Traveling with Photography Gear?

[Steve K.]

Zach,

I saw your Pelican case in the Photoblog. Does your gear stay in the case the whole trip or do you transfer it to a bag or pack upon arriving at your destination?

I’m headed to AK in August and had to find something that was waterproof and portable. I decided on a Lowepro Dryzone 200 which is waterproof. I’ll be using it to dayhike to some backcountry lakes also. It is also small enough to carry on board the aircraft.

[Zach Matthews]

Drifter –

I opted for the Patagonia Great Divider, myself; that’s Jim Klug’s Pelican case.

[Matt Tucker]

Zach:

Is the great divide a fully submersible bag?

I recently purchased the Simms Rolltop Fannypack, but I liked the rolltop feature.

[Zach Matthews]

Probably not, that’s why I carry insurance.

[Steve K.]

Just got back from AK and gave the Lowepro Dryzone a good workout. Lot’s of rain but my cameras came out unscathed. I saw firsthand the strenghts and weaknesses of the Dryzone. If I were going strickly on a rafting trip, I’d opt for a Pelican simply because of accessibility, but for dayhiking in a place like Denali, The Dryzone is the way to go.

I’ll post some photos when I get them uploaded. Here’s one of our campsite on the Alagnak River…..sunset is about 11:30 PM and it rises at 4:30 AM:

[robert_lee]

Hey Drifter – would you recommend that bag for wading around our area ( north GA ).

[Steve K.]

Robert,

My Dryzone 200 is BIG! I wouldn’t recommend it simply to carry a camera in. Even the smaller Dryzone 100 is overkill for your purpose. I carried a tripod, gimbal head, spare batteries, cards, a small nikon P&S, 4 lenses, one of which weighs 7 pounds…..you get the picture. I think Simms makes a small drybag that goes around your waist tghat I’m looking at for protection while standing in the stream.

Drifter

[Matt Tucker]

I use the Simm’s Roll Top waist bag as my on stream wading bag.

I will say that I am not sold on the fact that it is submersible.

[Cameron Mortenson]

Would you say that the Simms roll top would carry a full size SLR?

[Matt Tucker]

I use my Simms rolltop to carry my D70 w/ kit lens, SB600 flash, 70-300 lens, cleaning gear, and flash media case.

[Steve K.]

Cameron,

This is the one I am referring to:

http://www.simmsfishing.com/za/SIM?PAGE=PRODUCT_DETAILS&CAT=vests&PROD.ID=21480

If anyone has one, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[bryan hulse]

Drifter,

I’ve had that one for about a year. It does keep camera, wallet, keys, etc. dry, but as a camera bag it is a pain in the ass. The bag originally came with an interior zip style bag that tore after just a couple of months. I don’t miss it, though. It was entirely too much work to open both bags and extract the camera for a quick grip and grin.

If you carry a camera to the stream to record flora, landscapes, and the occasional picture of friends and their fish it is ok. But doesn’t work well for someone traveling alone, trying to keep a fish on while fumbling to unsnap the buckles, pull the camera out, secure the strap to your wrist, and all that stuff.

It would be an awkward, if not impossible, fit for you guys carrying DSLRs.

Bryan

[Matt Tucker]

i checked out the bag posted by Drifter and there just doesn’t appear to be any waya DSLR would fit in that bag.

[Cameron Mortenson]

Tucker…thank you for checking that out for me…I was seriously thinking of purchasing one to give it a try.

[Steve K.]

Good info guys!

I’ve just about resigned myself to the fact that a digital P&S will be relegated to my vest pocket (stored in a ziplock sandwich bag) for the “grip and grin” fish porn.

On the Alaska trip I was reluctant to remove the D70s from the Dryzone bag until the weather cooperated. At the slightest hint of rain, I took out the $300 P&S.

[Author]

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