"I think you'll find that people who use their kayaks to explore, do longish trips and/or to observe/photograph wildlife (Explorers) will often be using deck bags. "

Absolutely true for us...mine holds our camera in a waterproof lexan case, my wife's holds her binoculars. Since the deck bags are there we also stuff in gloves, snacks and other miscellaneous items. We assume the deck back will leak (the zippers wear out eventually).

Note that the lexan camera case works great, can take pictures whenever desired without fear of damaging the camera. Expensive, but prior to purchasing the case I rarely took pictures, now I bring back a bunch from every trip.