safari camera bag
 

I am looking for the best camera bag to take on safari in Tanzania. I am almost 60 (female) and do not want a heavier bag than necessary. I will carry a Canon 20 D, Rebel xti, 100-400 IS, 17-85 IS, 10-22, 50mm lenses, 550 flash. What do you recommend?

I've used several camera bags, but have settled on a Canon Deluxe Photo Backpack 200EG. You can find them online (Amazon, for instance.) I think Amazon has them for under $40. I like the bag because there is a lot of room for the photo gear in the main compartment, but there is also another compartment in front for other items, such as a book, neck pillow, etc. when you are on your international flight. It's also compact enough to fit under the plane seat so that you have access to it during the flight.

I would suggest a LowePro Mini Trekker for that amount of gear. I use the larger Photo Trekker and I really like it a lot. It also comes in an all-weather version if you want protection from the elements.

Chris
www.pbase.com/cwillis

Since there is a lot of dust (and I mean a lot of dust) whilst on safari, I would recommend bringing lens cleaning tissuesm lens brushes and even compressed air with you as we just got back from a Tanzanian safari and we needed to clean our lens (and camera) practically twice a day.

I agree with Chris. The LowePro Mini Trekker is just right for your kit. Unfortunately my kit has grown too large for this bag but I carried a nearly identical kit as you describe and I was happy with it. Good protection and not a lot of weight.
Regards-Chuck

I just got a Slingshot 300 for my safari in February. It holds a Canon 40D with the 100-400 attached,a 300D camera, 10-22, 70-300DO, 580 flash, Canon HV20 movie cam, 2 wolverines and the extra misc. stuff. What I really like about it is that I can slide it to the front and rest my arms on it for support when I'm using the 100-400. I don't think I will need the support on safari but at the zoo it is great. It's heavy when fully loaded so I usually stuff the whole bag in a rolling carryon suitcase for general air travel.

I love the Naneu Pro bags. They are well made, a lot less expensive than most, and don't scream expensive camera bag. You can buy them from their website.

Thank you so much for this info! I just got home from work and will get busy online checking these out. I only have two weeks left. The bag I have is a lowepro 200 Aw but it is just too small.
Patty

So are there any pix, Traveller88? Anyother suggestions?? I checked the bags and may order the mini trekker if it will for sure carry all of my stuff.

FWIW, On almost all bags I find the shoulder carrying strap uncomfortable. Too narrow and too hard. I replaced the one on my LowePro with a wide soft leather suede strap by Tamarac.

regards - tom

Thirding the Lowepro Mini Trekker suggestion. We have one that we use a lot for roughly the same amount of kit as you mention plus we can usually get the various battery chargers in there for the flight (and then transfer them to our main luggage once we've arrived).

We also have a Micro Trekker 200 that we use when taking slightly less kit with us and we've even been known to take both of them together when taking slightly more kit (though there are 2 of us).

We also have a Computrekker that's the same size as the Mini but with an extra pocket at the back for a laptop.

And, oh my goodness, one more, a Dryzone, that we bought specifically for a 3 week Antarctica trip. We were extremely pleased with it (and did get a decent discount) so we felt it paid for itself on that trip. So don't feel too guilty that it's unlikely we'll use it again much.

Wow! This is turning into a camera bag thread :-) Since this is apparently the case (no pun intended), I would suggest looking at the ThinkTank line of camera bags. They are intended for the serious amateur and professional and are high quality and good design.
Regards-Chuck

Here is link to their site:
www.thinktankphoto.com

Here's another line of camera bags and accessories, "Lightware".

http://www.lightwareinc.com

Cost-wise these are just as expensive as those from Think Tank.

Thank you Chris and safarichuck and others. As soon as I work out, I am going to see if I can find any local stores that have the mini trekker or the slingshot (I have a smaller version of that one) and hopefully buy or order one today. We leave in less than two weeks so time is short. And how much memory is needed? I have 16 GB, but I think Andy Biggs recommends 20-25 for shooting RAW.

Patty-

It all depends on a few things, as far as how much memory you need.

1) will you offload your images from the cards to a storage device like a laptop or personal storage device with a hard drive?

2) calculate how many images you will take per game drive, and then multiply times the average file size.

I usually shoot between 50 and 400 images per day if I have 2 game drives in the day. My average file size is 16mb from my 1DsMkII and 10mb from my 1DMkIII. I shoot about 75% of my images with the 1DsMkII. This gives you an idea of how many megabytes you might shoot. For somewhat serious photographers on a first-time safari, I would budget around 250 to 500 images per day.

I hope this helps!

Andy

On our most recent trip (Mongolia and China), we shot everything in RAW and used roughly 150GB of storage space -- we used two Hyperdrive portable hard drives for storage. (www.hyperdrive.com)

On our most recent Africa trip (Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda), we shot 60GB of pictures, but most were shot in JPEG, not RAW. If we had shot that trip in RAW, we would have used about 110GB of storage space.

More conservatively, and based on what I have seen others shoot on a safari, I would figure 30-50GB (which would be 3000-5000 RAW exposures). You have to decide how trigger-happy you are with your camera and plan accordingly, but 16GB sounds like way too little to me. I often say this, and I will say it again, you can't take great pictures unless you take a lot of pictures.

Chris
www.pbase.com/cwillis

Patty-

After looking at your camera gear, I think the Lowepro Mini Trekker is your best bet. Almost all photographers I know seem to have one in their closet.

Lots of good advice on bags. Just two comments on other matters arising.

I wouldn't recommend using canned air for sensor cleaning. If you're not careful the propellant can cause damage.

16GB of memory, when shooting RAW, wouldn't be enough for me. I came back from a week in Kenya and one day in Rwanda with around 25GB of shots. You may want to check out Photo Storage Devices.

Again, mucho thanks Andy, Chris, and fbirder! Guess I will buy some more memory cards and get that mini trekker. Your advice raises my confidence level immensely. I do have the Epson P2000, but I don't like to erase my best photos from the card. I will use the P2000 though.