Photo Dork or Photo Stud?

[kcowyo]

You know my answer. I just want to remind you of it.

:iagree:

No experience with either but I would think while driving/bouncing off the road, it would be more comfortable to be wearing a vest than a belt, laden with heavy lenses. A 50mm prime bouncing in your lap could present certain difficulties, ya know?

But I would defer to jeffryscott, since the guy makes his living and some nice photographs with his equipment choices.

Re: Tilley - I've always wanted a Hemp Hat with its own insurance policy. Someday I'll pony up the cash for one of their legendary lids.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I wonder if vests are like snorkels: :snorkel:

Guess it depends on what you stuff in the pockets.

 

[jeffryscott]

:iagree:

No experience with either but I would think while driving/bouncing off the road, it would be more comfortable to be wearing a vest than a belt, laden with heavy lenses. A 50mm prime bouncing in your lap could present certain difficulties, ya know?

The idea of the belt is to take it off while driving silly.:coffeedrink:

The limiting factor with the vest is the lens size you want to store in it. a 50 prime fits, an 80-200 2.8 doesn't very well without being awkward, bulky and unbalanced. For film, filters, etc ... the vest may be the right approach - but get a photographer's vest - I originally tried a fly fishing vest 20-some years ago and they just don't work. Fly vests tend to be short for wading. A photographer's vest tends to hang lower so the weight is distributed better and you have easier access to the pockets (unless you have short stubby t-rex arms).

If I can make it to the event on the 28th I'll try to remember to bring a vest for you to try at camp.

 

[kcowyo]

The idea of the belt is to take it off while driving silly.:coffeedrink:

See what I mean? Jeffry knows stuff.

 

[DaktariEd]

I'm with Jeff. I tried the vest for lenses and they are just too darned big, heavy and might just fall out! I use a backpack now. Works for me... I just happenj to have an extra one I was going to sell. Basically brand new...a LowePro.

I do have a "travel" vest...but it's not a dork vest. No sirree...It's very cool!:luxhello:

When traveling overseas it keeps my passport and valuable papers tucked inside in a zippered pocket, secure. I keep other essentials in the pockets so I don't have to get from my seat into the overhead compartments for odds & ends. Doesn't matter to me if some poor unfortunate misguided cheeseball thinks it looks dorky. That's his (or her) problem!

 

[bigreen505]

Stick with a backpack or see if there is a way to integrate something into the Frontier. For example, a Domke F1 bag could hold (not gracefully) two bodies, three L-series lenses and a flash and would fit in the center console of a Suburban -- perfect for grab shots or easy to pull out and walk a short distance.

Vests (Domke and the like) are nice if you are going to be standing around a lot or need quick access to light weight gear, but I would not drive with one and they are not easy to put on and take off when loaded.

I like belt systems if I am moving fast, but mine is too big so if anyone wants a size large Kinesis system let's talk. If you go the belt route I really like Kinesis -- it is a mom and pop shop and they are great people.

At the end of the day I use LowePro bags -- Mini Trekker if it is just the camera and Photo Trekker if the laptop is coming too. To be honest I really don't have a lot to recommend either of these bags, but for car transportation they protect the gear well. I would seriously suggest checking into LowePro's Omni series. They are padded, have straps and fit inside a Pelican case.

What I do, which I would never advocate, is have most of the gear in my bag of choice accessible in the back seat area. One or two bodies and two or three lenses in the front seat -- either my lap or passenger floor. Despite how hard I try otherwise, meter, film and/or cards and polarizer go in pockets of my shorts (meter usually around my neck), one body with mid range zoom, one body with 180, wide angle lens in pouch on floor or easily accessible in bag, tripod as extended as possible across back seat floor.

And for the record, a vest makes you a dork (or a nature or travel photographer, which are subsets of dork), a belt system makes you paparazzi, and either one with a telephoto lens -- let's say any lens longer than 8" with a hood -- makes you a stalker. Poorly designed bags (like LowePro) make you a naturalists, because as soon as you put the bag down and back on, whatever the bag was resting on (mud, pine needles, dog poop) will be ground into your clothing.

 

[gjackson]

Dude, go digital!

That'll give you enough to deal with for a while!

cheers

 

[XXXpedition]

we've had one of those for years (so i guess we are beyond dork light...) but we just were it occasionally - or better one of us does (since we have just one))

 

[articulate]

Hmmmm. . .

Backpack, bat belt, pants with bigger pockets, more bodies, or just leave the stuff on the floor board (Bill, nice way to not advocate something by describing it in full detail). :beer:

Dude, go digital!

No kidding. I've dropped enough on lab processing this year to purchase a nice D body. But I like the fancy click-wheeee sound a film camera makes after each shutter release. And slides are neato. So it stands to reason that perhaps I ought to be wearing an old school vest to go along with my use of film.

Interesting conversation, fellas.

 

[DaveInDenver]

No kidding. I've dropped enough on lab processing this year to purchase a nice D body. But I like the fancy click-wheeee sound a film camera makes after each shutter release. And slides are neato. So it stands to reason that perhaps I ought to be wearing an old school vest to go along with my use of film.

I rather enjoy slides shows. Getting people together, pulling out the gear, sharing beers and throwing bottles at the screen. Well, that might only be at my screenings. Do you get heckled to 'Focus!', too?

 

[bigreen505]

(Bill, nice way to not advocate something by describing it in full detail). :beer:

Hey, if you're dumb enough to try it, I'm dumb enough to tell you how.

Vests are great, I guess it just depends what you do with them. Putting 40 lb. of lenses on it and driving technical or washboard terrain doesn't sound like a very good idea. A couple small lenses or filters are not a problem.

I'm hoping most people here know me well enough to know that most of my post was in jest. Well some of it, sort of. Well not really, at least the part about watching where you put your backpack. :sport_box

The most important thing for me is having a consistent depository for spent film and cards.