Oh dear I need a bigger shoulder bag, advice needed!

[paulhillion]

I have a Lowepro 'Nova 4 AW' shoulder bag which is now redundant as I find it too small. If you take a look at my collection below you can see what I'm wanting to carry around with me, I also want a bag that would take the 20D with the 100-400L attached (I guess it would have to lie on it's side) & then also have room for the same lens when removed & another lens attached.

I was just going to upgrade to the Nova 5 but I'm a bit worried this also might not be large enough?

Any recommendations or pictures of your bag & set-up would be most welcome, thanks!

[Nolz]

i was also going to buy a NOVA 5, i had a look at it and with what i had in mind for the future, i figured it wouldnt be sufficient. while overseas i stumbled across the LOWEPRO MINI TREKKER AW......had a quick think about the gear i will buy and decided that its the one for me.

you should be able to have ur 20D and 400mm attached straight down the middle, and everything including acessories flash, batts, filters, charger etc etc along the sides, no probs! plenty of storage pockets on the outside too!... it swallows heaps but at teh same time doesnt look ridiculously BIG....infact it looks quite compact, but looks are decieving.

the mini trekker is a backpack style bag though. i have found it to be quite comfy and thast my pick!

[gramps]

I had to laugh when I saw this post. I got a 24 - 70 & a 70 - 200 today.........I didn't realize that a new bag is now going to be a must.

[TVSET]

I have a Vidpro VID90 (or VID100? not sure). It is big enough for me to fit all the equipment that I have (yes, I am a newbie), but it is small enough not to have the bulky feel to it. I always have my 300D in it with EF-S 18-55mm (kit lens) and 75-300 USM IS. Either one can be attached to the camera with another just staying in the bag. I have also a couple of batteries, battery charger for the car, two lens hoods for both of my lenses, a polarizing filter, a cleaning kit, 300D reference, few pages of notes, CompactFlash card reader, and a couple of CD-RW disks just in case.

It does have some more space in it with all of these, which I usually use to have a coke, sandwitch and an apple in. I guess even than I can squiz something in, but I don't want to put any preasure on my equipment.

This bag is big enough for the camera and, I'd say, three lenses. If you want to carry more lenses with you, get a bigger one.

I've got my bag from Digital Foto Discount Club. It comes out to about $35 USD. Reliable, leather, black color. Shoulder strap can be taken off, but I doubt you'll do it. :)
Here is a link with a bunch of bags at DF Club:
http://www.digitalfotoclub.com/sc/compare-camera-bags.asp?mainid=8&catid=4&subID=925&s2ID=&brand=vi dpro

Here is the bag that looks excatly like mine:
http://www.digitalfotoclub.com/sc/product-features.asp?id=877586032

[aam1234]

How about this one (http://www.lowepro.com/pages/series/proaw/comm.htm)

Just got it. But be warned...it's BIG!

[Chris1le]

I have the Nova 5. All my stuff fits. But. It was starting to get a little heavy on shoulder. I wound up getting a Tamrac 5258. It took a while to get used to the backpack but I'm coming around. It's also nice to be able to strap the tripod to the bag.

Nova 5: http://www.pbase.com/chris1le/image/31121497 I was actually able to add my Sigma 70-200 in there after swapping some lenses around. :shock:

Tamrac: http://www.tamrac.com/5258.htm

[chris.bailey]

How about this one (http://www.lowepro.com/pages/series/proaw/comm.htm)

Just got it. But be warned...it's BIG!

I have that one and yes it is BIG and when done HEAVY

[BearSummer]

Hi Guys,

I've tried various bags from small shoulder bags up to huge backpacks. The one important thing I have learned is that if the bag is heavy then you want it to be a rucksack. You can just about carry a camera and 4 big lenses (70-200, 28-70, 16-35, 85 1.2) but your shoulder isn't going to like you at the end of the day. If you want to be able to carry it all day and not be hating it by the end of the day then get a backpack. I currently have 4 bags to pick from,

a huge rucksack that can take everything but is to big to use practically (super trekker, good for moving all of your gear from one location to another, not fun to carry for any lenght of time, trouble is that after a while you are to tired to do any photography),

a large rucksack (photo trekker, large but carryable all day, will carry most of the gear, good if you are on a photo holiday and dont have space for two backpacks),

a medium sized rucksack (dryzone 200, big enough so that you can have a variety of lenses, you can put in it a reasonable amount of glass and its very good to use all day, usually load it by cherry picking from the bigger bag) and

a shoulder bag(not lowepro but still good, will take 2 bodies and 4 big lenses, only realy good for limited shoots, and you always want to put it down).

Best Regards

BearSummer

[sGu]

At the moment i have a Lowepro Stealth reporter 650AW, i use it when i need to take laptop as well as camera.

Now i've just purchased a Domke J-1 photojournalist bag, so I'll be able to carry more gear without the laptop.

Also i'm looking to purchase a Lowepro Photo Trekker, just so i can use it to transport everything.

I had a Lowepro mini trekker before and it fits 10D+grip, 17-40mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm, 550ex, filters, batteries, CF cards and more.

Just some advice, hope it helps.

[shiningstardv]

The Stealth Reporter 300 AW (http://www.lowepro.com/pages/series/street/rep300aw.htm) looks good for me. It might be a bit small for everything you want, but you can always look at the Stealth Reporter 400 AW (http://www.lowepro.com/pages/series/street/rep400aw.htm) or bigger. I haven't actually seen these bags in person, but what I like about them, is that you can access them easily while shooting, and hold most (or all, in my case) of your gear in them for fast lens changes etc.

The problem I would have with a backpack would be that in order to access something out of it safely, you would have to take it off and lie it flat on a table. And plus, with a backpack for your camera gear, that means you can't have a backpack for other things. When I travel, I like to have a backpack with all my carry-on items in it (water, book, iPod, toothbrush, etc.) and then a seperate bag for my specialty carry-on item, which in this case would be my digital still camera (sometimes it's my video camera).

So I'm a little against backpacks for those reasons. But I will probably end up buying one eventually for my camera gear when I go biking or hiking, because shoulder bags don't go well with lots of physical activity. But I do like them when covering an event. Just my thoughts.

[chris.bailey]

The Stealth Reporter 300 AW (http://www.lowepro.com/pages/series/street/rep300aw.htm) looks good for me. It might be a bit small for everything you want, but you can always look at the Stealth Reporter 400 AW (http://www.lowepro.com/pages/series/street/rep400aw.htm) or bigger. I haven't actually seen these bags in person, but what I like about them, is that you can access them easily while shooting, and hold most (or all, in my case) of your gear in them for fast lens changes etc.

The problem I would have with a backpack would be that in order to access something out of it safely, you would have to take it off and lie it flat on a table. And plus, with a backpack for your camera gear, that means you can't have a backpack for other things. When I travel, I like to have a backpack with all my carry-on items in it (water, book, iPod, toothbrush, etc.) and then a seperate bag for my specialty carry-on item, which in this case would be my digital still camera (sometimes it's my video camera).

So I'm a little against backpacks for those reasons. But I will probably end up buying one eventually for my camera gear when I go biking or hiking, because shoulder bags don't go well with lots of physical activity. But I do like them when covering an event. Just my thoughts.

Just one point about the Lowepro Stealth Reporter bags is that although the zipped lid looks good on paper, it is useless with a battery grip and/or long lens.

[montyl]

I have the Tenba DB-17C, as i got tired of all my camera gear weighing down one shoulder, but be warned this is one BIG bag, they do make a smaller version though.

[ralee]

Hi

When traveling light I use the Lowepro Promag2 AW -link
http://www.lowepro.com/pages/series/proaw/promg2.htm


When I have to carry everything I use the Lowepro Nature Trekker2 AW
http://www.lowepro.com/pages/series/trekking/naturtr.htm and this backpack still gives me more room for future lenses


Rob