> Generally when it is that hot I wear shirts with lots of pockets and to hell with vests
Down here, it is that hot about 100 days of the year, and even hotter for 150 more. I am looking for a good way to carry 4x5 holders, meter, etc., and to have them all together so I can grab the rig and camera, get out of the truck, and get set up in a few minutes.
> I dunno, those pictures of the overloaded vests on that website just look painful to me.
That is because they are loaded up with cameras and the like. If you have to carry that stuff and need fast access, vests are the best alternative of a bad lot.
> I would look towards the man purses
Maybe in New Orleans, but I cannot recommend it in Slidell.:-)
check out the street and field system from lowe pro or kinesis's system.
It consists of a padded belt and modular accessories. Nothing on your back or neck. Everything on your hip. light meter, film holders, lenses. I used to carry tons of weight including 2 35mm systems with a 300mm f2.8, 70-200 f2.8, wide zoom, fish, plus a medium format system rain gear and either tons of film or digital backup devices on the back of a motorcycle for 15+ hours in extremely tropical environments. I fell in love with the waist belt system. Especially since I have a really bad neck / back from when I broke C2 years earlier. what's really nice is just wearing a technical fabric t-shirt without a vest. The tech fabric wicks away the persperation. I was 1000 times more comfortable that when I used a vest.
I used the mesh domke vests for years and they were like wearing a portable sauna.
Thanks Robert! I was wondering how those worked. They do look like a good way to beat the heat. Are they washable for when they do get loaded with sweat, or are the sufficiently impervious that you just wipe them down?
Hi Ed, I just put in an order last week for the khumbu model.
I am having it customized to fit my needs. My plan is to store everything that I need in the vest for a day in the field. Currently I am using an aw2 pack and a photog vest. I am tired of switching stuff back and forth. I am having the front pocket enlarged to hold my ebony 45su with a lens mounted. I am having each of the two back pockets custom sized to fit my gnass readyload case with holder and 20sheets. I will also carry two additional lenses, light meter, loupe, filters etc. This will probably look pretty rediculous when fully loaded, but I don't run in to too many people where I shoot.
My only concern is function not fashion.
It will be about three weeks until it is finished. I will let you know how it works out.
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I also had a lot of Kinesis gear and think it is some of the best quality camera gear made. It is a complex system so oftentimes it is best to just email the owner and explain what you want to to do and let him suggest options.
They have to be cooler than a vest. The belts come in various weights and paddings, so you can tailor it to be "just enough" and "not too much." When I went to China I just clipped a couple of the small cases onto my regular belt, which was even more trim and low-key. I also like that they are lower profilem not overly padded, and more subtle than the Lowe-Pro and other brands.
Hi Ed, yes I have a center pouch in the back of the vest I will put a gitzo 1325 and arca combo in. I guess it helps to even the weight of the gear from front to back of the vest anyway. My thought is when I set up to shoot most of the heavy items will be out of the vest so it should not be much different than the old vest and back pack combo I was using. No more throwing gear down on swampy or sandy ground is the goal.
__________________ www.timeandlight.com
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