wishlist revisions and thoughts

After recommending Jon Barnes the Lowepro Slingshot bag it made me stop and think about what I was really looking for in a camera bag. I currently have the Crumpler Sinking Barge backpack. It fits my 15" Powerbook and my 20 d body and my 28-105 and my 10-22. It also fits a lightsphere and my 580ex. Great for my current set up when traveling, I love it as my carry on when I fly. The problem is it is not a good working bag. Accessing things is hard plus its pretty bulky bag. And if I buy another lens (which I'd like to do) I'd soon outgrow my backpack. But is there ever really any reason to be traveling with all of your lenses?

Before I had the crumpler bag I used to just put all my gear in my laptop case which got extreemly heavy (cheap strap on one shoulder) and didn't really protect my camera gear well. This was also before I had the 10-22 lens so theres no way I could use my laptop bag anymore.

Hmmm... I'm just thinking outloud now. I can't really come to terms with a real need to be switching out lenses when you're out shooting. I like to keep things simple. I can see at a wedding yes, but if I go into shooting weddings full time I will want two bodies, one with a wide angle and one with a telephoto. So I can go from capturing intimate close ups to the whole scene quickly.

If I'm out walking around just doing the touristy shooting I'll probably just have my 10-22 and my tripod if it was low light. I guess there might be some times where you'd want to get some closer shots with a longer lens but my current 28-105 isn't really getting me all that close. And I don't feel like the 200 is going to get me THAT close either. And since I haven't shot with a longer lens I don't know what I'm missing out on so I can't say I'd definitely need that lens in my bag.

I'm trying to envision what kind of assignments we will have when we are in Hawaii. If its an on location portrait shoot then I'm going to want a flash and my mid range lens and maybe my wide lens too. But since I'm going to be carrying a flash I might as well pack another lens because there's room.

Okay... but thats a set up and go kind of shoot not a on the fly shoot where I'd have to capture something really fast, so traveling to the location might take a while so I'd want a bag that could fit everything including my body since I wouldn't want to travel with my camera around my neck. The slingshot seems the best for that, since the shoot sac isn't a transport bag at all and the slingshot would be more secure on me even though its a bit bulkier than the shoot sac but it would allow me to climb over, under on top of better than the shoot sac too. (not that I'm very good at any of these things you should have seen me trying to get around the subway beds) It could also double as a solid traveling case for a second body if I ever got one.

I'm realizing that good photography takes time and it might take scouting a location before you shoot it for real. That way you can prepare with the gear you'll need and shoot exactly what you want. I'm getting more used to focusing on one good shot for an evening. Like last night after I got the boat shot I was ready to go home but snuck the palm tree shot in there too because we still had some time. So stressing about what gear I'm going to need in any situation isn't really logical because you have to go out with an intent about what you want to shoot if you plan on coming home with anything quality.

I guess if you're doing documentary style photography then there's where the two camera body set up comes in...

Haha, I think I just talked myself into paying less money for a more functional bag.


Lowepro Slingshot 200 - $89.95
(I should run up to penn camera with my gear and see what its like)
I thought I was going to have to buy the 300 version (bigger) but I'm reading reviews that says it will fit the lens that I want in it...

While I was at Ritz last night I also asked to see the G9. Best buy doesn't carry it probably because its pretty pricey and I guess if you want the G9 you'd probably be going to a camera store to get it. The G9 was just to big... sure it had a lot of features, but what I realized as I stood there was if I wanted those features and I was going to spend that much time doing that I might as well just carry my DSLR with me. So I guess if you want small and portable you have to let go of manual controls and just trust that auto is gonna get it done.

The Canon SD 1000 has gotten pretty strong reviews. All I'm looking to use a point and shoot for would be to do fun snapshots so this should be fine. Plus its $175 instead of $439.99. It also allows up to 32 minutes of video on a 4 gig card. Its ultra compact and the test pictures that I've seen reviewed look pretty good. I'd like to see more shots done indoors in low light.



canon sd1000 - $175

This is still way down on my list though... so I won't be getting a point and shoot anytime soon but its always nice to think ahead. I might go swing by best buy today and play with it a bit.

Thanks for allowing me to think out loud, I can't come to these conclusions unless I do.

jim baker