Photo vest? jacket? A friend of mine wants to buy her husband a photo vest or jacket and asked my advice. I used to use a photo vest back in the film days when i was using film and...

finalimage Loc: Brattleboro, VT

A friend of mine wants to buy her husband a photo vest or jacket and asked my advice. I used to use a photo vest back in the film days when i was using film and needed a place to keep all those film canisters. Am curious about whether any fellow "hogs" use photo vests and what brands they would endorse. Many thanks.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I have a couple. They are made by Domke. The reason for two is seasonal. I don't use them as much anymore, but they are still useful, as I carry filters, lenses, notebook, and pencil, along with a light meter. Generally, I carry everything I need in a sapper's bag, but if I need to carry just the bare minimums, I still use them.
--Bob

finalimage wrote:

A friend of mine wants to buy her husband a photo vest or jacket and asked my advice. I used to use a photo vest back in the film days when i was using film and needed a place to keep all those film canisters. Am curious about whether any fellow "hogs" use photo vests and what brands they would endorse. Many thanks.

PeterBergh

I always use a photo vest; I find that a bag twists my back out of shape. My vest holds four lenses and all the accessories I need, such as batteries, cable releases, exposure meter, etc. I prefer a vest over a jacket; I can use the vest over as much clothing as I need to stay comfortable. I think it would be harder to use a jacket over several layers of other clothing.

Shellback Loc: North of Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands - Kansas

14 Nov - this topic was discussed with lots of recommendations - find it here... hope this helps...

Bob Locher Loc: Southwest Oregon

eBay has some nice vest from Chinese merchants - inexpensive and good quality. Just make sure you the size right. Asian "large" for example is not the same is American "Large".

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

finalimage wrote:

A friend of mine wants to buy her husband a photo vest or jacket and asked my advice. I used to use a photo vest back in the film days when i was using film and needed a place to keep all those film canisters. Am curious about whether any fellow "hogs" use photo vests and what brands they would endorse. Many thanks.

Vests are best left in the closet along with the polyester sports jacket.

Radioactive Loc: Bellingham

I have two vests, one for hot weather(mesh material) and one for cool weather (solid fabric). I use them each time I go out and would miss them if I did not have them. I use a lot of different filters and lenses and it is important to me to be able to change them quickly. I can do this with a vest. I am not worried about what I look like.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I have a couple of photo vests, but I seldom use them. When you put one on, you are immediately marked as a photographer, which can be great if you are shooting for an event. If you are just walking around town taking pictures, people will stare.

A very good alternative is the ScotteVest. It looks like a regular nylon vest, but it has loads of inside pockets. Good sales today. Hover over a vest, and you'll see the pockets.
https://www.scottevest.com/mens-best-travel-clothing.shtml

LCD

People think I'm a professional photographer when I where a vest. I'm not, so it really surprised me.

PhotoPhred Loc: Cheyney, Pa

I use a fishing vest, much cheaper and very durable with lots of pockets.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

finalimage wrote:

A friend of mine wants to buy her husband a photo vest or jacket and asked my advice. I used to use a photo vest back in the film days when i was using film and needed a place to keep all those film canisters. Am curious about whether any fellow "hogs" use photo vests and what brands they would endorse. Many thanks.

I'm somewhat fortunate. I have a Domke photo jacket that has zip off sleeves making it a photo vest. It also has a "rain" hood in a back zipper (though I've only used it once). If I'm in the field, I carry the zip on sleeves in my camera backpack or in the car for use if necessary.

Lens Creep

replying to OP,

sure, i have a couple of vests and they serve me well.
I got over the "fashion" embarrassment years ago - yes, sometimes strangers point and chuckle, but why should you care?
The modern photo vests have better designed pockets, so it is not just for film cans. I carry a few lenses and my handheld flash, a stack of filters, extra cloths and lenscaps, etc, etc in mine and in time it is easy to remember which pocket holds what without fumbling around.

Diamond41 Loc: St. Louis, MO

Roberts Camera had a couple, possibly Domke brand, if that helps.

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

I use a denim jean jacket. The pockets inside can easily accommodate a lens or two and all of the outer pockets are available for filters etc. you also don’t stand out like a sore thumb, Photographer Here! The drawback is there’s no padding.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

finalimage wrote:

A friend of mine wants to buy her husband a photo vest or jacket and asked my advice. I used to use a photo vest back in the film days when i was using film and needed a place to keep all those film canisters. Am curious about whether any fellow "hogs" use photo vests and what brands they would endorse. Many thanks.

I have two. One is by TravelSmith. The other is a Big Pockets. (Just google both companies.) Both are light weight, comfortable and have more than enough pockets. A couple of the pockets on the Big Pocket vest are easily large enough to hold a lens. Not the case with the TravelSmith version. I’ve had my Travel Smith vest for 4 years and it’s literally been all over the world. That seems to be my go-to choice. The Big Pockets is quite a bit pricier than the Travel Smith.