Inconspicuous Bag?

sawsedge wrote in post #18916478
I don't know if you would mind a backpack, but I love my Atlas Athlete camera backpack. It doesn't look like a camera bag at all. It looks like a ordinary hiking pack. It can compress down to 20L or so if you don't need to carry much. It can expand up to 40L if you need to carry clothes, etc as well. It is the most comfortable pack I've tried so far. I use it for hiking, and I've already been able to go further with this pack than I have with any other camera backpack I've had so far.

The Atlas packs come in different torso sizes, and now you can pick different hipbelts as well.

The camera core is adjustable in size, and the small configuration will easily carry what you listed.

It is rear-opening, so no one can get to your gear while you have it on.

Look up Atlaspacks.com.

Very nice concept and a nice looking backpack as well! Way over my budget though!

If the neighbourhood is as dangerous and scary as you say, carrying any sort of bag will make you a target, especially at night, on the subway. Also, if you're not the streetwise type, I can 100% guarantee the nasties will mark you on sight.

I recall once, following a 'series of unfortunate events', getting stranded in such a place, at 1am. I was wearing business attire and carrying a briefcase. I thought I'd best track down a hotel PDQ and get myself off the street. I stood pondering a large, wall-mounted street map (pre smartphone days) when it suddently dawned on me - I couldn't have made it more obvious I was an out-of-towner with no idea where to go ...

My advice would be, if you can't leave the expensive gear at home, go by a different route.

Alternatively, think about which gun you're going to buy, not which bag

snegron wrote in post #18915624
Disclaimer: Please do not read nor respond to this thread unless you are genuinely going to recommend an actual camera bag.

Sorry I clicked and read. My bad...

Curious, what city?

I would also suggest the Tenba DNA Messenger and a little common sense.

Heres what I am NOW using for the street and travel. It is a WWII USMC officers map case. I can configure so I can have 1 Leica M body, lens and a couple of lenses or two Leica M bodies with lenses. You could easily fit one DSLR body with lens and configure for an extra lens or two. It doesn't look like a camera bag. The insert is an Ape. It is very inexpensive.

There was a huge thread made directly for this kind of bag, messenger bag with insert, not sure if still active, but I still have that bag around, however I got a second hand Retrospective, it was so inexpensive that I would much rather just carry that instead. It's made for your scenario.

XT3 - old Ben Sherman canvas messenger bag with a 33 x 20 x 20 cm insert.

5D3 - my better half's old backpack (ie baby bag) stuffed with a hoodie. It has pink writing and flowers all over it. I'm a big guy who typically wears a metal shirt. No one questions it.

Chicago

Unless you're walking around South Chicago with a sheet over your head I'd think you'd be fine in Chicago. Is it really that bad or are you planning on venturing into neighborhoods where you don't belong at certain times of day?

Any of the old bag with insert options above should keep you about as safe as you are ever going to get without provoking suspicion.

Chicago isn't even in the top ten per capita and the murder rate is down this year, The areas that are bad are areas most tourists wouldn't find themselves, You would have to go to the west side or the south side and they are not close to any of the tourist traps.

Used market (here on POTN) and consider a Crumpler 6 or 7 MDH. Very inexpensive, not any fancy trim, high quality cloth.

CanonCameraFan wrote in post #18920423
Used market (here on POTN) and consider a Crumpler 6 or 7 MDH. Very inexpensive, not any fancy trim, high quality cloth.

Good bags.

Like the OP, I'll often travel by train. I don't like having my camera bag in plain view. My solution is to place my camera bag inside a plastic market bag. The kind of bag that gets recycled when you are done with it. I'll double the bag for strength and to hide the contents.

When I arrive at my shooting location, I'll remove the plastic bags, fold them, and place inside my camera bag. On my trip home I'll repeat the process.

Chicago has "the El" elevated trains, not the typical underground subway configurations. Lot's of visibility. Unlike out here on the left coast, everyone from all walks of life travels in the city by public transit, so there's lot's of security available. If you travel at night, that might be another story. Just don't travel to the projects south of the Museum of science and Industry after dark. Northwestern Memorial hospital and that region over by Rush street can get you mugged after hours, but honestly, just be aware of your surroundings, don't get sucked into your phone or ipod, keep one earphone in not two. I remember shooting downtown in college wearing my mom's Canon AE1 with huge telephoto lens around my neck in plain sight. Oddly enough, they wouldn't allow me access to a strip club wearing it...