In the bag part 1: the bare essentials

Update: part 2, in which I work out just how much my full kit weighs, can be found here.

Vibration, dust, rain, mud, sweat and occasional crashes: the realities of mountain biking. Delicate camera and lens innards: the tools of a professional mountain bike photographer. How to combine the two without reducing the latter to a rattling collection of component parts?

Under my desk, occupying a large part of the space where my feet should be, is a small mountain of assorted camera backpacks, holdalls, pouches and beltpacks - the result of years of trying to find the perfect setup for carrying camera equipment on a mountain bike.

Have I found it? No. But I've settled on three basic variations which I can adapt to suit the needs of the job on hand. This is my 'bare essentials' kit - the stuff I'll take on a long ride. It's as pared-down and as light as I can reasonably make it without compromising my flexibility too much.

Lowepro TLZ1
This little bag attaches with four carabinas to the shoulder strap loops and waistbelt of my 9-year-old Camelbak Transalp. It contains:
- Nikon D200 with Nikon 12-24mm f/4, battery, 2GB memory card. I've written about the D200 and 12-24 before. The D200 is almost certainly the best riding camera I've ever used - small, reasonably light, tough, fast and good enough for magazine covers and double page spreads. And the 12-24 is effectively my standard lens.
- Spare battery, spare memory card, Oakley lens cleaning cloth. If I shot more than two memory cards on a single ride, chances are I'd have a rider mutiny on my hands...

Total weight: 1.85kg

Lowepro Orion
The Orion is big enough to carry a reasonable load around my waist, small enough to stay fairly stable and well enough padded to have protected the contents on more than one unscheduled tumble into the undergrowth. Contents:
- Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8. This is a recent addition to my bag, and replaces the superb Nikon 85mm f/1.4. One of my biggest gripes with the digital switchover has been that my Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 is now too long - and it's certainly too big and heavy to carry around all day on the bike. The 50-150 gives me (almost) the same field of view on my digital SLRs as the 80-200 did on my 35mm film cameras, but just as importantly it's a lot smaller and lighter. It's not quite as sharp as the lens it replaces, but I'm enjoying the lack of bulk and weight.
- Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8 fisheye. It's easy to overdo the fisheye thing, but it's a very useful lens to have in the bag for getting me out of tight corners. Used carefully, only an educated eye is likely to spot the tell-tale distortion...
- Nikon SB800 flash w/five batteries. Nikon's flashes have this cool adaptor that allows you to run a single extra AA battery, which appreciably lengthens battery life and shortens recycling time.
- Quantum 4i radio slave transmitter and receiver. I couldn't do my job without this little box of tricks, which allows me to put the flash wherever I need it to throw a bit of light into a dark corner.
- Spare batteries x 8

Total weight: 3.1kg

I also carry a small tripod (0.85kg) for positioning the flash where I need it.

All told, that means my 'bare essentials' kit weighs 5.8kg, or a little under 13lb. It's rather like being a stone overweight on the climbs, but it does have the advantage that I feel like I'm riding like a rocket when I take it all off!

Comments

[MikeD]

You got a 50-150 that you were happy with in the end, then? ;-)

[Seb Rogers]

(Mike's referring to my first 50-150, which went back to the shop after a couple of days because it was soft on one side of the frame).

This one certainly seems much better... so far. Rather than test obsessively, I'm more interested in how it works in practice. So far, so good :)

[Chris Ratcliff]

Bags are one thing you need many of. Unfortunately it means I forfeit the right to make fun of my girlfriend's handbag 'collection' as she points to the bottom of the wardrobe lined with - currently - four different Lowepro bags, a couple of additional pouches, and a tripod.

[Seb Rogers]

Ah, but camera bags actually serve a purpose, don't they?

;-P

[Dan Barham]

Do you ever ride with a backup body, Seb? I pack one, yet despite my paranoia I've never had to use it in anger.

Thinking more about this subject, it's certainly one I need to learn some self control with. I regularly pack my bag so full of gear it tops 30-40lbs, yet use a quarter of the gear.

[Seb Rogers]

Hey Dan, I pack a spare body when I'm carrying my full monty kit (that's part 3, which I'll come back to some other time!), which probably weighs in about 30-40lbs.

But I think you've hit the nail on the head: you take it all with you 'just in case', and then never use it. For me it became a question of how to keep up with riders who are fitter than me. Suddenly every half pound counted, and it forces you to really think about what you need to get the job done.

But there's another advantage to travelling light - it focusses (pun intended) the mind. By not carrying every lens under the sun, I only 'see' the shots I'm equipped to shoot and don't end up wasting time switching umpteen lenses. My really, really pared-down kit - which I've used succesfully to shoot whole features - is the D200, 12-24 and 85. It ain't what gear you're carrying - it's how you use it ;-)

[Andy Waterman]

I was on a press trip with Sterling Lorence once and that guy basically has a Dakine branded coffin on his back the whole time (he carried a 300mm at all times), and he rode everything too — stuff I was too scared to try (my — admittedly lame - excuse was that Matt Skinner had just smashed his knee to bits and I was feeeling vulnerable).

[Seb Rogers]

Sterling's not the only photographer who carries the kitchen sink at all times. It obviously works well for him. Personally, I find it easier to work with less gear when there's a lot of riding to be done. If I thought it was having an impact on the pictures I bring back, I wouldn't do it :)