avoiding digital disaster

[rollinbone]

Last year I bought a great little digital camera, the Olympus 1030SW This is waterproof and shockproof so is ideal for touring/camping trips
and has so far survived about 2000+miles on various trips

However it has its limitations
1. No manual settings possible
2. Lens quality is good but not great
3. Cannot fit any filters to the lens

So have now got a new Lumix LX3 which solves the above problems and is light enough (appox 300g) for me to travel with both, using the Olympus only in damp/wet weather
The LX3 however is not shock or waterproof.

Not wishing to claim on insurance every time I go 'out' with it I am wondering how to protect this piece of equipment from the inevitable rain and bad roads in the UK
I propose to travel with both cameras in a small Klickfix fitting 'Rixen Kaul' handlebar bag that has a compartment that is large enough for both cameras
and another for spare batteries/SD cards etc
This bag has some sponge protection in the base and back but nothing else is provided.

My experience in the rain this year saw this bag swamped with rain even though covered with a 'waterproof' cover.
The Olympus survived this treatment but I don't think the Lumix would.

So I plan to add extra bubble wrap to the bag, to protect agains vibration, and if it starts to rain I will have to stop and put the camera in other waterproof bag(s)
and perhaps move it to a rear pannier pocket for extra protection.

However this does leave the concern about how tollerent digital camera equipment is to the vibration/shocks encurred during bike trips.
Some roads I have encountered have potholes, others are extremely rough rides with the surface pitted and grooved to exess.

Would this camera survive many days travelling over these surfaces even with bubble wrap protection?

Has anyone had any unfortunate experience of camera/camcorder failure that was directly due to travelling with it on a bike on these 'crazy' surfaces?
Please explain the circumstances etc.
Also any suggestions on how to avoid water/shocks/vibration damage would be appreciated

[julk]

This would keep it dry.

[Flinders]

How big is your camera?
I find Crumpler and Lowepro are good for camera bags. I've never had water in either, and the best Lowepro ones (called AW for All-weather) have pull-out rain covers for really bad weather, which I find work very well for my bigger gear.

I have a small digital- when on the bike I sometimes stick it in the rackpack in a thick neoprene sleeve I made myself, but my rackpack doesn't leak.
Ordinarily, or if it may need to be used frequently, or I'm walking rather than cycling, it goes in the older version of a Crumpler Muffin on my belt. I've had no problems with that leaking, but if the rain was really torrential I'd usually stick it in a rucksack or rackpack as a double insurance against damp. Even when I've forgotten to do this, the bag hasn't leaked. I have had the camera for about six years, I think, and it goes everywhere with me whenever i leave the house- every day, always. The Crumpler is showing no signs of wear and I've had it for years too- they're built like the proverbial small house at the bottom of the garden. The only disadvantage for you with the Muffin is it is a bit bulky- it had space for cards, small batteries, etc. I think the modern one has a better water-excluding design, looking at it on line.

With these arrangements I have done roads and, in the past, well-surfaced tracks without trouble (though occasionally I've had to carry the bike over a ploughed field ).

If you want to stay with the barbag- which does sound handy- those fold-over velcro sealing bags on the link above are excellent. I use them for electronic thingies when mountaineering, and have never had them leak so far. Or you could make a waterproof cover for the barbag, perhaps? Like the ones they do for rucksacks.

[fausto copy]

From recent experience, I am quite surprised how much vibration the modern digicams can take.
I've been experimenting with movie shots from my Lumix LZ10 recently and have made a bracket to fit directly to the bars.
Basically the camera is clamped directly onto the bars and the amount of road buzz from tarmac, off-road and across rutted concrete farm tracks has been incredible. I think the camera has fared better then my fillings.
Previously the camera has travelled either in my unpadded handlebar bag on one layer of bubblewrap or the external pocket of a Carradice Nelson saddlebag. So, I'd just concentrate on keeping the Lumix dry.

[manybikes]

So do you ride in "cycling clothes"? I find my Olympus sits well in the back pocket of a cycling jersey and there is probably less vibration there than in a handlebar mounted bag. I assume your new camera is a similar size. When in "civvy" clothes I just use any pocket big enough and keep a plastic bag handy in case it rains.

My SLR I have to put into such a bar bag but I am worried about vibration. I line the bag with a new supermarket long life bag and stick everything inside it. Thes tend to have a nice square shape. This was OK for a very wet Reivers Way and C2C this summer (?).

[james01]

So do you ride in "cycling clothes"? I find my Olympus sits well in the back pocket of a cycling jersey and there is probably less vibration there than in a handlebar mounted bag. ).

I think you're right, the high frequency vibration which seems capable of undoing those little bolts and screws in cameras is surely cut down by passing through the rider's body. A belt attachment should have the same effect.

[Flinders]

I'll second the thing about 'on the body' too.

With my SLRs I have used a big toploder on the carrier, but the camera itself with whatever lens I'm actually using is usually about my person (shoulder strap with camera slung round my back). This is better, I think, for vibration elimination, but too uncomfortable for anything other than short bits of cycling between taking shots when I'm out working. I now mostly use a shoulder bag case with a sort of diagonal cinch, which I can use to hold the case out of the way behind my hip. I still wouldn't like to go far doing this- a couple of miles at a time would be more than enough, as I'm cycling with my body twisted by the weight ( biggest camera in case with its lens weighs over 9 lbs).
More than that in terms of distance and it would have to go on the rack- or for those who unlike me don't mind cycling with one, in a rucksack.

Good bags should help somewhat with vibration, and this sort of thing depends a lot on the build of your equipment, something in which you get what you pay for, but I have a feeling that a DSLR might be more fragile than either film SLRs or a digital compact, from what I hear of them.

[Cunobelin]

I have an Olympue E420 and it sits inside an Ortlieb bar bag with teh camera insert - never had a problem.

Earlier this year during my Scottish tour - my Satmap packed up, my watch also packed up both with water ingress, and my shoes never dried out for the whole week, but the phones and camera were dry.

[reohn2]

I have a Lumix FZ8 and a Lumix TZ2, I carry one or the other with all the time when cycling,either one fit into a small Topeak barbag neither of which have ever suffered from vibation sickness.
The waterproof cover on the Topeak B/Bag is next to useless so I use a small black plastic carrierbag which covers the whole of the B/bag and tucks into the Klik fixing, total w/proofing and it looks neat too.

[ferrit worrier]

I take my little cannon digital underground with me, space can be at a premium so I pop it in a small self seal freezer bag to keep it dry then it goes in the top pocket of my boiler suit I just have to remember when I'm crawling where it is and take a bit of care.

[rollinbone]

thanks for all these quick responses
I'm gonna print out all this discussion and investiage all the products mentioned

I too found Tesco zip freezer bags very useful this summer keep out water
even used a couple under my socks at one point when my shoes (goretex) were still wet from the previous day

The Lumix LX3 has a sturdy feel to it with most of the body made of metal
Its approx 109mm(W), 60mm(H), 27mm(D) so is quite small when not switched on
When switched on the lens projects forward a bit. Even so it fits well into my handlbar bag

Unless I'm in a panic to get somewhere I tend to stop quite often during a day to take a pic or two
if something catches my eye.
I also have been keeping a sort of picture diary of my trips so I take a lot of pic of the bike
and me in various locations

So its handy to have a camera available to hand so I don't waste too much time.

I've tried the option of carrying one in back pocket of my cycling shirt but found it a bit
annoying after a couple of hours. Also I have been known to cycle in hot weather without a shirt.
I have some cycling shorts with large pockets and tried these with a camera. It was better than
the shirt option but still the extra weight moving around with your leg is not comfortable.

[Gearoidmuar]

I've carried cameras in handlebar bags for 25 years without any problem.
I've used camera specific handlebar bags (Agu) and other ones. In the other ones I put the camera in a slightly padded bag, especially one made by Lowepro. I've never had a screw loose, at least not in the camera. I've ridden rough roads etc (do we have much else in Ireland?)

[Robert]

This worked fine



It's a camera I've had for a few years and I'm not particularly precious about it. It's hanging upside down from a gorilla pod clinging onto a space bar, so it can look under the bar bag. The main disadvantages are that the photos are upside down and it's a bit fiddly to take photos. Apart from that I was amazed at how the photos turned out. I used this on our tandem trip to South West France this summer and took a photo every time I thought of it. They're not great photos, but they bring the tour back to me in a way the other photos don't.

[CJ]

I have an Olympue E420 and it sits inside an Ortlieb bar bag with teh camera insert - never had a problem.

Earlier this year during my Scottish tour - my Satmap packed up, my watch also packed up both with water ingress, and my shoes never dried out for the whole week, but the phones and camera were dry.

I'll second that with another massive vote for ORTLIEB handlebar bags. Mine is now more than 20 years old and still keeps the water out. My wife has a newer one and that's just as good.

It's main content is now and always has been an SLR camera system: previously 35mm in an assembly of proprietary and home-made lens and body cases, and nowadays digital in the Ortlieb liner.

As an indication of how well this bag keeps the wet out, I was touring the Basque coast this year on the 19th of September when that area received between 150 and 200mm (6 to 8 inches) of rain. That's between a quarter to a third of what falls on London in a year - but in one day! A day in which we had to cycle about 45 miles. After which everything else on the bike (except the panniers - also Ortlieb) was naturally, completely saturated. I didn't use the camera a whole lot that day, but it rode in the bar bag as usual without any extra protection.

[rollinbone]

Those bags look good
Unfortunately I'm kinda stuck with Klickfix bags because I use the extender adaptor
as a platform to attach my SatMap adaptor to.
This puts the GPS map centrally on the handlebar which is the ideal position for it.

The small bag the 'KLICKfix Mini Allrounder XS' I have, didn't come with its own wet weather cover
but I have just ordered a slightly bigger one the 'KLICKfix Mini Allrounder' that does have a cover
and probably more room for two small cameras and bits.

I think the problem with bar bags in general is they seem to be exposed more to getting drenched with
oncoming rain and spray from all traffic than bags elsewhere on the bike. I wonder if thats true?

However with my arrangement the bag does offer protection to the GPS unit from stones etc from again from traffic.
I was in Anglesea last year without a bar bag and one hit the unit so hard it took a bit off the plastic forward edge.
The SatMap however continued to work.
I did notice that during this july in Devon/Cornwall that the rain was so intense that it got into the
SatMap and caused condensation to form inside the screen.
Luckily I did get some breeze and sun at times, which dried it out.
After that experience, when the rain was heavy, I covered the SapMap with a plastic bag (tescos zip lock freezer bag)