What do you take on the Trail?

edcooper

Hi

I'm currently looking at ways of improving Trail Packs, and ways to get more people taking cameras out on the trail with them!

If anyone has got a spare minute to fill out a quick 3 question survey that would be a great help:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HMNCYGR

Also if anyone has got any problems with current trail packs available at the minute, I'd be really keen to hear about it!

Thanks for any help

Ed

buddy_club

Done

cooldad

I don't own an SLR.

buddy_club

Me neither but i talked about not taking my digital.

Briggo

cooldad wrote:

I don't own an SLR.

You must live on James Turner street.

arran77

Briggo wrote:

cooldad wrote:

I don't own an SLR.

You must live on James Turner street.

No, if he lived there he'd have a nicked one

edcooper

Thanks for the responses so far!

Ed

miceden

Done... but curious to know why you are trying to motivate people to take camera's out with them, specifically comparatively bulky SLR's?

I know they (SLR's) are getting smaller but its a rather large, not to mention fragile and expensive, bit of kit to lug around on trails.

bigmitch41

Done..

Briggo

miceden wrote:

Done... but curious to know why you are trying to motivate people to take camera's out with them, specifically comparatively bulky SLR's?

I know they (SLR's) are getting smaller but its a rather large, not to mention fragile and expensive, bit of kit to lug around on trails.

Which was my exact comment in the survey.

He's probably from James Turner street too...

edcooper

Done... but curious to know why you are trying to motivate people to take camera's out with them, specifically comparatively bulky SLR's?

I know they (SLR's) are getting smaller but its a rather large, not to mention fragile and expensive, bit of kit to lug around on trails.

In a nut shell, I personally would like to be able to take my SLR out on the trails and not have to worry about coming off and damaging/breaking it. (Already done this!)

Some of my riding mates are also keen photographers and haven't found a risk free solution, so at the moment I'm just trying to get a better view of peoples opinions outside my little bubble of friends.

Thanks again for the responses, massive help

Ed

Kowalski675

cooldad wrote:

I don't own an SLR.

I do, but I've never taken it out on my MTB - too big, too heavy and too expensive to risk destroying the first time I fall off (especially with £550 of 18-200VR on it). For static shots a cheap compact does a decent enough job for trailside pics:



Or even a 6 year old Nokia:



I completed your survey though.

Cookeh

Hahah! I only just looked at the name of the poster - filled this in for you twice now Ed, once when you posted it in Trent MTB and once again now... Thought it looked familiar!

Festerfeet

Done but.....
As has been said before, taking an SLR and lens(es) out on a day on the trail just seems too bulky, too heavy and too risky. If I really wanted to take something other than a phone camera I would take a compact.

The Rookie

I own an SLR, I would carry it on a trail, but the 35mm canisters are a pain.......

Most camera phones are just fine for a side of trail shot (as long as you can stand the right distance away), I use a decent digital compact for action shots.

Kowalski675

The Rookie wrote:

I use a decent digital compact for action shots.

Good luck with that...

johnmcl7

Although I'm fairly keen on photography I have never taken my DSLR out when cycling, with mountain biking I'd be concerned about potential damage to the camera on an off (Nikon FF setup so not cheap to replace) and the equipment is quite bulky. Plus when group riding it's not really appropriate to stop regularly and take pictures, I usually have a Sony RX100 with me as it's small enough to fit in a pocket and the quality is good for the size or occasionally an NEX based body but don't take many shots.

Instead I'm finding having an action cam mounted is more convenient as it can just record constantly, the quality isn't as good but then it's a lot better than nothing as it can be captured without interfering with the ride (unless your left shifter cable snags on the camera mount...oops)

John

Lewis A

Kowalski675 wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

I use a decent digital compact for action shots.

Good luck with that...

This was taken with a compact, not to bad considering, it's been compressed by imgur.

batmo

If I take a camera it's a small compact one in a well padded case.

The only thing I miss about not having the SLR is my 10-20mm wide angle lens which is great for landscapes.

Kowalski675

Lewis A wrote:

Kowalski675 wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

I use a decent digital compact for action shots.

Good luck with that...

This was taken with a compact, not to bad considering, it's been compressed by imgur.

Hardly an action shot though is it (and there's zero impression of movement in the image)? Compacts are brilliant for what they're designed for (snapshots), but they're no good for action shots - even the best ones just have way too much shutter lag (even if you spend enough to get one with shutter priority mode). For action photography you need a mechanical shutter. In that pic you've posted for example, with a mechanical shutter you could've timed the shot so that the rider wasn't hidden behind that plant - for me that one would've got the delete button straight away. Then you've got all the other advantages a DSLR brings - far superior image quality (ignore megapixel counts - they're marketing bulls**t, it's sensor size that counts) and far more control of shutter, aperture, depth of field, exposure etc. Having said that, the best camera is the one you have with you - taking a compact's better than not taking anything.

Lewis A

I did just write a lengthy reply, but it didn't post, and I can't be bothered again.

Kowalski675

Lewis A wrote:

I did just write a lengthy reply, but it didn't post, and I can't be bothered again.

I hate it when that happens.

Angus Young

Apart from the damage you'd do to the camera, imagine the damage you'd do to yourself if you landed hard on your big rock of a DSLR...

Kowalski675

Angus Young wrote:

Apart from the damage you'd do to the camera, imagine the damage you'd do to yourself if you landed hard on your big rock of a DSLR...

Yup, another reason for not taking it (as I've already said, I wouldn't take mine out riding).

The Rookie

Kowalski675 wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

I use a decent digital compact for action shots.

Good luck with that...

Far from ideal I know, but it's not like I'm aiming to publish them or anything, so it's fine. As it happens my Samsung is useless but the wifes Kodak with a useable sports mode settings takes much better photos of action type stuff, though nothing like my old SLR.

bigmitch41

Camelbak
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Co2 pump + spare Co2 bottle
Repair chain link
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CitizenLee

I plan to take my DSLR with me biking once the weather improves. It occasionally comes snowboarding with me and I've never broke it or myself. It's covered by my home insurance when outwith the house anyway, so no use letting it sit collecting dust. It's a tool designed to be used. As for injuring myself... well if I worried about that I'd never get on a bike or snowboard in the first place! There's something to be said for padded camera bags

I'm more a landscape / city scape shooter, but do plan to get more into action shots. I do dabble in BMX/skate stuff though, which you can see on my Flickr (link in sig).

Let's see some of your mountain biking action shots then Kowala Ski.... and NO MOTOR BIKE SHOTS.

Kowalski675

CitizenLee wrote:

Let's see some of your mountain biking action shots then Kowala Ski.... .

Er, are you not paying attention - I said I haven't taken my SLR out riding, and have no plans to, for the previously stated reasons...

CitizenLee wrote:

and NO MOTOR BIKE SHOTS

P.S. "Motorbike" is one word, not two... :roll:

CitizenLee

Some great shots there mate, I'll let you off. You've got the knack of the moving pan. Any mtb shots?

I'm hoping to go out for a night biking shoot with my mate once the weather improves. Won't be much fun dragging all my lighting kit and tripod into the forest but the end results should be worth it!

Kowalski675

CitizenLee wrote:

Some great shots there mate, I'll let you off. You've got the knack of the moving pan. Any mtb shots?

I'm hoping to go out for a night biking shoot with my mate once the weather improves. Won't be much fun dragging all my lighting kit and tripod into the forest but the end results should be worth it!

Thanks. The classic car racing was my first attempt at panning, it was rather more difficult at BSB at the same venue. I'm strictly a cack-handed amateur - technically poor, but with a decent eye for composition. I dabbled a bit for a while (strictly a beginner), but haven't picked up my Nikon for a long time now. Most of what I used to do was landscape stuff, the motorsports shots were my first forays into action pics. I've not done anything MTB based, but would like to give it a go. One thing I'd really like to do is get some studio lighting tuition, I'd like to get my StripleR into an infinity cove. My tripod's a ballache to carry around too, it's no lightweight, at about 6kg (Manfrotto 055) - the strap really digs into your shoulder on a long walk.

This is more typical of the (strictly amateur) pics I used to do:



There's a few more in that Photobucket folder if you want to have a browse (mostly low res compressed files) - I used to have a little website (and sold a few prints), but let the subscription lapse.

Soggz

Jam sandwhich,water,bag of weed.