I just got the New Sony X70 and I was wondering if anybody has any good input on a camera bag for general use and going in and out of the field. The small Campbell Camera bag came with it, but I am open to something else, that fits the camera and the Shotgun mic, and possibly water resistant.
Yeah, this is one of those questions that has no good answer. I have never found a camera bag that I felt protected the camera enough, and gave you the type of storage necessary. I also have the X70 and love it so far. Here's what I found that has worked for me. I have a Redhead backpack that I got on clearance a couple years ago. It has two parts, the back pack and a detachable fanny pack. I took the fanny pack, and bought some 1" thick foam. Cut it around the camera and stacked about 7 or 8 of them together. I used rubber cement to hold the foam together. I can fit the camera with a wireless mic on the front shoe and the shotgun mic installed in the pack, all together. I have to turn the shotgun mic around backwards in the mic holder, but that's a real quick and simple procedure, compared to completely assembling the whole setup every time I hit the woods. I can fit the rest of my accessories in the pockets. I carry the tree arm strapped to the backpack. I don't have any pictures, but I will try and take some when I get home tonight to give you an idea of what I came up with. I feel really confident that the camera is well protected. Another nice feature about it being in the fanny pack is that I can keep it attached to my body, spin it around and pull the camera out. I don't have to worry about accidentally knocking the pack and camera out to the stand.
I have a matching backpack that came with this fanny pack. It has a nice pass through slot, I believe designed for carrying a gun. The arm slides into it and the head stays on the outside. There's a strap that I use to secure it. Almost all of my camera gear fits in that fanny pack aside from the arm. I carry my bow with a Primos sling. Rest of the hunting gear goes in the backpack. Funny thing was, I kinda turned my nose up on that backpack when my wife found it at Bass Pro, but since it was on clearance I went ahead and bought it. That's what a good wife is for
I am using a Badlands 2800. Two camera arms go into the main compartment with the bases with a lil room to spare. Cameras and shotgun mics go in the second bag that attaches over the main compartment. The top bag has ample room to hold the rest of my hunting gear. My only complaint, as Skywalker mentioned, is there is no real protection / padding around the cameras and mics, but it will have to suffice for now.
I have a Drake Waterfowl Blind Bag ... I think it is the XL version. I did something similar as Skywalker when it comes to the foam. I had some very high density foam laying around so I took a router and made cut outs for my Canon XA20 and Canon 7D. I can carry both cameras in the bag and not have them bang around. I use that bag when I am ground blind hunting for turkeys and even deer. I don't have any photos of that bag set up. But when I switch to tree stand hunting then I use a Lowe Pro Flipside 400AW pack. It works great for holding all of my gear, including my Muddy Camera arm. I have switched a couple things around from the photos but it works perfect for my needs.
