Carrying a camera while cycling

Hi all,
I am happy to find that many of you share the photography interest as well.

While none of my hydration packs have yet to leak, I am squeamish about putting a digital SLR and lenses so close to a water source.

With the lowepro toploaders, I was thinking about that. I probably will not be carrying a 70-200VR, not that I have one ... but anything that size would just be too bulky to lug around.

I am still favoring the Lowepro slingshot bag, just because there is room to carry more should I need it. I could fit in some spare tubes, and a minipump as well.

In regards to the split focus screen, I have to say that even with an aged digital camera like the D1x, the AF is very good. I have not needed to focus manually very often. The professional Nikons, D1&D2 range probably have the option for interchageble focusing screens.

asterope said:

i used to take my medium format monster (mamiya c330, and a 105 and 180 twin lens) with me quite frequently when i was using my MTB to commute and actually had time to take photos... i can tell you now, that thing is a pain to have riding on your back (along with anything else) but the padding on my crumpler backpack made it bearable.
i also used to take the nikkormat and put the body in the trunk bag on my pannier rack (an axiom laurentian insulated trunk bag) and put the lenses in my crumpler because its easy to break a lens, but very hard to kill a nikkormat!

id put film in with the nikkormat body/in the trunk bag, because it was much easier to keep it cool and avoid those funky colour shifts/foggy white patches/ruining a few rolls of slide film.

The things you do for your art eh?

I have to take my hat off to you for your dedication to your art!

Just occurred to me ... if i were to take a tumble, should I look out for my OCR Comp bike? My Nikon? Or my body?

I was just thinking about carrying the camera along, as the Floriade is on in Canberra, and I am thinking of riding there with my wife, and shooting pictures. Of course I could bring my little canon A540 ... but ... my D1x hasnt had much of a workout lately.

asterope said:

i used to take my medium format monster (mamiya c330, and a 105 and 180 twin lens) with me quite frequently when i was using my MTB to commute and actually had time to take photos...

Wow, that really is dedication. The most I would ever carry would be one SLR film body (a Canon F1n which was reasonably dependable) and two lenses (usually primes; a 24mm or 35mm and a 100mm). Wouldn't carry the digital SLR though; too worried about having a stack or the like. Nowadays though, I stick with a compact digital when on the bike.
Still, as Thomas says, hats of to you.
BTW, does anyone still use a film camera? I've been thinking of dusting off a couple of my older cameras and running some B&W through them; just for old times sake.

1id10t said:

<snip>
BTW, does anyone still use a film camera? I've been thinking of dusting off a couple of my older cameras and running some B&W through them; just for old times sake.

*hand up* i dont use anything but film... im all for the traditional-chemical-stinky-oldeskool-in-the-dark-arts. its quite surprising how many people went away from it (to digital) and are now coming back to it, especially black and white.
a true black and white film in a nice traditional developer (like agfa's rodinal) absolutely stomps on anything a digital camera considers to be black and white.
then of course theres the absolute magic of the darkroom... i just love it for the chemistry 🙂

actually, i lie a little bit; last time i used a digital camera (my sisters) was to take 2 shots of my cookie monster cycling jersey, and before that was to take 3 shots of my new road bike... its the instant show-off factor of digital that makes it so darn handy!

Damn! All this photography talk! I'll have to get my bulk film loader back from the nephew (as well as the enlarger and all the developing gear) and run some black and white through my camera again.

Although it isn't anything fancy - Yashica FX-3 (fully manual, yes I'm a Luddite), however, it has Zeiss lenses.....nice! 🙂

matagi said:

Damn! All this photography talk! I'll have to get my bulk film loader back from the nephew (as well as the enlarger and all the developing gear) and run some black and white through my camera again.

Although it isn't anything fancy - Yashica FX-3 (fully manual, yes I'm a Luddite), however, it has Zeiss lenses.....nice! 🙂

Photoshop and digital processing has replaced much of that chemical action... 🙂

1id10t said:

BTW, does anyone still use a film camera? I've been thinking of dusting off a couple of my older cameras and running some B&W through them; just for old times sake.

I work PT as a photographer - as much as I love the developers and fixers, digital smokes film for efficiency, hands down.

Of course, if I wanted to be a purist about it, then I could (and occasionally do, when I've got time) throw in some FP4, Delta (or whatever is left of Ilford's stuff before they went broke a year or two ago). Last time I did the silver halide stuff was 18 months ago... still have a few rolls in the refrigerator,

When I'm shooting black and white, most of the time now I just go for the c-41 stuff - I don't have the time to deal with darkrooms and such.

Perhaps we should move this conversation to dpreview.com...

--
n

nerdag said:

Of course, if I wanted to be a purist about it, then I could (and occasionally do, when I've got time) throw in some FP4, Delta (or whatever is left of Ilford's stuff before they went broke a year or two ago). Last time I did the silver halide stuff was 18 months ago...
n

Ilford went broke??!!. Geez, I really liked their film. Actually preferred it to Kodaks B&W offerings (although I did use T-Max quite a bit). I was actually thinking of turning a small storage room at the back of the house into a darkroom. Still have all of the equipment lying around in boxes. My wife still loves using film and I still have a soft spot for it. But I must admit I love the convenience of digital.
Actually, 3 years ago on our honeymoon in NZ, a guide on one of our bushwalking tours was surprised to hear the shutter click from a Canon T-90 I had brought along as a second camera. He then switched on the shutter click option on his Fuji just to get in the groove.

Quoted post said:

Perhaps we should move this conversation to dpreview.com...

Just to keep this valid for this thread, so how's the search for a bag coming along Thomas? 🙂

Oh BTW Matagi, nothing wrong with the FX-3; much like bikes, it's not just about the equipment but the person operating it. One of my favourite cameras I still own is the Pentax MX fully mechanical camera. Nothing great but it was my first SLR and went everywhere.

1id10t said:

Just to keep this valid for this thread, so how's the search for a bag coming along Thomas? 🙂

Oh BTW Matagi, nothing wrong with the FX-3; much like bikes, it's not just about the equipment but the person operating it. One of my favourite cameras I still own is the Pentax MX fully mechanical camera. Nothing great but it was my first SLR and went everywhere.

My first ever camera was a Pentax K1000, absolutely idiot proof and I loved it. Then some low-life broke into our house and stole it (along with a bunch of other stuff 🙁 ) The FX-3 was its replacement.

Thomas, on the camera bag front....I would go with a rack mounted bag, because if (heaven forbid) you should fall, the camera will be cushioned from impact by the rest of the bike. You could add extra closed cell foam to the bag for additional protection.

1id10t said:

Ilford went broke??!!. Geez, I really liked their film. Actually preferred it to Kodaks B&W offerings (although I did use T-Max quite a bit).

Spoke too soon - did a google search for an article on it, and apparently they're up and running again after some corporate reorganisation. Almost disappeared in 2004.

It's probably recently that they've restarted - fresh Ilford stuff is still hard to find.

In any case, if you're going cycling and worried about crash damage, take an old fully mechanical camera - those things are bulletproof, and I have no doubt that it (or, at least my FM2) would survive most crashes.

n

Still no decision on the bag, I posted a similar post on dpreview, but not many people have used the Lowepro Slingshot AW200 ... no shops here in Canberra have it.

Anyone read any reviews on it? I was close to purchasing it from from an online shop in NSW last night, but held back ....

With all this talk about film, I kind of miss my FM2, and FA. The FM2 was really tough. Manual shutter trip. With the D1x and its woeful NI-Mh batt, I have to carry at least 3 spares.

In regards to D-SLR toughness, Nikon and Canon should test out their models with Mark Latham. He made short work of that reporter's Canon 1D (I am guessing?). If any model could withstand his abuse, its a sure winner for a bring along DSLR for a cyclist!

thomas_cho said:

With all this talk about film, I kind of miss my FM2, and FA. The FM2 was really tough. Manual shutter trip. With the D1x and its woeful NI-Mh batt, I have to carry at least 3 spares.

FM2, now there's a camera I always wanted. Love the fact that it was fully mechanical right up to it's 4000th sec shutter speed. Would have bought one had I not gone down the Canon path. Silly hybrid shutter thing with the F1n; only mechanical from the faster speeds with slow speeds requiring a battery. Might still buy one someday though to add to the collection. 🙄
BTW, have you read these about the slingshot -

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-94859.html

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-151660.html

http://www.nikonians.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=read_count&om=15018&forum=DCForumID9

Ever consider a photojournalists vest? :p

Anyone seen that lady who commutes to Sydney CBD with a camera attached to her helmet. Forgotten her name, GeoffS will remember.

[font=Comic Sans MS]I carry a small Samsung Didgital camera on most weekend rides and i've got some amazing pics,I carry a back pack but i clip the camera pouch to the front strap so i can stop and snap with ease.[/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS]You can check out some of my pic;s at pic gallery[/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS]Are yours there?[/font]

Went for a visit to the bike shops, and saw the topeak rack top bags.

They look pretty good, and seems like it would carry the D1x easily. I am leaning towards that path now ...

The only drawback would be that I have to stop the bike, lean it against something and get the camera out to shoot.

Pretty sure I would miss shots of a kangaroo this way 🙂

But for scenery wise, it should not be an issue.

Any idea where I can find section divider inserts?

thomas_cho said:

Any idea where I can find section divider inserts?

Try Clark Rubber. They can usually make up all sorts of things on request. In fact, my wife was recommended their store by our local MBA (multiple birth association) member if we wanted to get a breast feeding pillow made up for twins. If they make those sorts of things i'm sure dividers will be an easy enough request for them.

You can make up your own dividers - I did this some years ago when I was customising a back pack for use as a camera bag. How you go about it depends on whether you want to be able to move the dividers around and create different sized spaces.

Basically, I got some closed cell foam (available from Clark Rubber), I made up some "pockets" of heavy taffeta lining fabric (they have to be big enough to enclose the foam with a little bit of extra fabric at each end to sew on velcro). I then sewed on the velcro, slid the foam into the pockets and stitched them up. You may also need to put a couple of rows of velcro around the inside of the bag if it isn't "sticky" enough for the velcro.