Keeping SLR camera accessible when touring?

My beacon sits a bit below and to the side of where the camera sits (and beneath at least one layer of clothing, so no problem. But I wouldn't mind buying some soft shell pants that have a beacon-worthy pocket...

My beacon sits a bit below and to the side of where the camera sits (and beneath at least one layer of clothing, so no problem. But I wouldn't mind buying some soft shell pants that have a beacon-worthy pocket...

+1

I use a top-loading bag with a chest harness setup, similar to this:

Back when I was carrying an SLR, I used a chest harness similar to the one Jim illustrated.

A modification that I made was to attach tethered clips to the shoulder straps of my pack. These clips could be clipped directly to the camera bag, so the weight of the camera was borne by my pack straps rather than my neck and shoulders. I found this a lot more comfortable with a heavy-ish SLR bag.

I would use this system for long periods of travel with my pack on. Of course, I'd have to "clip out" whenever I wanted to remove my pack and continue carrying the camera in its harness.

For what it's worth...

Bungy cord! When I bring my SLR I use a top loader like the one in Jim's photo (mine's a Tamrac Zoom 16). To keep it from flopping around, I hook a bungy cord around my back. Simple, effective, easy on/off and can be purchased at a store near you! And comfortable if you get the length right. Choose slightly long and adjust smaller with overhand knots. It keeps the camera snug for rock scrambles, skiing downhill, whatever and the camera's right there for quick pics.

And there's always pocket cameras -- the newer generation high res ones with HDR and pan mode are looking tempting. Or is that called a phone now?

I got one of these on sale for using a full size (ish) SLR,
It's Lowepro200AW something

Yes the camera is in your backpack, but it's in it's own pocket and you can get to it reasonably fast.
You get faster.

I figured: since you always have a pack with you anyway....and I don't want a big lump attached to my chest as I wreck often and hard & I don't want it hammered into my rib cage.
my 2 cents

I am however a big fan of the middle way; smaller micro4/3 camera in a shoulder holster I made, it's olive green, you can see it in most of the pics in the main thread here; www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboardi...ex.php?topic=28297.0
Zips inside your jacket.
...another cent....
waffle waffle waffle.