Hiking with your camera

[ohyowhadup]

I go hiking a lot, and that is one of the main reasons I have a camera. I used to have a point and shoot, and that was easy to bring and use, but I have since upgraded to a DSLR. I tried bringing it on the last hike I went on and it was a pretty big pain.

At first I tried having it slung over my neck and shoulder, but my bag kept forcing it to my stomach, so it was bumping around every time I took a step. This would setup probably would have been fine with a day pack, but i was doing an overnight, so I had a 70L pack on.

I eventually settled on storing it in my bag, but it's a hassle to stop and take off your bag every time you want to snap a shot.

Just wondering if any of you hikers out there had more experience with this and had devised a clever solution, or if there are any type of camera bag that help with this.

[Ambrosia76]

I have had similar issues, my only solution is that I drag my hubby along and make him tote everything but my camera. Works for me,

[dakwegmo]

When I'm on long backpacking trips, I'll keep my camera in a holster style pack that clips into the D-rings on my shoulder straps. If it's a long trip, I'll only take one lens, but if it's a shorter trip, I'll take an extra lens and keep it in a padded lens case in the body of my pack.

[dlambert]

I do something like this:



That's a Lowepro TLZ and a Lens bag clipped to my pack, just above the sternum strap. I like this because it's pretty easily customizable -- if I'm carrying w/o the backpack, I just clip on the shoulder strap and go. If I want to carry w/o the big lens, I can leave that off. The pack does pull slightly to the side of the lens pouch when that's clipped on, but it's not too bad.

[karen_s]

I just got a Spider Camera Holster a few weeks ago because I had the same issues. I've only gotten to use it a few times but so far so good. It frees up my hands and takes the pressure of my neck and shoulders. Makes my sling bag a lot lighter too.

[UlpilotSC]

Google think tank Dslr holster. It looks like a good idea but I'm not sure how well it would work in practice with a real hiking pack. I think the hip belt might get in the way. The weight is a downer to me. With a 75l pack an extra bag even for a Dslr seems like a lot. My P&S fits in the lid pocket. All I have to do is reach up and unzip the zipper.
And if I fall over I break a $250 camera, not a $700 camera.