proper way to place camera in bag?

[andrewvid]

hi everyone,

now this may seem like a silly question but im only a few months into this stuff,
is there a 'proper' way to store a camera with an attached lens in a camera bag?

i have been reading around and some people say they place it lens down or horizontally or lens up
in my case i place the camera lens up i.e. the camera body is on the bottom of the bag.

Does it really matter what position it is placed in?

(I have a Desley ODC 21)

any advice would be much appreciated

[rookie]

Not sure it really matters mine is facing down

[ricktas]

just chuck it in so that it is easiest to access. I like my gear so that I an open the bag and grab the camera, with lens on. quickly. For when those fleeting moments occur and you want to capture them. No use packing it so that you have to take out two lenses and a flash to get at the camera.

[macmich]

the only thing to watch for when your putting it in is that the screen is not rubbing to much on a surface that will scratch or damage it
cheers macca

[andrewvid]

thanks guys for the responses, i guess i will leave my camera as it is...easy to access

[Roosta]

Also if carrying it on longer trip and your physically carry it that is, make sure it's comfortable enough for a longer journey. I second what Rick and macmich have suggested. What ever suits your needs and space requirements the best. If you don't have a screen guard, you should get one, Belkin or the like sell all shapes and sizes or cut one to shape.

[Bennymiata]

There are som elenses that should NEVER be putin a bag withthe front of the lens pointing downwards, but this does not affect any Canon, Nikon, Sigma etc lenses, only some Hasselblad lenses as far as I know.

As Rick said, put it in a position where it is compfrtable and where you can gain quick acess to it.
I have my camera with my most used lens flat on the bottom of my bag, with the other lenses standing upright around the camera and this seems to work well for me.
I use a Lowpro Nova 200 as my main bag, and it is getting very full.

[Brian500au]

I use a one of many domke bags with have separate compartments for lens / body etc. As long as each lens / body is separated by a padded divider I just push my gear in any way it will fit. When I am on a shoot I am constantly pulling out my gear and when I finish I just push it all back in any way it will fit. When i am home I tend to repack - but it is all upside again the next time around.

[Ezookiel]

My bag solves the question for me - it has a hammock with a + shaped hole in the hammock to suspend the camera lens downwards in the middle of the bag (so impact from the sides and bottom can't so easily hit the camera itself), so I have mine lens down.
Maybe look up images of the camera bag you own on the net, and see if there are pictures of how others have stored theirs in the same bag.

[JM Tran]

I now place my camera in the centre of the camera bag with the handgrip/memory card door side facing up, so the prism is on the side. About a year ago a hotel staff in Melbourne dropped one of my camera bag onto the ground from some height and smashed the top LCD with a dented hotshoe - back then it was attached to the 70-200 and held in the classic position most people would keep it in. Now I get worried about damage from further drops so I place it in the middle - where any drop wont damage the prism or camera as much as being on top etc.

[reflect]

What ever way you pack it remember to zip it up before you fall over a slippery rock (thats actually a note to me, whoops). There are quite a few different designs of bags that carry your gear in different ways. On quick underground work I have a padded cooler bag that just fits my D700, a 24-70, speedlight and a muesli bar, it works a treat and was free.

[andrewvid]

Thanks guys for your thoughts and opinions, i do not necessarily need a screen protecter as with the camera i have (Nikon D5100) is able to have the screen rotated so that the screen is not visible.

[Ezookiel]

So is my Canon 60D able to rotate the screen away, and that's how I store it, but I also have a screen protector for while the camera is in use. I often have the screen facing out while in use so I can preview if a shot worked or not, and that's when it's sure to get scratched. I got a protector delivered to the door for a couple of dollars on ebay. For the price, which was under $5.00 with postage included from memory, it's hardly worth not having one. I also took a left over protector from a previous model of phone I used to have, and cut it to shape as a protector for the LCD screen. Not that I'm ever really likely to need one on there, it can't hurt.

[aussie girl]

Hi Andrew,
I have a Lowepro backpack camera bag to keep all my gear in, as little as I have
The bag has a zippered pouch at the top inside to store smaller items in and detachable velcroed partitions that can be put into different positions depending on what you want to store. I changed the partitions around to suit my camera. I usually put the camera in with the lens pointing down, but I also put the lens case onto the lens as well (see photos) I can fit both my lenses in each with their own protective case. but which ever lens is on the camera, obviously cannot be zipped up, so I just slip it over the top.
I also have a Manfrotto tripod that I have been able to put into my bag by removing the head stem out of the leg frame and putting it in top to tail. It means that I have to reassemble it if I want to use it, but I dont use it that often, so doesnt present a problem for me, at least I have it with me at all times should I decide to use it.
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The screen of the camera rests against the underside of the zippered pouch so this helps protect the screen as well. With the smaller lens at the bottom of the bag and the camera and larger lens put in above it fits in rather snuggly and gives very little room for movement. When I use the smaller lens, I leave the larger lens zipped up in its bag and put the camera with smaller lens attached, into the bag and slip the lens cover over it. Sorry the photos are not really clear
Hope this helps

[andrewvid]

thanks aussie girl, your information was useful and the pictures as well

thank you!

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day Andrew

At the risk of disturbing others above ...
I asked this Q years ago of my old Melbourne university professor ... his name was Professor Heap
His professional judgement was "just chuck the whole damn lot in a bloody big heap and you'll never find what you need, but always find what you don't want"

More seriously, storage will depend lots upon what sort of carrying / walking you'll be doing with the day-to-day kit you need
You never need 'all' your stuff ~ differing photo jobs bring out differing equipment needs, so to have a bag that's versatile enough to be a mix-n-match affair will probably suit most things

Insofar as my stuff, I try always to have the camera stored on its base, not the LCD screen, lenses stored vertically on their base caps

Hope this has been of some help ..
Regards, Phil

[Ezookiel]

Sorry. I should have mentioned the type of bag I have that has the hammock - http://www.caselogic.com/medium_slr_...ductid=1347180

Two lens pockets on the side hold the Speedlite and remote in one, and the roll of filters in the other.
The lens hood is facing up in the bottom of the bag so the lens is pointing down into it sort of.
The rear pocket has spare battery, spare batteries for the flash, lens caps, spare memory card, and computer cable.
The front pocket has a lens pen, and a microfibre cloth.
Pretty much a one simple bag for the average day trip if you're taking only the one lens. Maybe some modification to the arrangement if taking another lens. The bag was $99 at Myers. The base is waterproof as well.

[Papou]

About all i can add is that i am always on the lookout for silica gel satchel for my camera bag "just incase" maybe overkill as i have three bags and all seem quite dry and warmn comfy for the Camera..