camera bag "essentials"

well im trying to figure out the essentials of what you should have in your camera bag.. and im looking to you guys for help..
so. as of now i have
obvious stuff (camera, lens, battery charger)

what about other stuff?. like ear syringe's (lens cleaners.. but cheaper )..
i plan on cruising out into the country where my grandmother lives and just look for great shots.. its beautiful out there. but im stuck on this.. and i couldnt find a thread with a camera "gearbag". so to speak..

thanks

logan

blower
extra memory cards
extra battery

thanks!! .. i need to purchase an extra battery. im just to lazy too auctually do it.

sun screen and insect repellent.

krb wrote in post #5841100
sun screen and insect repellent.

YES!!!!
Sunscreen and Insect Repellant are probarbly more important than other luxuries such as extra memory. After all, would you prefer more memory over cancer or bugs in your face all day sucking your blood?

I'd suggest an excess of memory but please don't get as much as me, I have too much. A portable HDD for backup, laptop is good, but not essential. I've found lately that I almost can't do without a good flash and AA batteries - I love the light they produce

Up to you but Sunscreen, Insect Repellant, Memory and batteries

My 2c

add microfiber cloth to that list. sunscreen/insect repellent... i have no room for that... haha.

It also depends on what you're targeting the bag for. I usually have do short trips, so 2 batteries is more than enough, no need for a charger.

It depends, of course, on where you go and how long you plan to be there.

If I'm at a motorsport event all day, I'll include a small pack of wipes to keep my hands free of grease/dirt/etc because the facilities are limited and the food comes out of burger vans. If you wear glasses, you might want to include one or two lens wipes. Your wallet, of course. Cleaning equipment is always useful, but becomes essential if you expect the environment to be dirty or dusty. I always carry a folded up rain cover in the bag and a lightweight rainproof jacket strapped to the side (I live in the U.K. after all....)

I also carry some Advil, and a few bucks, just in case.

thanks for the imput guys ! ..

i play paintball alot.. so im usually out at my home field snapping shots and ive found that if you take a sock and cut the tip of it of it will wrap perfectly around your camera so that dirt / paint/ grime wont get on it.. and you can still use it.

I always have my angle finder in my gadget bag.

hm. good idea.
what about a greycard or w/e?.. i havent even started messing with white balance.. im getting to where i have apreture/ iso/ f-stop learned pretty well.. and dof and all that.. but i tried to look into white balance and for some reason it confused the heck out of me.


edit : ima noob :] i just really got into photography about 4 months ago. but i only started shooting using m about a month and a half ago.

for my short normal days, there is always some configuring based on what it is....
but the things that never change for me are :
electrical or gaffers tape
20 or 30 in cash
advil
sharpie
extra paper to write on/use as gobo/etc
extra batteries (2 sets for flash if i'm planning on using flash, 1 extra for camera)
blower
lens pen
micro fiber cloth
flash gels
diffusers/grids/snoots​/etc
hyperfocal distance calculator
swiss army knife


grey cards are a great thing to have, i should really pick one up, but luckily there's a little trick on the d2x that lets me set custom white balances with a meter built into the camera just for wb so i have been neglecting to pick up a greycard as of yet...

that's all that i can think of off the top of my head....

One thing that I now keep in my camera bag is a small flashlight, especially if I am doing a lot of night shots. It can be a great help.

disposable lens cloths, microfiber cloth. memory cards, chargers, extra lens caps cameras, batteries, lenses, filters, lens hoods..

and on a more personal note. A 50 dollar bill tucked into the inside pocket, ibuprofen, albuterol, burts bees chapstick, cellphone, a pen and a little notebook (i've used it more times than I can count) wallet, compact a handful of bobby pins and a barette or two. and recently these icebreaker sour candies...

not in the bag but on my keychain I have a small 2 headed screwdriver (phillips & reg).