by Will N To » Mon Jul 30, 2018 3:43 pm
Hi,
I just schlepped a Nikon D850 all over the UK and Ireland, 28-300mm lens and a 17-35mm Tokina. (I'm sure the Canons are about the same, don't know about any others) I'm an old professional photographer who really wanted, but didn't need a full frame DSLR. Cost a lot, heavier than a concrete-block. It's a very durable camera, near waterproof. I think unless you're a working pro, this camera is overkill. My previous Nikon the D7200, smaller frame size, lighter; does all the basic things the D850 does at about 1/4 the price.I didn't do anything on my recent three month trip that I couldn't have done with the 7200. Of course in lowlight, any decent DSLR can do what no smart phone camera can do. The D7200 got completely soaked in Japan a couple of years ago. Took a week to fully dry out, seems to have survived it. My cases? The short answer is you don't really need one. In a backpack, padded, dry-bag, mostly to keep dust off the lens. Should be fine. In Japan I figured out how to use my old OR Strap as a holster, I'd sling the strap over my left shoulder, under my right, then I'd insert the lens into the loop made by the strap from the padded neck part to the camera body. I recently bought a new OR strap (I've not found a better one), but the webbing straps to the body were too short, so I made longer ones.)
I found this to be a great way to carry the camera without it banging around, it was always at hand. Riding a bicycle, I could swing the lens up and photograph people coming at me on their bikes. For my last trip I tried to make my own holster, but gave up and bought a Case Logic DSH-102 Luminosity Medium DSLR Holster (Black). It worked out well. To use it as a holster, I ran its strap over my left shoulder, or I just hung the bag from my backpack strap. One mod I made: I inserted a piece of 1/16" (1.75mm)piano wire--very stiff into the zipper seam just below the teeth. I did this so the opening would keep it's shape. Pain to insert but worked great. A bonus was that it helped pulling the zipper closed. I intend to insert another piece of wire in the lid. I carry it 'backwards' meaning the lid is away from me. This way blowing spray is blocked by the lid. One thing that's a problem is the extension part on the bottom for longer lenses is too soft, so it makes slide in and slide out a pain. It could use some stiffening, maybe a thin plastic insert rolled up inside. I lost my 17-35mm lens somewhere along the way. I found it a bit of a hassle changing lenses and it didn't really have a Place (your sleeping bag has a place, somewhere inside or outside your pack, your wallet, keys, passport, etc have a Place meaning specific, automatic, reliable, secure. So I set the lens in its pouch down somewhere between New Castle and Belfast. (If you have a second lens, have a Place, on your belt, and inside your pack and day-bag where a tether clips to something so you always know where it is, and where it's stored. That is if you ever lose stuff.)
The Case Logic Holster wasn't too expensive $25US, served its purpose better than what I was trying to make. It's not 'waterproof' but it's close (as are many of the DSLRs now), it's got a rain cover. I used it maybe twice. Attach a string and tiny carabiner to it so you don't lose it. Nikon lens caps over about 75mm (diameter) are absolute crap and will pop off for almost no reason. I epoxied a loop of wire to the fronts and attached shock cord with a tiny carabiner at the end. I also epoxied velcro, use as big a patch as you can, my small patches didn't hold well. If I was really going out to shoot , I attach the holster's top D-ring to my day bag and the bottom zipper string to the bottom somewhere (this keeps it at a diagonal), I'd then remove my camera strap, except for one side. This would be clipped to the holster carabiner. The camera would have a two foot tether. Let me know if you'd like to see a photo of any of this and I'll put them up. (Two years ago in Japan in one of the big electronic stores I had my son take my photo of me with my iPhone attached to a lanyard around my neck. I was standing in the middle of the smartphone case dept. Only the 2-3 waterproof bags had lanyards. I just checked Amazon and smart phone lanyards are everywhere. No one stole my idea, very few people noticed mine in the four years I've done this and most were students who wanted to make sure I knew how stupid it looked. The only thing keeping camera holsters from going viral is cameras are getting smaller and those clip-on things I've seen wedding photogs using might be an even better idea. A smaller camera for backpacking is usually the better idea. If you get one that shoots RAW files, you can do most of what you can do with a DSLR (except perhaps action, fleeting facial expressions).
