What camera do you carry with you all the time

[Jill H]

I am "told" / "read" etc that every "real" photographer carries his or her camera with them all the time. I can understand this - you never know when "that shot" will come along or that you will be "in the right place at the right time" when some news breaking world event may happen.............

however, one could not possibly carry their whole "kit and kaboodle" around with them all the time..... ie on a normal work day when your "day job" is NOT in photogaphy.........So....my question is - do you carry photography gear with you all the time, and if yes, what do you carry?

I look forward to reading your responses.
Thanks everyone!

[takethislife5150]

I have a nice slim shoulder bag that all my gear fits into real nice, Body, 3 lenses, 2 flashes, extra battery and memory cards!

[ZannieGirl49]

I keep a little Sony Cybershot in my purse. I bought it for my husband while he was deployed, I don't think that he realizes that I take it to work with me every day . If I know that I'm going to go on a lunch time photography mission I would sometimes bring my dearly departed Nikon D40.

Oh, and I'm still learning. I bring a camera with me every day because I just enjoy taking pictures of things that I may see that interest me. I definitely don't think that I'm going to get 'the shot' but may get something that's cool. I'd rather have the camera with me and let the picture tell people whatever interesting thing that I happened to see that day than regret not having it at all.

[Doug Pardee]

Originally Posted by Jill H

you never know when "that shot" will come along or that you will be "in the right place at the right time" when some news breaking world event may happen

This is a favorite fantasy of a lot of photographers. But it's a fantasy. The odds against it are enormous, probably on the order of being hit by lightning. Virtually all of us will go through our entire lives without ever being anywhere near a "world news event". And "that shot" is almost never something you stumble upon; it's something that is carefully set up, lit, and posed.

Anyway, to answer your question, I carry a cellphone.

[karwash]

Hi Jill,

Good question. I'm a true amateur - my day job always gets in the way of going out for photography. For the "just in case" shots, I always have my phone with me, and I do use it for that purpose. A while ago I used it for a sunset picture and after some patching up in post processing it at least reflected the atmosphere of that evening correctly - it was the best camera I had with me... Then again, I've even used my mobile to record the "funny noise" our copier machine made at some point in time. Our IT department loves it when I provide them with a movie of a problem...

Over the weekend and on short business trips I always take my P&S with me. If there is a likelyhood of good photo opportunities, I carry "full gear" - which in my case isn't that much. It all fits easily into my backpack.

[mmjk84]

I understand, I'm an amateur too and when it comes to carrying the bulky DSLR, it sometimes could be a hassle, especially your carrying case design. I have a Nikon bag that fits the D60 with a shoulder strap and it has great protection but the design is to place the camera body as if you're setting it down on the table, therefore when I ever walk around it tends to bump into people, objects, etc.

When I got the Tamron 18-270mm, it came with a free promotion bag with a shoulder strap that looks like a messenger bag and you place your camera on it's side for easy access pulling it out for that "moment". The size is nice and compact, easy to wear and carry, and it's fashionable I guess??? Ever since that new bag, I carry my camera everywhere from that point on. No one really notices it being a camera bag...like the bulky Nikon bag.

I carry the 18-270mm covering most ranges because I'll never know if I'm close or far away from the subject I'll be shooting.

[pinvivsuc]

Originally Posted by karwash

Hi Jill,

Good question. I'm a true amateur - my day job always gets in the way of going out for photography. For the "just in case" shots, I always have my phone with me, and I do use it for that purpose. A while ago I used it for a sunset picture and after some patching up in post processing it at least reflected the atmosphere of that evening correctly - it was the best camera I had with me... Then again, I've even used my mobile to record the "funny noise" our copier machine made at some point in time. Our IT department loves it when I provide them with a movie of a problem...

Over the weekend and on short business trips I always take my P&S with me. If there is a likelyhood of good photo opportunities, I carry "full gear" - which in my case isn't that much. It all fits easily into my backpack.

Over the weekend and on short business trips I always take my P&S with me. If there is a likelyhood of good photo opportunities, I carry "full gear" - which in my case isn't that much. It all fits easily into my backpack.

[Xposurepro]

Originally Posted by Jill H

one could not possibly carry their whole "kit and kaboodle" around with them all the time..... ie on a normal work day when your "day job" is NOT in photogaphy

My day job is a photographer and I don't carry my camera everywhere I go .. in fact I rarely ever carry it unless I'm on my way to a shoot or coming back from one .. aside from road trips and such but in those cases I'm planning to take pictures anyway so they don't count. I have enough pictures to edit as it is without adding more to my todo list. LOL

[OsmosisStudios]

I'm a university student, so my backpack carries my laptop and my D80+50mm as well as my SD1000.

[sk66]

Canon G10...it's usually in my truck. On walks where I'm not going out just to shoot, or for street photography, I'll carry it on a sling (my own "black rapid" type setup).