Suggestions for protecting SLR on a canoe trip

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

06/06/2005 02:02:51 PM · #1

Hi all -

I am going with my son and our scout troop on a High Adventure trip to Boundary Waters on the Minnesota/Canada border. I, of course, am lugging all my lenses and Canon 10D along with me cuz I want to take pictures like these

I do not want my stuff to end up at the bottom of one of 10,000 lakes though. I have Sealline bags to protect things, but I was wondering if anyone had any other ideas. I might be borrowing something like this from a friend, but I don't know if it is that durable.

Any suggestions for ruggedized, waterproof camera bags?

Dave

GoldBerry

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

06/06/2005 02:04:21 PM · #2

Or you could try that new Glad Press-n-Seal wrap....it's like $5 for 20'.

;-)

Jason

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

06/06/2005 02:05:01 PM · #3

Pelican cases! Water tight hard cases and they float.

Beagleboy

Canon EOS-30D

Tokina AF 12-24mm f/4.0 AT-X Pro DX

06/06/2005 02:09:15 PM · #4

Originally posted by Jason:

Pelican cases! Water tight hard cases and they float.

Exactly! Plus they offer better protection if ever your gear gets banged around.

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Pentax

06/06/2005 02:17:42 PM · #5

Originally posted by Beagleboy:

Originally posted by Jason:
Pelican cases! Water tight hard cases and they float.

Exactly! Plus they offer better protection if ever your gear gets banged around.

Can you recommend a size that would be good for a
Canon 10D
70-200mm f/4L
100mm Macro
28-135
bunch of filters and small misc stuff

Is this one too small?

Dave

DanSig

06/06/2005 02:19:31 PM · #6

I have the LowePro DryZone backpack, it holds my 20D with 70-200L f2.8 IS attached, the 17-40L, 50mm f1.4, 2 external flashes, loads of batteries, compactflash cards, and lots more stuff, and itÂ´s 100% waterproof so you can go swimming with it as long as the zipper is closed, and the harnes is quite comfortable and heavily padded.

and it even looks great, bright yellow and black so if you drop it in the lake you will be able to dive after it without a metal detector ;)

dryzone backpack

Message edited by author 2005-06-06 14:24:31.

Artyste

Sony Ericsson W810i

06/06/2005 02:23:35 PM · #7

Of course.. if the canoe capsizes while you're wearing the camera around your neck, or as you're fishing in the bag for gear, all bets are off.

LoudDog

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

06/06/2005 02:27:25 PM · #8

Why not just keep the canoe upright? :)

Message edited by author 2005-06-06 14:27:37.

DanSig

06/06/2005 02:27:32 PM · #9

Originally posted by Artyste:

Of course.. if the canoe capsizes while you're wearing the camera around your neck, or as you're fishing in the bag for gear, all bets are off.

I think there is no bag available that saves the camera while it's in use, then it's only the underwater housing that's more expencive than most SLR's ;)

drydoc

Canon EOS-7D

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

06/06/2005 02:27:50 PM · #10

Dave,

I have done some scuba diving aound the world . . . always took my camera and equipment along. Even took my EOS Elan on a sea canoe. Everytime I touched the camera or equipment on the boat, it was slow and with deliberate motions. The Sealline bags are great, however, a word of caution: only one item in each bag. I was on the riverboat, Delta Queen standing by the rail and took a lens out of the bag. Along with the lens came my wife's Oakley sun glasses. They are now done at the bottom of the Mississippi!
My suggestion is that you visit a dive shop. The may not have exactly what you want but will certainly have some suggestions for you and know where to get help. I would also suggests those small salt packs, the kind you find in medicine bottles, to suck up the moisture you will inevitably collect. I throw them in the bottom of my bag. Make sure you take a hair dryer along. And I have been told, if something does get moisture in it DON'T turn it on to see if it is still working! Dry it and send it in to be checked.
I hope this is of some help.

BTW, Love the Leon Redbone look of you self portrait.

LoudDog

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

06/06/2005 02:29:45 PM · #11

rei products

Message edited by mk - fixed super long link.

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

06/06/2005 05:06:13 PM · #12

Thanks for the great info everybody! I think I'll look into the Pelican case. I don't plan on shooting (yeah, right...) while on the water, so that case is probably pretty workable.

The LowePro Dryzone pack looks great, but out of budget at the moment...

Dave

thatcloudthere

Canon EOS-1D

06/06/2005 05:24:46 PM · #13

Cool, I was going to start this exact same thread...is that link serious? $28 for a pelican case?

I always thought they'd be like $200...

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

06/06/2005 05:35:30 PM · #14

Originally posted by thatcloudthere:

Cool, I was going to start this exact same thread...is that link serious? $28 for a pelican case?

I always thought they'd be like $200...

I'm thinking that link was for a case that will be too small for my needs (confirmation anyone?), but the 1450, that I saw mentioned on dpreview goes for about $65 bucks here.

Dave

Jason

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

06/06/2005 05:44:18 PM · #15

I just bought a Pelican 1510 case. It's built for airline carry on use and it has an extendable arm and wheels. It was $120 from B&H.

I can fit in it right now.
(2) Bodies
70-200mm
16-35mm
24-70mm
14mm fisheye
1.4x Teleconverter
(2) flashes
(2) Omni-bounces
(1) Silcagel pack

I would suggest getting something bigger than our current needs, you will always grow into it eventually.

Message edited by author 2005-06-06 17:46:09.

Artifacts

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

06/06/2005 05:57:38 PM · #16

Originally posted by dsa157:

Hi all -

I am going with my son and our scout troop on a High Adventure trip ...

I do not want my stuff to end up at the bottom of one of 10,000 lakes though. I have Sealline bags to protect things, but I was wondering if anyone had any other ideas.

Any suggestions for ruggedized, waterproof camera bags?

I used something similar to sealline gear on this kyake trip that my son treated me to:

Right off I dumped my camera in the river getting into the kyake the first time. The bag floated and worked like a charm.

The thing to be careful about is that the bags trap heat and can get very hot inside. Be careful not to accidentally leave your camera on when puting it back in the bag because it can overheat and possibly damage the electronics.