How to backpack/travel with a DSLR???

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Hi all, after reading a lot of blogs and posts from people traveling the world and taking some stunning images, I'm hoping to (very slowly) start to do the same.. and I'm planning a short trip to italy (less than a weeks duration) with my 550d and 3 small lenses.

I'm a little bit confused as to the logistics of how people carry quite sizeable amounts of tog kit along with the normal clothing /walking kit etc. and wondered if anyone on here who has/is currently traveling/backpacking could offer some help/pointers/anything that might help me understand the options in transporting kit... both for short term trips like mine and for lengthy 6month + ones which id like to do one day!?

so far ive heard.. use a normal rucksack that you can carry on the plane, and rap your lenses up in your clothes, stick it all in your pockets.. check a large bag in (id like to avoid this ideally due to cost).. take a fold up day sack.....

Anyones experience & help would be most appreciated here!!
thanks guys
 
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probably not that much help to you but when i travel, i just take as little as possible clothes wise (helps if you're going to a hot country).

one time i took a smallish padded camera shoulder bag and put it into the top of my packpack that was just small enough to not need to check it. the bag was about 50/50 clothes/camera crap and i still ended up not wearing some stuff. trip was just over a week

last time i just checked a bag and carried on my camera bag, which is the easiest way.

the hardest bit for me is always taking the actual camera bag. its big and padded and wont fold down. all very well taking lenses wrapped up in clothes but if you don't have a decent bag to carry them around in when you get there, it's gonna be a bit ****.
 
I've just lost a really long post that I'd typed out, but most of it just goes over what was in my thread about photography/backpacking (you should find it if you do a search).

My strategy was to take a large camera bag with a small camera section, 60L FStop Satori EXP with small ICU, and fit everything into that for the backpacking parts of the trip. Then also carry a foldable holdall to put my clothes in for flying to allow the rucksack to compress down to meet the requirements for cabin luggage. The downside was that I had a big and mainly empty rucksack for trips out.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, I'll have a look into the satori. Good to know that you've managed to get it on a plane!

Cab anyone suggest any other reasonably sized bags that they've managed to easily carry on as hand luggage, and ideally managed to store under the plane seat infront! I saw a large looking lowepro with side access the other day but again the storage for non camera kit was quite small.

Cheers guys!
 
Thanks for that Terry! I stumbled across jacobs tp thread & will definitely check out the blog
 
Forget a DSLR. From personal experience and certainly for anyone that's reviewed them, Micro 4/3rds cameras are the only cameras that IMO let you have fun travelling. Taking a 7kg of camera kit to south america made my life pretty miserable - trying on the bag for half an hour before you set off is not a substitute for what it really is like. If you want to have a good feel for what it's like, before you set off walk 3-4 hours a day for a week with a fully loaded backpack. Then see if you dump the DSLR and reach for the M4/3rds kit!
 
Haha, I have heard a few people say the same thing.. The trip I'm planning will be double as a dry run for future longer ones, and if the balance of having a good time : getting good images isn't spot on, I would definitely look into the alternatives to dslrs
 
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