by Will N To » Tue Mar 13, 2018 6:06 am
I've hauled a lot more camera gear to a lot more places than I care to remember. 4x5....6x7 Pentax...(I think the secret to it's durability was reinforced concrete).
Don't know about photo friendly backpacks per se. Either I had too much gear or as now a DSLR an extra lens, no tripod and a smile.
Tip for all camera bags. Get some White Krylon for plastic. Give all those black holes in the bag a good shot. They will never turn white, but they'll get light enough so you can find your usually black camera widgets. 60 years of black pockets on camera pouches and bags should be enough proof that the people making the stuff don't use it, don't care, and think marketing is the critical element in photography.
I've taken to slinging my DSLR in a loop in the camera strap. Did this for two months in Japan, climbed mountains with my Nikon tucked into a loop in the strap (like a holster). Having to pull open the loop to holster the camera while I was in Japan, did make it a two handed operation, still it was a good system. When I got my new Optech strap, the webbing from the pad to the camera wasn't long enough to make a loop, so I sewed my own.
I always near permanently duct tape the lens shades on to the lenses (I still need to tether the caps-for my new lenses) Nikon caps are terrific for lenses less than 55mm in diameter--larger ones pop off and get lost and have no tether options. Scrap the surface and epoxy something to it that you can attach a string. A little velcro on the cap and the strap will keep it safely out of the way.)
For my upcoming Highlands et al adventure I'm making a neoprene holster as an upgrade to the loop.
The neoprene holster, now in rough stage (neoprene 'can' so far). 28-300 FX Nikon zoom: lens shade is about 4.2" in diameter. I made the opening 5.2" in diameter and it tapers to 4" (7" height). What I quickly discovered was that while the opening needs to be larger than the shade diameter. About 1.5" inside it can narrow such that the shade has to squeeze in (but only just a bit). Better fit, keep out the dust and rain.
Some company maybe Op-Tech, makes neoprene lens covers, but they're a two handed hassle-lousy design. Make your own.
[BTW neoprene is really fun to work with. Butt joints-so you cut it to the exact size you want, glue both sides of a join, like contact cement, let it dry then push it together. For reinforcing the seams, hand stitching. Did a couple hours of that today. ] When I get it finished I'll post some photos.
And whatever you do try to forget that Ansel Adams took his most famous photos within about 150 feet of a road with two assistants doing the hauling.