[brewmaster15]

Forgive me if this has been brought up before, but I am sure there are many here that Fall under the heading "pack" rats? I've acquired alot of camera gear over the years.... far more lens Than I need, far more useful stuff. Theres that ring flash,this lens and that lens, the macro lens, and that lens incase I need it for that. But what if I need that lens, better bring it along. Need to have a backup for my back up afterall. My wife laughs at me as I sit at the table with various bags of gear spread out..Hours pass as I try and figure out what to take and what to leave for another trip. Mind you having alot of gear doesn't mean its expensive gear, don't want to give that impressions.. Its literally a mixed bag.

Then theres the bags... I have come to believe that the worst thing I ever did was buy the largest back pack bag I could afford. Why? Because I feel the need to fill it... and I do. Its a great bag btw.. Tamarac expedition 8x. Not too hard on the back, good support. But its big. So big I find myself sub-consciously picking a trail based on the backpack. I do have a smaller Lowpro that its good, fits well, fits a body and a few lens.


I made some progress a few weeks ago...I decided to bring just m42 lens on that trip out.. It was kind of liberating. Made the decision as to what to bring easier.I had a good bit of fun that day as well playing with old lenses.

So I guess my purpose in this thread is to reach out to my fellow "pack"rats. How do you control the tendency to give in to the urge to pack the kitchen sink, when you really should only bring along a few utensils? Or do you just bring everything? I know the practical answer is to figure out what you will likely be photographing and work from there. I tend to photograph nature scenes so I do have a few basics I bring, but it tempting, real tempting to bring more .

CGA ...Camera Gear Anonymous anyone?

Al

[UncleVanya]

This recently happened to me. I exploded the number of good lenses I have and now I am a bit paralyzed trying to determine what to take at times. Most of the time it isn't an issue. But now... I'm lost if I have any confusion over the target shots I want to make. This may mean I need to thin the herd.

[SpecialK]

I have only recently gotten a medium-sized Ruggard Outrigger 65 to hold my Canon stuff. My "stuff" is complicated by having both cropped and full-frame bodies. I have the option of swapping bodies rather than lens, for a "different" focal length, particularly with the 17 TS, so I like to take both.

So this weekend I packed it all up for a car show. I shrewdly took a small bag to hold the 2 lenses I thought I'd use most (10-18 and 28) and have quick access to them.

I ended up using the borrowed 10-18 for about 400 shots, and have about 1-2 shots each with the other lenses....

[sergysergy]

Can I join the club? I always pretend to use 50 lenses and I end up taking pictures with 1 or 2.
Lately I am trying to get rid of a lot of stuff (some of it very nice) just because I do not use it.

[Just1MoreDave]

I'm like Vin Diesel in "xXx". Near the end of the movie he points to a pile of guns, missiles, grenades, etc. and says "I want all of that in here", pointing to a Pontiac GTO. Then later he has no idea what's in the car. Yesterday I brought 5 lenses to a brewery tour I've been on before, mostly using one. I don't mind bringing everything that fits or that I can carry, but when shooting, I tend to see shots that the mounted lens can take, not the shots possible with the lens in the bag. On a trail, I don't like to change lenses unless I'm stopping for another reason.

[Kerrowdown]

brought 5 lenses to a brewery tour I've been on before, mostly using one

It's the old Boy Scout motto applying here "Be Prepared".

[Odinz]

Over the years I have collected a lot of gear, and at one time I just kept buying bigger and bigger bags to carry it all in and I would take everything with me each time "just in case". Well those days are long gone, I would have to hire a moving company to lug all of my gear with me, so now I try to pack only what I think I'll need. Unfortunately it takes me longer to decide what photo equipment to take than it does to do all of the rest of the packing for any trip and in the end I'm lucky if I use half of it. (but it's there "just in case")

[UncleVanya]

LOL - here's a shot of just SOME of my lenses and bodies. I left out a DA 18-55, an F35-135, a DA 50-200, and my film bodies and film Nikon gear and lenses as well as my M42 bellows, extension rings and enlarging lenses.