Hi all,
I like photography... And I like jogging... But the most I like to have my camera with me when going for a jog. So many times I regretted I'd left my camera behind, missing really nice moments. So many times I took my camera with me but was not really happy to carry it during jogging 'cause it was too loose, wobbling on my waist or in one of my pockets or in a small backpack. I changed cameras, I changed bags but it really never worked for me...
Once I read an article "Running With a Camera" written by Galen Rowell, one of the very famous landscape photographers, who was also famous with his style of taking photos. He liked to go light for a jog in the early morning with one of light Nikon film cameras (FM-10 or FE-10) fit with a wide angle lens (Nikon 24mm ƒ2.8 AI-S), and one of the lightest tele-zoom lens (Nikon 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6) packed into the Photoflex Galen Rowell Chest Pouch - a gear he designed himself - and a light tripod in his hand. Unfortunately this chest pouch is not produced anymore and is well sought on the second-hand market. From another side modern mirrorless cameras became much smaller, providing excellent quality of pictures meanwhile having really pocket sized form factor. So I started to look around...
First I had a look at bags specially designed for photographers. Unfortunately I was not able to find anything following my criteria - portability, lightness, good securing against my body, preventing any camera/lens movement. Nothing!
Then I recalled Galen's advise to have a look at the outdoor/mountaineer market - he was sure those guys knew something about proper bag's design. Again - either it was too bulky, too flimsy on a body or way too expensive. I nearly gave up but decided to get a closer look into military/special forces area. I was sure about quality, lightness and portability but I also kept in mind versatility of the equipment as different operations required different gear's configuration based on PALS (Pouch Attachment Ladder System) or MOLLE (Modular Lightweight Load-Carrying Equipment) system compatibility. And there I saw some light at the end of a tunnel!
My idea was to have a small Micro Thirds camera with an electronic viewfinder, one wide angle lens and one of the smallest telephoto zoom lens. I made my choice in favour of Olympus OM-D E-M10 camera, Panasonic Lumix 14mm f/2.5 lens, Panasonic DMW-GWC1 Wide Conversion Lens (converting 14mm into 11mm) and Panasonic 35-100mm f/4.0-5.6 compact zoom lens. In my opinion this combo could cover the most of my needs meanwhile remaining as light and portable as possible without breaking my wallet. And I wanted them to be carried on my chest instead of my waist or back with an instant access.
So I had a look at the lightest rig which could be secured against my chest and serve as a base for extension with pockets, pouches and etc. compatible with MOLLE system. Condor Outdoor Products, the company making tactical and outdoor equipment, had one - a Modular Chest Panel so I purchased it. Unfortunately at that moment I was not be able to get any padded pouch so I decided to use one of the utility or medical/first aid pouches and put some padding myself. A First Response Pouch looked good for me as it was relatively cheap, had an extra flap on top and was equipped with an additional adjustable band and buckle, which could be used to secure the camera inside the pouch. And for lenses I took a Condor Gadget Pouch as it had a main zipped compartment good for lenses and extra front compartment for a smartphone, filters, ID, keys and/or cash.
The First Response Pouch had a really wide opening so I had to limit it blocking a zipper with a thread somewhat on half of it's height.
It also had a rubber bands inside to keep medical things secured and I put a layer of a sponge pad underneath them so the front side was well padded. It accommodated E-M10 with 14mm attached really nicely and kept it well secured with a band and buckle. The Gadget Pouch was big enough to accommodate both WA adapter and the tele-zoom lens without any problem.
And my Galaxy X-Cover 3 was just good to stay in the front compartment. The remaining MOLLE bands were used to secure a small bicycle flashing light to be visible in dark hours.
I did few test runs with the gear and was really happy with it. There was no any movement at all, neither inside pouches nor against my body. It was light and was felt comfortable to wear. And I was able to get the camera out almost instantly to make a wide angle shot and continue to run. Fitting WA adapter or zoom lens took few more seconds only. And it was not really expensive...
I like photography... And I like jogging... But the most I like to have my camera with me when going for a jog. So many times I regretted I'd left my camera behind, missing really nice moments. So many times I took my camera with me but was not really happy to carry it during jogging 'cause it was too loose, wobbling on my waist or in one of my pockets or in a small backpack. I changed cameras, I changed bags but it really never worked for me...
Once I read an article "Running With a Camera" written by Galen Rowell, one of the very famous landscape photographers, who was also famous with his style of taking photos. He liked to go light for a jog in the early morning with one of light Nikon film cameras (FM-10 or FE-10) fit with a wide angle lens (Nikon 24mm ƒ2.8 AI-S), and one of the lightest tele-zoom lens (Nikon 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6) packed into the Photoflex Galen Rowell Chest Pouch - a gear he designed himself - and a light tripod in his hand. Unfortunately this chest pouch is not produced anymore and is well sought on the second-hand market. From another side modern mirrorless cameras became much smaller, providing excellent quality of pictures meanwhile having really pocket sized form factor. So I started to look around...
First I had a look at bags specially designed for photographers. Unfortunately I was not able to find anything following my criteria - portability, lightness, good securing against my body, preventing any camera/lens movement. Nothing!
Then I recalled Galen's advise to have a look at the outdoor/mountaineer market - he was sure those guys knew something about proper bag's design. Again - either it was too bulky, too flimsy on a body or way too expensive. I nearly gave up but decided to get a closer look into military/special forces area. I was sure about quality, lightness and portability but I also kept in mind versatility of the equipment as different operations required different gear's configuration based on PALS (Pouch Attachment Ladder System) or MOLLE (Modular Lightweight Load-Carrying Equipment) system compatibility. And there I saw some light at the end of a tunnel!
My idea was to have a small Micro Thirds camera with an electronic viewfinder, one wide angle lens and one of the smallest telephoto zoom lens. I made my choice in favour of Olympus OM-D E-M10 camera, Panasonic Lumix 14mm f/2.5 lens, Panasonic DMW-GWC1 Wide Conversion Lens (converting 14mm into 11mm) and Panasonic 35-100mm f/4.0-5.6 compact zoom lens. In my opinion this combo could cover the most of my needs meanwhile remaining as light and portable as possible without breaking my wallet. And I wanted them to be carried on my chest instead of my waist or back with an instant access.
So I had a look at the lightest rig which could be secured against my chest and serve as a base for extension with pockets, pouches and etc. compatible with MOLLE system. Condor Outdoor Products, the company making tactical and outdoor equipment, had one - a Modular Chest Panel so I purchased it. Unfortunately at that moment I was not be able to get any padded pouch so I decided to use one of the utility or medical/first aid pouches and put some padding myself. A First Response Pouch looked good for me as it was relatively cheap, had an extra flap on top and was equipped with an additional adjustable band and buckle, which could be used to secure the camera inside the pouch. And for lenses I took a Condor Gadget Pouch as it had a main zipped compartment good for lenses and extra front compartment for a smartphone, filters, ID, keys and/or cash.
The First Response Pouch had a really wide opening so I had to limit it blocking a zipper with a thread somewhat on half of it's height.
It also had a rubber bands inside to keep medical things secured and I put a layer of a sponge pad underneath them so the front side was well padded. It accommodated E-M10 with 14mm attached really nicely and kept it well secured with a band and buckle. The Gadget Pouch was big enough to accommodate both WA adapter and the tele-zoom lens without any problem.
And my Galaxy X-Cover 3 was just good to stay in the front compartment. The remaining MOLLE bands were used to secure a small bicycle flashing light to be visible in dark hours.
I did few test runs with the gear and was really happy with it. There was no any movement at all, neither inside pouches nor against my body. It was light and was felt comfortable to wear. And I was able to get the camera out almost instantly to make a wide angle shot and continue to run. Fitting WA adapter or zoom lens took few more seconds only. And it was not really expensive...
