How does everyone carry their gear?

ohyeahar

A problem every DSLR user faces is how to carry their bulky yet awesome camera gear around. You could just get a huge camera bag and take everything with you all the time. But most of us aren’t pros who shoot for a living. So it’s often unnecessary and impractical to bring everything. So how do you carry the least amount of gear and yet still be ready for ANYTHING? Let’s see how some you tackle this issue! Perhaps you’ll serve as an inspiration to help some of the beginners around here.

I have 2 configurations:

Barebones config:
No camera bag or strap. I just wear my D5100 on my belt using the Peak Design Capture. I would have either the 35mm f/1.8 or my 17-50mm f/2.8 mounted on the camera. Maybe I’ll have a spare battery in my pocket.

Casual config:
Same as my barebones config except I’ll wear my sling bag, the Crumpler Mild Enthusiast (M). Inside would be my 70-200mm f/2.8 along with other accessories like spare battery, memory card, and LensPens. Once at the shoot location, I’ll attach the Peak Design Leash to the camera as a sling strap. Wearing it that way means I have faster access to my camera between shots. If I want the camera to be more secure and attached to me, I’ll slide it back in the Capture.
With my sling bag and the sling strap, it’s possible to change lenses without needing a flat surface which is invaluable.

flavocin

With my 60D, I used to carry one lens, my Canon 15-85mm. It is nice and wide with a bit of length, but not enough length and just a bit slow.
Now I use my Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 OS HSM and Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 HSM along with a 2X converter. I use a canon 2400 bag, or if I want to take all my gear (Canon 50mm f/1.8 metal mount, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, Canon 580 EX flash, filters, batteries, cable), I use a Canon back pack.
It's well padded with lots of pockets and I can just throw it over my shoulder.

jeromemundy

I purchased the Tamrack Evolution 9 Backpack. It holds the camera all the lens and batteries and my 17 inch laptop. I use it for travel to carryon thru airports. when I don't need the laptop, I just leave it home but it does carry all. even has place for tripod.

bruto

I have a Lowepro Micro Trekker for day to day use, which holds the camera and a couple of spare lenses, and various accessories. I leave the charger and many other things at home. For longer travel I have a larger backpack (a local dealer has sold me a couple of very nice used ones at sub yard sale prices). For hiking I have a smaller shoulder case that holds just the camera, one other lens, and a few smaller accesories.

edit to add: One advantage of the latter rig is that, as with Ohyeahar's sling bag, it allows me to change lenses without laying anything down. Whatever you end up using, you should be careful to try it out in real world situations, to see if it is practical.