How do you carry camera gear on motorcycle

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Waggys

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Dave
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Hi,

I would love to combine my 2 hobbies and ride to places and take photos. I have heard horror stories about how the vibes from a bike can kill a camera so I was interested in how people here are carrying their kit please

The kit I am looking to carry is a Canon 5D mkiv with a Sigma 150-600 and a wide angle.

I have a backpack and a belt system, the bike has panniers and top box, but as yet I have not used a tank bag

Thank you for any suggestions
David
 
Got to be some sort of shoulder bag, I would have thought. What do they call them, Messenger bags?
 
Lowepro 400 rucksack-I use on on my Bike with no issues from Vibrations

Les :)
 
Waggys said:
The only problem with that type of bag or any type that’s goes on your back is when you come off.
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Then don't come off- I never have - not even once

Then a tank bag or panniers are options - failing that use a car or a 4x4 which what I'm using

Les
 
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It's nice to have it in a tankbag so you can stop and grab it quickly rather than taking off a backpack but if you have more than a walkabout lens it's hard to beat carrying on your back and that's the best way to avoid vibration too.
Or just buy a high end compact for most biking trips, I usually just take my RX100, sometimes in addition to main camera on my back.
 
I've used various depending on what my trip is for. Over the shoulder Billingham is OK as long as the kit isn't overly heavy. Backpacks are better if the gear is weighty but the most versatile has been a Tank Bag with a small (Domke F6) bag inside so you can access the camera etc when you just stop for a short break but if you want to go walkabout you have a camera bag for your shoulder. Horses for courses I'm afraid but like you I don't worry about coming off, if I did I wouldn't ride. ;)
 
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In a pocket. If I'm heading out to take photos, I take a car rather than a bike so if I'm out on a bike, I'll just take a compact.
 
I always used a top box, don't fancy any bag if you come off!
 
I have been giving this some thought myself, when lockdown is over, I fancy some trips on my Tiger 800 and want to take my Nikon D600 and Sigma 150-600 & Nikon 120. I have a Lowerpro 400 which takes all the kit nicely and fits very safely and snuggly on my back, BUT not wanting to get knocked off with it on my back. Therefore I am looking and filling an old top box with . High density Foam lining first then kit in plastic bags to get tight fitting expanding foam. Also considering same thing but with hard panniers so as to leave topbox for Helmet and riding gear !
 
The story about vibration is a myth!

I have found through 58 years of riding and taking a camera with me is so long as the equipment is in a padded bad which would protect the camera etc in the event of coming off. I have never had a problem. The days of taking everything including the kitchen sink, for me are long gone, My normal kit when touring Europe is one SLR body with a w/a to tele zoom fitted and a tele zoom as a back up. Currently these are a a Nikon 24/120 and a Nikon 70/300. It matters not if it is a film or full frame digital. I alternate with both. I also have a Fuji X20 as a backup with it's very handy 28/115 (equivalent) zoom. On odd occasions I also take a lightweight tripod with B&S head but have very rarely used it.

I have learned that carrying the absolute minimum you can use is far better. Stopping to take pictures is far easier if you can get to a camera and lens than faffing about trying this, that, or the other. It just doesn't work!

My bag is carried on the pillion seat using bungee hooked elastics to secure it in place. I have never had a failure yet. That avoids any injury by carrying it in a rucksack on my back. Carrying anything solid on your back when riding is risking serious life threatening or crippling spinal injury should you come off. It does need to be waterproof or have some means of making it waterproof.

Tank bags are in some cases not secure enough to hold a bag in place with expensive and in some cases weighty gear. Probably the most secure way is to have a lockable top box fitted out inside with custom made foam padding to fit the equipment. That way it is safe to carry and moderately secure should you want to stop for a meal or comfort break.

In the event this is my take on the subject and it may not be everyone's ideal. The best way is fitted out top box to carry everything photographic. but when I go away I carry so much other stuff that space becomes a premium with clothing for 2 weeks or more so I revert to the bag on the pillion seat held by bungy straps.

This picture of my previous bike a BMW K1100lt just before I set off in June 2016 to head towards the Austrian Tyrol and Switzerland. I was camping in those day but no longer do it. The bike has to be meticulously loaded so it is not imbalanced. Trying to manhandle nearly 1/4 of a ton if it falls over isn't easy especially if the 22 litre tank is full . I also have to take tools and certain number of items I may need, 'cos on long trips you are largely on your own and in the eventK1100 before tour005.jpg of a minor break down you can be self sufficient.
 
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Nice setup I ride a R1200GS and have been riding for over 40 years. I ride not to fall off but you are unable to control tin cans and drivers inside them hence try not to carry anything on my back. I do like your idea about using the pillion seat. I will see how it will work for me
Thank you all for your suggestions
 
Waggys said:
Nice setup I ride a R1200GS and have been riding for over 40 years. I ride not to fall off but you are unable to control tin cans and drivers inside them hence try not to carry anything on my back. I do like your idea about using the pillion seat. I will see how it will work for me
Thank you all for your suggestions
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Or myopic Dutch drivers in the mountain passes in Italy, on this tour I was clipped by a female driver, obliviously not used to high mountains brought me off on Stelvio Pass. Little damage caused, but enough to break the clasp that holds the left hand pannier onto the bike. Hence the bits and pieces I carry. 'If you can fix it with a couple of cable-ties then it ain't broke'. That's what I did until I got home!
 
Lowepro rucksack style bag with camera, lenses, filters etc. in one pannier. Travel tripod in the other.
That’s on a BMW K1600.......
 
And where do you carry clothing etc on a tour? For me not practical. The tripod must be small because the internal diagonal cross section of a K1600 is not all that big.
 
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darkroom12 said:
And where do you carry clothing etc on a tour? For me not practical. The tripod must be small because the internal diagonal cross section of a K1600 is not all that big.
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If it’s a full on bike tour rather than a day’s photography on the bike then I’ll just take my G1X and a gorilla pod - but also have soft tank bag and luggage for the rack so can go equipped when needed.
The tripod legs without the head are 18” - they fit!! Just screw the head on when I get there.
 
i just sold my zzr1200 last year after 42 yr in the saddle and i always fitted a top box just for my camera gear
never had any problems with vibration
 
It's many years since I had a bike, but on my last Honda 750 I would just carry my camera bag in the top box (inside a bin bag in case of heavy rain). I would then use bungees to attach the tripod (in its bag) alongside the top box on top of one of the panniers (also inside a bin bag).
 
Sky said:
It's many years since I had a bike, but on my last Honda 750 I would just carry my camera bag in the top box (inside a bin bag in case of heavy rain). I would then use bungees to attach the tripod (in its bag) alongside the top box on top of one of the panniers (also inside a bin bag).
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That would work.
 
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darkroom12 said:
The story about vibration is a myth!
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You will get some serious vibration at times in a top box imagine going over a cattle grid or accidentally dropping in a pot hole rather too fast - anything inside could be airborne.
Obviously you can minimise risk with padding but the tank is already in the least vulnerable part and on your back is better still.
Probably many modern cameras would be less likely to be affected too.
 
4wd said:
You will get some serious vibration at times in a top box imagine going over a cattle grid or accidentally dropping in a pot hole rather too fast - anything inside could be airborne.
Obviously you can minimise risk with padding but the tank is already in the least vulnerable part and on your back is better still.
Probably many modern cameras would be less likely to be affected too.
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As a paramedic about back injuries caused by carrying something in a rucksack on a motorcycle that is involved in an accident. I would rather shake a D6 to bits than be paralysed.
 
I think most likely straps holding it would break, it's probably more dangerous carrying a smaller camera in an inside pocket.
 
4wd said:
on your back is better still.
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Nooooo! Absolutely not - even soft items of clothing can cause serious injury, never mind a lumpy metal camera. :eek::police:

I've been a first-aider all my life and I have seen some horrific injuries (including total paralysis) as a result of carrying solid objects in rucksacks. I won't upset you with the details . . .
 
4wd said:
I think most likely straps holding it would break, it's probably more dangerous carrying a smaller camera in an inside pocket.
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Again, no. The front of your body can take one hell of a lot more punishment than the back can.

On the strength of rucksacks - the better quality ones have webbing (some steel wire) going right through for security. These can tear your arms off - even your head if you were really unlucky. :(
 
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I don't think vibrations would be much of an issue in a decent camera bag on your back, no more than it would be in the boot of a car..........

but.....

I was of the mind that riding with a camera on my back would be problem free. That was until I came off my bike a couple of years ago. Not that I remember it but I skidded across the ground on my chin first, then my back and backside, if there'd been a camera bag on my back, it would've been toast.

Up until I did come off, I thought it would never happen to me but it did and it wasn't my fault. Now I would never say it won't happen again, because it could, no matter how good or careful a rider you are, there are still numptys on the road that will have you off before you know it.

A top box would be safer I think, especially if you have the camera and lenses in some kind of padded set up, maybe even just a camera bag inside the top box.
 
Another BMW GS rider here......use the side panniers ( the alloy ones) to keep the weight low......lowepro bag with all the partitions protecting cameras lenses etc......but put 1 or 2 of the foam / rubber type kneeling / sitting pads under the bag and sometimes wrap around the sides to help vibration / rattling around....plus you can use them when you get to where you are going....

if it’s summer weather shorts under the bike gear and put the bike gear in the panniers the camera gear was in plus sturdy cable lock for the helmets and carry the bag....if it’s winter and say Mach Loop....keep the gear on....

also have a Lowepro Toploader bag with a chest harness not for on the bike but for when I’m walking up hills etc...used to take a 1DX and 70-200 no problem......
 
I should have mentioned that the bag I secure to the pillion seat is an elderly Lowe-Pro with the original inserts removed. They have been replaced with a block of firm but soft upholstery quality memory foam. The precise shape of the camera body and 24/120 lens with long lens seperate are cut out of the foam to hold them snugly. Another slab of foam is fitted into the top flap to hold them all in place. If I take a digital camera, spare memory cards batteries and an charger travel in the side pockets. With a film camera other items like film, batteries etc go into a small insulated bag and stowed in one of the panniers to protect them from the quite ferocious heat you can get in southern Europe. June 2019 was horrendous in that respect!

I am also looking to fabricate a carrier for a lightweight Hahnel tripod which will fix it to the top of one of the panniers using metal brackets with industrial Velcro to hold it secure.

Last year was a non starter for me (and a lot of others) but it is looking a bit better this year and Europe is looking as if it may be possible once again, possibly September-ish.
 
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I used a Lowepro backpack in a Givi top box for years.
No issues whatsoever, with film and digital cameras.
 
I like to ride and take photos as well
often go out to the river or a nature reserve on my bike i just put my camera bag in one of the side panier boxes on my Bandit , the Lowe pro bag is already well padded so gear is safe
I put the crashhelmet into the top box and leathers into side boxes so don’t have to carry riding gear around
 
Why listen to music. You are not paying full attention to the road and the hazards that come with biking. I ride and like the feeling of the ease I can make progress, if I want to listen to music I will take my car,
 
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I'd use the neck strap, then, If you're riding along and see something interesting, you don't have to stop and rummage through your camera bag.
 
ShropshireLad said:
Dont get a Harley .... lol ...... Get yourself a Goldwing ... smoothest ride you will ever have on a motorbike (wife even had a nap on the back) ...... and plenty of carry space.
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Nice bike. Small but nice!

If you want to carry a load of kit, get a Mk1 Triumph Rocket III Touring (or a Roadster with panniers.)
 
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