Backpacking with your camera

As you know I walk a lot with my camera whilst bushwalking with a pack on. I have been trying different ways to carry the camera. Various bags usually. When I was young I used the neck strap and made an elastic holder that held it close to my body so it didn’t bounce.

The problem with using the camera strap is that it really pulls on your neck. It is designed for your shoulder and not your neck by the way.

I tried the clip on systems which seem to work ok but are actually rather hard to get the camera back into and I don’t really like the camera on only one shoulder strap. I can’t stand it on the hip belt. Having the weight on both shoulder straps makes life so much ore comfortable.

In January as we walked across the bottom of Tasmania I was using the clip on system by Peak Designs and as I crawled under a log I knocked my camera and ripped the base of my camera off. I was using an Olympus EM5 mk iii at the time to save weight. It’s base plate is completely plastic. Ahhh… I was carrying some spare sail repair cloth so I was able to seal it up from sand and moisture and continue on. At least the camera kept working.

At the next stop I made a makeshift system with clip locks and some string. I took one from a bag and another from my repair kit. The system really suited me. I discovered that if I get the lengths just right I can photograph without taking the camera off. This lead to more photographs whilst walking. Way more photography. And more photography means better pictures in my opinion.

I have been thinking about this for a while and yesterday I used a chalk bag belt and some clips I bought and made a better version. It is an effort to put the camera on when you put your pack on. But I usually only do this about four times in a day so it really hasn’t been a problem.

I have put one on my photography pack to trial it. I tend not to take it off very much either. I think next is to make a shoulder strap too. It’s really handy to be able to have one to attach occasionally. Though I am not sure I can trust having a single failure point with that. We will see how it goes on the pack first.

Is probably way to specialised for production. Is actually incredibly simple. I might make a lighter weight one for longer hikes. But I have fallen in love with this OM Systems OM-1 so I doubt I will want to carry my other micro four thirds cameras again. The viewfinder is as good as my Panasonic S1r’s which is considered one of the best there is. Seriously it is hard to tell them apart. It was my biggest criticism of the Olympus cameras, that tiny pixelated viewfinder. Now we have one that is as good as the rest of the cameras out there on the market.

Well now it’s time to test it. I hope they open more of the Blue Mountains National Park so Cyan and I can explore it more. We head off tomorrow for a week together.

Photographs, strap design, and text copyright © Leonard Metcalf 2022