hardbox options for dslr

[Matt Cartney]

I packed the following and found it more than adequate in most circs:

DSLR body
17-35
28-70
70 -200
1 spare battery & charger
light manfrotto tripod
laptop
various small accesories

Although for the future I'd probably lose the 70-200 and the tripod and the laptop (CF cards being so cheap these days!)

All was packed in individual cases within my right hand alu pannier. The pannier had about 2 inches of soft foam glued into the bottom. The pannier took several drops and two actual crashes, becoming quite dented and none of the gear develpoed a problem. I laso rode on rough roads and in terrible weather but the box proved quite resistant to water and dust.
Having said that I wouldn't have attempted a river crossing with the box on the bike.

In the future I plan to keep the DSLR with the 17-35 in a peli case top box and any other gear in my pannier. There is a theory that a top box, due to it's position, moves more than a pannier therefore increasing the effect of vibration but I'm not convinced it outweighs the fact that a top box is less likely to take a hammering in a crash. Your kit is of sufficient quality to cope with a fair bit of vibes anyway.

I agree with others that to go light is the way to go. If you've got too much crap with you it slows you down and makes you less likely to just sling it on your back on a quick trip to the shop to get some water, which is when you see THE picture of your trip!

I'd also reccommend a quality compact digi camera to keep in a pocket of your biker jacket etc. for those shots that come up unexpectedly. It's also less intimidating if you're taking pictures of people you don't know very well (or at all!)

Matt

[Bjorn]

Hi all,

Hard luggage and top-boxes seem to be the choice for expensive camera gear here. But what's your view on tankbags? Don't people use them? Or do they deliberately NOT put camera gear into tankbags?

I'm thinking about going for the tankbag solution – maybe even put a little LowePro MicroTrekker into the tankbag if it fits (and if the gear fits into to LowePro bag).

Good things I can see about this solution are:
less vibration; protection in case of an off; easy to access; easy to take off (for wandering around & for river crossings)

Any negative points that I'm missing?

[The Cameraman]

Mornin' Bjorn,

the only downside is that of a slight increase in the ease of removal by the thieving scum and if you want to leave the bike unattended and don't want to take the camera with you then you' d be forced to either re pack it in the remaining luggage or carry it with you.

For me the benefits of ease of access in the tank bag outweigh the theft probability.

[Bjorn]

Yey, the theft risk is higher. But then again: I would ALWAYS carry my gear with me. Anything 'special' which I only use occasionally (ringflash, macro,...) would go into the panniers if it's too heavy to carry around.

About the tankbag & security: I've got the Touratech tankbag for the F650 Dakar, which zips onto a base plate. I thought about putting a metal o-ring into the base plate, so I could lock the bag's zipper to the plate to make it "un-zippable". Or get one of those metal meshes for backpacks.

I'm sure with a bit of "McGyver thinking" it's possible to make it safe enough for a quick stop at the petrol station.

[pictish]

just came up witha quick camera option when i finally get round to it my main stuff will go in a big pelicase[bag inside] to replace a top box .
But u can get canon 350d now for 200 quid with 18-55 which is the same as some point and shoot. so maybe that would make a good one for the tank bag as its pretty small and light but still can give decent pics. Also means things go wrong at a special moment you got a backup camera if your main lets u down.