What do you keep in your bag?

[swmdrayfan]

What little 'tools' and 'helpers' do you all keep in your camera bag for those in-the-field emergencies?
John

[CLKunst]

My camera and a back up camera body. (Pentax *ist Ds and *ist D)
Lots of memory cards in the MC wallet.
Plenty of batteries, fully charged. (minimum of 8 spares)
My main flash head with batteries already loaded and a spare for portrait work.
A flash sync cord for off camera flash set up.
A peanut slave, also for syncing off camera flash work.
Lens cloth
Bulb blower
Lenses: 17-28mm fish eye
18-45mm zoom
28-80mm zoom
28-300mm zoom
Business Cards
A compass
$20
Filters (UVs and SOft Effect A)
Remote control
Extra foot mount for tripod.
Little flashlight
Extra Lens cap for my big lens
Q Tips and Paper lens cloth and lens cleaner for stubborn lens spots
Small collapsable gold/silver reflector.


Oh and one more thing . . . A great heaping hunch in my back from carrying all of this junk around on my shoulders!! And I still get caught up short on stuff I should have brought with me.

Fun game thanks for asking. I need to go clean out my kit now. . .

[swmdrayfan]

Fun game thanks for asking. I need to go clean out my kit now. . .

Thanks for playing CL;) . Hopefully enough people will respond, and I'll have some precious tips. Right now all I carry is my D70 with lens du jour attached, plus the other lens I plan on using (I've only got 3 lenses--how tough can that be ), some lens cleaning tissue, bulb blower, and not much else. Don't have a spare battery or extra CF card. I'm pretty broke, so it's whatever I have. But I could use some handy hints on other affordable items that make up a good kit.

[OldSchool]

With the camera:
---------------------
memory
blower
lens cleaner
filters
batteries
lens-hood
USB cable
remote control

I'll bring other stuff (lenses, tripod, flash) if warranted...
Tim

[payn817]

My camera and a back up camera body. (Pentax *ist Ds and *ist D)
Lots of memory cards in the MC wallet.
Plenty of batteries, fully charged. (minimum of 8 spares)
My main flash head with batteries already loaded and a spare for portrait work.
A flash sync cord for off camera flash set up.
A peanut slave, also for syncing off camera flash work.
Lens cloth
Bulb blower
Lenses: 17-28mm fish eye
18-45mm zoom
28-80mm zoom
28-300mm zoom
Business Cards
A compass
$20
Filters (UVs and SOft Effect A)
Remote control
Extra foot mount for tripod.
Little flashlight
Extra Lens cap for my big lens
Q Tips and Paper lens cloth and lens cleaner for stubborn lens spots
Small collapsable gold/silver reflector.


Oh and one more thing . . . A great heaping hunch in my back from carrying all of this junk around on my shoulders!! And I still get caught up short on stuff I should have brought with me.

Fun game thanks for asking. I need to go clean out my kit now. . .

It'd be easier to drive a U-Haul...lol

[freygr]

Turn Table bulls eye Level
Spare Battery
Battery Charger
Camera's Manual
Memory Cards
USB cable (Cameras)
Polizing filter, and step down ring
Back Packers Tripod, It has a clap, and has a lagbolt to srcew into logs or trees, very small. I've even used it with a 4x5 view camera.
D70 Camera, with 18-70mm Nikor AF DX Zoom
28-200mm Nikor AF Zoom
70-300mm Tomar AF Micro Zoom
(all lenses have UV filters left on all the time)

[drg]

It ranges from a camera and an alternate lens to a trunk or van load of stuff.

One thing I carry is a second camera. Not just a backup body, but an entirely different camera. Whether it is a second SLR/DSLR, a P/S, or a digicam etc. I make sure that I've got something that will produce some photograph or another.

[another view]

Instruction manuals can come in handy from time to time - I usually have them with for whatever's in the bag just in case. Outside of photo-specific items, usually some gum, cell phone, pen, notepad, business cards, Leatherman tool...

[adina]

Lip Gloss!!

You never know when you might need it. And I'll admit, I do have a bit of a fetish. I have 4 different ones in my purse, 2 in my camera bag, and another half a dozen at home. And I buy more frequently.

[Axle]

Since a lot of my field photography now takes place during Urban Exploration I have to keep my gear to a minimum so it's easier for me to carry stuff around.

For digital work
- Dimage Z2 with one set of spare batteries
- Spare 256 MB SD Card
- Vivitar 283 flash (for cool effects, multi flash work
- My Reactor 3D Flashlight
- Breathing mask P100
- Tripod (either my light weight Slik 92D or heavier Velbon Sherpa 550)
- Water
- Rope
- Duster (Blower brush & cloth)

For 35mm Pretty much the same but without the spare SD card, my 50mm, 28mm, 200mm and 28-70mm lens. I hope to eventually get a tactical vest to store all the stuff in. But for now a small black backpack with the reflective tape removed suffices.

For active sites (Urban Exploration)
I have my digital Camera, spare card and batteries, my 3AAA flashlight, a ID Tag (with my name on it to flash quickly), and I keep everything in a laptop bag.

[mjs1973]

A few things that I have in my bag that haven't been mentioned yet:

An umbrella. Can be used for protection from the rain, for shade or to help prevent lens flare.

Disposible hand warmers. Besides the obvious, I also strap them to my battery grip to keep the batteries warm so they last longer when it's cold outside.

A yard of fabric in color of choice. I use it for a quick backdrop for flowers, or other macro work.

[walterick]

Lip Gloss!!

You never know when you might need it. And I'll admit, I do have a bit of a fetish. I have 4 different ones in my purse, 2 in my camera bag, and another half a dozen at home. And I buy more frequently.

Addict!

[JSPhoto]

Bag? No bag, just a camera, and I have a spare battery and cards in my pocket. On occasion I'll have two camera's hanging off my shoulder, but never a bag.

JS

[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

[Mr Yuck]

Tripod under the floor in my car.

I usually just carry around my A510 with a couple spare batteries, lens cleaning cloth, and extra memory card

When I'm taking the video camera, I usually ditch the camera bag for my A510 and put it in the bag for the video camera.
-Extra tapes
-cleaning cloth
-Carmex for the lips :P *thankyou adina. haha
-extra batteries

When going all out with the 35mm SLR and big bag:
-AE1 with wide angle lens and zoom lens
-extra film
-cables
-battery chargers
-shutter cable remote thing and a spare for the AE1
-mini tripod
-Video camera bag

[PerPlunk]

Thought I'd share what's currently in my bag... Maybe get in some contrast here as a large format film photographer. I've listed here the accessories first and the camera gear last. This is what I always carry for 4x5 field work:

-8"x10" grey card
-DOF calculator strip
-Adapter rings and holder for Cokin P system
-Filters: Linear polarizer, .9 HiTech grad. ND - soft edge, 1A Skylight, 81B
-Lens wrench for copal 0 and 1
-Bellows extension factor calculator
-Lens cloth
-Blower brush
-Small paintbrush for dusting film holders and camera
-Those small salt packets for moisture
-Rubber Lens hood that won't cut into a 90mm with zero movements
-Small metric tape measure
-Bubble level for ensuring front standard is level
-Standard leatherman
-2 pens and a mechanical pencil (for data sheet below)
-2 US quarters (helpful in checking QR plates if leatherman is misplaced)
-Sheet with reciprocity failure information on velvia 50 and 100
-Tarp with elastic bungess to further water guard camera pack
-Wristwatch with seconds hand (for exposures longer then 1 second)
-Magnetic compass or Magellan GPS handheld
(I find the compass more reliable, and I don't have to carry extra batteries)
-5"x7" black cardboard with 4"x5" hole, used for composing on the fly
-Rodenstock 4x loupe
-Horseblanket type (calumet) dark cloth (can double as minimal reflector)
-6 to 12 4"x5" Lisco double sided film holders generally 4 sheets of B&W, the rest Velvia 50 or 100 - all in ziplock bags
-Data sheet for tracking film holders and their status (loaded, exposed, unloaded)
-Pentax Digital Spotmeter
-Backup battery for spotmeter
-Shen Hao HZX-45IIA
-Lenses: SA 90mm f/8, Nikon W 210mm f/5.6 - attached to lens boards with separate cable releases


I also will bring either a tarp or a towel which I can lay the backpack on depending on if the location is muddy or sandy. I also carry a camping tripod type stool for composing at certain tripod heights. I've also found bungee cords left on the outside of the pack and carabiners to be especially useful.


Optionally I sometimes carry another camera system as well, this is usually either a Mamiya 645 system, Nikon F, F2, N90s or F5 SLR + up to 3 standard lenses, and sometimes a Fuji P&S digital (can't say I have ever successfully used it to compose the 4x5 though, just too different). Generally though I don't carry any of these if I can help it, just adds extra weight.


I'm still looking to expand the filter selection, especially for B&W. And I am looking to get a 20' cable release for those times when you need to hold a branch out the way and click the shutter...


In case you were wondering, it's not all that heavy, about 33lbs with the tripod and geared head.

[mjs1973]

A couple things I keep in my truck that I haven't seen mentioned yet is some bags of rice. I have a 5 pound bag, and another 2 or 2.5 pound bag. They work great for steadying my 500mm lens on the window of my truck. I put the smaller bag on the window, and rest the lens on that. Then I put the 5 pound bag on top of the lens. Works like a charm. I had my girlfriend sew some cloth bags around them, and she added a button hole to them where I clip a small carabiner. I use the carabiner to clip the bags to my tripod for some extra support on a windy day.

[adina]

Wow, you guys must have all been Boy Scouts.

Although you'd be surprised how much you can do with lip gloss...think MyGyver.

[SmartWombat]

Velcro fastened elastic straps
Lens tissue
Blower Brush
Pec Pads
Eclipse
Sensor Brush
Elastic bands
Towel
AA Batteries
AA battery carrier for 20D battery grip
Spare 20D battery
Body caps and lens end caps
580EX flash
USB cable
Laptop
77mm Circular Polarising filter
Remote for phototainer
Video out cable for phototainer
Camera Manuals !
Water bottle
Chocolate Biscuits

[JamesV]

Canon S1 IS
Camera Manual
( 8 ) AA Batteries
Battery Charger
( 2 ) 1.0 GB CF Cards
( 2 ) 512 GB Cards
Cleaning Cloth
Pens And Paper