Backpack for 67II

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Hello,

I am finally making the leap from my 35mm LX to a 67II. Along with the 67II I will probably start out with one or maybe two lenses in the 45-200 range.

I'm wondering if anyone could suggest a decent backpack for a small 67 outfit. Please feel free to give suggestions, experiences, and websites of where to buy...

Any suggestions for a heavy duty tripod that will shrink down and fit in one of the gadget pockets would be greatly appreciated too... HA!

Thanks in advance! Randy

-- Randy Darst (rdarst@profiles.com), April 12, 2000

Answers

Randy - I purchased a Lowepro Classic backpack last year for all of my Pentax 67 gear. It holds nicely - 1 body, 45mm, 135mm, 200 mm, spotmeter, three large Singhray filters, Lee filter holder system (w/adpators for all three lenses), plenty of film, and a variety of miscellaneous gear. The pack has nice large exterior pockets with movable interior pockets and elastic straps to hold the gear down. I don't recall the price but I purchased it at B&H.

You will see a plethora of responses previously on issues related to tripod choices. I bit the (weight)bullet and bought a gitzo 320 and a new style large manfrotto ballhead. They do not fit neatly into the pack as they weigh probably 10 lbs combined. But I'm willing to pay that price for the steadiness. I just sling it over my shoulder and whistle, hoping that I fool my body into thinking I'm carrying that much weight for the fun of it. Good luck Don

There seem to be a

-- Don Boyd (dwodon@azstarnet.com), April 13, 2000.


In my field of use the really ideal backpack is the Lowepro Mini Trekker. It fits 2 P67 bodies with grips, up to 5 lenses, film, my Sekonic and that stuff you cannot do without (lens cloth, wire release, caps etc. etc.) It si PERFECT for a small P67 outfit. Search the threads and you will find many people agree on the issue. However, there's an universe of backpacks out there and maybe you will be more comfortable with tenba, Tamrac or something similar. But give the Mini Trekker a test in store (frustrate the seller by putting all your equipment in it :-)) and try wearing it. If it feels good, buy it.

-- Alex B. (samedobrefotke@hotmail.com), April 13, 2000.

Randy

I posted this question a few months ago and I got a lot of good responses. You may want to check out this thread for yourself. I settled on a Tenba and I actually went to B&H and test all of the packs mentioned plus others. Believe me when I say that the most important thing that you should consider is the suspension system (the shoulder straps and waist belt system). The P67 is heavy and it will feel even heavier in a pack with a lousy suspension system. You will see that most of the camera holding innards are the same from one pack to the next. Good luck.

-- Deron (dchang@choate.edu), April 14, 2000.


Thanks to all who answered my question! I went to a local vendor and tried some of your suggestions out, and I'll probably pick up the LowePro Mini Trekker. It should work quite well for my needs, and the price is right too!

Thanks again! Randy

-- Randy Darst (rdarst@profiles.com), April 18, 2000.


I hope that you have a short torso. The Mini trekker's suspension system is so short that the waist belt will not be able to support the weight of the gear (which it should) and all the weight will be transferred to your shoulders. Don't try to save money if it means that you will eventually be forced to spend the money on a new pack that works...

-- Deron (dchang@choate.edu), April 19, 2000.


Deron, Thanks for your concern... It does make sense to try these babies on with all, or most of the equipment on board. So, once I've taken delivery of the 67 equipment I will go down to the local camera shop (who has a wide selection of backpacks) and try out the Mini Trekker as well as some others. I will admit that a couple of the Tamracs waist belts hit me right under the ribcage... I think they were made in Munchkin Land!

Have a great one, Randy

-- Randy Darst (rdarst@profiles.com), April 19, 2000.


A heavy P67/P67II shooter, I graduated from Tamrac to Lowepro but finally settled with the Domke's Photo Backpack and am very glad with it. The advantages:

1. It is a "vertical" park so instead of trying to find a flat surface to lay a Tamrac/Lowepro down (or risk the lenses to slip out and fall), I hang my ~25lb bag on a screw driver that sits on a pair of through holes I drill on my center column, and access all my gears readily and safely out from the bag's unque and very well padded compartments behind the "cassette- doors". I know where a particular lens or filter is, so I only unzip that door and my other stuff are not exposed.

The way I hang my bag ON the center column is better than hanging on the hock below the column that Gitzo supplies, since the heavy bag leans on the column and is secured by two of the tripod legs so it does not swing back and forth. Also this allows my to hung the weight when my tripod is low since the Backpack is a tall bag and the hock is low especially with a long column. I do this with both my Gitzo 1448 with a G527/ G1527 column, and Bogen 3021, and I have no shutter vibration problems up to my 200mm, the longest I use - I exam my chromes with a 22x loupe. Do not attampt to drill such holes on a fiber column though! And buy the column seperately if possible so the alternation would not void the warranty of the tripod.

Notice that the bag does not have a handle on its top, and the one on the back is too weak. To hang I attach a heavy duty belt to the bag, using the rings available on the bag's sides.

2. The 67II and my F100 body sit tight inside the top compartment with their normal lens or zoom lens attached. This is very convenient. Then I can put 8 lenses to the two compartments below that are further devided to 6 padded chambers using the supplied pads - the lower compartment is deep and each chamber there hosts two short lenses, a 45mm and a 105mm, for example. Filters and holders goes to the bottom compartment. The whole set up is rock steady, and everything is secure and facing me behind the tripod.

3. The bag is very durable, has an excellent matel frame that adjusts to my body shape. The 25 pounds felt only 10 once on my back, well, maybe 15. Very good workmanship. A weather/dust cover as well.

-- Leping Zha (leping@tamri.com), April 21, 2000.


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