On Jul 19, 2005, at 9:27 AM, Jon M wrote:
I've seen the Pelican boxes online, and they sure look
nice... Lowepro even makes an insert for some of them.
The bike in question is indeed full suspension, but
that doesn't mean a smooth ride. Imagine riding down a
stairway... yeah, I do that.
Do y'all think a hardcase with one of those Lowepro
inserts would provide sufficient cushioning for
negotiating rock gardens (almost as rough as
stairways)? If so, I could probably get a
seatpost-mounted rack that goes over the rear wheel to
fasten it to.
You might need a bit more and slightly softer padding than I would
use for even rough/dirt street riding to protect the mirror mechanism
and shutter of any SLR from that kind of pounding.
Film or digital is inconsequential in this regard, really: these
components are delicate in any SLR (same goes for the optical/
mechanical coupling in an RF camera too). Older cameras with a moving
needle meter movement might have problems, any camera with solid
state metering electronics should fare about the same. A lighter
camera will probably do better ... less mass to cushion.
I don't know how much shock-absorbtion the Lowepro inserts provide,
but their cases are pretty convenient. I used to use the close-cell
foam inserts that you picked out cubes to form fit the pieces ...
only carried a couple of pieces at a time so I normally just took
them out of the box to take pictures without need for a separate
carrying bag, but I used to use the handlebar bag as a temporary
shoulder bag for when I wanted to go for a walk away from the bike.
I've never done much off-road dirt riding, either bicycle or
motorcycle, but basically the same ideas hold for street and dirt
road riding: try to isolate the equipment from impact loads, use foam
padding to help decrease and soften the jarring as well as minimize
high frequency vibration. I've carried so many cameras on so many
trips, just keeping these things in mind, and have never had a problem.
Godfrey
