Going for a walk - how much gear do you carry?

sirch

sirch

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I do a reasonable amount of walking and the amount of gear I am carrying seems to be going up and I'm not sure whether to try to cut it down. Part of me thinks I might miss a great photo if I don't have a tripod or a set of filters or whatever but another part of me (mainly my legs) thinks I want to enjoy the walk.

So I was just wondering what others regularly carry when going for a walk of say a couple of hours or more. Do you go with gear for a certain shot or do you pack everything in just-in-case?
 
I take everything apart from Studio gear- I have several lenses and a couple of flash guns- My tripod stays in the car till I need it

The rest I cram into my Lowepro 400 AW and carry it where ever I venture

Les
 
Going for a walk ... one of my bodies and likely my 24-120 f4.
Going to take landscape shots ... loads including large tripod, filters and several lenses :)
 
I should add I shoot mostly wildlife, Birds and Macro Insects - so the need for a lot of equipment is self evident lol :p
 
As Gramps says, a walk with the chance of a shot then it's just one zoom lens on the body. If it's a landscape trip then the lot comes with me except the flash guns. Total weight 17.5KG and it feels every bit of it by the time the days over.
 
My standard walk pack is...

1 body, a 11-16mm, 17-55mm, 70-200mm, 10x & 7x ND filter (no other filters, they are pointless), remote trigger, blower, various bits, bin bags, kneeling pads, plasters etc. and the hefty tripod

And on my last 6 hour mooch about in Leeds I used... only the 17-55 all day, which didn't go anywhere near the tripod

Hmmm - maybe I'm overdoing it too :D

Dave
 
Thanks, some interesting replies there, makes me feel I'm in the right ball-park
 
Two bodies. 17-40, 24-70, 70-200, 24mm tilt shift, 2x extender & 50mm. Tripod filters and cable release.
 
One body and one lens (currently a 35mm prime).

If I'm taking a backpack, I might throwin a flash some triggers and a 16-35mm too, but basically as light as possible.

I've never had the feeling I've missed a shot or regretted not having a certain lens with me etc.
 
I spent a few hours walking in a forest on Sunday, I took my 60D with 18-50 f2.8, 10-20mm (in case of a landscape shot) and 70-300mm. The camera stayed on my Black Rapid sling all the time, with the rest in my backpack. I didn't bother with a tripod or my 50mm. I didn't miss the 50mm or the tripod, I didn't use the 10-20mm at all, but did use the 18-50 mostly and the 70-300 a couple of times.
My backpack makes it easier to carry than a shoulder bag, though it was still a little heavy due to drinks and snacks for the kids. Oh and I usually carry an umbrella too.
That said, it was more of a family outing than photographic outing.
I would like to simplify a bit for this sort of trip, get down to a 2 lens set up with a 24-105 to cover most stuff and a wide angle for the occassional landscape.

I guess it depends on what you're trying to achieve, are you after something specific (eg wildlife) or are you a generalist (shooting all different types of stuff)?
Gear up accordingly.

If weight is really an issue, then maybe it's worth changing your gear for lighter stuff.
 
Long walks, kit usually 6D + 24-105 usually, with a few Lee filters. Sometimes chuck in an extra lens depending on the walk, oft lightweight so either 15mm fishy or 35F2, but sometimes the 17-40 or 70-200

Used to carry more, but having being shunted in the back by a builders Merc sprinter van I go lightweight rather than gear heavy.

If I know there's a decent watercourse on the route, then I may contemplate taking the tripod & ND, but I'm more likely to do a short walk to specifically revisit that location and go a bit more gear heavy for that purpose.
 
Big Andy said:
As Gramps says, a walk with the chance of a shot then it's just one zoom lens on the body. If it's a landscape trip then the lot comes with me except the flash guns. Total weight 17.5KG and it feels every bit of it by the time the days over.
Click to expand...


17kg! My 4x5 kit weighs less than that, my 4x5 plus camping gear weighs less than that! What on earth do you have?
 
Thanks guys, after reading above, I have figured out why I don't get any good shots.

I don't go for a walk. :banana:
 
I think there is a distinction between going for a walk and a photo trip.
If it is a photo trip, then I take everything.
But on walks I just take the little X30 fitted to the rucksack waist belt. The image quality is shockingly good!

For example, here's a post with a couple of images taken on a walk last weekend.
https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/t...0-x30-xf1-thread.499399/page-255#post-6781392
One of the group had a DSLR carried in his rucksack and he hardly got the chance to use it :)
 
Generally take everything and the other half carries the food supplies etc.

So 6D + 70/200 + op/tech sling, Gopro on rucksack strap, eos-m + 22mm in cargo pant / jacket pocket. 400mm, 24/70mm, 100L, 35mm, 14mm etc. plus associated bits on my back.
 
If I'm just going for a stroll with the camera I normally just take 1 body with 100-400 attached and then another lens like the 24-105 in my jacket pocket.

If I'm having a day out doing landscape photographs I tend to take my tripod, largest rucksack, a couple of camera bodies plus half a dozen or so lenses. Stuff like filters are always in my bag anyway.

If I'm doing a mountain then I just settle for my compact unless the reason I'm going up the mountain is to get a photograph.
 
If I'm going for a walk with a chance of wildlife, then 1 body, 24-70, 70-200, 2x TC & Flash
If I'm going out to shoot wildlife then, 1 body 24-70, 120-300, 1.4 & 2x TC, Flash & Redsnapper Tripod
However my macro lens has also seemed to find a resting place in my bag (Lowepro Flipside Sport 15L)

Edit: Just noticed this was in the landscape section, so as I don't shoot landscapes probably not that relevant, Oh well :( Although one thing to take is that if I am going out specifically to take pictures, I take more with me
 
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I am not claiming this is a substitute kit and I don't do serious landscapes but having lugged around a full set of Canon gear for quite a while, I've now switched to Fuji. My XT1 with 18-21-50-85mm equivalent primes would be the most I'd usually lug around (all together nearly two kilos). But for a stroll with a camera I've just bought an x100 with wide and tele converters which together weigh less than 900grams (and cover 28-35-50mm all at f2). Even my cheapo travelling tripod weighs more that that.
 
dinners said:
If I'm having a day out doing landscape photographs I tend to take my tripod, largest rucksack, a couple of camera bodies plus half a dozen or so lenses. Stuff like filters are always in my bag anyway.
Click to expand...

How much of that kit do you use, genuine question I'm always interested in how others work. Do you have two bodies for backup or convenience?
 
If I'm shooting digital then it's a gripped 5D2, 17-40, 24-70, 105 macro and beasty 120-300 2.8 with lee grads, remote shutter and tripod. Most of it will stay in the bag the whole time but I take it all "just in case"

However, film is a different game altogether, and it's generally a lot less stuff. For medium format It's usually the RB67 with 127mm lens, a remote shutter and tripod. And a pocket full of film obviously. For 5x4 my bags typically almost full from the damn camera parts as it's a monorail. Once there's some film slides in the bag it's pretty much maxed out with no room left for gadgets and other things.

Part of the fun of shooting film, for me at least, is not using a "normal" length lens and being restricted to the number of shots I can take. I find I shoot very different subjects and compositions, but I also get much better shots for it too.
 
Out for a walk or a recccy I'll usually only take my D3100 and either the kit lens or the 35mm, but its rare I just go for a walk. More usual I'll have either my RB67 a couple of bacs and either a 50mm or a 65mm plus a 127mm or my 5x4 kit which with a couple of lenses usually a wide (90 or 125mm) and a long 210mm. I'm seeing a pattern here...
 
Most of the time I prefer to go light, usually a couple of lenses and a single body, but it depends on the type and importance of the shoot. Anything that involves the word 'client' will have a full backup.
 
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steveo_mcg said:
Out for a walk or a recccy I'll usually only take my D3100 and either the kit lens or the 35mm, but its rare I just go for a walk. More usual I'll have either my RB67 a couple of bacs and either a 50mm or a 65mm plus a 127mm or my 5x4 kit which with a couple of lenses usually a wide (90 or 125mm) and a long 210mm. I'm seeing a pattern here...
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Yeah yeah, rub it in that you have the 50 and the 65 :p haha
 
If I'm going out with my family, I generally only take the 6D with the 50mm 1.4 as a walkabout, reasonable focal length and pretty versatile.
If its a few hours out by myself I'll always take my full kit as i'll more than likely make use of it.
6D / 17-40L / 50mm / 100-400 / tripod / Lee filters / remote release etc
 
If it's a walk where I might take a few snaps, I'll probably grab a bridge with a long reach just in case I spot something a long way away. If I'm out looking for landscape shots, I'm more likely to take either the D750/24-120 or the X-T1 kit with the 10-24 and 18-55. For a lightweight support, I often use a Pod which is basically a small bean bag with a tripod screw attached. there's usually something to rest on - rock, fence post, tree stump etc..
 
Wow, popular topic :clap:

Guess I ought to decide on a reduced kit for outings that are mainly walks and a full kit for photographic trips.
 
steveo_mcg said:
How much of that kit do you use, genuine question I'm always interested in how others work. Do you have two bodies for backup or convenience?
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I take a body as a spare just in case one stops working or gets damaged etc. I may be walking somewhere 100 miles from home so I can't pop back for it.

That said I sometimes use both. I'll mount the two lenses I'm most likely to use during the day and then just pull whichever one out of my bag that has the lens I want to use attached.

Sometimes I may only use one lens, sometimes I find I use a variety. I guess it depends on how much variety I find myself wanting to shoot on a day out.
 
Out on a 'landscape trip' I'd easily walk for more than a couple of hours with camera, 3 lenses, filters & tripod, but then the whole purpose is to find & (try to) take the best images I can. 'Going for a walk' to me is a full day out usually on Dartmoor for 9 hrs or more. Then it's just the camera + 18-135mm lens which covers most situations. I'd like to take the full filter kit but I won't take the risk of it getting damaged in my rucksack, nor is there the space. It's a 45 ltr rucksack & weighs nearly 30 lb when I set off (probably why I'm so short!). I'm out to enjoy myself & although I often plan my walks around places I think I might get a good image of, if one happens it's a bonus rather than the purpose.
 
DG Phototraining said:
My standard walk pack is...

1 body, a 11-16mm, 17-55mm, 70-200mm, 10x & 7x ND filter (no other filters, they are pointless), remote trigger, blower, various bits, bin bags, kneeling pads, plasters etc. and the hefty tripod

Dave
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Been pondering this since yesterday, I'm interested in the "no other filters, they are pointless" comment, I've generally got at least a CPL and probably a grad, and would only take an ND if I took a tripod. I'm talking here (perhaps should have been more specific up front) about walking around the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales so of course it's always blue skies with white fluffy clouds o_O
 
The best bit of photographic kit you can buy is an electric buggy. No aching back, feet, arms carrying all your kit............. might get a numb bum, though
 
dinners said:
I take a body as a spare just in case one stops working or gets damaged etc. I may be walking somewhere 100 miles from home so I can't pop back for it.

That said I sometimes use both. I'll mount the two lenses I'm most likely to use during the day and then just pull whichever one out of my bag that has the lens I want to use attached.

Sometimes I may only use one lens, sometimes I find I use a variety. I guess it depends on how much variety I find myself wanting to shoot on a day out.
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Have you found them to fail often, I've never considered taking a spare out with me. If I was away for a few days with a base camp and driving I'd probably have a selection of cameras but I'd only take one up the hills with me. I do like the idea of a different lens on each especially if its very cold or other wise ill advised to be swapping lenses.
 
steveo_mcg said:
Have you found them to fail often, I've never considered taking a spare out with me. If I was away for a few days with a base camp and driving I'd probably have a selection of cameras but I'd only take one up the hills with me. I do like the idea of a different lens on each especially if its very cold or other wise ill advised to be swapping lenses.
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I've never had one stop working (as in just fail) but I did have one go for a dive in a sea loch a long time ago.

You mention the cold - that's when I tend to have two cameras with different lenses attached in my bag
 
dinners said:
I've never had one stop working (as in just fail) but I did have one go for a dive in a sea loch a long time ago.

You mention the cold - that's when I tend to have two cameras with different lenses attached in my bag
Click to expand...

Yeah that'll do it!

Cold is the one time I'm glad of the bulk of the LF camera, all the knobs and dials can be operated with gloved fingers, I hate having to fiddle with the D3100 in the cold though I expect that's less of a problem with bigger bodies
 
Depends what happened last time I went for a walk. If I carried a few lenses and missed a great shot because the lens for it was back home then I'll take more next time. If I took a few lenses and only ever used the one on the camera then I'll carry fewer next time. So I oscillate between camera & one lens and two cameras, four or five lenses, and a tripod.
 
sirch said:
Been pondering this since yesterday, I'm interested in the "no other filters, they are pointless" comment, I've generally got at least a CPL and probably a grad, and would only take an ND if I took a tripod. I'm talking here (perhaps should have been more specific up front) about walking around the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales so of course it's always blue skies with white fluffy clouds o_O
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NDGrads are great for the seaside, everywhere else they effect areas you don't want them to. The dynamic range of many modern DSLRs means you often don't need them, and even on highly contrasty days luminosity blending techniques are more appropriate. CPLs are great unless you use wideangles in which case their effect isn't consistent across the whole frame

Fine for those that like them, I prefer not to to the point that (for me at least) they are pointless

Here's a contrasy image where a Grad wouldn't really suit but this was actually only 1 image, ETTR and shadow detail pulled back


TP 1 by DG Phototraining on Talk Photography

Dave
 
When going for a 'walk' traveling light I would just carry 2 bodies, 16-35mm, 150mm & 400mm f/2.8 + TC-14EII along with a tripod and lee filters. If I was going to a good location then I would carry alot more gear with me
 
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It all depends by what you define as a walk. I'm the wrong side of 50 and I'm trying to cut back on how much kit I take. I was up Beinn a' Chrulaiste for dawn a couple of times at the start of the year and I had two bodies, eight lenses, tripod and a variety of other stuff. That amount of kit gets quite tiring climbing up in knee deep snow. Since then I've started to break my habits and bought a couple of zooms. Wandering kit is adapted to where and when I'm going but its now confined to the Zeiss 18, Nikon 35-70 2.8D and the Nikon 70-200 f4. I also bought a lighter weight tripod instead of the big Gitzo and Kirk ballhead. I still take the filters but I would say that probably 95% of what I would call my keepers were taken without using either filters or tripod.
 
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