Thank you, it makes perfect sense. So now I am thinking the suspenders only if I go with two cameras. Rarely do I bring an extra lens and when I do I have it in a lens case in an old nylon bag. I have seen some belts online in black that are used by the police and paint ball people that are just as you mentioned. Now I know why they are so wide. Hopefully they will have suspenders with the loop in the back as well. I really think that may work out well for two bodies.

“It is to get you there alive and in the best physical condition.” Ask yourself why Napoleon lost at Waterloo. You may find humor in the answer and it will certainly make my point.

As for “Cheaping Out” I am cheap and I have tried about every style of camera strap and case. That is not an exaggeration as to fund my photography hobby I buy and sell photography equipment. If it’s a deal I buy it, play with it and either sell it for a profit or if I like it I keep it. The real deals are when you purchase everything someone has and then split it up. That means bags and straps. That is why I have had the opportunity to try so many different styles and different manufacturers’ products. None of them work out well for everything as I don’t do the same thing every day.

Sometimes I like to go out with one camera, sometimes two. Sometimes I go to a park where I can easily walk back to my car and get something else. However another park is a five mile loop, so I want it with me. I live in Florida so I usually take water with me. It is sort of a necessity when it is 95 in the shade and you have walked a few miles. I don’t intend to take a pup tent.

I am at the point where a 150-500 or 100-400 with a body wears me out after about 4 miles. I end up switching sides with a sling strap or shoulder strap; by the time I get back I am carrying my camera in my hand. At the end of the 5th mile I am hurting. I could use a backpack but then the camera is not instantly available. I have two Think Tank Holsters and lens cases that are designed to go on a belt. That is why I am looking into something else and would really like to know if the weight goes on the shoulders or the waist.

I also don’t believe just because it says designed for photo equipment it makes it any better. My Pelican cases were not invented specifically for photography equipment were yours? I don’t think a belt or suspenders designed for photography equipment makes any difference either provided that the quality is there. That being said the military ones have a unique option which is a loop in the middle of the back. This loop could be utilized to support the weight of a camera more evenly if the weight goes on the shoulders.

And to prove how cheap I am, here it goes. Next June I am going to Alaska fishing with a friend of mine and he offered a choice I can stay in a hotel for $300 a night for five days or one across the street for $100 a night and I can stay 10 days and have $500 left over. The $100 a night one is what it is, clean and cheap. The $300 a night one is beautiful – which would you do? I will be there 10 days.

Thank you I will

Canon MT-24 with the plastic clip on diffusers. I have used other diffusers and the result is the same color wise. The down side of these is really highly reflective bugs or in the eyes.

Thank you for your response

That is the way it is set now. However, these are focus stacked images and they are processed in Helicon first. Which does not seem to make much difference except you cannot use "As Shot" for white balance.

It only really seems to be an issue with the color of stain they use. (no I am not screwy) In other words if the caterpillar was shot on a green leaf the white would be white. If shot on the fence it depends upon if it was the top or side. On the top he is closer to being white as more of the stain has washed off.

I was thinking is there a way to pick something like with the useless eyedropper and say adjust everything to make this white. I was playing with the color temp and tint and it took me forever.

Thank you for your reply

The suspenders I saw clip into those holes. They were padded and appear to be exceptionally well made. In other words that loop on the suspenders is not going to pull apart with the weight of a camera.

Thank you for your response.

That makes sense but how come you see so many backpacks with no belt or with a chest strap that is no where near the waist?

Perhaps you need to somehow balance the weight between them. LowePro makes two different belts one is very wide and I think it would hold up a lot of weight. If that is the case why doesn the military use ones that are narrower.

I'm completely clueless here as you can tell.

Traditionally I thought (could be wrond) a portrait lens was a fast lens between 85-135 mm because of distortion. Shouldn't the distortion be same regardless of the size of the sensor? So you just have to move back further? If using a crop sensor.

On the posts here I have seen a lot of people that are ex-military and hopefully one of you can answer a couple of things for me. As I am getting older it is getting more difficult to go out on a hike with a camera with a long lens on a sling strap. I have read about all kinds of straps, holsters, etc and it seems everyone thinks they have the best idea. I was thinking that no one anywhere knows more about going out for a hike loaded with equipment than a soldier.

I have a Think Tank holster but I use it with an over the shoulder strap or for storage. I have tried it on a belt but it kept falling down as it seems it is smaller underneath my belly and the belt has a tendency to go there. So I was thinking a belt and suspenders and I saw military surplus pistol belts that are wide and you can get suspenders. Advertisements mention Alice and Molle I don’t’ know what the difference is so perhaps someone could help with that.

Anyway, when I was looking at the suspenders They have a loop in the center of the back and loops in the front. I have some of the things you screw into your tripod socket for a strap and I was thinking why not put a cord through one and clips on both ends and clip them onto the suspenders. If done that way I would think since it is in the center of the back the weight would be even on both shoulders. Then I read any weight on your shoulders is bad for your back and you should have it on your waist. So does the weight go on your shoulders with the suspenders or on the belt with the suspenders only function being to keep the belt from falling down? I have seen them called load bearing suspenders so it makes me think it goes on your shoulders not your waist.

I'm thinking I could use it with the Think Tank holster on the belt or on a cord that attaches to the loops on the suspenders. I was also thinking I could easily attach another cord to the other side and bring two bodies. Naturally since it is military I know you can get a canteen for it. I was also looking at some of my lens pouches and it appears they could be placed on the belt as well.

I’m thinking that you can get a belt, suspenders and canteen for $20 and the quality I’m sure is as good as anything on the market. Lowepro wants about $100 for a belt and suspenders or you can get a vest and a belt for $150.

I'm thinking this would be a completely flexible system; you could attach anything as I have seen little pouches that attach as well. If you don’t want green they have them in black for swat teams but they cost a couple of dollars more (I have not seen a black canteen). I’m thinking it would be as good as any modular system out there if not better at about 10-20 percent of the cost. Any and all thoughts on this would be appreciated.

I shoot full frame and that is probably why the 100 works for me, plus I like macro. I’m thinking that the 85 with a 1.5 crop factor (I think that is what Nikon uses) would make it 122mm. This would still make a good portrait lens, as an 85 is an 85 as far as distortion goes and the crop of 122 is less than 135 which a lot of film shooters used for portraits.

I shoot Canon and I currently have about a dozen lenses. I would say 70 percent of the time I use my 100mm macro, in other words if I could only have one lens it would be my choice. However you mentioned family portraits, if you want to get the whole family in and use a self timer you may want to consider the 55-300. I would think the 85 would have a little to narrow of a field of view to get a whole family in (I’m assuming a crop sensor). That being said the 85 has less distortion for individual portraits.

I would also take Mike Williams advice and purchase a lens that works on a full frame body.

Cool - I never knew where they came from, they just sort of show up at the fruit stands and Boy Scouts fund raisers.

Thanks for the compliment Dennis. I have never seen a spider eat a caterpillar before (other bugs yes). At first it looked like the spider was humping the caterpillar.

Caterpillar didn't stand a chance. I put at least an hour into the white balance, that's why I'm looking for some sort of trick if there is one.

I had a really hard time getting the while balance correct in LR. Is there some trick to it? I know you can use the sliders, type in a value or click on gray. None of which seems to work well for me. One of these shots was taken on the top of a hand rail and is mostly black. The others were on the side of the rail and it has sort of a redish orange tint to it. (County Park Stain). If it correct the rail the white has a redish orange tint and the yellow in the caterpillar goes away and it was there when I shot it. The other thing that seems strange to me is that these were taken inches away from each other with flash and white balance setting are not the same. Any tips or references to an easy way to set white balance would be appreciated. (setting a custom one each time is out of the question.

Side of Rail 1

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Top of Rail

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