Is anyone out there using an Osprey Eclipse "+5" backpack for a 4x5 kit? If so, what are your likes/dislikes? My kit would include a Wisner traditional, 2 lenses, meter, 2 boxes of quickload, quickload holder, some filters, jacket, misc. items. I was thinking of the 42+5 (top and front access) or the 32+5 (top and back access). Thanks. -Josh.
Before buying a packback check out the Lowepro Trekkor. Many lf photographers think this is a very good one.
steve simmons
I've been using an Osprey Eclipse 42 for a couple of years. The suspension system is first rate; I can and often do hike with it all day (say, 15 km, 1 km vertical rise) without problems. I carry a Toho 4x5, 10 film holders, four lenses, filters, meter, BTZS focusing hood, first aid kit, lunch, etc. and 2 or 3 liters of water. Full load, pack and all, is just over 16 Kg.
The 42+5 is new for 2004. But if it's anything like my 2001 model 42 (and it surely looks the same), I highly recommend it. I don't know why more LFers don't use this pack. It works extraordinarily well for LF.
And Steve, in comparison to the Osprey packs, the Lowepro "backpacks" are just padded boxes with straps attached. If you want to climb up the trails and go bouldering with your 4x5, you need a pack that moves with you, is adjustable to the point of real comfort, and that doesn't play havoc with your center of gravity and thus your balance. In these areas the Osprey designs are among the best in the industry.
Bruce Watson
And Steve, in comparison to the Osprey packs, the Lowepro "backpacks" are just padded boxes with straps attached. If you want to climb up the trails and go bouldering with your 4x5, you need a pack that moves with you, is adjustable to the point of real comfort, and that doesn't play havoc with your center of gravity and thus your balance. In these areas the Osprey designs are among the best in the industry.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
That may be your opnion but many hikers,backpackers feel the Lowepro are among the best available. I am not saying they are better. I just suggested he check them out.
steve simmons
As a person who leads backpack trips for a prominent outdoor organization, I will side with Hogarth that the best photo backpacks that I have seen cannot compare to even mediocre true backpacks in terms of suspensions, harnesses, weight, and even durability in the field.
I guess the decision a photographer is fiorced to make at this point in time is do you want to use a photo backpack and adjust to its shortcomings in terms of suspension, weight, ... or do you use a true backpack and adjust to its shortcomings in terms of the photo specific needs.
"Best" doesn't mean much in itself. The Lowepro backpacks allow fast access to gear and are padded enough for airline shipping, but they are heavy, have a relatively limited usable volume, and don't carry very well. While superb for short hikes and OK for onger hikes, they are utterly unsuitable for backpacking (without pack animals that is). I had a look in the store at the Osprey, and would it have been large enough for my kit (5x7+35mm) I would have certainly bought one.
On a recent photo trip I fell about 6 or 8 feet backwards, straight down onto a rock. I landed full force on the heavy, overly padded photo backpack that I've always complained about. Neither I nor anything in the pack was broken, which I attribute to the heavy padding on the photo backpack. I'm no longer so sure that the heavy padding in photo backpacks is such a bad thing after all.
Brian Ellis
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
a mile away and you'll have their shoes.
I have one of Osprey's technical day packs and the quality is absolutely first rate. I also have the LowePro Super Trekker. While the suspension on the LowePro is the best I've seen on any photo-specific backpack, it does come up lacking compared to acual backpacking backpacks. Not to say that it's bad, but if you're backpacking with a camera rather than using a backpack to carry your camera somewhere for a day, go for a backpacking-specific pack and adapt it to your photo needs. Your back will thank you.
Hogarth:
I was actually looking for a backpacking system for my relatively small 4x5 setup: small wood field camera (Tachihara) with two lenses, 6 holders, loupe (and other odds and ends), and instead of a lightmeter, a medium-sized 35mm camera (Nikon N8008s with a 50mm/1.8 lens).
What size do you use -- it seems the Eclipse 42+5 comes in three sizes.
How well padded are its walls?
Many thanks.
Josh et al.
I also use an Osprey 42, after years of using Lowepro, Tenba, OutPack and other dedicated camera packs. For true backpacking, the Osprey beats them all. What I found was that I wanted to place items in individual "packages", for example, my lenses are in a Gnass Gear pouch, and my camera fits in a small padded pouch. This means I can take pieces-parts out of the main bag and work with them. With these pouches, the interior padding of dedicated bags was redundant. The Osprey does provide a nice padded exterior. And the main benefit is a suspension system that works right. I find this system quicker to use. I remove the pack and remove the individual pouches and work from them. The Osprey 42 has the added benefit that it opens along the harness, so the harness and backpad don't sit in the wet/dirt.
I still keep my OutPack for airline travel and "out-of-the-rental-car" use, but any packing over 100m calls for the Osprey.
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