XL 2 accessories

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

The XL1s will fit inside the Kata bag with both the longer manual 16X lens and MA-200 attached (which is bigger than the MA-100), so the XL2 will fit easily inside the same Kata bag with 20X lens attached.

The camera gear listed, is only part of my camera gear, which also includes extra lenses from super telephoto to ultra wide angle primes, and a few zoom lenses, X 1.4 & X1.6 converters, flashes, infrared remote devices, various clamps, Nikon blimp (to lower sound of shutter and protect from cold), extra Ni-MA battery packs and charger, two off-camera TTL leads, special Macro lenses and F5 prism for close-up work; a complete professional Nikonos V underwater system, plus underwater lenses, and also a special Dome Port that allows me to fit normal above-water Nikkor lenses to the Nikonos V and use underwater. I also have two special large waterproof bags to protect all the non-underwater photo gear.

Strange as it may seem to some, my movie & still equipment is actually the lightest of my equipment! I also have a mass of fishing tackle that includes 6 special rods, 4 heavy reels, 8 electronic indicator devices, two rod pods, a large fishing dome-tent, special bed-chair, foam mats to protect the fish, special sacks to contain fish in the water while getting photo/video equipment ready, inflatable dinghy, paddles, depth sonar, electronic motor, masses of smaller items, plus special-made fishing bait (the bait alone weighs more than 200kg!).

On top of all this, I also have a big list of wilderness trekking/camping equipment, which includes: lightweight mountain tent, mountain Gore-Tex bivvy, Gore-Tex waterproof clothing and boots, full Duck-down extreme expedition parka, wrist compass, water-purifying system, binoculars, self-inflating mattress, LED torches, diving watch, expedition rucksack… The list goes on and on!

What may seem more crazy to some, (and also to myself now I think about it!) is that ALL the above list of items - including the 200kg of special-made fishing bait - will need to be taken from UK to Canada/USA, when I fly out there several times this year (as well as to other locations worldwide this year).

Do I have an assistant to carry all my expedition gear? I wish! No, I carry everything myself! Not all at once of course, but everything needs to reach my intended destination in the fist place.

Normally, on global flights westbound across the Atlantic, luggage limits are good, with at least two 32kg main bags, plus a large carry-on bag (which tends to hold all my expensive still camera bodies & lenses and XL1s and lenses). However, when you fly eastbound, to Europe, Russia, India, China, Australia/NZ or Africa etc, the baggage limits can be a puny 20kg maximum - Which obviously gives me major headaches on my global trips, trying to know what to leave behind!

This year, with a major filming project combined with the normal still photojournalism gear, means all the extra XL1s equipment added to my normal expedition equipment. Plus, two major world championship events to cover, I cannot possibly take everything on the plane with me to Canada. So I have organised to send a selection of the equipment and bait, plus some other bulky items, in a container ship across the Atlantic to the East coast, and then overland by transport to the USA/Canadian border. That will help a great deal, but I still need to take all the fragile photo equipment, lenses, and camcorder gear with me on the plane.

I tend to tailor my expeditions to the area where I will fly to, or what type of subjects I intend to photograph or film. For example, when I intend to only do trekking/fishing/photographing in wild areas, I will only pack the special lightweight tent, special globetrotter fishing rods (that break down to smaller size) and minimum camera/video gear to enable me to get the job done. Even so, sometimes it can be a nightmare trying to figure the items that must go, and what to leave behind... And yes, my back sometimes screams in agony when I've packed too much!