Equipment when traveling
Bags
When travelling I take two types of equipment bags; a big bag and a small jump and run bag. My big bag is the Lowepro Pro Runner BP 450 backpack. It's a very large, heavy and looks a bit awkward, it's definitely not a bag to walk around the city with however that wasn't the reason I brought it. I brought it because it's very solid, waterproof, has multiple compartments including one for a laptop and I can strap my tripod on it. It's the good traveling bag that I can move a large amount gear from point A to point B and not worry about my gear getting damaged.
After I've used my backpack to get my gear to the location I alway switch to my jump and run bag, the purpose of which is to hold same important things in case of emergency so that you don't have to rush back to your main travel bag. This bag isn't really needed in the studio but for location shoots I'd highly recommend it. Some people use a small rucksack however I prefer having a bum bag due to it being easier to grab things like batteries quicker and quieter, which is really useful when filming. Everything in your jump and run bag should ensure that if you are far away from you main backpack you can still operate for at least an hour or two.
What I keep in my bum bag
Batteries
A little advice about working with batteries. If they are small like the Lumix GX8 are, then go down to your local stationary store and buy a clear pencil case and put your batteries in that. The pencil cases are normally quite cheap and you don't have to worry about finding loose batteries; surprisingly it makes it much easier to carry them , for larger batteries I recommend a make up bag. This is also worth doing with AA batteries. Another thing to do is to mark your batteries whether its 1,2,3,4.... or A,B,C,D...... it just means when it come to changing you know which battery you have to change.
Lens
When it comes to filming on locations with lenses I have a simple rule: You can only take 2. This rule changes if I'm going on longer jobs that are going to likely have more surprises then the number of lenses increase to 3. The idea behind this rule is so I don't over pack. From my experience its very rare you'll every need more then 3 lenses. For me when I'm travelling around London I carry a wide angle and a prime 50mm; the idea behind this being that if I want zoom I simply have to get closer to it, which in a city isn't hard. However if you somewhere where you know you won't be able to get physically closer then thats the time you should use a Zoom, normally my 70-200. Most people would remove the 50mm and switch it out for something like a 24-120mm but for me I prefer having a prime lens to be able to switch back to, however that it just my technique; with all thing each cameraman finds their own way.
Stabiliser
There are two main type of stabiliser - locked position eg: tripod and monopods, Moving eg: gimbals and steady cams, I've found finding the right stabiliser for your self comes down to trail and error. For my self I use a 3 legged thing winston (I know its a great name) which is a carbon fiber foldable tripod, its light, comes in a bag and can reach multiple heights, Is it prefect? ... no. As there are so many stabilisers out there you really just have to try a few to see what work with you style, for example I just brought a edelkrone pocket rig 2 I brought it because it had features I liked like it was small and came with two attachment rods, will it work?... will have to find out!
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