The holidays will be here before you know it and to help you find a gift for yourself or a friend or spouse who’s interested in photography, I’ll be posting these guides occasionally during the next shopping days till Christmas.
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn’t need to lug around a camera.”—Lewis Hine
And I’m sure that when Mr. Hine was creating his socially conscious images at the tun of the twentieth century, I’m sure that the term “lug” was appropriate. Nowadays, when a photographer leaves the safety and security of their studio and goes on location, they need to start packing—any lugging not withstanding.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re slinging gear into the back of a Land Rover or a baggage handler is stuffing it—carefully you hope— inside a Airbus, you need tough dependable bags and cases that are up to the job.
It’s obvious that camera bags and cases—hard or soft—have to protect your gear but what else do they need to do and offer?
- Easy access. You can never be too organized for any location shoot.
- Fast set-up. After arriving at a location, it’s critical that you quickly and easily be able to get to everything inside the case out of it and put it to work.
- Comfort. Make sure the bag is comfortable to handle when it’s packed full of gear. Ergonomic carrying options, such as handles and harnesses, reduce fatigue but the most overlooked feature is the shoulder strap for shoulder bags or a harness for backpacks. Some are only designed to look good but how well do they stay (and be comfortable) on your shoulder or back when the case is loaded?
- Capacity. Some photographers have a habit of overloading cases. That’s why you should think about how much weight each bag can really carry and don’t overload it. Remember you still have to be able to pick it up.
- Organization. How many different ways can your case be configured? You should be able to move dividers around inside the case to customize the interior to match the equipment that’s needed for a shoot.
- Portability. A photographer’s away-from-home base must be mobile. Maybe you need a rolling case?
Durability. Many location photographers are hard on their cases. Think sixty pounds of gear, tossed in and out of cars, dragged up and down stairs, and flung on and off airplanes. When they fly, some photographers prefer double duty by packing camera bags inside luggage or hard cases.- Details. The final decision to select a particular case may boil down to the finishing details. Wedding photographers need quiet zipper pulls, which are useful when everyone in the venue is carefully listening to wedding vows and watertight zippers can be indispensable for when the location gets wet.
My Thoughts & Advice
One of my experiences when creating the Joe Farace Backpack and the Mary Farace Daypack for Adorama happened during the second run of the bags. The subcontractor who was making the bags decided to cut costs by changing the kind of thread they were using to sew the bags together, switching to a less expensive thread. And guess what happened? The bags fell apart. We sent all of the bags back to them at their expense and made them remake the bags. This is the kind of stuff that goes on behind-the-scenes and is presented here as a cautionary tale. Such as…
I remember writing a camera bag review for Photo District News back in the day and the bag stank to high heaven. I mean it actually smelled bad. I put the bag outdoors for a few days hoping the odor would clear up. It didn’t. I told the editor about it and the company refused to send a replacement, instead sending a bag to the editor. Guess what? It stank too. I wrote a stinky review but what was sad was that the bag design itself was quite good but the company decided to cut corners and use crappy material that, well. stunk!.
At the risk of repeating the same advice I mentioned during last week’s Shoppers Guide: Beware of bargains. Camera bags and cases are available in a variety of prices, styles and designs but you generally get what you pay for. You may be tempted to cut corners and get something less expensive but don’t do it! You’ll just end up having to purchase another bag after this one…falls apart.