General Cycling Discussion - Smile please - bikes and cameras

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.



PDA

View Full Version : Smile please - bikes and cameras

Richard D
06-10-02, 09:17 AM
A question for the many photography enthusiasts out there:

I'm happy to carry my cheap digital camera in a padded pouch in my pannier, but I wasn't sure about my SLR's. How bad is cycling vibration for SLRs and lenses? One's an old Nikon FE (1970's metal bodied manual/aperture priority (seems bombproof)) the other's a 1980's Nikon F301 (N... in the USA, early plastic/metal bodied Prog/Manual/ApP) if that makes a difference, lenses are a mixture of old Nikon and Tamron, if that makes a difference...

I've got a couple of small Lowepro bags either of which would fit in a pannier, alternatively one is waist mounted (being English I couldn't call it a fanny pack ;) ) if that would reduce vibration?

Am I worrying unnecessairily? :confused:

Richard

MichaelW
06-10-02, 09:34 AM
Ive carried my Olympus OM-2 in bar bags and pannier bags. It doesnt seem to have suffured at all. I now use a tiny Ricoh GR-1 that fits into a small saddlebag, so I can take it on any ride.

The FE can take a lot of abuse, more than the 301, but keep them wrapped in a jersey to minimise vibration. Carrying on your person would reduce vibrations a lot, but if you come off, they can take a big impact, and a hard object on your person can cause an injury.
At school, I used to carry a Practica with a 300mm lens to a birdwatching site. I just strapped it around my neck and cycled.
kobyj
06-10-02, 01:02 PM
If you were to carry the camera with you, I would recommend removing the lens from the camera body. I have heard that the weight of the lens can actually damage the mount on the body if it is left on in an unsupported manner for an extended period of time. Of course, when you take the lens off, you need to make sure you have all of the covers for the lens and the camera.