Camera bag, backpack style, suggestions anyone?

Kevin CTMP

Hello all,

I'm trying to find a decent camera bag...preferably the back-pack type, to hold all of my stuff. I'm tired of having to pick and choose what equipment i want to take with me on shoots and would rather have a nice one i can hold all of my stuff in...and just wear on my back rather than over my shoulder......i need one that will hold 2 DSLRs (40D and Xti) 2 Flashes (580 and 430), a flip bracket, and 3-4 lenses.

does anyone know of a decent bag at a reasonable price?...everthing i've found is either not enough, or overkill.....the only decent one i found was the Canon 200 EG for $50......any thoughts and suggestions would be helpful

thanks

Kevin

www.ctm-photography.net

rainbow

The Canon might fit all of your equipment, but it is not the most comfortable bag to keep on your back all day. All the weight will sit on your shoulders as there is no padded waist strap. And you have to be careful to leave the zippers at one end or the other as it can otherwise unzip and deposit your gear onto the ground unexpectedly.

There are excellent bags from many different companies, including (but not limited to) Lowepro, Kata, Thinktank, etc. I would find a shop to bring all your gear to and try the actual bags themselves. With a few thousand dollars of gear, you may have to invest a hundred or two for a bag that meets your needs.

You might start with this forum thread:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=585253

If you use it often, then "overkill" may be better than "underkill" and having to look for another one soon.

Jeremy Winterberg

Check out the Tamrac product line. I have both the Aero 80 backpack, and the Cyberpack 6 backpack.

The Cyberpack 6 can hold my Three Canon Bodies with lenses on them - 50D w/28-135, XSi gripped w/17-50 2.8, Elan 7 gripped w/ 50 1.8, my 70-300, 18-55, my 580EX II, MacBook Pro 15", bunch of batteries, memory cards, film, and theres still a ton of space left in there that I could be using. I can also fit my tripod and monopod on the outside of it using the straps it comes with.

Its like $130 but I know its worth it. I carried all that gear up to the top of a mountain in Texas on my back and I was comfortable the whole way.

Kevin CTMP

rainbow wrote:

The Canon might fit all of your equipment, but it is not the most comfortable bag to keep on your back all day. All the weight will sit on your shoulders as there is no padded waist strap. And you have to be careful to leave the zippers at one end or the other as it can otherwise unzip and deposit your gear onto the ground unexpectedly.

There are excellent bags from many different companies, including (but not limited to) Lowepro, Kata, Thinktank, etc. I would find a shop to bring all your gear to and try the actual bags themselves. With a few thousand dollars of gear, you may have to invest a hundred or two for a bag that meets your needs.

You might start with this forum thread:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=585253

If you use it often, then "overkill" may be better than "underkill" and having to look for another one soon.

Thanks!.....I don't really do alot of hiking or moving, I mostly shoot weddings, so its not on me all the time.....but i definitely understand what you're saying about damaging my gear.....i'll keep my eyes open to maybe find somthing a little nicer

Kevin CTMP

Jeremy Winterberg wrote:

Check out the Tamrac product line. I have both the Aero 80 backpack, and the Cyberpack 6 backpack.

The Cyberpack 6 can hold my Three Canon Bodies with lenses on them - 50D w/28-135, XSi gripped w/17-50 2.8, Elan 7 gripped w/ 50 1.8, my 70-300, 18-55, my 580EX II, MacBook Pro 15", bunch of batteries, memory cards, film, and theres still a ton of space left in there that I could be using. I can also fit my tripod and monopod on the outside of it using the straps it comes with.

Its like $130 but I know its worth it. I carried all that gear up to the top of a mountain in Texas on my back and I was comfortable the whole way.

thanks for the tips....I don't really do a whole lot of hiking, mostly just even photographer, it would be more for storage only....but i'll definitely have to check those out

Jeremy Winterberg

Kevin CTMP wrote:

thanks for the tips....I don't really do a whole lot of hiking, mostly just even photographer, it would be more for storage only....but i'll definitely have to check those out

I dont do a lot of hiking either, I'm mostly a people shooter... but its very nice for storing because it can fit soooo much in there.

Art Scott

Kevin CTMP wrote:

Hello all,

I'm trying to find a decent camera bag...preferably the back-pack type, to hold all of my stuff. I'm tired of having to pick and choose what equipment i want to take with me on shoots and would rather have a nice one i can hold all of my stuff in...and just wear on my back rather than over my shoulder......i need one that will hold 2 DSLRs (40D and Xti) 2 Flashes (580 and 430), a flip bracket, and 3-4 lenses.

does anyone know of a decent bag at a reasonable price?...everthing i've found is either not enough, or overkill.....the only decent one i found was the Canon 200 EG for $50......any thoughts and suggestions would be helpful

thanks

Kevin

www.ctm-photography.net

really good bag/backpack will be more than $50.....I have been using LowePro now for over 25+yrs and other photogs have been using thier brands for just as long.....but I do find the LowePro's to be more padded than most.....including Tamrac, m-rock and others....a lot of the newer styles that tout being invisble because they do not look like camera bags...have thin dividers but absolutley no padding for protection....I carry 2 bodies 99.9% of the time with lenses attached (70-210 f2.8 and 24-70 f2.8) .... and I ride a MC at times so I needed abag to fit these situations and could not find one that worked without a lot of improvising.......I looked at the various vest assembleis ....even LowePros and then one day I was at a Gun show and show a Maniquen with a Pistol belt with suspenders and stuff attached to the suspenders and belt......made think again about a vest type rig.....Pistol belt cost 8.99, suspenders cost 5.99 so for $15 + state tax I had the beginings.....I had just recieved a LowePro slingshot 300 and it did not quite work for me....close but not close enuff.......so I had made arrangements for a LowePro TopLoader 75AW to be shipped from same retailer .....fit my camera with 70-210 almost perfectly so I had 2nd one sent.....so withthem on pistol belt and the suspenders to help distribute the weight it was a perfect combo...especially for riding and shooing of MC.......

For the average photog the LowePro slingshot 300 has enuff room to carry 2 DSLR'S + batttery grips + 2-4 lenses and loads of other stuff and being a sling bag it carries well as a backpack but you do not have to remove from body to get into gear....it is comfy to wear and one thing I have always liked about LowePro is theior waist belts a wide and comfortable............

Good luck

Dogdots

You sound like me....I need to take everything with me when I head out the door. I've tried just taking the camera and a len or two, but it never fails I want the lens I left at home.

So I bought a Lowepro Photo Trekker a year ago so I could carry everything with me and it had a side handle. The side handle is what I wanted as I wasn't planning on carrying it on my back -- the hubby would do that for me But he didn't like the feel on his back so I wanted to cut off all the back-pack straps, padding, etc. My hubby wasn't to keen on me cutting up a $250 backpack. So I returned it and bought a used one a month ago. And yep....I cut it up and it works wonderful. Holds everything....very balanced when I carry it by the side handle and room for more lenses in the future.

Good luck finding what you want....with so many options out there it shouldn't be to hard.

Art Scott

Dogdots wrote:

You sound like me....I need to take everything with me when I head out the door. I've tried just taking the camera and a len or two, but it never fails I want the lens I left at home.

So I bought a Lowepro Photo Trekker a year ago so I could carry everything with me and it had a side handle. The side handle is what I wanted as I wasn't planning on carrying it on my back -- the hubby would do that for me But he didn't like the feel on his back so I wanted to cut off all the back-pack straps, padding, etc. My hubby wasn't to keen on me cutting up a $250 backpack. So I returned it and bought a used one a month ago. And yep....I cut it up and it works wonderful. Holds everything....very balanced when I carry it by the side handle and room for more lenses in the future.

Good luck finding what you want....with so many options out there it shouldn't be to hard.

OMG YOU DIDN'T......REALLY YOU SLICED AND DICED A LOWEPRO TREKKERcrycrycrycrycrycry
i got one the last year they were considered carry on acceptable.....I love that bag.....that is my storage bag now.....I too wish they had made the harness removable, it would make it easier for plane travel............

I just can't believe yu did that.....I just can'trofl

ChatKat

Computrekker
I have the computreker and it's basically the same bag. I do like it's capacity but I would not carry it on my back - too heavy for me. I never thought to cut off the shoulder straps! Good idea. I think I might put mine up for sale.

That said, I travelled with that a number of times and it's not steady enough to roll and have a 2nd bag on top. I now travel with a small rolling suitcase that is filled with the padded Lowepro or Tamrac lens cases that are padded and some clear ziplock type bags with my gear in them that also fits my laptop. This way no one knows it's got gear in it.

For a carrying bag, I also have a Crumpler Soup and Salad Messenger Bag and the insert Soup and Salad. I LOVE the comfort of that bag. Filled it with flashes and extra lenses and body. I love love love it!. I might get a bigger kind of bag that is similar.

pyry

Art Scott wrote:

i got one the last year they were considered carry on acceptable.....I love that bag.....that is my storage bag now.....I too wish they had made the harness removable, it would make it easier for plane travel............

I just can't believe yu did that.....I just can'trofl

My Lowepro Vertex 300 has a canvas cover for the harness, it lives in the bottom pouch with the rain cover. It attaches to the edges of the backside with a zipper and when it's on the harness is completely covered.

The Vertex 300 is a big back-pack. It'll eat 2 bodies with lenses attached, 3-4 more lenses and a flash or two. It'll take a laptop too (at which point the thing is heavy, but manageable with the excellent harness properly adjusted).

The only thing missing would be the side handle.

Dogdots

Yep...cut it up and it doesn't look bad at all. I can't decide if I'll remove the last part -- the padding in the middle of the back. I'd like to, but it adds extra padding for when I lay it down on the ground.




Does anyone know what these are for? They came with the backpack.

Art Scott

Dogdots wrote:

Does anyone know what these are for? They came with the backpack.

They look like the extra lens / stuff pouches mine came with......they are pouches correct and the other parts are dividers......the pouches could carry upto I believe a 400-600mm lens not a zoom but a prime.....I have never used mine ....................

Just to protect the foam in your converted pack you may want to pull the zipper cover out of the bottom and seal it(zipp it closed).............:D

Art Scott

pyry wrote:

My Lowepro Vertex 300 has a canvas cover for the harness, it lives in the bottom pouch with the rain cover. It attaches to the edges of the backside with a zipper and when it's on the harness is completely covered.

The Vertex 300 is a big back-pack. It'll eat 2 bodies with lenses attached, 3-4 more lenses and a flash or two. It'll take a laptop too (at which point the thing is heavy, but manageable with the excellent harness properly adjusted).

The only thing missing would be the side handle.

yeah the Trekker line has that harness cover also and that is how I had to send it thru x-ray at the airport and it still got hung up inside the machine:D.........
With all my cams, lenses, flashes and other stuff in this bag it was 3OZ from the limit for carry on in 2003........

HeatherWB

You might want to take a look at the Tenba Shootout backpacks. Judging by the gear you've got, either the small or medium sizes should work for you. They've got a lot of neat features like a tripod holder that will adjust to fit the size tripod you carry and a cover that zips over the backpack straps when you're carrying it by hand (I'm not sure about the small size, but I know the medium and large sizes have this). All sizes, with the exception of the mini, also have a padded waist belt. The medium and large sizes also come in wheeled versions, too. Here are a couple of links to some more info, including a video:

http://www.tenba.com/products/Shootout-Small-Backpack.aspx

http://www.tenba.com/products/Shootout-Medium-Backpack.aspx

I've had the medium rolling backpack and was really impressed with it, both in it's durability and function, but got rid of it because it was too big for what gear I travel with, as well as being too heavy for me to carry around on my back (I'm 5'1"). To replace it, I picked up the mini size, which is a lot more manageble for me to carry around, but still just as servicable as the larger ones. When I'm not traveling, it works great for storage.

HTH,
Heather

Kevin CTMP

Art Scott wrote:

really good bag/backpack will be more than $50.....I have been using LowePro now for over 25+yrs and other photogs have been using thier brands for just as long.....but I do find the LowePro's to be more padded than most.....including Tamrac, m-rock and others....a lot of the newer styles that tout being invisble because they do not look like camera bags...have thin dividers but absolutley no padding for protection....I carry 2 bodies 99.9% of the time with lenses attached (70-210 f2.8 and 24-70 f2.8) .... and I ride a MC at times so I needed abag to fit these situations and could not find one that worked without a lot of improvising.......I looked at the various vest assembleis ....even LowePros and then one day I was at a Gun show and show a Maniquen with a Pistol belt with suspenders and stuff attached to the suspenders and belt......made think again about a vest type rig.....Pistol belt cost 8.99, suspenders cost 5.99 so for $15 + state tax I had the beginings.....I had just recieved a LowePro slingshot 300 and it did not quite work for me....close but not close enuff.......so I had made arrangements for a LowePro TopLoader 75AW to be shipped from same retailer .....fit my camera with 70-210 almost perfectly so I had 2nd one sent.....so withthem on pistol belt and the suspenders to help distribute the weight it was a perfect combo...especially for riding and shooing of MC.......

For the average photog the LowePro slingshot 300 has enuff room to carry 2 DSLR'S + batttery grips + 2-4 lenses and loads of other stuff and being a sling bag it carries well as a backpack but you do not have to remove from body to get into gear....it is comfy to wear and one thing I have always liked about LowePro is theior waist belts a wide and comfortable............

Good luck

I've had a few LowPro for my point and shoots way back when.....i did always notice that they were constructed very well and held my stuff nicely....i checked some of them out online.....the Flipside 400 AW looks really nice for the price....know anything about it?

ziggy53

K-mount Lightbox wrote:

You might want to take a look at the Tenba Shootout backpacks. Judging by the gear you've got, either the small or medium sizes should work for you. They've got a lot of neat features like a tripod holder that will adjust to fit the size tripod you carry and a cover that zips over the backpack straps when you're carrying it by hand (I'm not sure about the small size, but I know the medium and large sizes have this). All sizes, with the exception of the mini, also have a padded waist belt. The medium and large sizes also come in wheeled versions, too. Here are a couple of links to some more info, including a video:

http://www.tenba.com/products/Shootout-Small-Backpack.aspx

http://www.tenba.com/products/Shootout-Medium-Backpack.aspx

I've had the medium rolling backpack and was really impressed with it, both in it's durability and function, but got rid of it because it was too big for what gear I travel with, as well as being too heavy for me to carry around on my back (I'm 5'1"). To replace it, I picked up the mini size, which is a lot more manageble for me to carry around, but still just as servicable as the larger ones. When I'm not traveling, it works great for storage.

HTH,
Heather

Heather, welcome to the Digital Grin.

Thanks for the insight.

(Sorry I missed your first post. I do try to make sure the new folks are properly greeted.)