Tamrac or lowepro camera bag?

[britt777]

I am trying to decide on a camera bag. Any suggestions? I have narrowed it too these two brands. does anyone recommend one brand or another?
P.S. Bag or Backpack? which is better. Opinions please:lol:




Thanks Britt

[tim]

If you can, go into a store near you and look at them in person, it's much much easier that way.

[britt777]

No stores...:(

[tim]

Narrowing it down to two brands is still very general - they each make loads of different types of bags. Perhaps surf their website and look at their range and see what you like. Both a reputable bag makers, get the bag you like the look/functions of best.

[markubig]

you can't really go wrong with either brand, as they are both popular with most people here. Lowepro does have have the all-weather protective cover (that comes out from the bottom of the bag and covers the entire bag) on most of their models, so if you do a lot of outdoor shooting, lowepro might be the better option for you.

I have a backpack (Lowepro Computrekker AW), shoulder bag(Lowepro Stealth Reporter 200AW), and sling pack (Tamrac Velocity 7). I rarely use the backpack because I find it a pain to have to take off the bag to access my gear. I used it once on a trip to florida earlier this year and I wished I had brought the shoulder bag.

The Tamrac Velocity series (7 & 9) is cool because they are sling packs that can position as shoulder bags or backpacks and they don't have to leave your body to access your gear. My Velocity 7 can hold my 20D (w/o grip) w/ Tamron 28-75 attached (w/ the hood), my 550ex and 2 small lenses (50/1.8, 18-55), and smaller pockets for batteries, cf cards, etc. With your gear list, the Velocity 9 might fit everything (minus the tripod and monopod).

Hope that helps!

p.s. are you sure there are absolutely no camera shops around you? 'cause it's really difficult to find a bag to suit your needs without you seeing it in front of you and maybe bringing your gear there to fit them in. Look up photo store on verizon.com . . . there has to be something that pops up within driving distance to you.

[Citizensmith]

As others have said, both are equally good manufacturers with a wide range of quality products. Either would be a good choice. I've ended up with a mix of Lowepro and Crumpler and love both, but I've never heard anything bad said about Tamrac.

And as others have said, if you are going to spend the money on a decent bag you may well want to wait until you are somewhere where you can test them.

[britt777]

thanks mark, there is a store, but small. They don't carry any big bags...:(

[MTalley]

I'd agree that they're both excellent brands. We have a local store, but all they carry is LowePro (and a couple of minor brands).

I lucked out and found a very gently used Tamrac System 6 bag on Ebay for $45 (including shipping) the other day. Arrived just in time, as I bought my DRebel that evening. It is very similar to the current Tamrac 606. I love it. And, for essentially 60% off, it was a great bargain.

[rabidrat]

I use a Lowepro nova 5AW to carry my 300D with sigma 50-500 lens (attatched) in the bag also is my sigma 24-70 EX dg macro, canon 18-55, canon 550Ex speedlite, leads, manuals, cleaning pens cloths spare batteries with room left for the neigbours cat (very small cat)maybe. It really is an excellent bag quite large but might be big enough for your needs. It cost me £50.00 here in the UK from morris Photographic but you should be able to pick it up cheaper where you are.

[Jon, The Elder]

I shoot horse shows and the LowePro backpack is exactly what works for me. They are tough!!

Whatever you do - buy a MUCH larger model than you need for now. You (I promise) will get more gear. you will find your bag/backpack is terribly undersized in a very short time. Take this from a guy who has 8 assorted bags !!

[nat869]

I know both are great bags. Each has accesory pouches you can attach, waterproofing, etc. Personally, I have always had Tamrac bags, most recently the Expedition 7, which I love!!! As someone said, get a bigger bag, it fills up faster than you think.

[Wrench]

I know the lowepro's are nice, but i have a Tamrac so I can vouch for that. It's an Expedition 5 and it's big enough to hold enough gear to get too heavy to carry :) . Holds 10D, grip, 550EX, 70-300, 28-80, 28-210, 50mm, filters and cables. On the outside there are pockets perfect for a bottle of water and other little stuff. Inside the bag are small zippered compartments where I keep my cables, batteries, keys and field guide.

[Bruford]

I use mostly lowepro bags (Magnum AW, Stealth Reporter 400 AW, and Mini Trekker AW) I have also used a few Tamrac bags. Both manufacturers are great. You may want to check out ebay. I bought a few bags from these folks and had no problems.

http://stores.ebay.ca/photococan_W0QQssPageNameZstrkQ3amefsQ3amesstQQtZk m