Shoulder Harness/Belt sytem: help!

[Walter_Kimmel]

I've looked at the Lowepro Shoulder Harness and Deluxe Belt combo, and I'd like to set them up to carry the following:

16-35 f/2.8 with hood reversed;
28-135 with hood reversed;
100-400 with hood reversed.
15mm fisheye.
Teleconverter.

I do a lot of lens changing, and usually carry 3-4 lenses and some assorted equipment in a shoulder bag, but by the end of a day I'm wiped out. I'm hoping that the belt system would help distribute the weight better.

Does anybody have any experience walking/stooping/sitting with a shoulder harness/belt system with lenses of this size hanging from them?

[DonLashier]

Hi Walter,

I carry a similar complement and the Lowepro Offtrail 2 works for me, although at times it's a bit cramped. The belt (shifting weight to the hips) helps immensely. The Offtrail is basically a toploader with two extra lens compartments.

I carry:
- Canon 1D with 28-70 attached with hood in normal (not reversed) position.
- 17-35 in one pocket
- 70-200 in other pocket
- 300 f4 in Canon soft case clipped to the D-ring
- spare battery in top compartment

I hate reversing lens hoods so I normally leave them all attached in normal position. This means that I can't zip closed the two lens pockets but also makes for very quick lens switching. Fortunately the 300 has a built-in collapsible hood. Also there's no room for my TC so I normally leave it attached to one of the teles, switching as necessary. When shooting and the camera is hanging from my neck, I use the center top-loader compartment as a temporary repository for a lens, TC, lens caps, or whatever. It's all a bit tight but I'm very happy with the solution and it's much less tiring than my previous more conventional "gadget bag". Also the whole affair is easy to get on/off when getting into the car etc.

Another thing I like about a toploader is that I can change CF, review menus and shots etc. while the camera is in the bag as the back of the camera is exposed.

- DL

[Matthew_Kartch]

Have you considered the Think Tank Photo modular system?

[Kraz]

I have a Lowepro system consisting of a toploader to take my longest lens body combination with a small case on each side in the slip lock loops. This is on my chest harness. I then have a waist belt with one case on each side. One waist side case is a "4" for my 70-200 but a 5s (similar sizes) will hold a 100-400. Two of the side cases are 1W's. They will hold my 24-70 and 10-22 with hoods but the hood on the 10-22 (same as hood for 16-35) is a snug fit. I don't even notice the waist belt with lenses but the chest harness is a bit awkward. I have 1 empty lens case to drop the lens in that is coming off the body and overall changes are easy. Stooping and bending are OK and sitting with 1 case on each side of the waist belt is great... as long as the chair doesn't have arms...Good luck

[DonLashier]

> Have you considered the Think Tank Photo modular system?

edit: take the comment below back, they do offer a harness option to the speed belt, I just hadn't dug deep enough into their site.

It appears to have no shoulder strap and I would be wary of this. Not only does a shoulder strap provide an additional level of security and make it easier to put the bag on and off, but it distributes the weight between your shoulder and waist and you can adjust the ratio of distribution by adjusting the shoulder strap. Also in tight quarters (eg crowds) or sitting down (or squatting) I sometimes unclip the belt and just use the shoulder strap as it allows you to easily swing the bag to frontside (or back).

Whatever bag you pick I would highly recommend trucking your gear to a photo store where you can actually try out the bag. Living in the boonies (relatively) I was not able to do this and ordered the offtrail based on feedback from others - fortunately it worked out well.

I also noticed that Lowepro now has an "Off Road" bag that provides additional lens storage in the main compartment while still being a toploader. The problem for me would be that it's not deep enough to hold my body/lens without reversing the hood.

- DL

[Walter_Kimmel]

[ QUOTE ]
Whatever bag you pick I would highly recommend trucking your gear to a photo store where you can actually try out the bag. Living in the boonies (relatively) I was not able to do this and ordered the offtrail based on feedback from others - fortunately it worked out well.

[/ QUOTE ]

I thank everybody for the input. I do have 2 adequate bags: the Lowe Stealth Reporter 650, which holds more than you would every want to carry, and the Bob Krist bag sold through LL Bean. Both are high, relatively flat bags that I have been using successfully for several years.

What I am thinking of now would basically dispence with large bags and just hang lens cases from the shoulder harness and belt. Hopefully, the large bag(s) would be used to hold all the gear until I get where I am going, and then remain in the car trunk after I load up the harness and belt. I'm going to check out the Think Tank website, though.

[Matthew_Kartch]

Reed Hoffmann (Blue Pixel) tried the harness with the Think Tank original "Speed Belt", but found the belt alone did the job. If you really plan to use the harness most of the time, I like the attachment points on the TTP "Steroid" Speed Belt.
I have their "Lens Changer 80", which holds my 70-200 with hood forward and a 2x TC in place. Mounted on a D200, just tighten the bungee cordlock, and it's a holster.

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