Buying and Managing Your Multimedia Gear

Years ago, when I realized I was heading towards the world of photojournalism, I bought a serious camera bag – the legendary Domke F2. In the 1980s, it was the bag to have – durable, flexible, adaptable and, well, you looked cool carrying it – especially once it started to wear-in. (I still have my original one, it is beyond broken-in – it’s threadbare, but I refuse to toss it. I also refuse to carry it around as I’m afraid it may disintegrate at any moment.)

Since then, I think I’ve bought about a dozen more Domke bags of various styles and sizes. Every single one of them has served me amazingly well. (I’ve also bought nearly 60 for the college for various camera kits – go with what you know, right?)

But then my back started to hurt a little bit more and I needed to transition to something aside from shoulder bags. On the recommendation of several people, I picked up a Think Tank system and have really come to admire them. Designed by working photojournalists (as the Domke bags are), they’ve really started to change the way multimedia journalists carry their gear – and are doing an excellent job of showing us not just how to use the gear, but how to manage it. They’ve posted a good sized section on their web site on what’s available out there for multimedia gear – audio recorders, microphones, DSLR cameras that can do video – as well as how to fit it into their system.

Sure, that last part is the self-promotion, but, overall, it’s a nice roundup of what’s out there now.