Since I often get asked what equipment I currently use and carry with me,
here goes...
LowePro Nature Trekker AW II camera backpack loaded with:
Canon EOS-20D IR -
converted to pure infrared capture
Canon EOS-30D Digital SLR
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
Zoom
Canon EF 35mm f/2.0
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Canon
EF 70-200mm f/4L Zoom
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L Telephoto
Canon 1.4x II Teleconverter
Canon 12mm Extension Tube
Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX Fisheye (not always with me)
Canon Speedlite 430EX Flash
Several extra Canon BP-511A batteries
Canon TC-80N3 Timer
Remote Cord
Canon Angle Finder C
2x
Lexar 1Gb 133x CF Cards
3x Lexar 1Gb 80x CF
Cards
2x Lexar 512Mb 80x CF Cards
4x Lexar 256Mb 40x
CF Cards
77mm Circular-Polarizer with stepping ring
77mm Neutral-Density filter with stepping ring
58mm Circu lar-Polarizer for Pro1
and numerous additional accessories (tripod plates mounted on all
bodies and tele-lenses, lens cleaning cloth, laser pointer
for
night
focusing,
tripod
plate
adapter
etc.)
The camera bag weighs in at around 12 kg (or 26 lbs). On top of that, I hand
carry my custom Slik Pro700 tripod which weighs around
3.5
kg (or
almost 8 lbs) and often times also a pair of Canon IS binoculars. When
I'm hiking any kind of distance, I also carry 1-3 litres of water (another
1-3 kg,
of
course),
a GPS,
compass,
snacks,
jacket, etc.
I have taken this amount of gear (more when I was still shooting with film!) on fairly long 16 km (or 10 mile) hikes in Canyonlands and Bryce Canyon during hot summer days. It is not easy, but I cannot bear leaving any critical piece of gear behind! Obviously, I don't do any overnight hikes with all that gear - just day hikes. If I were doing an overnighter with a tent etc., the Pro1 would do quite nicely on its own - the Canon digital SLR system would have to stay behind!
The reason I now lug all this gear everywhere I go, is that many years ago, I had hiked all the way to the top of the tallest sand dune at the Kelso Dunes in the Mojave desert. It was close to sunset when I got to the top and I had decided not to take any camera gear, since it was tough walking in the dry sand and took a fair bit of effort to reach the top. Well... wouldn't you know it - I witnessed the most spectacular sunset of my life... in my recollection still unequaled to this day!
As a backup camera, I also travel with a Canon PowerShot Pro1 digital point&shoot.
Since I have used it extensively, I know that the PowerShot Pro1 is capable of some excellent results, thus I have it available as a backup in case my digital SLR's were to malfunction during a photography trip. It is also useful in situations where I might not want to take a bulky SLR system. As an example, on my trip to Oregon in June of 2004, I took some photos inside a lighthouse. With all the people crowding around, waiting for the tour, it would have been awkward if not impossible to get the photos I did in the brief time I had - I just walked in with the Pro1 around my neck and knew that its 28-200mm zoom would cover basically anything I might want to photograph.
Mike Mander, October 2006
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