Bag advice

[Bungleaio]

I'm looking for something that will carry my camera gear as well as have some space for carrying other stuff around when I'm on holiday.

The kit I've got is NEX-5 with 18-55 & 16mm lenses. fish eye and wide angle converters. flash, batteries, cards, cleaning stuff etc. so it's all pretty small and it currently just fits in a lowepro apex 110. but I have to be careful how I pack it in as it only fits one way.

I'm looking at the lowpro Versapack 200 AW as it seems ideal, easy access to the camera and a reasonable space for stuff. but can anyone recommend anything else?

Versapack - http://products.lowepro.com/product/Versapack-200%...

[tenohfive]

This is what I've got:

Lowepro Nova 160 AW

Holds a 400D with 18-55 IS, nifty fifty, Metz flash, spare (small) bridge backup, rocket blower, a couple of filters, spare batteries (camera & AAA's), travel charger, neck strap and a couple of other odd bit's and pieces. If I'm honest I wish I'd gone a tad bigger as it took some playing tetris to make it all fit comfortably but now it's there I'm very happy - it's well made, well thought out, flexible and it has a rain cover that pulls out. If I do get the Canon 55-250mm IS II that I've got my eye on though I think I'll have to spend another 20 minutes juggling it all to make it fit though.

[Otispunkmeyer]

I have the same, or at least very similar to tenohfive

Its been a decent bag for the time I have had it (since 2007). Was ok for a 400D plus 3 lenses. Now it does struggle to fit a 7D, tamron 18-50mm f2.8, sigma 10-20mm and a EX430II flash gun.

ie they dont fit at all! The two lenses being 77mm diameter really do take up a large portion of the space and the 7D isnt exactly small. If I want the flash gun thats gotta go in another bag or I have to choose a lens to ditch. It does have lots of useful pockets to stuff small stuff like memory cards, filters, cloths and cleaners and cables though. Plus the lowepro bags seem to be tough little cookies... this ones been everywhere, doused in salt water, scraped up rocks, covered in chlorinated water and more and there isnt a stitch out of place, no mould and its still as rigid as it was when I bought it.

Only thing that irks me as well is it is a shoulder strap bag... I just dont get on with this type of bag anymore. Neither do I like bigger satchels. Much prefer a back pack, much more comfortable when you have to sling heavy gear around for a whole day.

[GetCarter]

I use Think Tank - they don't look at all like camera bags, and can fit laptop/passports etc

http://whttp://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/urb...

Yanks, but available from Amazon.co.uk.

Edited by GetCarter on Tuesday 28th February 08:19

[Elderly]

I use Think Tank too, great products;
the only downside is that their many internal storage compartments are so
cleverly disguised, that I have been known to lose items for days .

[Bungleaio]

Thanks for the responses guys.

I should have been a bit more decriptive with my original post to be honest, I want to move away from the more traditional camera bag really.

I am going away for a week next month and I'm looking for a bag that provides easy access to the gear but is big enough to carry guide books, water etc rather than carrying a ruck sack and a camera bag.

I used to have a Lowepro Nova 4 with all my DSLR gear in but it was so heavy I ended up just leaving it at home and using my phone to take photos. Thats why I switched to the smaller format NEX5 it's a lot lighter and easier to carry about.

The Lowepro versapack is winning for me at the moment as it looks ideal for what I want to use it for but I will have a look into Think Tank, I'd never heard of them before.

[Cheib]

Have a look at the Kata bags...I have one of these

http://www.katabags.co.uk/3n1-30-for-dslr-w-long-r...

Plenty of room for camera equipment plus a separate compartment for the other storage you need. Very easy access too.

Very happy with mine.

[Otispunkmeyer]

Cheib said:

Have a look at the Kata bags...I have one of these

http://www.katabags.co.uk/3n1-30-for-dslr-w-long-r...

Plenty of room for camera equipment plus a separate compartment for the other storage you need. Very easy access too.

Very happy with mine.

Wow loving that Kata 3n1 bag... that looks genuinely useful!

[Bungleaio]

That Kata bag looks the business. It's quite pricey though. I might have to go and have a look at one in the shop before I part with my hard earned though.

[Jez O]

Make sure it's big enough for what you might buy in the future, not just what you have now!

[Cheib]

Bungleaio said:

That Kata bag looks the business. It's quite pricey though. I might have to go and have a look at one in the shop before I part with my hard earned though.

Yeah it is pretty pricey but it's a great bag...it's pretty big. I wanted a bag that could take a gripped body with a 70-200 attached which this can. The upper compartment is a decent size but you could easily put some non camera gear in with the camera and use the dividers that are supplied. I think they do another one which has a laptop compartment too.

[jodypress]

Has anyone tried the Hama Daytour 230?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hama-Daytour-230-Camera-Ba...

I've seen one in the flesh and it's a very versatile bag for sure. I'm looking to replace my Crumpler bag which has been great but now I have the Sigma 150-500mm, I need something which fits that and some other stuff when I goto Silverstone.

[Otispunkmeyer]

Cheib said:

Yeah it is pretty pricey but it's a great bag...it's pretty big. I wanted a bag that could take a gripped body with a 70-200 attached which this can. The upper compartment is a decent size but you could easily put some non camera gear in with the camera and use the dividers that are supplied. I think they do another one which has a laptop compartment too.

How big is the 30 physically? Im quite wary of having a large block on my back. Was looking at the 20 as a compromise. So long as it can take a 7d (no grip) and a 70-200 plus 2 other lenses and a flash gun. Watching reviews on YouTube it seems like it can and even the manufacture says it will take a normal body with a 70-200.

[chopper602]

jodypress said:

Has anyone tried the Hama Daytour 230?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hama-Daytour-230-Camera-Ba...

I've seen one in the flesh and it's a very versatile bag for sure. I'm looking to replace my Crumpler bag which has been great but now I have the Sigma 150-500mm, I need something which fits that and some other stuff when I goto Silverstone.

I've just ordered its smaller brother, the 180 - should arrive in the next day or two, so I'll let you know how I get on - will then have a Lowepro Slingshot 200 for sale !!

[Cheib]

Otispunkmeyer said:

Cheib said:

Yeah it is pretty pricey but it's a great bag...it's pretty big. I wanted a bag that could take a gripped body with a 70-200 attached which this can. The upper compartment is a decent size but you could easily put some non camera gear in with the camera and use the dividers that are supplied. I think they do another one which has a laptop compartment too.

How big is the 30 physically? Im quite wary of having a large block on my back. Was looking at the 20 as a compromise. So long as it can take a 7d (no grip) and a 70-200 plus 2 other lenses and a flash gun. Watching reviews on YouTube it seems like it can and even the manufacture says it will take a normal body with a 70-200.

Not sure I will measure it tonight if you would like.

The 30 can take a lot of kit so I can imagibe the 20 would take that. Mine houses a gripped D7000 with 70-200 on it, 24-70, 50mm, 105 macro, teleconverter, my old 18-200 and an SB-600 flash.

[Otispunkmeyer]

Cheib said:

Otispunkmeyer said:

Cheib said:

Yeah it is pretty pricey but it's a great bag...it's pretty big. I wanted a bag that could take a gripped body with a 70-200 attached which this can. The upper compartment is a decent size but you could easily put some non camera gear in with the camera and use the dividers that are supplied. I think they do another one which has a laptop compartment too.

How big is the 30 physically? Im quite wary of having a large block on my back. Was looking at the 20 as a compromise. So long as it can take a 7d (no grip) and a 70-200 plus 2 other lenses and a flash gun. Watching reviews on YouTube it seems like it can and even the manufacture says it will take a normal body with a 70-200.

Not sure I will measure it tonight if you would like.

The 30 can take a lot of kit so I can imagibe the 20 would take that. Mine houses a gripped D7000 with 70-200 on it, 24-70, 50mm, 105 macro, teleconverter, my old 18-200 and an SB-600 flash.

Cheers. The video on their website does say a gripped SLR with a 70-200 plus a second lens, I reckon you could probably get 2 lenses and flash. That's all I need, photography is too expensive for me to outgrow something of that size for a long time.

[Xaero]

I have the NEX-5n (same lenses) and have been looking at a new bag too.

I've fallen in love with the Billingham Hadley Pro although the Hadley small is probably more suitable for compact system cameras. Depends how much extra you want to fit in the same bag.

They are quintessentially British, weatherproof and don't look like camera bags at all. Although I admit the price is a bit high. I've been trying to get a cheap one on eBay for a while now, but that's a bit difficult.

Available in tan and green colours too.

[Cheib]

Amazon have got av fantastic deal on the Kata 123-GO-30 ...it's just about half price at £50'odd quid. At that price it's a no brainier.

[Craikeybaby]

Have a look at the FStop Gear, they have 4 different bags in which you can fit one (or a combination) of their padded camera bits to decide how much camera/other equipment you want. I've recently got back from a 2 week backpacking trip in Central America, with their biggest bag and small camera unit, I had enough space for body and 3 lenses and all of my other kit for 2 weeks.

[Bungleaio]

Cheers mate their stuff looks pretty good.

I've actually decided to go for the Lowepro versapak as per my original post. I will get it all sorted and post up some pics at the weekend.