What’s in Chuq’s Camera Bag (2022 Sony Edition)
So, in June 2022 I wrote up what I carry in my bag, which at that time was based around the Fujifilm S-X10 bodies. And the in July, I pulled the trigger and bought a Sony A7IV, which I love, planning to migrate to the Sony platform over time. And here we are in August, and I’ve retired all my Fuji gear and am now 100% Sony full framed based.
So here I am, writing up a new version of my camera bag article, since (literally) everything changed.
But first: Sony vs Fuji
First, a few thoughts on Fuji gear, which I have used exclusively for about 8 years, and my Sony gear, which I’ve had for a few weeks.
In general, the Sony setup, being full-framed vs an APS-C sensor, is bigger, heavier and more expensive. I spent over an hour trying to pack my Sony setup into my favorite Tenba 20L bag, and it simply wouldn’t fit, even though I’m only carrying one body, not two. That means my also-favorite-but-bigger Shimoda 40L bag is now my default bag. I don’t love hauling more gear around, but I do like the results.
I think both platforms can more or less do what you want and give you very successful images. I think the Fuji sensor is doing some interesting processing that reduces both crushed blacks and blown highlights, and I’m having to get used to not having that on the Sony. I think Fuji’s foliage and greens are incredible, but so far, I’m preferring how Sony renders skies and blues. These are all minor differences overall.
If you (like me) shoot a lot with longer telephotos, then there are some interesting compromises to think through: Fuji is cheaper, smaller and lighter. The APS-C crop factor gives you more effective reach for less money and weight. But — a big but — if you need top-performing autofocus at telephoto lengths with good subject tracking in action circumstances, then Sony is the winner, and the ability to crop on the larger 33megapixel sensor compensates for some of the loss of APS-C sensor crop. And yes, autofocus performance was the primary reason I switched, and I’ve been very happy with the results so far.
The cost differences are not trivial: I could almost buy 2 Fuji X-S10 bodies for the cost of my Sony A7IV. It wasn’t an easy choice to commit to spending to upgrade and switch camera platforms; I spent six months pondering the switch. And then, of course, it was, I did, and I’m glad I made the choice. The autofocus improvements make a huge difference in my success rate with flying birds, and that matters to me.
Enough so that I decided to finish the migration quickly and filled out my wide angle lens family, and all my Fuji gear has either gone on to new owners (we upgraded Laurie’s bag with a couple of lenses and replaced her aging X-e1 with an S-10) or is going off to KEH to help pay for some of the switch.
So, what does my camera setup look like today? Let’s take a look.
My Run and Gun Bird Rig
This is the setup I use when I’m going light and specifically planning to photograph birds.
This setup uses the Sony A7IV Body, the Sony 1.4x Teleconverter, and the Sony 100-400 Telephoto Zoom Lens. I’ve wrapped the camera with the SmallRig cage and attached a monitor mount and side handle scavanged from my X-S10 setup. Normally I will set up a camera with an L-bracket, but the cage works better with the hybrid video setup. I might ultimately get both and swap between them but for now I’m seeing how this works out in practice. The cage adds some weight, but the handle helps image stability when handholding. My normal camera strap is a BlackRapid sling, whihc I attach to either the camera body or the tripod mount of the camera via an Arca-swiss compatible clamp and mount (needed on the lens connection only). That makes for a solid connection that I can quickly remove so I don’t have the strap dangling when I’m mounted on a tripod.
When I go out birding, I’ll typically leave my bag at home, and just go out with this and a spare battery and memory card (just in case).
If I want to carry it protected in a bag, or carry a second lens with me, I’ll use my Tom Bihn Makers bag, which has an added piece of 1/2” foam on the bottom for some padding. For my wide angle lenses, I’ll wrap them in this Domke wrap.
In general, though, I’m trying to travel light and not carry more than needed.
Now, for the not so simple…
My Hybrid Video and Landscape Photography Rig
These days, when I’m doing photography using my wide angle lenses, or when I’m going out and planning to capture video as well as stills, this is the setup I use.
This is the same body and cage from above, but I’ve replaced the lens with the Sony 28-70 kit lens (which came with my camera), and added in a Movo shotgun microphone and an Andycine 4K monitor. I can use this with any of my lenses, including the 100-400, although to be honest, that big setup requires a tripod or monopod support, handholding doing video is problematic. The microphone lets me capture audio while taking video, and the monitor is super-bright (2200 nits) so it’s usable outside in the sunlight without needing prayer and shields. I can actually use it in most conditions, where I found some other models I tried simply useless in normal conditions for me.
I normally use this with a IFOOTAGE 71" Carbon Fiber Camera Monopod, which I learned about from Jordan Drake on DP Review TV and which I great for this kind of mostly-mobile hybrid photography work. I’ve added a Neewer video head to it, and adapted that to attach to Arca Swiss quick connects The iFootage has a small tripod foot you can extend, giving it enough stability to let go once in a while, but not enough that I’d ever walk away from it if it was free standing; instead I find places to lean it on.
My standard bag these days is the Shimoda 40 liter bag.
here’s how it looks when I open it up (not shown are the microphone and camera sling, which lay in on top of this):
If I take everything out, here’s what is in there:
I am carrying:
Sony A7 IV Body, in a SmallRig cage
Sony 100-400 zoom telephoto
Sony 28-70 zoom
1.4X teleconverter
A set of Movo extension tubes (10mm, 16mm, 21mm)
The Andycine monitor
BlackRapid camera sling strap
Movo Shotgun Microphone
A filter case
My filter case carries:
a Circular Polarizer
3 and 6 stop ND filters
Step down rings to allow one size filter to fit all my lenses.
The good news on the switch was my big lens was 77mm, so my existing filters worked on it, and all I needed to do was but new step-up rings for the wide angle lenses.
I’m not mentioning brands because this is some gear I’m considering upgrading. These work fine, but there have been some nice innovations (such as magnetic attachment) that might improve the workflow.
That’s it for the main area of the bag. The Shimodo has both an upper storage area and a front storage area that can hold a fair bit of gear, and I’m using the top area to hold batteries, memory cards and things I need quickly, and the front has things I need less frequently.
The Accessory Kits
The front compartment holds three kits I use occasionally. The first is a “things I find come in handy” kit, which includes:
some rope
small spools of gaffer tape
screwdriver and hex wrench for quick repairs
a sharp knife
a multi-tool
With this, I can usually convince a piece of gear that’s decided to come apart to go back together again.
My second accessory kit are my remotes, both wired. I typically carry both a “shutter only” remote and a more complex intervalometer style remote, both wired. Neither of these have I really tested yet, so I’m not recommending them formally until I do, but I’ve used JJC releases with other cameras and for an intervalometer, they are fairly straightforward to use (unlike some other brands).
The third accessory bag I carry has safety supplies:
A face mask (thank you, Covid)
Hand warmers, which, if you haven’t used these HotHhnds things, can make early morning photo shoots a lot less painful.
Sanitary wipes
in the first aid kit, there are:
a compass
an emergency whistle,
splinter removers
tweezers
safety pins
Q-tips
bandages
safety blanket
The idea here is to have what I need when I’m away from the car to allow me to get back to it, and/or deal with the trivially small ouches that happen without having to return to use the first aid kit my car has.
The Top Area
The top area of the bag holds things I want quick and easy access to. That includes:
A battery powered headlamp on a strap
spare batteries for gear I’m carrying (and the flashlight)
Business cards
lens cleaning cloths
hand-wipes
an air blower and a lens cleaning pen
I’ll sometimes add in a snack or two, but I’m rarely far enough away from the car these days to make that really necessary.
Other Gear
Other gear that supports my ability to take pictures:
Battery chargers:
on my desk I keep this Watson dual charger. I’ve used them for years with my cameras and love them. I also have one for the NP style batteries that the Andycine monitor needs.
In my support bag I take on trips I keep an inexpensive USB powered charger for when I’m away from home
SD Cards: I have started updating my older cards and retiring them and moving to a faster form of SD card that’ll store images on the Sony with no or less buffering. My new standard cards are the SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO SDXC which write at up to 300mb/sec.
Final Notes
I hope this is useful to you. If you have questions, feel free to drop me a note and ask. Since I’m new to the Sony, some of this might change, and if so, I’ll update the page and note that. I think I’ve got a complete set of gear for the foreseeable future now (famous last words). I’m not convinced about the shutter releases yet, and I’m still pondering an upgrade to a newer filter set but unsure what that might be. The only other addition I might consider any time soon are even wider lenses, whether in the 10-20mm range or even down into the fisheye range to play with. I want to put some mileage into these lenses, especially the Tamron, to see if I have any real need for wider lenses before doing that, though.
And, of course, I am always keeping an eye out for an even better bag. The Shimoda 40l is really nice, but I think I could shift to a 30l sized bag and be happy. Unfortunately, the 20l is too small now. Before I consider that shift, I really want to spend some time with this setup and see how it works in the field…
