2017 Camera Bag Contents

What camera gear was in my camera bag during my recent 6 week trip to New Zealand via Singapore and Sydney to visit my Brother who I only met briefly 9 years ago and before that 20 years ago.

I needed a Camera bag which held my Olympus mirrorless gear but also there had to be enough room to hold my medicines, which I have to take on a daily basic to control my CLL. I wasn’t taking the risk to put them in the aircraft hold!

I found the bag which was ideal at “Currys PcWorld”. It is a Sandstrom Camera Backpack SCCAMBP16. It had security features such as the zips to open the main camera compartment were within the backpack shoulder straps. The tabs on the zips are a bit fiddly so need care to open.

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/cameras-and-camcorders/photography-accessories/camera-bags-and-cases/sandstrom-canvas-universal-camera-backpack-grey-10143211-pdt.html.

It cost all of £29.99 down from £39.99 at the time.

I could not determine if it was fully weather-sealed, so I purchased a waterproof cover “ULTNICE Backpack Cover Outdoor Elastic Adjustable Waterproof Backpack Rain Cover for Backpack” from Amazon at £5.99. I only used it once and it fitted perfectly.

My camera gear consisted of:

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark ii

Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-100mm 1:4.0 IS PRO Lens

Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 7-14mm 1:2:8 PRO

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark ii

Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14‑42mm 1:3.5-5.6 EZ Pancake Lens

I took the E-M10 Mark ii as a backup but I found that I used it on some days instead of the E-M1 Mark ii due to its lightness, pocketable size and its ability to take photos which, due to the sensor, are indistinguishable from those taken with its big brother.

I also had in my bag:

5 Original Olympus batteries (3 for the E-M1 and 2 for the E-M10)

plus 3 Ex-Pro compatibles

plus the Ex-Pro Dual Charger (Ex-Pro® Olympus BCH-1 BLH-1 DUAL LCD Mains Battery Charger for E-M1 Mark II)

and the Olympus Charger for the E-M10 Mark ii.

The Ex-Pro Dual Charger comes with an in-car charge lead (cigarette lighter style) which, as we would be driving long distances, could be used to charge the batteries whilst driving. Pity Olympus do not do one!

Tripod:

After a lot of research and testing a few models, I settled on the

MeFoto Roadtrip Carbon Fibre C1350Q1K at a cost of £199. It came with a case but I did not take it because it weighed too much. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BETIUO4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The camera bag had elastic straps of the bottom to take a tripod but I changed these to a pair of more secure straps for only a couple of £.

Obviously, the tripod had to travel in my suitcase in the hold but it did not take up too much room due to the way the legs fold.

Filters:

I took my NiSi and Lee Filters with me:

Nisi V5 Pro 100mm Filter Holder

Phil Norton’s Olympus 7-14 Filter Adapter http://www.philnortonphotography.co.uk/_photo_14554523.html

Adapter Rings 72mm, 67mm, 37mm.

NiSi 100x100mm IR Neutral Density - 6 and 10 stops

NiSi 100x150mm Hard Graduated – 2 Stop

NiSi 100x150mm Medium Graduated – 4 Stops

NiSi New Natural Night Filter 100x100

Lee Filter Neutral Density Grad Soft Filter Set

Other items:

Headtorch and other torch

Lens Cloths and Cleaners. Wet wipes for hands etc.

Canon RS-60E3 cable releases (remote switch) for the E-M1 Mark ii (about £6 on eBay)

A Silva compass

Memory Cards

3 x Lexar Professional 64 GB Class 10 UHS-II 2000x Speed (300 MB/s) SDHC Flash Memory Cards

1 x Lexar Professional 32 GB Class 10 UHS-II 2000x Speed (300 MB/s) SDHC Flash Memory Card

1 x Lexar Professional 64 GB Class 10 UHS-II 1000x Speed (150 MB/s) SDHC Flash Memory Card

2 x Transcend 32 GB Ultimate SDHC UHS-II U3 Memory Cards

Lexar USB Card Reader

Apple iPad Air

What I forgot to take which would have been great for easier panoramic photos was the SIRUI LE-60 LEVELING BASE ALUMINIUM – LE SERIES. https://shop.sirui.co.uk/collections/tripod-heads/products/770628

Originally purchased from Landscapedays.com http://www.landscapedays.com/shop/welcome

And left in my car boot with my other heavier tripods.