Show me your camera bag

Man. So many bags, so little ...

A couple old photos I posted on the Market Watch forum when there was a screaming deal on the Burton 28L. Not necessarily what I'd carry on any given day, but more a first pass check on what I could get in there -

Well I decided to go ahead and buy the Lowepro Nova 200 AW. We'll see how much I like a shoulder bag. $65 shipped on Ebay. Can't beat that.

JDubya wrote:
=JDubya;12441586

whoa, very nice. Have you seen an incase DSLR sling? Think you could make one INTO a backpack if I sent it to you? If not, how much to make one from scratch?

So maybe you fine folk can recommend a bag for me.

I've had the Lowepro Slingshot 300 AW for a while now and I've been very happy with it. Unfortunately, I'm starting to outgrow it. I imagine I'll always have a use for it, but I'd like a bag that can easily carry all of the gear I have now and with some room to grow.

My two biggest problems now are the stupid wide angle lens hoods and my filter kit that is starting to grow. Potential future lenses: 85mm, 100mm macro, 135mm. (Maybe some flashes?) I doubt I'll be looking at anything bigger than my 70-200.

Forgive the iPhone photo. I only have the one camera body and I wanted to put it in the shot.

I'd add that I suspect a bigger bag would have to be a backpack, which I'm open to.

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JMartel wrote in post #12453284
Well I decided to go ahead and buy the Lowepro Nova 200 AW. We'll see how much I like a shoulder bag. $65 shipped on Ebay. Can't beat that.

Thats where I got mine, and why $$

thenextguy wrote in post #12454654
So maybe you fine folk can recommend a bag for me.

I've had the Lowepro Slingshot 300 AW for a while now and I've been very happy with it. Unfortunately, I'm starting to outgrow it. I imagine I'll always have a use for it, but I'd like a bag that can easily carry all of the gear I have now and with some room to grow.

My two biggest problems now are the stupid wide angle lens hoods and my filter kit that is starting to grow. Potential future lenses: 85mm, 100mm macro, 135mm. (Maybe some flashes?) I doubt I'll be looking at anything bigger than my 70-200.

Forgive the iPhone photo. I only have the one camera body and I wanted to put it in the shot.

I'd add that I suspect a bigger bag would have to be a backpack, which I'm open to.

How do you feel about a messenger bag? I'd look at a ThinkTank Retrospective 30. It can hold a TON of gear, all what you have above plus room for quite a bit extra.

RandyS wrote in post #12451750
Man. So many bags, so little ...

A couple old photos I posted on the Market Watch forum when there was a screaming deal on the Burton 28L. Not necessarily what I'd carry on any given day, but more a first pass check on what I could get in there -

info on this bag?

TheAnt wrote in post #12457324
How do you feel about a messenger bag? I'd look at a ThinkTank Retrospective 30. It can hold a TON of gear, all what you have above plus room for quite a bit extra.

I guess those bags always confused me a bit. Looking at the pictures, they don't look like they hold that much. Are there different layers? And if so, is it a pain getting to stuff?

I have teh Retro20. The bag is deep enough to hold a 70-200 2.8 attached to a 1D body.

The bags come with a bunch of dividers, so you can set it up however you want. Right now,I don't have a ton of gear in my bag, but on one side I have a Fuji S700 with a horizontal divider over it with my 50 1.8 on top. I can still easily fit at least a 24-70 on that side alone. I've never had any problems getting to stuff when I had a bit more gear in the bag. It's all in how you organize it.

Right now, I just have a 5D, 50 1.8, and Fuji S700 in my bag. I've also got a rocketblower and 430 EX2 in the side pockets on the inside. I've seen people who've been able to do 3 rows across in a Retro20 and I will be doing so once I get the glass I want over the summer.

There is also a thinner compartment in the main bag for accessories and such. I've got pens, memory cards, business cards, all my CyberSyncs, release cable, etc in it. It's extremely roomy, you can fit a ton of gear if you know how you want it to get organized. I do,however, plan on buying a make-up bag or some kind to keep all my triggers in so that they're not just laying around in the bag.

The bag also has a nice outside pocket in the front (that's still under the flap). On the R30, there's actually two massive pockets. On the R20, there's one. I use it to hold power cords for my strobes, a flash bracket, and Off-Camera Hot Shoe Cord. But, ThinkTank shows that you can easily fit a 1D sized body in each of the R30's front compartments. There is a pocket in the back, but it's thin. It can fit an iPad or similar tablet, or papers. I use it for carrying contracts and model releases.


The Retrospective series bags are a lot bigger than they seem in photos. I had originally been looking at a Crumpler messenger bag, however they always appeared larger in photos than they actually are. Once I discovered the Retrospective series of bags, I began a hunt to find one and eventually got one on here. This is the best bag out of the five that I own.

Thanks, TheAnt. I will check them out. They definitely look cooler than a backpack!

Hypnotizedd wrote in post #12457340
info on this bag?

Best info I can give you on the bag, is that a little over a year ago, a snow sports shop out east had an end of season special on them for something like $40. I found it in a thread posted in the 'Market Watch' forum :

https://photography-on-the.net …4455&highlight=​burton+28l

The bag was built by Burton for their 'on the mountain' photogs. As such, it's nicely desigined for someone skiing or snow boarding to work out of, They hold a metric crap-ton of stuff, and are pretty comfortable. Biggest drawback worth mentioning, is probably because of the sports specific design. That is that the waist belt rights pretty high. Could be a problem in serious hiking, but hasn't been an issue for me yet.

One thing I really like a lot about it, is that the opening to get at your camera gear is on the front, rather than on the back. When you take it off, and lay it in mud or snow the side that will be against your back stays clean.

The insert that holds your camera gear is removable, and *almost* comes with enough dividers. If you're creative though, you can get quite a bit in there.

On the back, the pocket I have my light disk in (in the photo) should hold a 15" laptop. There are other pockets on the side I haven't used much yet, and - obviously - room for a monopod or tripod on either side.

Great bag, reasonably well made. It doesn't look anywhere near as tough as a Domke, Billingham, or ThinkTank, but it doesn't cost nearly as much either.

thenextguy wrote in post #12457378
I guess those bags always confused me a bit. Looking at the pictures, they don't look like they hold that much. Are there different layers? And if so, is it a pain getting to stuff?

check out this video on the Retrospective 30 (also do a search on youtube and more videos will come up) http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=7f8Ow9CTsjg The guy is kind of funny but gives a pretty good review of the bag.

thenextguy wrote in post #12454654
So maybe you fine folk can recommend a bag for me.

first off, why do you ever take ALL of that with you? Seems to me like filters are for landscape trips when you'd want maybe three lenses tops (and that's a lot, I only take 2) so you'd have room for the filters and hoods in that case? Also, filters AND hoods don't usually get used at the same time, both don't fit at once.... So leave the other at home. And on top of that, leave your UWA hood at home permanently and modify either your 24L or 24-105 hood so it'll work on your 17-40. It'll be a BETTER hood and the massive UWA hood can stay home. Also the adorama filter holder can go on the outside of your bag on a webbing loop. And do you really have more than 5 filters? IE why the need for the Lee bags?

Consolidate for what you're shooting at the time and take only what you need. You'll be much happier. My landscaping kit is my 5Dii (ungripped w/ an L-bracket), 17-40L, 70-300VC and my filter kit (that adorama pouch holds EVERYTHING!). That's it. I can easily use a vest or small bag. My flashes and primes stay home. When I'm shooting people I don't need ANY of my landscaping kit beyond the camera body itself, so I switch to another small bag with my primes and flash.

iazybandit wrote in post #12449654
Vowzers! $300? Pricey but I'm not to judge. I know it takes time and materials to do such a great work. If it was massed produced, it would definitely be cheaper.

Wish I had your skills. I'm trying to find a small elastic band. Want to use it to hold the excess straps in place. I have a Black Rapid Strap and when I tighten it, I have excess strap that is dangling. It has a clip to hold it but it keeps coming out. With my old LowePro SlingShot, it had this elastic band. I'll PM you to see how much something like this would cost.

http://www.google.com …,r:7,s:0&biw=10​24&bih=437

lowepro has similar offerings: inverse, outpac, as well as thinktank's speed racer belt pack systems. i think your design was based off the original lowepro beltpack system or at least it appears that way. whatever the case, nice job on your custom bag.

I can't decide if I want the Incase Sling Pack or the Incase Ari Marcopoulos bag. I like that they are slings, but I want to place my gripped 7D with my 135L and two primes. I'd like to keep one lens on the 7D, as well. Anyone have any opinions on which bag to get?