What’s in my bag

[Ado Wolf]

I checked to see if such a thread existed, but didn’t find one. I think it would be interesting to share what gear we carry and for which purpose / genre we use it.

Wildlife kit carried in a Lowepro Flipside Trek AW350:
- D850 + 500 PF for deer, fox, birds and butterflies
- Z50 + 18-140mm for occasional landscape and closeup photography (particularly mushrooms)
- extra battery for each, Swiss knife, air blower, head torch, knee pad, water bottle and lens cleaning cloth
-> I usually photograph in woods

Hiking kit carried in a Mindshift Photocross 13 Pack:
- Z6 + 24-120 F4 for landscape
- extra battery, Swiss knife, air blower, head torch, knee pad and lens cleaning cloth
- water bottle, GPS, first aid kit, hiking poles and rain jacket
-> I usually hike up the Alps

How about you?

 

[jcgamble]

Wildlife/Landscape Kit carried in Mindshift Backlight 26
Z9 and Z6 II w/ Kirk bottom plate
500 PF + FTZ II - wildlife, especially birds (300 f4 PF substitute for lighter pack)
Z 100-400 - butterflies, dragonflies, mammals, birds, landscape
Z 24-70 f4 - landscape and travel
TC14 III - extending the 500
Extra battery for each, air blower, head lamp and lens cleaning cloth
Wired remote for both cameras
Shoulder strap
Leica binoculars
Battery Chargers
Anker USB C 2000 PD Power Bank
Dell Inspiron 7706 2n1 17 inch, Power cord and mouse

Carried in vehicle or carry on.
Acratech Long Lens Head w/ Kirk L bracket for Z9
Leofoto LS-284C tripod
Z 20 f1.8 - landscape and astrophotography
Leofoto LS-223C

​

 

[Maljo]

Think tank Airport Acceleration
Z9 and Z7ii
500 mm f5.6 + FTZii
100-400 Z Zoom
105 Z macro
24-120 f4 Z zoom
50 mm f1.8 Z
14-30 f4 Z Zoom
1.4x Z tc
1.4x F tc

 

[RossW]

Great thread guys. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Turberticus]

I have a $30 Neewer camera bag that barely fits my 200-500 lol. If I'll be at a location for a while, here's my list.

- D7500
- 200-500
- TC-14e
- Black Rapid strap
- Extra battery
- Protein bars
- Water

In my car:

- Homemade groundpod with tilt head (if shooting waterfowl)
- 3 legged camping chair
- Innorel KT324C carbon fiber tripod
- Movo GH600 monogimbal
- Sirui P-326 monopod

If I'm just going down the road to see what's out there I'll just throw my camera, lens, tc, and possibly the strap in the bag.

 

[Ivan Rothman]

Gura Gear Kiboko 2.0 30L bag and if needed additional equipment in Gura Gear Chobe bag which also has my laptop
On every trip
2 Z9 bodies
Z 24-120mm
Z 100-400 mm
Z 400mm f4.5
Z 1.4X and 2X teleconverters
On some trips I also may carry
Z7ii body
Z 105mm macro
Z 14-24mm f2.8
Z 800mm f6.3 (soon to be replaced by the Z 600mm f4)

RRS TVC-33 CF tripod with FlexShooter Pro Lever Head
RRS monopod with Wimberley MonoGimbal head
SB-5000 flash and Better Beamer flash extender
Rain covers, 18-inch Walkstool, memory cards, extra batteries, polarizing and ND filters, cable release or wireless camera/flash release WR-r10, WR-T10 and WR-A10
Pocket knife, flashlight, Nikon or Zeiss lens wipes, Allen wrenches and mini-screwdrivers, spare lens and camera caps, microfiber cloth, brush, sensor cleaning tools

 

[marklangner]

Gura Gear Kiboko 2.0 30L bag and if needed additional equipment in Gura Gear Chobe bag which also has my laptop (yes I copied/pasted)
On every trip
2 R5 bodies
RF 100-500 mm
RF 600mm f4
RF 1.4X and 2X teleconverters
On some trips I also may carry
100mm macro
14-24mm f2.8

In my truck I have a Gitzo monopod with Wimberly Mono Gimbal, and a Gitzo 5 series Tripod with RRStuff fluid gimbal head

In my Gura Gear bag, the usual things; batteries, sensor cleaners, few small tools, Nikon/Zeiss lens wipes, batteries, memory cards, etc

I also created a "Go Bag". I went to REI and got a small duffel. As I go on various outings and find I "forgot" something, I add it as a new item in my go bag. Thus, when I want to shoot, I grab my big Gura bag with cameras and lenses, my monopod, my tripod, and my "go bag". Other than charging batteries the night before and formatting my memory cards, it's all I need EVERY TIME.

Currently my go bag contains:
Hat (big brim, back of neck sun protection, folds up).
Baseball style cap
Knit wool type cap
Neck scarf
Lens hood (won't fit in Gura bag)
Binoculars
Advil
Excedrin Extra Strength
Camera straps with quick release ends (From RRStuff, mainly for my body with the 100-500)
Travel pack of Kleenex
Small chamois kinda towel
This strap thing that attaches to my glasses so I can yank them off and let them dangle round my neck
Energy bar or two for emergency snack

Since putting together a go bag, I don't leave stuff at home anymore.

 

[Ado Wolf]

500 PF + FTZ II - wildlife, especially birds (300 f4 PF substitute for lighter pack)

​

That's some gear you carry.
The 300 PF is my lighter pack substitute as well (particularly in winter, with lower light).
I too use the Mindshift Backlight 26, but that's only when I travel with gear. For daily trips I prefer traveling light.

 

[Ado Wolf]

500 mm f5.6 + FTZii / 100-400 Z Zoom / 105 Z macro / 24-120 f4 Z zoom / 50 mm f1.8 Z / 14-30 f4 Z Zoom

Wow, you cover all ranges with your setup.
Do you always carry all these lenses with you? or you take only what is needed, based on your destination?

 

[Ado Wolf]

I have a $30 Neewer camera bag that barely fits my 200-500 lol. If I'll be at a location for a while, here's my list.

- D7500 / 200-500 / TC-14e

That was my Setup as well, before having replaced my 200-500 with the 500 PF. I still have my D7500 when I want to shed some weight.
Upgrading to the 500 was partially motivated by the smaller size, compared to the 200-500 zoom.. As you have stated, quite a challenge to fit that one in a backpack.

 

[Ado Wolf]

Gura Gear Kiboko 2.0 30L bag and if needed additional equipment in Gura Gear Chobe bag which also has my laptop

2 Z9 bodies / Z 24-120mm / Z 100-400 mm / Z 400mm f4.5

Wow, you are all in on Z gear. Impressive. I am slowly replacing my F gear with Z gear.
Other that F stop advantage, do you see a difference between the Z 100-400 mm and Z 400mm f4.5 at 400 mm? I have both on my radar at the moment (as a native Telephoto lens).

 

[StefanSC]

Reading these posts really makes me think I have become a bit of a gear horder...

For example, my street bag (a Think Thank Mirrorless Mover 30i) has in it the following:
- Panasonic GX-7 m43 camera
- Samyang 7.5mm fisheye
- Olympus 12mm f2.0
- Olympus 17mm f1.8
- Panasonic 25mm f1.7
- Olympus 45mm f1.8
- Olympus 75mm f1.8

While my vacation bag (the same Think Thank Mirrorless Mover 30i has in it:
- Panasonic G9 m43 camera
- PL 8-18 f2.8-f4
- Olympus 12-40mm f2.8
- Panasonic 50-200mm f2.8-f4 and TC14x
- maybe one or two of the above primes.
- an iPad and an SD card reader.

And I won't even get started on my macro bag (a mix of Nikon F and m43 in a Lowepro Flipside 400 AW III) or my wildlife bag ( Nikon F mount in the Mindshift Backlight 36l).

Maybe I should streamline my gear closet a bit... Sell the older, lower end stuff and grab a few higher end items .

Or just start shooting more often to justify keeping them...

 

[Ado Wolf]

Gura Gear Kiboko 2.0 30L bag and if needed additional equipment in Gura Gear Chobe bag which also has my laptop (yes I copied/pasted)
2 R5 bodies / RF 100-500 mm / RF 600mm f4

I also created a "Go Bag". I went to REI and got a small duffel. As I go on various outings and find I "forgot" something, I add it as a new item in my go bag. Thus, when I want to shoot, I grab my big Gura bag with cameras and lenses, my monopod, my tripod, and my "go bag". Other than charging batteries the night before and formatting my memory cards, it's all I need EVERY TIME.

It's nice to see, that most wildlife photographers share the same equipment irrespective of the brand. My best friend shoots R5 as well.. we always tease each other about having the better camera (all in fun spirit naturally).

Hahaha, I too created a "Go Bag", because I got tired of forgetting things, when switching from one bag to the other. I got the Thule organizer pouch (can't remember the model name). What can I say, great minds think alike

 

[Ado Wolf]

Reading these posts really makes me think I have become a bit of a gear horder...
Maybe I should streamline my gear closet a bit... Sell the older, lower end stuff and grab a few higher end items .

This was one of the reasons why I decided to start this thread. I had lenses I wasn't using as much.. and was contemplating to sell them.

 

[agrumpyoldsod]

I checked to see if such a thread existed, but didn’t find one. I think it would be interesting to share what gear we carry and for which purpose / genre we use it.

Wildlife kit carried in a Lowepro Flipside Trek AW350:
- D850 + 500 PF for deer, fox, birds and butterflies
- Z50 + 18-140mm for occasional landscape and closeup photography (particularly mushrooms)
- extra battery for each, Swiss knife, air blower, head torch and lens cleaning cloth

Hiking kit carried in a Mindshift Photocross 13 Pack:
- Z6 + 24-120 F4 for landscape
- extra battery, Swiss knife, air blower, head torch and lens cleaning cloth
- GPS, first aid kit, hiking poles and rain jacket

How about you?

Ado -- it would help to understand - where you are heading to, what you are seeking to shoot and how you travel when in the field.

For example -- I frequently used to carry between 50-70kg of gear when I went on Safari to Africa -- with multiple camera and lens options and redundancy.
But I carry as little / light as I can when climbing up to shoot eagles - my car will also hold back-up and other gear. If climbing and camping overnight - then tent/bag/mat/food/hot-water all have to be carried together with Tripod, camera, 2 lenses, filters etc....
When shooting sports I always carry something to sit on OR stand on -- a stool, a pad, knee pads and at least 2 (often 3) bodies with lenses attached, monopod and harness to help me move about -- but when surrounded by "the public" you have to have somewhere to store your gear and bags. Most sports match shooters have their laptop powered and connected to ethernet wired or wifi; remote camera(s) and triggers, etc.....
For macro - well one often has to add light -- LEDs or Flashes - light modifiers/reflectors and often some support to enable focus stacking to be more accurate. BUt - for me having a suitable support is more important - tripod, ground pod. etc the mushroom images below were each 40+ shot stacks and the flower was similar but with a profoto strobe as well.
AND then you have working wedding, portrait and fashion whose lighting requires many bags and and.

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[Spelzar]

For a day shoot for birds I use a Think Tank Streetwalker V2:

Nikon D850
500 PF
BlackRapid strap
1.4 TC
Spare battery
Spare XQD cards (2 32GB)
2 500ml stainless steel water bottles
Zeiss lens tissues
Microfibre cloth
Hand sanitiser
Smal +aid pack
Garmin GPS
Mobile telephone
Box of sandwiches and fruit

For landscape and macro:

300 PF replaces 500 PF
14-24 2.8
60 2.8 D micro
Leofoto Ranger LS-324C with LH-40 ballhead
Lee 150 polarising and ND filters

For longer trips all the above in a Mind Shift 36 rear opening bag:
D7200 with grip (back up)
Spare SD cards
50 1.8
SB700 flash (never used)
Gitzo monopod
2 Nikon battery chargers

Having just returned from a three week trip I realise that I need a bag in between these two sizes probably a 26 litre and the 24-70 2.8!

No plans for mirrorless but might swap D7200 for D5.

 

[Ivan Rothman]

Wow, you are all in on Z gear. Impressive. I am slowly replacing my F gear with Z gear.
Other that F stop advantage, do you see a difference between the Z 100-400 mm and Z 400mm f4.5 at 400 mm? I have both on my radar at the moment (as a native Telephoto lens).

The 100-400 is my most used lens because of its focal length range and quality. i don’t see a great advantage at 400mm to one lens over the other but if I’m shooting action like birds in flight and I don’t need to zoom out I’ll use the 400 f4.5. 100-400 plays well with TCs but the 400 prime is better. I like to set up with 100-400 on one body and the 400 f4.5 with TC on another body

 

[marc]

For Africa:

2 x Z9's
Nikkor Z 400TC f/2.8
Nikkor Z 70-200 f/2.8
Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4
2 X Rode shotgun mics.
Leica 8x32 HD UltraVid Binos
Z 1.4TC
Z 2.0TC
2 extra EN-EL18D's
Gura Gear Kiboko 32L (Original)
CamRanger 2 remote w/monopod
NextToDI 4TB HDD x 2 (2nd is BackUp)


For elsewhere

2 x Z9's
Nikkor Z 400TC f/2.8
Nikkor Z 70-200 f/2.8
Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4
Nikkor Z 14-24 f/2.8
Nikkor 180-400TC f/4
Nikkor 500PF f/5.6
2 x Rode shotgun mics.
FTZ II
Leica 8x32 HD UltraVid Binos
Zeiss 8 x42 Victory
Z 1.4TC
Z 2.0TC
2 extra EN-EL18D's
CamRanger 2 remote
NextToDI 4TB HDD x 2 (2nd is BackUp)
ThinkTank Airport Int V3.0
Gitzo CF series 4
Gitzo CF series 2 monopod
Wimberley sidekick
Markins Q3 ballhead
Nikon SB900

 

[BLev65]

For Africa:

2 x Z9's
Nikkor Z 400TC f/2.8
Nikkor Z 70-200 f/2.8
Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4
2 X Rode shotgun mics.
Leica 8x32 HD UltraVid Binos
Z 1.4TC
Z 2.0TC
2 extra EN-EL18D's
Gura Gear Kiboko 32L (Original)
CamRanger 2 remote w/monopod
NextToDI 4TB HDD x 2 (2nd is BackUp)


For elsewhere

2 x Z9's
Nikkor Z 400TC f/2.8
Nikkor Z 70-200 f/2.8
Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4
Nikkor Z 14-24 f/2.8
Nikkor 180-400TC f/4
Nikkor 500PF f/5.6
2 x Rode shotgun mics.
FTZ II
Leica 8x32 HD UltraVid Binos
Zeiss 8 x42 Victory
Z 1.4TC
Z 2.0TC
2 extra EN-EL18D's
CamRanger 2 remote
NextToDI 4TB HDD x 2 (2nd is BackUp)
ThinkTank Airport Int V3.0
Gitzo CF series 4
Gitzo CF series 2 monopod
Wimberley sidekick
Markins Q3 ballhead
Nikon SB900

Do you bring a Sherpa with you when you take pictures "elsewhere"?

 

[EricBowles]

Nice topic. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here is my bag and what's in it. This is the ThinkTank Airport Addicted - an older backpack style bag that I use to carry everything. I've subsequently sold the 500mm PF and replaced it with the Z 400 f/4.5.

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This bag has some nice slots for miscellaneous items. So I have a "spares and repairs kit" packed at all times.

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I currently use a "field bag" that contains the gear I need for a particular photo opportunity in the field. That bag is currently a ThinkTank Turnstyle 20 but will be replaced shortly with a Mindshift Gear Photocross 13. I put lenses and accessories only in the bag - cameras are outside the bag for immediate use. Long lenses are on a Black Rapid strap with a RRS quick release - usually without a case since that lens is my primary lens for scenarios where it is carried.

I also have a LowePro 600AW for my 600 f/4 lens, but that bag does not get much use since I have gotten the 800mm PF.

 

[Tom Reynolds]

When I am on foot I go really light:
1-Maxtor 40/50l backpack, really just a sack. It has a Walkstool and a Surai monopod with a mono-gimble in it. (about 5+ pounds)
2-Om-1/100-400 on a Black Rapids strap. (A little over 5#)
3-1pt of water and 1 extra battery (about a pound and 1/2)
4-If I am on a trail I use Foxelli Carbon Fibre trekking poles (about a pound). On a boardwalk I don't need the poles.

Everything else stays in the car.

Tom

 

[Mr. Meows]

Lowepro Flipside 400 AW II:
- Nikon D500
- Nikon 500mm PF VR
- Nikon 10-20mm
- Nikon 85mm f/1.8
- air blower, toothbrush and zeiss lens wipes

 

[jeffnles1]

I'll play.
Nikon D500
Nikon 200-500
Nikon 105mm Micro
Nikon 24-70 F2.8
A few extra batteries
Sony RX10iv for video
I carry the 105 or the 24-70 in the field with me in a lens case attached to a utility belt. I usually carry a thermos of water, my cell phone and a couple extra SD cards.

That's about it. I can cover the overwhelming majority of my photography with these 3 lenses and the Sony bridge camera.

Jeff

 

[JamesFarrell]

Z9
Z 7II
Z 24-120/4
Z 100-400
Z 400/4.5
Z TC 14
Spare batteries, a few extra cards & reader, and some other minor stuff - all in a Think Tank Airport Accelerator And some harness/belt stuff too.

I’ve got a Z 14-30/4, a Z 24-70/4 and a SB-500 flash in the closet that rarely see the light of day. And a FTZ Ver 1 in a box somewhere in the closet that I have no use for.

 

[marc]

Do you bring a Sherpa with you when you take pictures "elsewhere"?

I should clarify "elsewhere" might contain a selection of these.