sling bag? who uses one?

back alley

back alley

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these bags always look so very attractive and usable…until i look at them in person, and then they look cumbersome and clunky!
the straps are always wide and long and feel stiff & heavy. the insides seem smaller than the pics on the bag's website.
in theory they seem near perfect for a street shootin' kind of cowboy capable of holding a ton of gear combined with easy access to it.

anyone here use a sling bag for street/urban type shooting?
what are your thoughts based on your experiences?




my ultimate goal is to find a bag that will hold my 2 xe1 bodies with 23 & 56 attached (with aftermarket hoods on the lenses) plus a 3rd lens.
 
I have and love the ThinkTank Turnstyle 10. One of the few of theirs I like (I know, I know...). Really works- I use it for general outings, not really a street shooter. This guy is though:
http://www.seriouscompacts.com/showthread.php?t=26032&highlight=thinktank
It is very functional, smoothly swings around and into position, very light but holds quite a lot for its size. I think it could hold what you want, but TurnStyle 20 certainly could, and then some.
 
Zonan said:
I have and love the ThinkTank Turnstyle 10. One of the few of theirs I like (I know, I know...). Really works- I use it for general outings, not really a street shooter. This guy is though:
http://www.seriouscompacts.com/showthread.php?t=26032&highlight=thinktank
It is very functional, smoothly swings around and into position, very light but holds quite a lot for its size. I think it could hold what you want, but TurnStyle 20 certainly could, and then some.
Click to expand...

i'll have to take another look at these…they look good on the website...
 
I was issued one when I was in the Navy and while the bean counters thought it would be practical, it turned out to be awful. The padded strap was too wide, bulky and rigid, no matter how much the bag was used.

A bicycle messenger's bag with a few foam inserts is a much better solution than the sling bags offered by Lowepro et al. I have a Crumpler Barney Rustle Blanket bag and it stays much cooler and is better balanced than the camera bags. They are too big for a small kit, even a pair of small form factor cameras and a lens or two. But they can definitely carry more, like a lunch, water bottle, poncho. My current bag can carry my complete Mamiya 6 kit with all three lenses, two pro-packs of film, a rain coat or sweater/light jacket and a sandwich.

Phil Forrest
 
I have a F-stop Kenti - not so much a slingback, but a backpack with the functionality of a slingback. After having used this one I came to the conclusion that a slingback is the worst of two worlds. It isn't as easy to get to your stuff compared to a shoulder bag and it still puts the weight on one shoulder. The Kenti is a proper backpack, so it is good if you want to carry stuff during a hike and you can get to your cameras easier then with most backpacks. But in town I would prefer a shoulder bag because it is still a hassle to get to your camera with a sling.
 
my ultimate goal is to find a bag that will hold my 2 xe1 bodies with 23 & 56 attached (with aftermarket hoods on the lenses) plus a 3rd lens.
Click to expand...

Perhaps check out the Crumpler Light Delight 6000? I have a 4000, picked up from a local dealer's junk box for a few quid. I've carried my 5D with two old (and heavy) Tamron AD2 lenses in it and it works for me. Currently, I have two Panny G2s and three lenses in it. Distributes the weight so well I can wear it all day without problems. It seems to me to have the best attributes of both the sling and shoulder designs.
 
I bought a Crumpler off the Evilbay.
Cost about £3.00 secondhand.
I didnt like my Lowe Pro Nova.
Crumpler is great.
Looking for a larger one at the moment.

Doesnt look too much like a Camera bag.
It is really comfy to wear. Because of its wide strap!
All bags, if they are against you will make you sweat.
I found the Lowe pro to be uncomfortable because of the weight/surface area.
Crumpler lies flat (bigger area) against your body, so seem to be more comfy.

As for the leather ones Mr Huff seems to like so much.
Look a bit like handbags to me.
Or at least Camp manbags!
Uncomfortable ones at that.
 
back alley said:
good point…i never would have thought about that…of course we get a short summer here and i wonder how comfortable a sling would be on a cold winter's day with a heavy coat on.
Click to expand...
IMO they didn't work well when wearing a winter coat. No matter what bag I try I keep returning to one of my three F-803 Domke bags. I wear them with the strap across my chest which enables the bag to be moved to my front side for access or moved to my back. I have several different inserts that allow some customization. They are definitely not perfect but fit my needs most of the time. Mine are pretty weather beaten and faded - the more I use the bags the better they look. They have plenty of room for the u4/3 gear I take with me - lately a GH3 or GX7 with the 12-35/2.8 and 35-100/2.8. Plenty of room for extra batteries, a micro fiber cloth and a Giotto rocket. I am beginning to think I am not going to find any bag I will like or use more. I also like that these bags can be put in the washing machine when dirty (then air dried). I only bought one new. The other two were purchased from a friend.

Mike

Mike
 
i was in search of an 803 and was gifted with a domke that turned out to be the big brother 802…the 802 will hold everything i own but will never carry all at once so it's great for me for storage.
too bad there are no local used bag stores around...
 
I've tried many sling bags over the past decade and haven't yet found one that is truly comfortable or useful. I have two at present ... the Sony Sling and the Lowepro Passport Sling.

- The Sony Sling could be useful at some point, but I don't like its lack of structure. It can go from pretty compact to huge with two expansion zippers. It was cheap, it is light, it can hold a lot. But I haven't used it much.

- The Lowepro Passport Sling is a good fit with its boxy padded compartment for my Hasselblad 500CM with 80, 150 lens in a lens case outside of that, and also works for my Hasselblad SWC. I use it when I'm carrying either of those cameras.

By and large, I don't find they work for me except infrequently. Shoulder and messenger style bags are much more useful. Biggest note in my gear carrying book: carry as little as possible to get what I want done, or only go where I can take the car... 🙂

G
 
I have the Think Tank TurnStyle 20 ( http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/turnstyle-20-blue-slate-sling.aspx ) and the Pac Safe V16 camera sling bag:
http://pacsafe.com/www/index.php?_room=3&_action=detail&id=215

I like both for different reasons; each has its own shotcomings since there is no such thing as a "perfect" camera bag.

When wearing the Think Tank sling, the sling rides on my left shoulder when the bag is on my back. The Pac Safe is designed just the opposite (bag on back equals sling on the right shoulder). If either gets to be heavy or uncomfortable, I just move the bag around front for a while, which causes the strap to switch shoulders.

Both are great camera bags that are well designed and will work quite nicely for street or travel photography. The padding is on the thin side in the Think Tank, but I have customized mine a bit to compensate. Both bags have rain covers in case you are caught in an unexpected downpour.

The Pac Safe V16 bag is pretty well padded and has numerous anti-theft features, which makes it a great choice for travel photography; it is going with me on my next trip. It is lighter in color than the Think Tank (light to medium gray) so I prefer it for hot weather. My TurnStyle 20 is black and medium blue, so it is less obvious when doing street photography at night.

If you like the Pac Safe, I would advocate getting the gray bag - the red & orange version doesn't do much by way of helping a street photographer to blend in and keep a low profile.

The TurnStyle 20 sells for around $100 USD, while the Pac Safe V16 sling goes for around $180 USD. That's admittedly a significant increase in price compared to the Think Tank - but the extra details, design work and security fratures are well worth the extra cost IMHO.

An extra $80 for increased security is a drop in the photographic bucket, given the cost of high end cameras and lenses these days. It's money well spent.
 
I have a Lowepro Slingshot 300 because I got it cheap. I'm not that fond of it but do use it occassionally as it can hold the Nikkor 80-200/2.8D which is too big for my Stealth Reporter bags (200 and D100).

My main gripe against it is I can't get it to sit properly on my back. It's always off at a funny angle and is really only comfortable with the waist belt buckled which defeats the sling concept.

Even when I can 'sling it round' I don't find that much use as all I can get into is the camera body and attached lens. There's no way into the other lenses so you're probably better having a rucksack which is more comfortable to carry as you're going to have to take the Slingshot off anyway to get at other lenses.

Ronnie
 
Mine is a one off modified affair. Basically I bought a duck hunters fanny pack rig and sewed the slings together at their very ends to allow me to carry on the side. I like it, amazing how much it will carry, it is very accessible, and most importantly very comfortable.

slingbag.bmp
 
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