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My gear’s too heavy: how can I spread the weight? part 2
‘The photo kit I have is heavy! It is too heavy to be supported around the neck!’
Wearing camera gear around your neck and over your shoulders for prolonged periods, may cause you aches and pains and eventually damage your neck and, or back…
For times when you need to carry camera equipment on your body a one good solution is to spread the weight across your body using a combination of belt and harness with pouches attached for your camera equipment.
For those of you who need a light weight solution with minimum bulk, the Think Tank Photo belt, harness and pouch system could be what you are looking for.
See: My gear’s too heavy: how can I spread the weight? part 1
Here I am on the Think Tank Photo stand at the PDN Photo Plus Show 2010, New York, USA helping a customer find the right carry solution for his gear:
You may also find that you hunch one of your shoulders to stop your camera slipping off…
…if you do, then you may find the Think Tank Photo Camera Support Straps™ and Camera Strap™ are the solutions for you (in addition to the belt, harness and pouch system):
- The Camera Support Straps™ come in pairs and clip onto the straps of the Pixel Racing Harness™ V2. The Camera Support Straps™ can also clip onto the straps of most backpacks in the Think Tank Photo range.
- The Pixel Racing Harness™ is then clipped onto one of the belts in the Think Tank Photo range: Skin belt™, Pro Speed Belt™ or Steroid Speed Belt™, and your choice of pouches can be added to the belt.
- The Camera Support Straps™ then clip onto the ‘O’ rings of the Camera Strap™, so you can hang your camera in front of you and adjust the height to suit. This way the weight of the gear is spread across the harness system rather than around your neck.
- When you add pouches to the belt, and lengthen the Camera Support Straps™ you can then rest the lens in one of the pouches, again helping to spread the weight more around the harness system and your torso, and prevent the camera swinging from side to side when you are trekking.
Below is a summary of the specific products mentioned and links to our Snapperstuff website for more product info:
T017 Pixel Racing Harness™ v2 – can attach to all version 2 belts in the TTP range
Skin Belts™ – webbing belt with no padding
Pro Speed Belts™ – lightly padded belt
Steroid Speed Belts™ – wide padded belt provides extra support
T255 & T256 Camera Strap™ – in black/blue or black/grey
T257 Camera Support Straps™ – (pair of) hang on harness & backpacks & attach Camera Straps to spread weight of camera
Look out for Part 3 coming soon with more suggestions to spread the weight of your gear…
by Helen Atkinson
My gear’s too heavy: how can I spread the weight? part 1
‘The photo kit I have is heavy! It is too heavy to be supported around the neck!’ (customer feedback 2010)
Wearing camera gear around your neck and over your shoulders for prolonged periods, may cause you aches and pains and eventually damage your neck and, or back…
For times when you need to carry camera equipment on your body a one good solution is to spread the weight across your body using a combination of belt and harness with pouches attached for your camera equipment.
For those of you who need a light weight solution with minimum bulk, the Think Tank Photo belt, harness and pouch system could be what you are looking for.
There are three options to choose from with the belt:
Thin Skin – webbing only, so very lightweight – great for hot countries, times when you need to travel light or carrying a few small pouches
Pro Speed Belt – lightly padded, for more support and comfort, and to carry an average amount of gear
Steroid Speed Belt - double rail, padded, extra wide for support and comfort and to help spread the weight of heavy gear, especially good for those with back problems
Two harness options:
Pixel Racing Harness v2 – Harness affixes to all three styles of Think Tank Photo belt & helps spread the weight of the gear across the torso, not just the waist or hips
Belly Dancer Harness – is a one size fits all belt and harness that clips at the back & helps spread the weight of the gear across the torso, not just the waist or hips
Lightly padded pouches for three typical zoom lenses:
Lens Changer 50 or Large Lens Drop In = Canon 16-35 f2.8 OR Nikon 14-24 f2.8 (in each case with lens hood in position)
Lens Changer 35 or Lens Changer 50 = Canon 24-70 f2.8 OR Nikon 24-70 f2.8 (in each case with lens hood in position)
Lens Changer 50 = Canon 24-70 f2.8 OR Nikon 24-70 f2.8 (with lens hood inverted)
Lens Changer 75 Pop Down = Canon 70-200 f2.8 OR Nikon 80-200 f2.8 (can fit lens with hood in position or inverted AND tripod collar in place)
Whip It Out = Canon 70-200 f2.8 (with lens hood in position BUT no tripod collar)
Lightning Fast = flash / strobe / speedlight or battery pack
Non padded pouches for your specific lenses:
Skin 50 = Canon 16-35 f2.8 OR Nikon 14-24 f2.8 (in each case with lens hood in position)
Skin 50 or Skin 75 pop down = Canon 24-70 f3.8 (latter pouch with lens hood in position)
Skin 75 pop down = Canon 70-200 f2.8 OR Nikon 80-200 f2.8 (can fit lens with hood in position or inverted AND tripod collar in place)
Skin Strobe = flash / strobe / speedlight or battery pack
Pouches for the camera bodies:
The Chimp Cage – for pro DSLR body
Skin Chimp – for pro DSLR body or holds a semi pro body with up to a 24-70 lens on it (also has pop down feature so can accommodate lens hood in position AND inverted)
All the Think Tank Photo pouches come with a fully seam sealed rain cover, for the times when it is bucketing down!
Look out for Part 2 next week for more techniques to spread the weight…
























