Bag suggestions?

[tin.risky]

I know this is a question that everyone has heard a hundred times, but what bag will fit my equipment? I'm hoping to get either a 24-70 or 28-70 soon and will need to buy a new bag to accommodate. So here's what I hope to fit into the bag: 400D with 24-70 attached, 100mm f/2.8 macro, 50 1.8, Sigma 10-20, and accessories (filters, lenspen, extra batteries, remote). Plus my wallet and cellphone preferably. Any ideas would be much appreciated. It would be extra helpful if you could include pictures of your similar set-up. I was thinking along the lines of the 6 million dollar home. Anyone with experience with that bag? Thanks!

[nutsnbolts]

What are you looking for? Backpack, Sling, shoulder bag? The 6 MDH is nice, however, the 7 MDH would probably be a worthy investment. There is also Domke and ThinkTank, along with others out there so tell us what you are looking for in terms of use and style?

[Anke]

I love the Tamrac Expedition series. Either the 4 or 5 will fit your gear nicely.

[_aravena]

Not big enough. Have to go with 7MDH or my nova 3 I have for sell! :D

[Anke]

Not big enough. Have to go with 7MDH or my nova 3 I have for sell! :D


Hmm, I get that much gear into my Expedition 5. Perhaps I'm a good packer :D

[tin.risky]

I'm looking for a shoulder bag type. I need something where I can get my gear out faster, since it takes forever to do a lens change with my backpack. Mostly using it for walks around the city, parks, and the like. I'm a woman and fairly thin (5' 7" and about 115), so my main concern (besides comfort and build quality) about the bag would be how huge it looks on me. The 7 mil looks gigantic on me. I know this is a lot to ask, but suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks to those who have replied.

[_aravena]

It kinda is. Good packer? look at the size of my 3 and how much I get in there. The 5 is big!

Check the review of my Nova 3. Would fit all perfect. Probably ave more room since my 70-200 is what takes up all my room in any bag.

[tin.risky]

Any chance that I might be able to squeeze everything into the 6 mil? Thanks aravena. I'll def check out the Nova 3, since it was also recommended by another member.

[_aravena]

AS said before, although i wasn't specific, nada. Maybe maybe small chance 100 on one side, 10-20 on top of nifty and camera and 24-70 in the middle. But all those are fat lenses and it be a very tight fit if they fit.

Nova 3 review
http://a459.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/110/l_af42395301bf87f054d6b7da7ce9b782.jpg

[tin.risky]

The Nova 3 is looking mighty good right now. Any chance of seeing a photo of it on someone? I'd just like to get an idea of how big it looks while it's being carried. I'm also looking at the stealth reporter series. Anyone with experience with those?

[_aravena]

Not enough for the money. I looked at those when I checked out the Novas. Unless you NEED a laptop with you, which only the larger ones can hold, they cost way too much for roughly the same size as the Nova's. The Nova 5 is quite large and can hold what a Stealth 4 can, save the laptop. Nova has more pocket's as well. I can get a pic of me with mine if no one buys it before morning.

[Bootsie]

The Nova 3 is looking mighty good right now. Any chance of seeing a photo of it on someone? I'd just like to get an idea of how big it looks while it's being carried. I'm also looking at the stealth reporter series. Anyone with experience with those?

I am five seven and only weight a few pounds more than you,and I love my 7MDH, I can take some pictures of it on my if you would like. I also have a 5MDH that I use for an everyday bag.

[_aravena]

^Copycat! :p

Oh yeah, there are pics of me with my 7MDH. I'm 5'9" and weigh much moreish. 160 last I check. Aniwho, yeah. Brooke is better comparison I'm sure.

[tin.risky]

Sounds good Bootsie. I look forward to some pictures from both of you.

[Bootsie]

Here are a couple really quick ones. I will take some betters ones tonight that show my feet so that you can see the overall length better.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l243/vkhadley/DPP_133.jpg

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l243/vkhadley/DPP_134.jpg

[tunin]

_aravena, am I mistaking or did you have a THINKTHANK avatar before?^Copycat! :p

Oh yeah, there are pics of me with my 7MDH. I'm 5'9" and weigh much moreish. 160 last I check. Aniwho, yeah. Brooke is better comparison I'm sure.

[_aravena]

No...I'm not Nutsandbolts

[Strick]

I just picked up a National Geogrpahic bag. I have not really "used" it yet but it fits my 30D with 100-400 attched, 20D with tamron 28-75 attached, 18-55, 580ex flash and other various accessories with room left over or extra lens.

[nutsnbolts]

I am five seven and only weight a few pounds more than you,and I love my 7MDH, I can take some pictures of it on my if you would like. I also have a 5MDH that I use for an everyday bag.

i second this picture.

[nutsnbolts]

No...I'm not Nutsandbolts

and Im not aravena...

[nutsnbolts]

Anyway to stay back on topic. If you want something to shoot out of, quick lens changes and so forth, the Crumple MDH, Domke, and ThinkTank bags are great! I can't speak about Tamracs but The ThinkTank UD series will work well as well but also give you the opportunity to fit a laptop 15 or 15/17 (UD 50-60 respectively).

Although I'm a ThinkTank fanatic, the UD didn't strike me really well considering that I have laptop bags that look like the UD. However, I must say, seeing it briefly during an expo, I'm rethinking it because of how well it's designed and how everything is layed out. If you're looking for an inconspicous look, the UD from Thinktank, Domke and Crumpler's are nice. Crumplers tend to be more stylish, ThinkTank tends to me more "disguised" and the Domke's are.....I say in between. They all are great bags.

I will actually be receiving a TT UD 50 from think tank to do an in-depth review on it along with other products so stay tuned if you didn't purchase it yet to see how well it works.

Welcome to the bags arena. I'm sure you're more frugal than most of us but I know I'm not. I have bags to shoot out of, I have bags for international travel, I have bags for domestic travel, I have bags for everything so believe me finding the right one is indeed tough. I'm planning on going thinktank all the way because so far they are the only bag that have worked in all different conditions and carry a line to accomodate all different situations. It doesn't have fancy colors like crumplers and they are the traditional professional black bags in all their lines which I love.

[René Damkot]

I'd go for Billingham (or Domke)

[tin.risky]

Thanks for the photos Bootsie :D . I think the 7 mil is gonna be too big for me. I saw some photos of the 6 mil filled up and it seems to fit the amount of gear that I have. The nova 3 is also a strong contender because I like that it has a rain cover. I'm looking forward to those pictures of the nova on you aravena.

[tin.risky]

Billingham is a little out of my budget, but I will take a look at the domke and thinktank. I'll be looking out for that review Nutsandbolts. I had 5 camera bags before, but now I'm selling all the ones that don't get regular use to purchase a new one that will hopefully see some action.

[JWright]

There's a cycle that I think every photographer goes through with camera bags.

When a person first starts out in photography, they don't have a lot of gear, so they buy a small, lightweight shoulder bag to carry the camera, one lens and perhaps a flash. As they acquire more gear, they feel they have to carry it all because they don't know what shooting situation they might encounter, hence a larger shouder bag. Pretty soon the shoulder bag gets too large and heavy, so the photographer looks at and purchases some kind of backpack. By this time they are packing 25-30 pounds of equipment. Finally they realize they aren't using half the stuff they are carrying around all the time so they start to lighten the load. All of a sudden, they find the bags or backpack is too large. Now they buy a smaller bag, usually a shoulder bag or some type of belt pack. They finally reach the point where they decide on what they are going to carry based on what they are going to shoot that day. This has a bearing on what bag they carry their gear in. They have come full circle...

I've been through this cycle and I firmly believe I've owned more camera bags in 40 years of photography than I have cameras. THERE IS NO PERFECT CAMERA BAG!

[tin.risky]

Ain't that the truth, JWright.

The keepers I've got now are my Kata Sensitivity V backpack (fits my laptop, xti w/10-20 attached, 100mm macro, and 50 1.8. surprisingly also fit my 70-200 f/4L when I had it, but I had to put the 50 1.8 in the top compartment if I wanted to stuff all of this in there.), and my Crumpler 4 million dollar home for just the body w/ 100 or 10-20 attached and the 50. I could actually squeeze the Xti w/either 100 or 10-20 attached, the unattached lens, and the 50 all into the 4 mil.

Now just looking for that medium sized bag for when I want to carry most of my gear out and in anticipation of getting the 24-70L.

[nutsnbolts]

There's a cycle that I think every photographer goes through with camera bags.

When a person first starts out in photography, they don't have a lot of gear, so they buy a small, lightweight shoulder bag to carry the camera, one lens and perhaps a flash. As they acquire more gear, they feel they have to carry it all because they don't know what shooting situation they might encounter, hence a larger shouder bag. Pretty soon the shoulder bag gets too large and heavy, so the photographer looks at and purchases some kind of backpack. By this time they are packing 25-30 pounds of equipment. Finally they realize they aren't using half the stuff they are carrying around all the time so they start to lighten the load. All of a sudden, they find the bags or backpack is too large. Now they buy a smaller bag, usually a shoulder bag or some type of belt pack. They finally reach the point where they decide on what they are going to carry based on what they are going to shoot that day. This has a bearing on what bag they carry their gear in. They have come full circle...

I've been through this cycle and I firmly believe I've owned more camera bags in 40 years of photography than I have cameras. THERE IS NO PERFECT CAMERA BAG!

This will usually lead you to ThinkTank.....:lol:, at least for me. This is essentially my story. Now I carry the ThinkTank Speed Racer which is a belt pack, backpack, and shoulder bag, whichever suits my needs and shooting out of it is easy!!

Although I do also have a Domke F-3x, this is really for really light carrying of gear. Just pick up and go bag. Great to shoot out of it as well.

Overall, I have found a perfect bag/company for me that suits all my needs and that comes down to ThinkTank. Of course, I have gone through buy and sell bags because of exactly what JWRIGHT stated.

Now that I look back, I realized, crap everything I need is here (http://www.thinktankphoto.com). Hence, my new project working closely with Thinktank to do an in-depth review of their products to cover, actual use, field tests, everyday uses, etc. To me, their products are versatile! (I also like matching of course :lol:). The point of this reviews is to show what people may be missing from what they carry. Of course it's all subjective.

Nevertheless, I will be launching a site that will debut these reviews (amongst other products), you can see a brief review I did for the current products that I use in my signature (slowly going to convert to ThinkTank).

Don't get me wrong, my other bags will still get some love but for my photo shoots, photojournalist work, I know that everything will be on me, I can have access to them quickly, it won't break down on me and above all, will be very comfortable.

Oh one more thing, these reviews will include a woman's perspective as well, per request by many of the women users or potential ThinkTank users. Don't worry, I didn't leave you out. :)

[nutsnbolts]

Billingham is a little out of my budget, but I will take a look at the domke and thinktank. I'll be looking out for that review Nutsandbolts. I had 5 camera bags before, but now I'm selling all the ones that don't get regular use to purchase a new one that will hopefully see some action.

You'll get it soon enough!

The nova 3 is also a strong contender because I like that it has a rain cover.

All ThinkTank products come with a seam-sealed rain cover. Well, I'll say that loosely, not ALL products but products that you expect to shoot out off. (Lenschangers, belts pouches, backpack, etc. etc.)

[tin.risky]

ThinkTank should pay you for all the promoting that you're doing for them Nutsnbolts!

I took a trip down to B&H today to check out some bags. The thing that bothers me about most of them is how wide they are from back to front. I saw three that caught my eye were the Domke J-803, Tamrac Express 7, and of course the Crumpler 6 mil. They all seem like they could fit my gear. I especially like the Domke and Tamrac because they seem slimmer. Anyone have any experience with these bags? I'm still open to other suggestions.

[JWright]

There's a cycle that I think every photographer goes through with camera bags.

When a person first starts out in photography, they don't have a lot of gear, so they buy a small, lightweight shoulder bag to carry the camera, one lens and perhaps a flash. As they acquire more gear, they feel they have to carry it all because they don't know what shooting situation they might encounter, hence a larger shouder bag. Pretty soon the shoulder bag gets too large and heavy, so the photographer looks at and purchases some kind of backpack. By this time they are packing 25-30 pounds of equipment. Finally they realize they aren't using half the stuff they are carrying around all the time so they start to lighten the load. All of a sudden, they find the bags or backpack is too large. Now they buy a smaller bag, usually a shoulder bag or some type of belt pack. They finally reach the point where they decide on what they are going to carry based on what they are going to shoot that day. This has a bearing on what bag they carry their gear in. They have come full circle...

I've been through this cycle and I firmly believe I've owned more camera bags in 40 years of photography than I have cameras. THERE IS NO PERFECT CAMERA BAG!

This will usually lead you to ThinkTank.....:lol:, at least for me. This is essentially my story. Now I carry the ThinkTank Speed Racer which is a belt pack, backpack, and shoulder bag, whichever suits my needs and shooting out of it is easy!!

Funny you should mention this... I bought a Think Tank Change Up a couple of days ago. I like it for the fact is has straps that allow it to be worn on the front of the body and can be worn as a shoulder bag or waist pack.

[_aravena]

I will have only one bag...well 2. One is for a lot and the other holds my film gear, but can be used for camera, lens, and flash. My homemade bag is serving me well so selling everything else.

[Seefutlung]

If you want speed and comfort go Domke. Domke is generally the preferred bag for news photogs where speed (getting in and out of the bag) and comfy (hours and hours every working day) are essential.

Gary

[dicktay]

Following on from what JWright said ......
Sometimes it's not what you are going to shoot that day. Which is what I normally do now and even that depends if I will be close to my car....
Sometimes it will depend on what you are doing for weeks at a time like an overseas vacation where you will be doing everything from day walks in western National Parks in the USA to attending Mozart concerts in Austria.... and everything else in between.
I ended up taking two bags.
(1) A small Tamrac holster (5684) bag which when used with a belt and shoulder strap offered some protection, for a 350D with a 17-85 IS lens + hood + cards + spare battery + polarising filter, when walking around cities etc.
(2) A Tamrac adventure 7 backpack was used as a carry on bag for flights and for day hikes etc. Beside carying the gear above it also carried a 75-300 lens as well as water bottles, food & rainjacket etc. On flights it cartried reading material as well as portable hard drive(s) for backup storage.

So even on a vacation one bag is not enough!

[tin.risky]

I'm pretty much set on the Tamrac Express 7. For the price and size I can't think of anything better. If any 6 million dollar homes or domke f/j-803's come up for sale on the forum then I might reconsider. Anyone have one of these that they want to get rid of?