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Carrying a digital SLR camera on a bike? Carrying a digital SLR camera on a bike?
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  #1  
Old 8 May 2007
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Carrying a digital SLR camera on a bike?
Does anyone have experience carrying a digital SLR camera on a bike?

I have my SLR and a few lenses which I usually carry over my shoulder for short trips or on my back for longer trips. But I would much prefer to put them in a tank bag.

I'm worried about the vibrations stuffing up the sensitive electronics in the camera. I would pad it of course but several hours of constant vibration is not the same as just swinging from ones shoulder and being plonked on the ground like what conventional camera bags are designed for.

Any advice is welcome...

P
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  #2  
Old 8 May 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter.S View Post
Does anyone have experience carrying a digital SLR camera on a bike?

I have my SLR and a few lenses which I usually carry over my shoulder for short trips or on my back for longer trips. But I would much prefer to put them in a tank bag.

I'm worried about the vibrations stuffing up the sensitive electronics in the camera. I would pad it of course but several hours of constant vibration is not the same as just swinging from ones shoulder and being plonked on the ground like what conventional camera bags are designed for.

Any advice is welcome...

P
Maybe this one?


Touratech Webshop

Search for "photo"
Haven't tried it myself but a friend of mine think it is great.
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  #3  
Old 8 May 2007
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I carry a Digital SLR (with 18-70 lens) and a 70-300 lens when touring. Both are in individual cases with minimal/no padding and I keep them in a Buffalo bag that straps to the rear rack - it then converts to a rucksack for walking around. the Buffalo bag is unpadded but it's rain cover tucks up under the bag so effectively my camera kit sits on that. Basically I ensure that everything is well packed in so nothing can move about.
I ride a Triumph Tiger which isn't the smoothest bike out there but have not had any problems - long may it continue!
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Old 8 May 2007
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Photo Forum
There are several posts about this in the photo forum.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/photo-forum/
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Old 19 May 2007
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Originally Posted by Mermaid View Post
I carry a Digital SLR (with 18-70 lens) and a 70-300 lens when touring. Both are in individual cases with minimal/no padding and I keep them in a Buffalo bag that straps to the rear rack - it then converts to a rucksack for walking around. the Buffalo bag is unpadded but it's rain cover tucks up under the bag so effectively my camera kit sits on that. Basically I ensure that everything is well packed in so nothing can move about.
I ride a Triumph Tiger which isn't the smoothest bike out there but have not had any problems - long may it continue!

hi guy
can you share your bag photo and how you strap on the rear rack? Do you have pillion on the road? Will the bag block the pillion?
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Old 19 May 2007
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It's always a bit of a risk taking a nice camera
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Last edited by mollydog; 26 Mar 2009 at 04:25.
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  #7  
Old 19 May 2007
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I put my SLR in the top of a pannier in a basic LowePro padded case. I've done a lot of miles this way, on and off road, with no problems.
Be very careful carry something as large and solid as an SLR on your body - you could do yourself a lot of damage if you land on it in a tumble.

I regard everything I carry with me on a trip as disposable or replaceable - if your worrying about your gear all the time it can ruin a trip.
If your SLR is an expensive one and you're concerned about damaging it then it may be worth trying to find an older model secondhand off ebay which will use the same lenses, and use this for bike trips. The lenses are pretty sturdy, so I wouldn't be too worried about them as long as they're packed properly.
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Old 19 May 2007
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Originally Posted by MarkLG View Post
If your SLR is an expensive one and you're concerned about damaging it then it may be worth trying to find an older model secondhand off ebay which will use the same lenses, and use this for bike trips. The lenses are pretty sturdy, so I wouldn't be too worried about them as long as they're packed properly.
This ain't a bad idea. I bet you could get a Nikon D100 body or similar for peanuts on e-bay. The D100 is a great camera with 6mp. It's pretty slow if you are shooting RAW but this isn't necessary unless you're planning to sell your pix. But it's getting pretty outdated now, so should be quite cheap.

Matt
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Old 19 May 2007
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I had mine in a padded camera bag in my left pannier during my Morocco trip. My pannier was always pretty full so things didn't move around. When offroading I laid the bike down from time to time without any harm. We did some pretty rough terrain.
My camera broke when riding with minimal luggage on a bumpy piste. No side panniers, just a half full top box so the bag could move around. Also the top box gets a lot more beating on rough terrain than side panniers.

I also have the TT camera tankbag which I used for a road holiday in Schotland. Very happy with it. Well padded and converts into a backpack. The advantage of a tankbag is easier access.

T
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Old 19 May 2007
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For my twopence worth, no one has mentioned a bumbag which is what I use to carry the digi camera on my body - wouldn't want it anywhere else if it is to be used as quickly as possible, including when I am off the bike, while having some protection against vibes etc.
I have never considered keeping it on the bike for the vibe reasons alone; while touring, the valuables, including the camera, are always on my body. In an off, there is a poss of damaging myself on the camera or damaging the camera itself; hence the camera is not the latest state of the art stuff.

Cheers,

Dave
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