The Best Camera Bag?

[Jouster85]

Hi, I'm new at the forum, sorry if this isn't in the right place.

I need a new camera bag. I have a Nikon D80 and a few different lens. Is there a good bag anyone could recommend that would hold all of those?

Thanks, I think I'm really going to like this site!

 

[Sw1tchFX]

what lenses do you have? That GREATLY impacts what bag you use? do you only have small primes? or a bunch of f/2.8 zooms?

 

[Antithesis]

The most common answer to this question: I recommend you go to a camera shop with all your gear, load it into a few bags and figure out which works best for you.

 

[Jouster85]

Ah, good point. Sorry!

Yeah, they are all reasonably small prime lens. No hulking zoom lens for me!

 

[photogmatt]

Ah, good point. Sorry!

Yeah, they are all reasonably small prime lens. No hulking zoom lens for me!

If you want a backpack style bag, I use a kata R-103. Fits my d80, flash, 4 lenses, and other stuff. Good solid bag, and the ergonomics on it are rock solid.

Crumpler is popular for making a good bag, but I found it incredibly uncomfortable and sold it.

Try them on and see what meets your needs.

 

[Big Mike]

There is no 'best' bag...what works for you, may not work for me etc.

I can highly recommend Lowepro products, I have a few different Lowepro bags and they are very good.

You should also look into Crumpler, Tenba and Tamarak.

 

[usayit]

shoulder has quick convenient access but not as comfortable
backpack has more capacity with comfort but is not convenient to access

The sling style (single shoulder) bags from Tamrac (Velocity) or LowePro (slingshot) are popular compromises. I rarely use my backpack except for traveling in between destinations. I use my slingshot 200 sometimes. I use my shoulder bag almost all the time.

As already mentioned... find a store that has a large selection and take your equipment to the store. Try them out for size and fit.

 

[Frequent Traveler]

The "go to the store and try it out with all your gear" is an excellent approach to see what actually works for you.

Before i did just that, i decided to determine what my shooting style and carrying needs actually were. This helped me narrow down the possibilities. I thought the Lowe Slingshot 200 was the ticket and was prepared to buy one at my local brick-n-mortar store.

However, once i was in the store and tried it out, it was just did not carry how i perceived it would. It is an excellent bag and i really WANTED to like it, but it just wasn't a good match me and my travel load. I had to go back to the "drawing board" and determine what i REALLY needed and look from there.

Eventually, i settled on a LowePro Nova 4 AW.

http://products.lowepro.com/product/Nova-4-AW,1975,20.htm

It is perfect my needs and if i am traveling for a couple days, it fits in my travel backpack (Mountain Smith Approach 3.0)

https://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?krypto=jUsQwJpB%2B6OUrktonf0EvezAJXgOeh8CCM6HGLyT2McI8oaxj5HXbYnhp9MWCK3FEsRlBi7Xtyo4%0A8aiJ17BXGXdcd1xoihc2c07C5c25TretV5cbol7XXqvwZeVU6D2yOTkYfW2s441fjQtBo2qxapli%0AwdJIvH39

though the Lowepro fits pretty snug in there it does fit!

fm

 

[Big Mike]

Good point.

I had decided that I wanted something like the Lowepro Orion or Rover style backpacks...with the gear below and a pouch above for regular stuff. However, once I got to the store and had a look at those...I knew that the gear compartment was much too small for me. I went with a Computrekker bag instead...I didn't even have a laptop but it was cheaper than the similar bag without the laptop sleeve.

 

[keith204]

There is a Tamrac Expedition 7 - huge bag - at Amazon for $150 shipped. Great price. I am upgrading to that, so I can fit more stuff in there (laptop, etc). I am selling my LowePro AW300. Great bag, comfortable, even when heavy, but I needed something to hold my laptop too.

 

[Jouster85]

Hey, thanks for all of the ideas guys! I'll have to check all of these out.

I would just pack up and take a trip to the camera store, except the nearest camera store that would have any good selection of bags is nearly an hour away. Might have to do that anyway, it's always a fun little trip to take.

 

[keith204]

This thread inspired me to look into other bags...specifically, Crumpler. I am surprised to see how expensive the Crumpler bags are, for how little they hold. I've gotta say, the Crumplers are certainly stylish and I'd love to carry one, but I usually want to carry too many toys with me .

I like how most of their bags make the camera (or cameras) easily accessible. I'd LOVE to have a bag that can hold 2 cameras face down, easy to grab (the Crumpler Brazillion Dollar Home).

Not to mention, Crumpler's website is pretty intense.