How best to carry camera gear in London?
 

I am going in circles trying to figure out how to carry my camera gear in London in late May for a week. I will be carrying one DSLR body, and probably three lenses and a teleconverter (I'm trying to narrow that down to 2 lenses). I expect to be walking a lot and using the Tube most of the time for transportation.

One option is to take my shoulder/belt camera bag, along with a small backpack for necessities. This would give me easy access to my gear, but it would also be obvious that I'm carrying a camera.

My other idea is to take a toploading bag for the camera and a few lens pouches and put them in a bigger backpack, and just pull out the toploader when I want to shoot. This would make it more awkward to change lenses, but I would be able to conceal the camera stuff more easily, and the backpack would be comfortable to carry.

So, what do you serious photographers do? Every five minutes I change my mind on this issue. Any input would be very much appreciated!

In my 20+ trips to London in the past dozen years, I have never felt the need to hide the fact that I carry a camera and some lenses. They are in my back pack (rucksack) when I am not in a picture taking mode and the camera is around my neck and an extra lens is in a pocket when I am.

Definitely your shoulder/belt camera bag with a small back-pack with necessities. Don't fret too much about being obvious with a camera......NO-ONE could careless quite frankly.
I find London one of the safest cities to visit.

"it would also be obvious that I'm carrying a camera"

You, a couple of million other tourists, every local child with a picture phone (about 99.999% of all British under 18 year olds) and every one of the 2 gazillion London-based paparazzi who can't get out of bed in the morning without carrying ten grand's worth (in real money, not hourly devaluing dollars) of kit.

So you don't want to blend in. Understood: we're famous for tolerating eccentrics. But whereas, say, a Monty Python-style Silly Walk has a certain logic, wanting to be thought of as a man without a camera seems dotty even by our standards.

For the slower among us, would you mind explaining your thinking?

I'd assume that sunny is afraid that he/she would be mugged and the camera stolen. cameras do not have a great resale value- thieves want your money, phones and jewels.

Carry your gear in whatever is the most comfortable bag. I see people walking around London all the time with cameras around their necks or in their hands. Worry more about your wallet!!

Thanks very much for all the replies! I guess I will take my usual camera bag. Now I just have to decide which backpack to bring!

Flanneruk, I am now going to be tempted to try a Silly Walk when I get there...

Hi,

I use a long, narrow bag with a long strap in a durable fabric. I tuck my wallet and my camera stuff into the bag, put it over my head and the strap goes diagonally across my chest. The bag is big enough to put my rain jacket into it if I need to lose some layers of clothes. My bag has a few side zipper pockets. I bought it at a travel gear/luggage store and have used it all over the world with good success. I particularly like being able to carry the basics, but not be weighed down by too many cumbersome bags.

Best Regards,
Julia