Cardinal Photo

Without question, traveling with photo gear only gets harder. Airlines continue to winnow down the amount of carry-on they allow, and checked bags are subject to loss and breakage. As many of my readers (and safari participants) know, I’m a big fan of my Scottevest, that allows me to stash a tablet, phone, headphones, hat, glasses, lunch, and maybe a rainshell conveniently. But it doesn’t really help with the bulk storage of laptop, camera, lenses, flashes, and chargers. Photo vests are an alternative used by many of us, but now a new set of products pushes the limit even further…

There are plenty of good options for large photo backpacks for use on safari, with my favorite for trips requiring international connections being the ThinkTank Airport Takeoff combo roller/backpack. Unfortunately, unless you’re on a dedicated photo safari with extra luggage allowance and lightly loaded vehicles (like the ones we offer through cardinalphoto.com), a full-size backpack may be more than you’re allowed to bring (or perhaps more than you want to carry). It is also notoriously hard to work two to a row (like you’ll find on most typical safaris) with full-sized bags.

I’m really happy to say that I’ll be leading a photo walk for B&H through the Bronx Zoo in New York on Thursday, June 7th. The event is free, but you do need to pay for your Zoo admission. For those of you in or around the New York area its about the easiest way to get some practice in on your wildlife photography. Open to photographers of all ages and all amounts of gear! You can register for the event online with B&H. Lorrie and I hope to see you there!

 If you want the ultimate shirt pocket camera, and can stand one in a little bit larger form factor than the ultra-tiny Elph series, Canon has kicked its “S” family up another notch by replacing the excellent S95 with the brand new S100. Available from B&H as of this morning for $429, it is almost impossible to believe the combination of quality and features in a camera this easy to have with you all the time…

You’re probably already cringing at the thought of another camera bag. But I’ve just gotten a Think Tank Speed Freak 2.0 for my summer workshops and it’s so cool I wanted to tell you about it now rather than waiting until I get back with a full field test. The bag fills that awkward niche between what you can put on a belt and a full up camera backpack…

These are items that we either rely on personally in my travels or have been picked out for our clients by the experienced travel pros at Edward’s Luggage, a local family owned chain of four travel and luggage stores here in the Bay Area. It is by no means complete but I’ll be adding to it and expanding it as new products come to my attention:

Luggage