Bag for field camera?

[Alan Klein]

Has anyone sprayed their bags with Permethrin to keep the ticks off of them?

[Drew Bedo]

My 4x5 kit. The bag is a LowePro Magnum-35 shoulder bag. I have slimed it down by dropping the Grfafmatic and the 15: Telephoto. All items are now packed in PhotoBackpacker semi-rigid boxes.

[younghoon Kil]

I use the Atlas Adventure backpack for my Chamonix 4x5 cameras.

[Axelwik]

I use a Lowepro Flipside 300 for a lightweight 5x7 or 4x5 kit that weighs around 10 pounds.

For 5x7 it's an Intrepid with two lightweight lenses (Fujinon A 180 f9 and Nikkor 300 f9), for 4x5 it's a Tachihara with two lenses (usually a Nikkor SW 90mm f8 and a 210 APO Sironar f5.6), along with a meter, dark cloth, filters, cable releases, a few film holders, etc.

The 5x7 kit weighs a little less due to the lighter lenses and the slightly lighter Intrepid camera, but I can carry a few more film holders with the 4x5.

Weight doesn't include the tripod, but a small Gitzo can be carried on the outside of the pack, and weighed down with rocks if needed, however I typically use a larger tripod if the hike isn't far, either a larger Gitzo with a ball head or an old Reis C without a head (they're about the same weight).

Putting some effort into reducing and shrinking the load pays off in terms of getting out more and being able to go further. I put a lot of thought into what lenses I REALLY need to carry, and what features are needed in a practical field camera. Just about all the "just in case" stuff adds up, and can be a real burden to one's body, and to one's creativity.

Having a manageable system that's lightweight, I'm now photographing more and going to more places to do so.

Of course when I'm not far from the car a few more lenses may come along (but not usually). I keep them in a separate bag with other extras such as more film holders and filters, but take only what's needed for the particular situation usually swapping one thing for another. For instance, I may swap the Fujinon 125 f8 for the 180 if a wider field of view is needed, but it's about twice the weight and requires larger filters (82mm vs 46).