carry a SLR camera in india

I carry 11.5 kilos of DSLR gear, including 3 prime lenses, in a Lowepro SlingShot 350AW on my back 10 hours a day while I'm traveling/shooting. It's not the perfect camera bag - the perfect bag has not been invented yet - but it's pretty good. And when I'm sitting on a bus/train or at some public place, I maintain a one-handed death-grip on it at all times. I've also got a small retractable cable lock that I use with it. I've heard way too many horror stories from other photos who set their gear down and looked away "just for a second" and had it swiped.

Hi
You can carry your 50D with L series lenses easily . no problem, I have seen photographers carrying Nikon D 700 D 90, Canon 60D etc.

Thanks
ALok

Yeah you'll be fine, I carry a Canon 1D Mark III with L lenses daily with no issues at all. I carry my gear in an F-Stop Loka pack which doesn't scream "Camera gear!" but even when I have the camera out shooting no one has ever made any attempt to grab it or mess with me.

Local Indian tourists will have more camera gear than you. No one will notice or care about yours.

while looking for these bags on-line I cam across the Kata torso pack, which is perfect for my needs. Thanks for the push in the right direction.

Thanks for mentioning this new brand. Neither Adorama nor B&H seem to stock them. But the bags do look interesting with very impressive material details like internal frame support etc - something that you expect in an elaborate North Face kind of backpack only.
I couldn't understand one thing - do they come with a facility to carry a tripod? What are those side straps for?

The only place to get them is from their website fstopgear.com they have distribution all over the world so getting one in India isn't a problem.
You can carry a tripod with no problems, the side straps are for attaching anything to the pack and also Molle attachment points. If you Google Dan Carr's photography site he's done some really extensive reviews on all their packs. I swear by F-Stop packs now, they are as close to a perfect camera pack as I've ever found.

My only suggestion is that you keep the camera on a strap around your neck at all times. Because many places are so crowded and congested - I had my Nikkon D70 accidentally knocked out of my hand and destroyed as it bounced down the sidewalk. (It's replacement was stolen in Ecuador-but that's another can of worms altogether!) If you take basic precautions you will have no trouble in India.

Before I moved to India I picked up a Sun Sniper camera sling. It rests on your shoulder instead of around your neck and is great for photo-walks. It has a steel cable woven into the strap to prevent someone from trying to slice the strap off of you. After using neck straps for 20 years it took little getting used to, having the camera hanging around your side, but I used it on a 10 hour yesterday and my neck and back felt great, no fatigue. There are a few companies making slings, the only reason I settled on Sun Sling was for the metal cable.

You will see a lot of 5D Mark II or D700 among other tourists, including many Indians, so that will not be a problem... the only thing is that you need to be careful about it while travelling in trains or bus

I carry my Olympus E-30 in a Pac Safe slash proof camera bag. Instead on a neck strap, I use a wrist strap which gives me a great grip.

I've been to India 3 times - the first time I carried an SLR but got tired of carrying it everywhere.
The second time I took a compact digital - on a long minibus journey I'd put it in my rucksack as the battery needed charging, but the rucksack was with me. Then the minibus broke down and we had to swap - the next minibus had all the luggage stored at the back and my camera was stolen from there. I'd got a very large memory card in it so although I'd travelling for 3 weeks , ALL my photos were still in the camera .
The third time I went I also took a compact digital - all was well until I was on a beach a playing with some local children - ended up getting sand in the lens cover..
Learned a few lessons....

Skachbow, I guess your middle name is not lucky?

I just came back from Andamans. I waded a little in the water with the SLR and the brand new zoom lens. The cell phone was in the pocket too. A coral poked by foot, I lost my balance and the camera, the lens (70-300) and the cell phone are now history. Time for a new SLR!

i carried my D70 for 7 months in India, either in a simple Bag on my shoulder or directly in my hand ´with the strip wound around my wrist, to keeping it from falling and the strap from dangling around. Even in big citys, not a single problem.
The only times i was a bit worried (with no reason...)was on train rides at night, but for that, i just wrap the bag in a towel/blanket, an use it as pillow...
and i never put it in luggage racks in buses since a friends camera was broken (not stolen) by the bad road conditions...
And i have several small cards (1GB) which i change and put in a safe place in case the camera really should get lost, i still have the pictures (i can replace the camera...)