Big Bag, Little Bag, Which is Easier to Carry?
Retrospective 30 vs Mountainsmith
Mountain smith with Panasonic GM-5
Though I am looking for the "perfect" second bag to use for my camera gear when I just go out for a day of sightseeing (on a trip) or casual shooting, I do love that I'm pretty well set for anything with my tiny Panasonic GM-5 and three lenses in the small Mountainsmith bag. It's a no-brainier as to which is more pleasant to carry, the Mountainsmith or the Think Tank Retrospective 30! I take this little bag with me everywhere! I can also fit the cordless battery charger and two spare batteries as well as my 9mm, f/8 body cap lens in the Mountainsmith. However, it is important to note what I cannot fit in the bag too. That is, those things I like to have with me "just in case." Even with the Mountainsmith I always take my iPad Mini with me. I used to always carry a paperback book whenever I went out, but now the iPad is my book 'container.'
The Early Winters UltraPod
And, I can use it to retrieve captured images from the Panasonic GM-5 and share them. Aside from the iPad, though, there are several "just in case" things I like to have with me. One is one of my small tripods that I can attach to something to stand in as a 'normal' tripod. My old PedCo UltraPod tripod is great because it's small and pretty versatile, but my dSLR GorillaPod is useful as well. When using the small GM-5, my LolliPod tripod, which collapses to a length of only 12.6" (32 cm), is a nice, light choice.
GorillaPod and LolliPod
A real "just in case" addition is my Nissin i40 external flash. Though I can use it in the hot shoe of the camera, I prefer to use it off the camera so I either need have a set of radio triggers or the pop-on flash that comes with the GM-5. Since the Cactus V6 units I have are not terribly small, the pop-on flash is, in the interest of using a small second bag, the better choice.
image
Aside from camera gear accessories, there are a few other things I like to take with me on an outing. A water bottle is one. Another is my small, red Eagle Creek bag that contains band aids, extra SD cards, hearing aid batteries and accessories, etc. my Kindle is something I usually bring along, too. And, believe it or not, a pencil and small notebook. Recently, too, I've been packing my little Yi action camera in my second bag as well.
I often pull out my trusty Lowepro Streamline 250 for this duty, but recently, since I now like to also be prepared to record video, it can't accommodate everything. For those occasions I like to take my Rode VideoMicro mic and L-Bracket holder and I now pack in my new Saramonic wireless mic set as well. So, that is why I've ordered the Vanquest SKITCH-12 messenger bag to use as my everyday camera bag. It arrives next week so we will see if it fills the bill and is a bag small enough to use all the time yet big enough to carry my "just in case" items.
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