I have a psychological condition where I'm never satisfied with a backpack

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I have tons of backpacks already.

One laptop sized
One for laptop + quite a bit of gear
One is made for hiking for multiple days
And I have a few other ones too that are more generic types

And I can't seem to find a single one in there that I want to use to carry my camera gear. I started with a x million $ home(don't remember if it's 3 or 5) that originally fit pretty well when I had just the 50D + 17-55mm

Since them I have added:
70-300mm lens
580EX
wired remote

I can barely fit all of the this in the bag if I push a little. It's definitely time to get this in a backpack so I can attach the tripod and carry a book, lunch, laptop and other trinkets.

It would all fit in the backpack I already have that does laptop+gear but I can't find a good and fast way to get to the lenses and protect them. The bag is made with just one big pocket for easy access.

[DeaconG]

Oh, it's just GAS:D.

I seem to have the same problem with shoulder bags...;)

[Fastfwd13]

Gear Acquisition Syndrome?

[DeaconG]

Gear Acquisition Syndrome?

What other kind of GAS would you have in the POTN forums?:lol:

Seriously, I DO feel yer pain. I've got four Tamrac shoulder bags and I'm desperately talking myself out of buying a fifth one because dammit I'm gonna settle for what I got!

We'll see what happens six months from now:p!

[alabama1980]

I went through the same thing. I am knocking on OCD's door with that kind of thing. I have a set list of things that I carry with me practically everywhere. When I got my first backpack it was OK, and everything went in...just not where and how I wanted...so it was gone....and so the story has rocked on and I'm on No. 5 I think.

Long story short...I feel your pain. I'm happy with mine now though....place for everything and everything in it's place. At least until I get more equipment....CRAP...I better start bag shopping now....

[GPR1]

My solution: backpack for other stuff, messenger bag for photo gear. I owned a backpack, but don't like working out of one. To take the pack off to grab a new lens, etc. is not convenient. If I need a jacket, water, food, etc., I carry a backpack too. You could also strap a tripod to it.

[Jon Foster]

I really like my Lowepro backpack. But it doesn't do so well when shooting events where I'm changing lenses and flash units on a regular basis. So I'm trying a shoulder bag as soon as Santa delivers it (aka UPS man).

Jon.

[mike_d]

I think I have this disease too. I can never find a bag I really like. I'm up to three bags (small shoulder, larger shoulder, Canon backpack) and they all have their uses depending on what I'm taking with me. The backback is great for taking a bunch of stuff but as noted above, not so great for changing lenses on the fly which the large shoulder bag excels at. The biggest problem I currently have with the larger shoulder bag is that when it's loaded up, it wants to tumble forward which means I have to be super careful about where I set it down. I'm wondering if maybe the best bag would be a backback worn on the front like one of those baby carriers so the weight is distributed evenly and the contents are accessible while it's being worn. Of course it would look goofy as hell but it would be practical.

[mike_d]

And does anyone else notice how all the pictures of camera bag loaded up on web sites never show any lens hoods? Even flipped backwards, hoods really add to the amount of space a lens takes in a bag. I've tried taking them all off and nesting them separately from their lenses but they don't fit together.

[DStanic]

You should easily be able to fit all your gear into a crumpler 7MDH. I just got a "clone" of the 7MDH, and was walking around with my 30D+24-60, 70-200, 85mm, a flash and had room to spare. Very comfortable compared to my Nova 200 which is a bit bigger but "boxy".

Backpacks are great for carrying everything but the trade-off is that they are terrible for taking things out. Maybe a Slingshot 200 or 300 would work, but I had a 200 and found it very awkward. Better off having a seperate backback for your laptop/stuff and a seperate shoulder bag for your gear.


And does anyone else notice how all the pictures of camera bag loaded up on web sites never show any lens hoods? Even flipped backwards, hoods really add to the amount of space a lens takes in a bag. I've tried taking them all off and nesting them separately from their lenses but they don't fit together.

Do you put your lenses facing down or up? Facing down I find I can sorta "cram" it in and they appear to not take up so much space.

[PhotosGuy]

I've never had GAS & shot almost everything when I was a film PJ with the 20mm & 105mm, so my solution for shooting was a belt pack which I still use today. If I need it to, it will hold the 28-70 f/2.8 & 70-200 f/2.8.
Now if you need something to carry all your equipment when traveling, that's another story.