Holiday planning and a camera bag rant :)

Okay, so i am in a very bad situation at the moment, my problems are huge, and i require the help and wisdom of fellow POTN'ers! So, i have a two week trip coming up in january to Thailand, and at the moment i have ONLY 2 backbacks and 2 shoulder bags for camera equiptment, and i feel like i have to buy two more bags because none of the bags that i own seem to fit for this purpose! And the ridiculous part is that i am only going to carry 40D+17-55+10-20+70-300 (not even sure about the 10-20). So you would think that my current 4 bags would be enough -NOT.

SO here's the deal, i want to be able to travel lightly at the beach resort surroundings, do some island hopping - snorkeling, and also wonder around bangkok at some point. So my problem is that i need a flight camera backpack, that is waterproof, can also hold lots of other daily stuff, be lightweight and unnoticable when i am at the beach or bangkok city.

On a serious note though, i have been looking at getting the waterproof Lowepro rover as flight bag and island hopping bag, and maybe pack some small sling bag too for those daily walks around town. The Rover just seems like an overkill for walking on the beach - and just wanting protect your gear but i can't find anything better for the purpose to ensure that my gear gets back home in one piece.

How do you guys travel with camera gear in beach/city destinations? This is my first extensive trip as a DSLR shooter and i am just lost what will i actually end up needing.

So basically, what should i be buying here

A tall order, but here's how I do it. I use a ThinkTank Rotation 360 to carry all my gear on the plane. That's only three lenses and one body, a Speedlite, accessories and a tripod. I use it during the day as well, and pack what I need. This doesn't deal with water, but Lowepro makes a completely waterproof backpack.

I take the Lowepro Classified 140 to walk around at night with a 24-105 on the camera and a Speedlite only.

I don't know how waterproof you want the bag, as opposed to showerproof with a cover, but I find the Slingshot 200 AW to be quite serviceable for photography/travel/air​ports, so long as I can dump the rest of my stuff in the hold. See here for sample content....

https://photography-on-the.net …hp?p=4511118&po​stcount=23

tvphotog wrote in post #9151014
A tall order, but here's how I do it. I use a ThinkTank Rotation 360 to carry all my gear on the plane. That's only three lenses and one body, a Speedlite, accessories and a tripod. I use it during the day as well, and pack what I need. This doesn't deal with water, but Lowepro makes a completely waterproof backpack.

I take the Lowepro Classified 140 to walk around at night with a 24-105 on the camera and a Speedlite only.

Nice bags you got there! Never even seen that 360 before, some serious gear! The lowepro Rover dryzone would suit as a flight bag, and as a extreme beach backpack. It's just that the Dryzone bag is quite bulky, and very expensive too, and i am thinking do i really need to have full waterproofing at beach conditions.

Tall order indeed.

tdodd wrote in post #9151141
I don't know how waterproof you want the bag, as opposed to showerproof with a cover, but I find the Slingshot 200 AW to be quite serviceable for photography/travel/air​ports, so long as I can dump the rest of my stuff in the hold. See here for sample content....

https://photography-on-the.net …hp?p=4511118&po​stcount=23

I have owned the Slingshot 100, it was a bit small but other than that a fantastic slingbag, i have been looking at the 200 and kata 3n1-20. They both would be nice walk around bags, gotta love that easy access compared to traditional backpack. I thinking that the Slingshot 200 would be a little too small as a primary carry on bag on plane, and don't want to carry too bags around, and i am afraid that when island hopping at Thailand with longtail boats i am going to want something even more watertight, hence the Lowepro Rover Dryzone suggestion.

Maybe i will just ditch my 40D and settle to shoot with my D10 PS... Or not

tvphotog wrote in post #9151014
A tall order, but here's how I do it. I use a ThinkTank Rotation 360 to carry all my gear on the plane. That's only three lenses and one body, a Speedlite, accessories and a tripod. I use it during the day as well, and pack what I need. This doesn't deal with water, but Lowepro makes a completely waterproof backpack.

I take the Lowepro Classified 140 to walk around at night with a 24-105 on the camera and a Speedlite only.

That Classified 140 looks Very nice, might have to get that one as the "unnoticeable sleek city bag"

10-22 is a must for travel imo.

So you want:

40D + 10-22 + 17-55 + 70-300 + flash

Seems to me like the Rotation 360 would be the best bet if you like it. I personally don't think that a belt pack would be good on your waist because all the weight is tugging in one direction, but ymmv.

Even though your camera bag is waterproof, it wouldn't help if your camera + lens is out of the bag, so watch that.