What do you keep in your bag?

[walterick]

The only things I can add here are:

Grey Card
Camelback bladder (fits neatly into pocket on my Tamrac 7)
TP (mainly for the gf; Target sells a .49 travel size roll)
First Aid Kit

And, just cuz I like talking gear...

Nikon FM2N
24mm 2.8 Sigma
50mm 1.8 Nikon
105 2.5 Nikon
180mm 2.8 Nikon
2x teleconverter

Mamiya 645 Pro TL
45mm 2.8
55mm 2.8
80mm 2.8
150mm 2.8
120 back
220 back

120 Velvia, 220 Velvia, 35mm Velvia.
120 Tmax 100, 35mm Tmax 100
Filters, cable release, lens cloth, yadda yadda.

I usually don't backpack all of that! I take out the heavy 180 and 150 for short trips and carry just one system for longer trips.

Rick

[Lava Lamp]

Oddly, I'm taking it all today. I'm shooting a high school baseball game at 4:00 and a high school basketball game at 8:00. So here goes:

Nikon D50 (sold my D70)
Nikon N90 (backup)

Sigma 21-35mm
Nikon 35mm f/2
Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8
Nikon 50mm f/1.4
Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro
Nikon 70-200 AFS VR f/2.8
Sigma 50-500mm HSM
Tamron SP 1.4x Teleconverter
Nikon SB-800 Speedlight
Bogen Monopod

[jorgemonkey]

Usually in my bag when I'm walking around or at my work, I have:

Nikon D70
Nikon D1h as backup

When I'm out shooting sports, for cameras I usually carry the D1h with a D1 as backup, sometimes I'll bring the D70 instead of the D1 for closeups, or celebration shots

Sigma 24mm F2.8
Sigma 28-70 F2.8
Sigma 70-200 F2.8
Sigma 150mm F2.8 Macro
Nikon 50mm F1.8
(I like Sigma, can you tell?

Assorted CF cards, ND filters, Polarizing filters
Light meter
QR plates for my tripod
Extra batteries
Grey card
two SB-600 flashes
Tripod collars for the 70-200 & 150 Macro
cord for off camera flash
Candy (Great for snacking while hiking, or eating on the drive home)
small lightbox for my flash
Lens cleaning supplies
CCD cleaning brushes

I think thats about it

In my car (since it won't fit in my bag I've got my tripod & monopod. Due to a trip a few months ago where I forgot my tripod, I now carry a cheap tripod and leave it in my car all the time.

[jorgemonkey]

Ooops, double post. ignore this one

[greghalliday]

Some great suggestions here.
A definite must: extra battery. or two.

Other stuff: leatherman, small laminated card with list of camera's custom functions, Palm Pilot with Focus+ for DOF calculations, Bogen compact monopod, gray card, lens cloths, pen and notebook, Halls cough drops, film canister with Aleve, claritin, and imodium.

Camera and lenses:
Canon 20D with 17-40L
Sigma 10-20
Tamron 70-300
Canon 420EX
off camera shoe cord
IR transmitter for flash
remote release
flash bracket (on occasion)

[photophorous]

Some less obvious things I like to have:

note pad and pen
flashlight
fake moustache...oh wait, that's a different bag. ;)

For bad weather, I carry a poncho. You can drape it over the camera/tripod, with the lens pointing out the hood, then stick your head under the back and pretend you're using a view camera. Umbrella's work better, except that you have to hold them or find something that will.

The only time my tripod is not in the trunk of my car is when I'm using it. I see no reason not to store it there.

Another good thing to keep in your trunk is a folding chair. You probably won't use it often, but it is nice to have when you want to wait on something (light, people, wildlife) or if the bar is full and you have to take your beer to the parking lot.

I used to carry all of my gear with me everywhere I went, but having too many choices just distracts me. I'm not at the point where everything technical is intuitive, so I find that limiting the technical choices allows me to be more creative. I only carry one camera now, unless I'm traveling or out on a specific photo excursion. I take the same camera back and forth to work, running errands, etc., for at least a week or two (before switching), so I get used to it. This way I'm looking for opportunities that will work with the set up I'm carrying, instead of looking for the set up that will work with an opportunity. I guess some would consider this a limitation, but it helps me focus. Eventually, I hope the technical stuff becomes more intuitive, so I'll have more opportunities with out the distraction, but I'm not there yet.

This is an interesting thread. I like Michael's fabric backdrop idea.

Paul