What sort of bag or backpack?

[Lol999]

Hi folks, hope someone can offer some opinions. if you read my thread about possible fungus in my existing camera bag I'm looking at the possibility of getting a new one. My equipment to date:
Nikon F301
50mm lens
35-135 zoom
70-210 zoom
28mm
2x converter
extension tubes
large-ish flash
sundry filters and lens hoods

I read somewhere that it's pointless carrying everything with you as you never use it. i don't subscribe to this as when I'm out on the prowl I never know what I'm going to find!
So, I'm looking to get something to carry all my gear in. I like the portability factor of the backpack but my concerns are:
which model would fit all my gear in with a bit of room for new lenses?
Are they easy to access gear? It looks like you have to lay it flat to get stuff out. In the woods that means a muddy backpack.
From an ease of access point of view I like the gadget bag, but they are not as portable.
What does everyone else use and could someone please reccomend something to get all my gear in?
My budget, unfortunately, is £50 which will get me a Lowepro Orion Trekker 2 off E-bay, however I don't know if this is big enough?

Cheers, Lol

 

[df3photo]

i have a nice tamarac backpack that holds my canon eos3 with one lens on it(28-70) plus a 70-210 my canon oncamera flash, light meter, and old mamiya 645. it has plenty of room for extras with multiple extra pockets. plus i have added a film bag to it and it takes ad ons well so i can attatch my tripod/monopod (both if i wanted) water bottle and another lens bag or whatever i you want to buy for it. Like you , i carry everything with me...
it is made so it opens up and is easiest to lay it down to get to stuff inside but has valcro attatchments that holds everything in if i set it up or hung it in a tree to get at everything. i think the price was more than $100US.
if i know i wont need it i also have a belt made by tamarac that holds my eos3 with short lens on and i can attatch my lens bag for the longer lens and waterbottle holder and filmbag if all that is needed...
but keep looking Tamarac makes alot of nice bags, and mine came from B&H photo out of NYC (www.bhphotovideo.com)

 

[jstuedle]

I don't carry all my gear, but you seem to have a nice "kit". I carry a Tamrac PRO med. format bag with my main kit, a little more than you now carry. 1 or 2 DSLR's, 24-120, 35-70 2.8, 80-200 2.8, 70-300 ED, 17-35 2.8, TC14, TC301, flash, batteries, CF card wallet, a couple small lenses or tubes, filters and cables. So it is plenty big enough for your kit and still have some room to grow. Fully loaded with fast glass it can be a back breaker.

 

[Big Mike]

I highly recommend Lowepro, very well made bags.

I've got a Lowepro Computrekker AW backpack, it has a fair amount of space for gear, and separate cargo area and space for a laptop. I chose the Computrekker because it's a backpack and it has the extra cargo room. I don't have a lap top but it was $30 cheaper than the one without the laptop area.

The one I have is AW (all weather) which means the fabric is treated to repel water and it has a built-in rain cover that pulls out when you are in a down pour. It came in very handy while I was in Costa Rica during the rainy season.

The only problem is that it's harder to access your gear with a backpack. They do have sling bags and top-load bags for really quick access.

 

[Xmetal]

They do have sling bags and top-load bags for really quick access.

I've got one of these on my letter to Santa...

LowePro SlingShot 200 AW Camera Bag.

Chase it up on www.lowepro.com

 

[woodsac]

I've got one of these on my letter to Santa...

LowePro SlingShot 200 AW Camera Bag.

Chase it up on www.lowepro.com

I've got the smaller version, the 100. I have all this junk in there: Canon 350D, 50mm, 2X tele, 17-85mm, 28-135mm, 70-300mm, spare battery, charger, remote and cleaning supplies :shock:

It's a tight fit, which I think is good. No empty space for things to fall around. And, it's kinda heavy. But the bag distributes the weight nicely. I've had it on my back for up to 6 hours on several occasions :thumbup:

 

[Lol999]

Been to town and got me a new bag! Got a Lowepro Nova 5 AW in black:mrgreen:

Got to try all my gear in it but it looks okay and doesn't scream "photo gear, please pinch/mug me for it".

Lol

 

[snownow]

Dakine packs...... A Da Kine Sequence Pack With Camera Block.. If your looking for an outdoors type of bag, one of the best. http://www.facewest.co.uk/pp/dakine/Sequence.htm
or
http://www.dakine.com/