I promised pictures of how I’ve been able to fit my DSLR and photo gear into my new Synapse, so here they are. But first I have to say how much I love the Indigo fabric: no photo seems to be able to do justice to it.
I consider this a trial pack, so it may change after I’ve taken the Synapse and Olympus out for an excursion or two and see what I actually need, and what I don’t need.
Main compartment:
•Folded on the bottom to act as a cushion (the Synapse has no padding there) is a RoadWired (Skooba) padded wrap. I can also use this to wrap my camera if need be, or as a protective cloth on the ground when I’m changing filters or lenses.
•Olympus e620, with the 14-42mm lens attached in these photos. I often carry it with my favorite 25mm pancake lens, which makes the camera even smaller. The Oly fits even with the 14-42mm lens in my Medium Café bag, by the way. [The leather camera strap was custom made by a teacher on Etsy who makes them to supplement his school salary.]
•Billingham camera insert, padded on the bottom and sides
• Olympus 40-150mm lens in pouch
•Olympus 35mm macro lens in pouch
•Olympus 25mm pancake lens in pouch
•Olympus owner’s manual in sleeve
Sorry the black pouches make them so hard to see. But as you can tell, there is plenty of room left in this compartment to carry even more things, or if you have a bigger camera and lenses, you can see that they would comfortably fit inside. You could even carry a second camera body, if you have one. I’m thinking I could carry my iPad in its protective sleeve, or maybe even my 11-inch Macbook Air. And I haven’t even begun to think about attaching Organizer Pouches to the two O-rings.
Central bottle compartment:
•Today I have my double-walled vacuum water bottle in there (they were marked down at Starbucks last week, so I snatched one to help keep my water cool with heat indices that have been going well over 100 degrees for several weeks now in the South).
But if I didn’t need the water bottle one day, I could shift the three lenses now in the main compartment to this section. I’ve tried it: they fit.
Small top compartment:
This is really small. The two items below are a tight fit.
• Lens cleaning cloth
•Small neoprene pouch that holds my remote, two spare batteries, and memory card holder.
Left side compartment:
•Pen
•Lens brush
•Rhodia notebook
•Two Moleskine Cahiers
Room in here for more.
Right side compartment:
•Cell phone in Ultrasuede pocket
•Keys on keystrap attached to O-ring
•Clear Organizer Wallet attached to O-ring
•Small Giotto rocket blower bulb for camera
Again, there is room for more in here
Bottom compartment:
I love the water bottle pocket, but I think this compartment may be my favorite. It can hold so much; even my 3D Clear Organizer Pouch, and I understand the Side Effect that I have on order will fit in there, too. Or I could fold up a Shop Bag, or a windbreaker: the possibilities seem endless. Right now this is what it has in it.
•Repurposed floppy disk pouch that now holds my lens filters
•Another neoprene pouch that holds a variety of lens caps. I’m always losing those, so I carry spares after getting stuck without one on a hike in the Smokies once.
•Joby Gorillapod
•A DIY “tripod” made of string, a bolt, and a washer in a small Clear Organizer Pouch clipped to the O-ring.
All this gear, and I still have so much to learn about photography, as these photos clearly indicate. [Note to Katy or Darcy: I also have yet to figure out how best to size my photos for uploading to the forum so they still show up well, but don't end up being huge. Is there a FAQ somewhere on how to prepare photos for the forum?]
Anyway, whatever my faults as a photographer, at least now I have a workable, comfortable way to carry all of my stuff around so I can practice and improve my skills. My neck and shoulders and back are very grateful to Tom and the Synapse: and so is my photographic Muse!
Soon I’d like to pack the Synapse for a day trip with all my computer gear and books, etc., to see how that would work.
I consider this a trial pack, so it may change after I’ve taken the Synapse and Olympus out for an excursion or two and see what I actually need, and what I don’t need.
Main compartment:
•Folded on the bottom to act as a cushion (the Synapse has no padding there) is a RoadWired (Skooba) padded wrap. I can also use this to wrap my camera if need be, or as a protective cloth on the ground when I’m changing filters or lenses.
•Olympus e620, with the 14-42mm lens attached in these photos. I often carry it with my favorite 25mm pancake lens, which makes the camera even smaller. The Oly fits even with the 14-42mm lens in my Medium Café bag, by the way. [The leather camera strap was custom made by a teacher on Etsy who makes them to supplement his school salary.]
•Billingham camera insert, padded on the bottom and sides
• Olympus 40-150mm lens in pouch
•Olympus 35mm macro lens in pouch
•Olympus 25mm pancake lens in pouch
•Olympus owner’s manual in sleeve
Sorry the black pouches make them so hard to see. But as you can tell, there is plenty of room left in this compartment to carry even more things, or if you have a bigger camera and lenses, you can see that they would comfortably fit inside. You could even carry a second camera body, if you have one. I’m thinking I could carry my iPad in its protective sleeve, or maybe even my 11-inch Macbook Air. And I haven’t even begun to think about attaching Organizer Pouches to the two O-rings.
Central bottle compartment:
•Today I have my double-walled vacuum water bottle in there (they were marked down at Starbucks last week, so I snatched one to help keep my water cool with heat indices that have been going well over 100 degrees for several weeks now in the South).
But if I didn’t need the water bottle one day, I could shift the three lenses now in the main compartment to this section. I’ve tried it: they fit.
Small top compartment:
This is really small. The two items below are a tight fit.
• Lens cleaning cloth
•Small neoprene pouch that holds my remote, two spare batteries, and memory card holder.
Left side compartment:
•Pen
•Lens brush
•Rhodia notebook
•Two Moleskine Cahiers
Room in here for more.
Right side compartment:
•Cell phone in Ultrasuede pocket
•Keys on keystrap attached to O-ring
•Clear Organizer Wallet attached to O-ring
•Small Giotto rocket blower bulb for camera
Again, there is room for more in here
Bottom compartment:
I love the water bottle pocket, but I think this compartment may be my favorite. It can hold so much; even my 3D Clear Organizer Pouch, and I understand the Side Effect that I have on order will fit in there, too. Or I could fold up a Shop Bag, or a windbreaker: the possibilities seem endless. Right now this is what it has in it.
•Repurposed floppy disk pouch that now holds my lens filters
•Another neoprene pouch that holds a variety of lens caps. I’m always losing those, so I carry spares after getting stuck without one on a hike in the Smokies once.
•Joby Gorillapod
•A DIY “tripod” made of string, a bolt, and a washer in a small Clear Organizer Pouch clipped to the O-ring.
All this gear, and I still have so much to learn about photography, as these photos clearly indicate. [Note to Katy or Darcy: I also have yet to figure out how best to size my photos for uploading to the forum so they still show up well, but don't end up being huge. Is there a FAQ somewhere on how to prepare photos for the forum?]
Anyway, whatever my faults as a photographer, at least now I have a workable, comfortable way to carry all of my stuff around so I can practice and improve my skills. My neck and shoulders and back are very grateful to Tom and the Synapse: and so is my photographic Muse!
Soon I’d like to pack the Synapse for a day trip with all my computer gear and books, etc., to see how that would work.