Tim Gray
Well-known
I got this bag today. Haven't had a chance to load anything in it yet since I'm at work and my cameras aren't.
It looks really well made. It's a nice size, but a bit stiff. It has a lot of little pockets and flaps and stuff, which kind of adds to the structure of the bag. I don't see this as a bad thing necessarily as it holds it's form, but it's really not going to mold to your hip all that well. However, considering that it's not that large, this shouldn't be too much of an issue.
The pads on the bottom of the bag really help the bag keep it's shape. I think if you took them out it would collapse down a bit more. A softer more malleable pad might be a better choice down there.
The zip pockets on the back, both on the inside and outside, really aren't suited for anything with any bulk. Think boarding passes, maps, etc. It's nice that there are two - important stuff can go inside while a map or something can go on the outside for easy access.
The front pocket is pretty expansive. The two side pockets on the outside are point less. If you put anything in there that isn't tall enough, you aren't getting it out. And they really wide enough to put any thing in with any bulk. Maybe a couple pens or something similar.
The two side pouches on the inside of the bag are kind of cool, but remember that they take away volume from the rest of the bag. I'll probably use one for external finders. The interior organization pocket on the front inside of the bag, but given the small overall size of the bag, they probably could have cut down on the number of pockets in it. It has one main pocket with a couple little credit card sized slots, a couple of pen slots, and a key hook. There's also another zippered pocket in here. All these pockets are cool, it's just as you put bulky items in them, they'll push into the main compartment a good bit.
As far as the main compartment goes, this looks like a one camera, two lens bag to me if you are going for easy access. Depending on your lenses and how much you are willing to stack, you could probably stick another lens or two in there. You could also probably go 2 camera bodies and an extra lens if one of the bodies had a smallish lens on it. With my normal travel kit, 2 cameras, a 28, a 50/1.4, and a collapsible 90, everything should fit in. I'm curious though with my 75/1.4 - it's a large enough lens that it might have to travel unmounted, which is a pain, or the camera with lens mounted might need to be stowed holster style, with the lens facing down. This obviously would require moving some stuff around inside, so I'll try this out tonight.
I'll have to figure out where film is going to go. The outside pouch is an obvious place, but it's not as secure as inside the bag; I can imagine knocking a roll or two out if it were really packed full. Of course, if you used a third of the main compartment for film, you could fit a good 8-12 rolls or so, but that's one less lens. On long trips, I might be lining the bottom of the bag with film and layering gear on top.
Oh, and it comes with plenty of dividers. The bottom padding is two wide and thick dividers. If you don't want padding on the bottom, they come out. There's also one full height divider, 3 half height ones, and one right angle one that is half heigh and then goes horizontal. So you should be able to configure this bag in several ways. And if you really want just one big pouch, all of this stuff comes out.
The rain cover takes up a fair amount of space when it's folded up. As Chuck said, you can't really work out of the bag when the rain cover is on, so the fact that it takes up the front pocket when not in use is annoying. I prefer the Lowepro style of rain cover that slips into a slot in the base of the bag. You kill two birds with one stone that way - you always have the cover with you when you need it AND you have some padding on the bottom of the bag.
Anyway, I'll see how I like it once I start using it, but it's pretty much what I expected and wanted and I think I'll like it quite a bit. A great camera bag for a smallish kit.
It looks really well made. It's a nice size, but a bit stiff. It has a lot of little pockets and flaps and stuff, which kind of adds to the structure of the bag. I don't see this as a bad thing necessarily as it holds it's form, but it's really not going to mold to your hip all that well. However, considering that it's not that large, this shouldn't be too much of an issue.
The pads on the bottom of the bag really help the bag keep it's shape. I think if you took them out it would collapse down a bit more. A softer more malleable pad might be a better choice down there.
The zip pockets on the back, both on the inside and outside, really aren't suited for anything with any bulk. Think boarding passes, maps, etc. It's nice that there are two - important stuff can go inside while a map or something can go on the outside for easy access.
The front pocket is pretty expansive. The two side pockets on the outside are point less. If you put anything in there that isn't tall enough, you aren't getting it out. And they really wide enough to put any thing in with any bulk. Maybe a couple pens or something similar.
The two side pouches on the inside of the bag are kind of cool, but remember that they take away volume from the rest of the bag. I'll probably use one for external finders. The interior organization pocket on the front inside of the bag, but given the small overall size of the bag, they probably could have cut down on the number of pockets in it. It has one main pocket with a couple little credit card sized slots, a couple of pen slots, and a key hook. There's also another zippered pocket in here. All these pockets are cool, it's just as you put bulky items in them, they'll push into the main compartment a good bit.
As far as the main compartment goes, this looks like a one camera, two lens bag to me if you are going for easy access. Depending on your lenses and how much you are willing to stack, you could probably stick another lens or two in there. You could also probably go 2 camera bodies and an extra lens if one of the bodies had a smallish lens on it. With my normal travel kit, 2 cameras, a 28, a 50/1.4, and a collapsible 90, everything should fit in. I'm curious though with my 75/1.4 - it's a large enough lens that it might have to travel unmounted, which is a pain, or the camera with lens mounted might need to be stowed holster style, with the lens facing down. This obviously would require moving some stuff around inside, so I'll try this out tonight.
I'll have to figure out where film is going to go. The outside pouch is an obvious place, but it's not as secure as inside the bag; I can imagine knocking a roll or two out if it were really packed full. Of course, if you used a third of the main compartment for film, you could fit a good 8-12 rolls or so, but that's one less lens. On long trips, I might be lining the bottom of the bag with film and layering gear on top.
Oh, and it comes with plenty of dividers. The bottom padding is two wide and thick dividers. If you don't want padding on the bottom, they come out. There's also one full height divider, 3 half height ones, and one right angle one that is half heigh and then goes horizontal. So you should be able to configure this bag in several ways. And if you really want just one big pouch, all of this stuff comes out.
The rain cover takes up a fair amount of space when it's folded up. As Chuck said, you can't really work out of the bag when the rain cover is on, so the fact that it takes up the front pocket when not in use is annoying. I prefer the Lowepro style of rain cover that slips into a slot in the base of the bag. You kill two birds with one stone that way - you always have the cover with you when you need it AND you have some padding on the bottom of the bag.
Anyway, I'll see how I like it once I start using it, but it's pretty much what I expected and wanted and I think I'll like it quite a bit. A great camera bag for a smallish kit.
