I, too, learned years ago to have a black cloth in my camera bag for shading glass at zoo exhibits.
I have gone through several photo backpacks over the years, but my latest is the best made by far - Kata HB-205. Kata is headquartered in Israel and makes camera bags and body armour, which is why their bags are so sturdy. Black on the outside, but their bags are yellow on the inside to make it easier to see black cameras, lenses, accessories. How come no one else thought of this?
I used to carry color correction filters for reptile houses when I shot film, but those have all been given away now and the only filter I use is a polarizer. Handy for eliminating reflections on glass (when you can't get close enough to use the black cloth).
Of course a lens cleaning cloth is a necessity. The Spudz Cloth mentioned above is great because it is sewn into a pouch with a small clip, so you just attach it to your camera strap or camera bag zipper.
Also a small LED flashlight, which you Brits call a torch. (This is a hilarious phrase to us Americans, because a torch to us is a large club with fire, like what the villagers would carry in Frankenstein).
Also a cable release for slow exposures with tripod. Yes, I do use a tripod most of the time (recently bought a carbon fiber model, which may be the best purchase of my life). However, with the high ISO capabilities of new digital cameras, I must confess a tripod is not as critical as it was when I shot 100 slide film (which I still do occasionally). When I did a quick weekend trip to Dallas recently, I flew with carryon only so I had to leave the tripod at home and it was fine.
Sometimes take a flash and sometimes not. When I do, I have a small fitted plastic diffuser that goes on it. However, it is not as effective as I had hoped and I may have to look for a different type. Slightly off topic, but has the other Canon 5D mkII user on this thread noticed that the camera tends to overexpose with flash?
I have gone through several photo backpacks over the years, but my latest is the best made by far - Kata HB-205. Kata is headquartered in Israel and makes camera bags and body armour, which is why their bags are so sturdy. Black on the outside, but their bags are yellow on the inside to make it easier to see black cameras, lenses, accessories. How come no one else thought of this?
I used to carry color correction filters for reptile houses when I shot film, but those have all been given away now and the only filter I use is a polarizer. Handy for eliminating reflections on glass (when you can't get close enough to use the black cloth).
Of course a lens cleaning cloth is a necessity. The Spudz Cloth mentioned above is great because it is sewn into a pouch with a small clip, so you just attach it to your camera strap or camera bag zipper.
Also a small LED flashlight, which you Brits call a torch. (This is a hilarious phrase to us Americans, because a torch to us is a large club with fire, like what the villagers would carry in Frankenstein).
Also a cable release for slow exposures with tripod. Yes, I do use a tripod most of the time (recently bought a carbon fiber model, which may be the best purchase of my life). However, with the high ISO capabilities of new digital cameras, I must confess a tripod is not as critical as it was when I shot 100 slide film (which I still do occasionally). When I did a quick weekend trip to Dallas recently, I flew with carryon only so I had to leave the tripod at home and it was fine.
Sometimes take a flash and sometimes not. When I do, I have a small fitted plastic diffuser that goes on it. However, it is not as effective as I had hoped and I may have to look for a different type. Slightly off topic, but has the other Canon 5D mkII user on this thread noticed that the camera tends to overexpose with flash?
work for NHS necessaties for day out lol
) and imo the best zoo lens - the canon 100-400.
