Ian, the box my Karachi came in this week recognizes you and says hi!
Waxy...how have you found the karachi now that the tripod holder is in the centre on the back ? I recon it would be near useless on the bike as it would hit the seat.
Waxy...how have you found the karachi now that the tripod holder is in the centre on the back ? I recon it would be near useless on the bike as it would hit the seat.
Gus, I haven't field tested it yet. I probably wouldn't use it on the bike anyway. Usually I pack the tripod in the right side pannier and put the camera gear in a smaller bag in the topbox.
I've gone through the bag, haven't packed it up yet. First impressions are that it's deep, which is good; should hold a lot, which is good; the back is hard to unzip, which is bad but may get better with use; and the carry handle is much too small, which is bad.
I'll probably load it up and go walkabout this weekend, then I'll have a better idea of how much I like it. I'm curious to see if that tripod strap works well: I must admit I'm a bit skeptical.
the back is hard to unzip, which is bad but may get better with use;
they do improve, but they're awfully rugged (read: stiff) bags, so not as much break-in as a Lowepro or other cordura bag. I've been carrying my DecemberQuarter to work everyday for a year now, and I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference from new. I think rather than breaking in, you just get used to it.
they do improve, but they're awfully rugged (read: stiff) bags, so not as much break-in as a Lowepro or other cordura bag. I've been carrying my DecemberQuarter to work everyday for a year now, and I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference from new. I think rather than breaking in, you just get used to it.
Gus, I haven't field tested it yet. I probably wouldn't use it on the bike anyway. Usually I pack the tripod in the right side pannier and put the camera gear in a smaller bag in the topbox.
I've gone through the bag, haven't packed it up yet. First impressions are that it's deep, which is good; should hold a lot, which is good; the back is hard to unzip, which is bad but may get better with use; and the carry handle is much too small, which is bad.
I'll probably load it up and go walkabout this weekend, then I'll have a better idea of how much I like it. I'm curious to see if that tripod strap works well: I must admit I'm a bit skeptical.
I use my tripod star all the time & one the GS it just touches the pannier top if i lean back. No way in hell would my tripod fit in a pannier. I was in the crumpler shop last week & saw the karachi & they told me that is is a tad deeper than the brians hot-tub but a bees doodle shorter.
I use my tripod star all the time & one the GS it just touches the pannier top if i lean back. No way in hell would my tripod fit in a pannier. I was in the crumpler shop last week & saw the karachi & they told me that is is a tad deeper than the brians hot-tub but a bees doodle shorter.
I specifically bought a tripod I knew could fit in a pannier when folded. As a result, it has four sections intead of three, but that's not a big deal. I do have to unscrew the head, but again, not a big deal.
It's definitely deep, although the internal sides slope up, so the 'pockets' down each side aren't square, they have a sloping bottom/side. I'm curious to see how I'll have to move the velcro partitions around.
My first task is simply to load the bag the way I had my other backpack loaded for the SF trip, then compare. That was the 1DmkII body, 70-200 2.8 IS, 16-35, 24-70, 50 1.4, hoods, tiny laptop, memory card wallet, lens cleaner, spare batt, circular polarizer, small towel, tiny gadget bag with level and LED light, wired remote. I think that's it.
Bags and Cases
Whew. Unfortunately, no pictures of the bags and cases selections.
Mountainsmith and Naneu Pro were the new guys on the block.
Between them, an impressive selection of bags. Roll cases, backpakcs and
sling bags, they had them all.
Mountainsmith are old hands at making outdoor and other travel luggage.
They've made quality gear since the 1970's. I've had one of their waist
packs for going on 10 years and it's never let me down. Their photography
gear ranges in size from compact to backpack--that's powershot to multi
dSLRs.
One complaint about Mountainsmith is the bags seem to be adapted to
cameras instead of designed for them. They'll do the trick but still aren't
as neat and clean as say Crumpler Designs or Lowe.
Naneu Pro have a very complete line that seems to take the best from
other manufacturers to produce a line of bags that are well built and
easy to afford. Their backpacks incorporate some of the features I like
about Crumpler and Lowe. Their Correspondent is very similar to the
Tenba bag I own--almost too similar. The Goombah and Minigoombah are
two carry on bags able to get most of your gear into the overhead--too bad
it won't hold a 500mm lens (a minor nit).
Lowe Pro are still the kings of bags. The Stealth AW II gets your camera
gear and a laptop into the bag. Another unique product is the combination
best and harness. This would be ideal for carrying a small amount of gear.
Say to the sidelines. The Stealth Reporter is another gear bag worthy of a
look. A shoulder bag, this will hold a body and a few lenses. If it's rolling
stock, the Road Runner AW gets you a couple of bodies and a variety of
lenses in an airline sized rolling case.
Want a rugged ABS plastic case? Stormcase and Pelican were at the show
with a variety of photographic capable products. I'll leave this one for you
to look through as the case sizes and filler material vary as do the sizes.
Most use a "pick foam" allowing you to neatly fit all of your gear into these
cases. Many have wheels allowing you to at least roll them around once off
the plane. Also featured are valves that let you release the pressure as
required.
Whew! Lots of bags. Some good, some not so good. Hopefully, I've given
you a couple of things to look at as you shop around for that favorite bag.
Mountainsmith and Naneu Pro were the new guys on the block. Mountainsmith
Thanks for the update. I have not looked at Mountainsmith in a long time, but I too own one of their waist packs I bought back in 1993. :uhoh I only wish the website had better photos, mainly some interior shots and schematics.
I hope the trend for backpack manufacturers to being making combined camera and camping backpacks increases. I have never been happy with the large Lowepro ones. Whenever I loaded up one of their large packs they were very uncomfortable for me to carry. I felt as though I were being pulled over backwards, for a short distance it would be fine. The one I bought from Tenba has worked the best for me so far, but lacks the space for much personal gear.
Tenba continues to impress me with the full line of gear they offer, from their large air cases to shoulder bags to cases to ship computers in. They also continue to offer new products with nice improvements. I think they will have a booth at Photoshopworld in a couple weeks. I would like to go and check it out.
I am also working on modifying a backpacking backpack to hold my camera and hiking/camping gear. Hopefully it will be ready soon. A 5D would sure save me some space and weight versus the 1DmkII and it's much larger batteries.
Unlike the mini-lab, a kiosk has no operator and must work flawlessly.
So, I sat on a panel discussion at PMA, and one part of the discussion centered around these kiosks, and bluetooth - mobile phone connectivity - camera phones represent the largest single digital camera segment in the world, and they are getting better all the time. Sadly, of 4 testers and 20 different kiosks, only one tester could get his photos off the camera and loaded / printed by the kiosk.
OP/Tech USA
When I think of Op/Tech, I think of camera straps built to carry a brick while
offering the photograper a bit of comfort carrying the camera. These straps
are ultra cush. Using neoprene as well as a non-slip grip, they are
the Cadillac of comfort.
In addition to camera straps, Op/Tech also manufactures a line of weatherproof
camera/lens covers, soft wraps as well as numerous other neoprene covers.
RRS customers know the value of having a cover for a ball head--chances are
it came from Op/Tech. Owners of other ball heads will be happy to know that
several sizes to cover your particular head. The advantage of a cover is that
it prevents the head from damage in the form of scratches or even dust/dirt
getting into the head.
Camera bags as well as other accessory bags round out the lineup of goodies
available from Op/Tech.
One thing that I noticed for sale are Tripod Leg Wraps. Recall we had a
thread about this some time back and one of the recommendations was to
use hot water pipe insulation and a bit of gaffer's tape to hold it on. The
wraps come in three different size. 1", 1.25" and 1.5" diameter.
The big news on the accessory front was not when Canon would refresh some of the tried but true lens line up or even when they'd get a nice wide lens for the full frame crowd but the introduction of the new for photographers iPF5000 printer.
Canon finally has this printer listed on their website, here, and they also have more indepth specs. If it passes the longevity test this may be a very nice printer to own. I am sure we will hear about it once it becomes available.
No kidding?! That's right between home & work, for me. I had no idea it was there.
I have never seen a Crumpler bag and only heard about them through the occasional raves at DGrin. I've refused to buy one because the Crumpler website is so poor, there was no way (that I could find) to see the inside of their bags!! They only thing I had to go by was the names of the bags ... and you know how "useful" that is! Great sense of humor, that company, but the bag names convey zero information.
Now, I suppose someday I'll have to stop by the Palo Alto store ... although I just got a new bag and a new photo backpack in December, so I won't need a new bag for a while...
Canon EOS 7D ........ 24-105 f/4L | 50 f/1.4 | 70-200 f/2.8L IS + 1.4x II TC ........ 580EX
Supported by: Benro C-298 Flexpod tripod, MC96 monopod, Induro PHQ1 head
Also play with: studio strobes, umbrellas, softboxes, ...and a partridge in a pear tree...
No kidding?! That's right between home & work, for me. I had no idea it was there.
I have never seen a Crumpler bag and only heard about them through the occasional raves at DGrin. I've refused to buy one because the Crumpler website is so poor, there was no way (that I could find) to see the inside of their bags!! They only thing I had to go by was the names of the bags ... and you know how "useful" that is! Great sense of humor, that company, but the bag names convey zero information.
Now, I suppose someday I'll have to stop by the Palo Alto store ... although I just got a new bag and a new photo backpack in December, so I won't need a new bag for a while...
The website is a love it or hate it thing. But you will notice there's a link to
inside the bag photo for each bag. Having seen them 'in person', I must say
the quality is pretty darn good.
I'm going to go and take a look at the store--which turns out to be Palo Alto
Sports and Toys.
Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
It's hilarious -- it's so off-the-wall (in a Monty Python kind of way) that it completely cracks me up. But it's difficult to navigate, has no obvious search facility, makes lousy use of web browser page real estate (the images are teeny-tiny, the page looks like it was made for a VGA screen, and forces those unecessary scroll bars on visitors when our web browser can supply their own perfectly good scroll bars when needed, thank you very much). The web site doesn't even provide as much product information as most other web sites (or maybe we just don't notice it because it's diluted by so much zany fun stuff). How about a web page showing the bags next to each other so their relative sizes are obvious, instead of having to pick through the numeric dimensions on all the bag pages? (Tamrac has a pretty decent web site for its bags; not perfect, but pretty usable)
I certainly don't mean to be a wet blanket, but my assessment of the Crumpler web site is that it's great for entertainment but lousy for business. I'll go there to get a laugh but not to buy a bag. [I hope they're listening and do some things to fix their web site ... the humor's fine, but how about also making it useable for business?]
The best thing Crumpler has going for it is worth-of-mouth by rabidly happy Crumpler bag owners :-).
But you will notice there's a link to
inside the bag photo for each bag.
Thank goodness it does now have some kind of inside-the-bag shots! But even then, most of the photos are of the bag full of equipment, when I also want to see the inside of the bag empty. Sigh...
...the store is Palo Alto Sports and Toys [in Palo Alto, CA]
Thanks! I'll stop by sometime. (I think we bought our kids some swim fins there, last summer) I'm certainly curious to see a Crumpler "live"!
Canon EOS 7D ........ 24-105 f/4L | 50 f/1.4 | 70-200 f/2.8L IS + 1.4x II TC ........ 580EX
Supported by: Benro C-298 Flexpod tripod, MC96 monopod, Induro PHQ1 head
Also play with: studio strobes, umbrellas, softboxes, ...and a partridge in a pear tree...
Comments
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Help, My Credit Card has fallen and it can't get up.
Pssst, where is the photo of the box the 5D came in?
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Thanks,
Mel
When will you be buying some Contax lenses?
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
I've gone through the bag, haven't packed it up yet. First impressions are that it's deep, which is good; should hold a lot, which is good; the back is hard to unzip, which is bad but may get better with use; and the carry handle is much too small, which is bad.
I'll probably load it up and go walkabout this weekend, then I'll have a better idea of how much I like it. I'm curious to see if that tripod strap works well: I must admit I'm a bit skeptical.
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
I use my tripod star all the time & one the GS it just touches the pannier top if i lean back. No way in hell would my tripod fit in a pannier. I was in the crumpler shop last week & saw the karachi & they told me that is is a tad deeper than the brians hot-tub but a bees doodle shorter.
I specifically bought a tripod I knew could fit in a pannier when folded. As a result, it has four sections intead of three, but that's not a big deal. I do have to unscrew the head, but again, not a big deal.
It's definitely deep, although the internal sides slope up, so the 'pockets' down each side aren't square, they have a sloping bottom/side. I'm curious to see how I'll have to move the velcro partitions around.
My first task is simply to load the bag the way I had my other backpack loaded for the SF trip, then compare. That was the 1DmkII body, 70-200 2.8 IS, 16-35, 24-70, 50 1.4, hoods, tiny laptop, memory card wallet, lens cleaner, spare batt, circular polarizer, small towel, tiny gadget bag with level and LED light, wired remote. I think that's it.
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Whew. Unfortunately, no pictures of the bags and cases selections.
Mountainsmith and Naneu Pro were the new guys on the block.
Between them, an impressive selection of bags. Roll cases, backpakcs and
sling bags, they had them all.
Mountainsmith are old hands at making outdoor and other travel luggage.
They've made quality gear since the 1970's. I've had one of their waist
packs for going on 10 years and it's never let me down. Their photography
gear ranges in size from compact to backpack--that's powershot to multi
dSLRs.
One complaint about Mountainsmith is the bags seem to be adapted to
cameras instead of designed for them. They'll do the trick but still aren't
as neat and clean as say Crumpler Designs or Lowe.
Naneu Pro have a very complete line that seems to take the best from
other manufacturers to produce a line of bags that are well built and
easy to afford. Their backpacks incorporate some of the features I like
about Crumpler and Lowe. Their Correspondent is very similar to the
Tenba bag I own--almost too similar. The Goombah and Minigoombah are
two carry on bags able to get most of your gear into the overhead--too bad
it won't hold a 500mm lens (a minor nit).
Lowe Pro are still the kings of bags. The Stealth AW II gets your camera
gear and a laptop into the bag. Another unique product is the combination
best and harness. This would be ideal for carrying a small amount of gear.
Say to the sidelines. The Stealth Reporter is another gear bag worthy of a
look. A shoulder bag, this will hold a body and a few lenses. If it's rolling
stock, the Road Runner AW gets you a couple of bodies and a variety of
lenses in an airline sized rolling case.
Want a rugged ABS plastic case? Stormcase and Pelican were at the show
with a variety of photographic capable products. I'll leave this one for you
to look through as the case sizes and filler material vary as do the sizes.
Most use a "pick foam" allowing you to neatly fit all of your gear into these
cases. Many have wheels allowing you to at least roll them around once off
the plane. Also featured are valves that let you release the pressure as
required.
Whew! Lots of bags. Some good, some not so good. Hopefully, I've given
you a couple of things to look at as you shop around for that favorite bag.
Manufacturers Web Sites:
Much appreciated!
Cheers!
Thanks for the update. I have not looked at Mountainsmith in a long time, but I too own one of their waist packs I bought back in 1993. :uhoh I only wish the website had better photos, mainly some interior shots and schematics.
I hope the trend for backpack manufacturers to being making combined camera and camping backpacks increases. I have never been happy with the large Lowepro ones. Whenever I loaded up one of their large packs they were very uncomfortable for me to carry. I felt as though I were being pulled over backwards, for a short distance it would be fine. The one I bought from Tenba has worked the best for me so far, but lacks the space for much personal gear.
Tenba continues to impress me with the full line of gear they offer, from their large air cases to shoulder bags to cases to ship computers in. They also continue to offer new products with nice improvements. I think they will have a booth at Photoshopworld in a couple weeks. I would like to go and check it out.
I am also working on modifying a backpacking backpack to hold my camera and hiking/camping gear. Hopefully it will be ready soon. A 5D would sure save me some space and weight versus the 1DmkII and it's much larger batteries.
So, I sat on a panel discussion at PMA, and one part of the discussion centered around these kiosks, and bluetooth - mobile phone connectivity - camera phones represent the largest single digital camera segment in the world, and they are getting better all the time. Sadly, of 4 testers and 20 different kiosks, only one tester could get his photos off the camera and loaded / printed by the kiosk.
They still have a ways to go
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
:nah much better to work the show and meet people individually, at least for us.
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
When I think of Op/Tech, I think of camera straps built to carry a brick while
offering the photograper a bit of comfort carrying the camera. These straps
are ultra cush. Using neoprene as well as a non-slip grip, they are
the Cadillac of comfort.
In addition to camera straps, Op/Tech also manufactures a line of weatherproof
camera/lens covers, soft wraps as well as numerous other neoprene covers.
RRS customers know the value of having a cover for a ball head--chances are
it came from Op/Tech. Owners of other ball heads will be happy to know that
several sizes to cover your particular head. The advantage of a cover is that
it prevents the head from damage in the form of scratches or even dust/dirt
getting into the head.
Camera bags as well as other accessory bags round out the lineup of goodies
available from Op/Tech.
One thing that I noticed for sale are Tripod Leg Wraps. Recall we had a
thread about this some time back and one of the recommendations was to
use hot water pipe insulation and a bit of gaffer's tape to hold it on. The
wraps come in three different size. 1", 1.25" and 1.5" diameter.
Visit www.optechusa.com for more information on the products.
Hands on what exactly?
"Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Checked it out - cool bag
"Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
That sexy bag for my oversized rig what else?
Canon finally has this printer listed on their website, here, and they also have more indepth specs. If it passes the longevity test this may be a very nice printer to own. I am sure we will hear about it once it becomes available.
Imaging Resource is the co-sponser of the show and they've been kind enough
to put a few video clips up on their website.
These videos range from the new printers mentioned elsewhere in this thread
to imaging sensors from Kodak to a number of new cameras.
Enjoy.
No kidding?! That's right between home & work, for me. I had no idea it was there.
I have never seen a Crumpler bag and only heard about them through the occasional raves at DGrin. I've refused to buy one because the Crumpler website is so poor, there was no way (that I could find) to see the inside of their bags!! They only thing I had to go by was the names of the bags ... and you know how "useful" that is! Great sense of humor, that company, but the bag names convey zero information.
Now, I suppose someday I'll have to stop by the Palo Alto store ... although I just got a new bag and a new photo backpack in December, so I won't need a new bag for a while...
Supported by: Benro C-298 Flexpod tripod, MC96 monopod, Induro PHQ1 head
Also play with: studio strobes, umbrellas, softboxes, ...and a partridge in a pear tree...
The website is a love it or hate it thing. But you will notice there's a link to
inside the bag photo for each bag. Having seen them 'in person', I must say
the quality is pretty darn good.
I'm going to go and take a look at the store--which turns out to be Palo Alto
Sports and Toys.
It's hilarious -- it's so off-the-wall (in a Monty Python kind of way) that it completely cracks me up. But it's difficult to navigate, has no obvious search facility, makes lousy use of web browser page real estate (the images are teeny-tiny, the page looks like it was made for a VGA screen, and forces those unecessary scroll bars on visitors when our web browser can supply their own perfectly good scroll bars when needed, thank you very much). The web site doesn't even provide as much product information as most other web sites (or maybe we just don't notice it because it's diluted by so much zany fun stuff). How about a web page showing the bags next to each other so their relative sizes are obvious, instead of having to pick through the numeric dimensions on all the bag pages? (Tamrac has a pretty decent web site for its bags; not perfect, but pretty usable)
For those coming in in the middle of this, the web site in question is http://www.crumplernyc.com/ .
I certainly don't mean to be a wet blanket, but my assessment of the Crumpler web site is that it's great for entertainment but lousy for business. I'll go there to get a laugh but not to buy a bag. [I hope they're listening and do some things to fix their web site ... the humor's fine, but how about also making it useable for business?]
The best thing Crumpler has going for it is worth-of-mouth by rabidly happy Crumpler bag owners :-).
Thank goodness it does now have some kind of inside-the-bag shots! But even then, most of the photos are of the bag full of equipment, when I also want to see the inside of the bag empty. Sigh...
Thanks! I'll stop by sometime. (I think we bought our kids some swim fins there, last summer) I'm certainly curious to see a Crumpler "live"!
Supported by: Benro C-298 Flexpod tripod, MC96 monopod, Induro PHQ1 head
Also play with: studio strobes, umbrellas, softboxes, ...and a partridge in a pear tree...