a fast card. They’re not too expensive, and worth it. (I bought a 1 GB card at the dawn of digital photography. It cost over $600.)

The accessories you carry in your bag are really a matter of personal choice. I like having a notebook for picture ideas, names and addresses, scouting notes, etc. The cap for the flash is a small and quick way to diffuse its light. Extra AA batteries are for the flash. The flashlight is for finding my way around in the dark and for finding things I drop (and sometimes for painting subjects with light, the subject of a future TipsFlick and Actual Info). The paintbrush is great for dusting off, the air bulb for blowing dust off the lenses and from inside the camera. A Swiss Army knife (blades, scissors, screw driver) is indispensible, and tape has a thousand uses. The handkerchief is for wiping moisture off the camera should it get wet, and sweat off my brow.

But that’s just what I like. We would love to hear what you carry around in your bag. If you’ve got something you think is really useful, please let us know at blog@pixboomba.com. We’ll share the good tips in PixBomBlog.

Here’s a tip: If you are working in a crowd where there’s a lot of jostling, shift your bag so it’s hanging in front of you—where you can keep an eye on it. If it’s at your side and you are engrossed in your shooting, it’s easy for someone to remove some of the contents without you noticing.

And if you want to travel REALLY light, you can always make pictures with your phone.

All Actual Actual Info and TipsFlix