[Review] Lowepro Primus AW

Some thoughts on the Slingshot 200 AW vs. the Primus AW. For me, the Slingshot is my primary street photography bag while I use the Primus for trips to the Shenandoah National Park. The Slingshot is designed like an urban backpack, slung across one shoulder. It blends in; short of seeing a camera in your hand or knowing the brandname Lowepro, few will guess it contains anything but a couple books and some clothes. For the reason mentioned above related to the strap crossing the chest, I would not carry the Slingshot during a workout. The bag also does not sufficiently stabilize a load for anything but walking. The Primus, on the other hand, is designed like a hiking pack. I realize that the small opening on the side may make it difficult to retrieve a camera but the designers had to consider that the bag opening had to be small enough to prevent your camera from accidentally falling out when you first open the flap. I carry a 20d with a battery grip and a 70-200mm lens and, with a little practice, can get the camera out without a problem. My advice to anyone with the Primus is to practice following a classic rule of martial arts: slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Practicing retrieving the camera at 1/3 speed, then slowly work your way up, replacing the camera the same way each time. Psychology of learning tells us that after 5,000 iterations, the motion will become innate muscle memory. Please also keep in mind when critiquing this pack that prior to this design, we'd have to completely take off our packs to get to our cameras, which meant we either carried the camera non-stop or constantly missed shots. I'm sure Lowepro will make a bigger Primus in time to accommodate those larger lenses that nature photographers love, but I'm very satisfied using the Primus for my outdoor photography.

EOS 20D, EF 17-40 F/4L, EF 24-70 F/2.8L, EF 70-200 F/4L, EF-S 10-22 F/3.5-4.5, EF 28-80 F/3.5-5.6, EF 28-105 F/3.5-4.5, EF 28 F/1.8, EF 50 F/1.4,

Thank you krboynton for your nice addition to the thread.

And welcome to POTN! Do not hesitate to share those pics of Shenandoah with us

Is that just a flap on the outside of the bag, so you can put a jacket between it and the bag? Or does the flap have a big zippered pocket in it?

It's just a flap, running the entire length of the bag, secured by 4 clips - two on the top and 1 on each side. There's a mesh gusset at the bottom. Good for a jacket or similar, but no way to secure anything smaller as there's no zipper.

To add some more details to what BurBunny said, there's small pocket with no zippers inside the flap. I usually put ExpoDisc, CPL and small notepad with pen in there for easy access. Inside the flip, I have Kata Camera Raincoat and my windbreaker in there. I plan to put rain jacket and pants for my upcoming Alaska cruise in the outer flap. That frees up upper compartment for 2nd body with a normal zoom.

Can someone tell me if the upper compartment of this bag could fit a laptop that's
11.1" wide X 8.3" depth X 1" height,
Roughly the size of an A4 paper w/ .5" wider.

Thanks

mahoro wrote in post #6292207
Can someone tell me if the upper compartment of this bag could fit a laptop that's
11.1" wide X 8.3" depth X 1" height,
Roughly the size of an A4 paper w/ .5" wider.

Thanks

At least on quick test with single sheet of A4, I would say that it will need some brute force at minimum. Upper compartment does not seem to be wide enough for landscape orientation and neither it is high enough for portrait.
However, if you don't mind about taking some risks, you can put your laptop to the other side (where the tripod is ...), where it is quite vulnerable against theft and/or physical damage, but it has plenty of space.

Other solution would be playing with the inner compartments of the photo section. There is no separation between the 2 parts, so you may find a way to pass it through... I wouldn't recommend it though.

Thanks jylitalo and DDA,
It was selling $99.9 @ Herny and Blkac's photo (Canada),
Was thinking of this bag initially vs. the flipside.

Now I have a better picture of it. Guess I should save up more for smth else.

I've been looking for a new backpack for a while now as my Tamrac Cyberpack 8 is far too large and heavy to carry everywhere with me. I initially thought about the Fastpack 350 but ruled it out due to no AW cover. It was only on a recent trip to Calumet to collect some wedding supplies that I saw the Primus. It fits the bill perfectly as it's ideal for carrying around, walking the dogs, mountain biking etc. and actually forces me to leave some kit at home, whilst leaving space for odds & ends in the top compartment.

KSG Photography wrote in post #6482173
I've been looking for a new backpack for a while now as my Tamrac Cyberpack 8 is far too large and heavy to carry everywhere with me. I initially thought about the Fastpack 350 but ruled it out due to no AW cover. It was only on a recent trip to Calumet to collect some wedding supplies that I saw the Primus. It fits the bill perfectly as it's ideal for carrying around, walking the dogs, mountain biking etc. and actually forces me to leave some kit at home, whilst leaving space for odds & ends in the top compartment.

that's a great way of looking at it =) forcing you to leave some of your kit at home

i unfortuantly purchased the fastpack 350 but I found it too small the camera compartment part, so I went and got a dakine sequence and a crumpler whickey and cox which are both working out pretty nice for me, one for the bigger carry everything one for the smaller trips

I'd like to put my 2 cents out here for everyone on this bag. I have had this bag for 3 weeks now and have put it to extensive use in those three weeks. I has not replaced my tenba as a daily use bag around the home town but it has fullfilled a HUGE gap. Almost 3 weeks ago I flew to Pheonix for work and I used this bag to carry on my camera, a few incidentals and I slid my laptop in the ouside flap and secured it with the flap's straps. It worked perfect. Makes it easy to get the laptop in and out for security and holds it well enough I never once worried about it falling out.

Once in Pheonix I used the bag as a place to store my camera while I was at work. We took a weekend trip to Flagstaff and it rode great on the passenger seat opened up for easy camera access while driving. While in Flagstaff we hiked Humphrey's Peak (the highest point in AZ). It was a great combination of daypack and camera pack in one. previously I would put my lenses in a daypack in individul cases and put the camera in there or strap a holster to my chest. This was a pain but it worked. This pack was soooo much nicer. I had room in the top for my jacket, snacks, batterys and filters. Then I had my 40D, 17-50 and 10-22 in the bottom, plus some extra junk. It took a bit of practice but I was able to get the camera in and out no problem. I was even able to get to my extra lens and swap no problem. I like that it is tight getting the camera in and out as it keep syou from dropping the camera, which in this possition could be easy to do. The water bottle pocket on the left is a bit harder to deal with when the pack is on, but you can easily put a water bladder in the flap on the back. The following weekend (last weekend) we drove from Pheonix to Sedona to the Grand Canyon to Glen Canyon to Zion to Bryce to Capitol Reef to Arches and back to Indy. There was a lot of hiking and sight seeing along the way and while I do normally love my Tenba for sitting in the passenger seat and easy access the Primus was awesome to be able to throw a bottle of water in, strap on and go with no worries.

Certainly worth the money to me for a travel bag as it keeps me from having to use a $80 day pack + another $100 worth of pouches and sleaves and holsters to accomplish the same thing in a less organized manor.

adamjt923 wrote in post #6045710
Is that just a flap on the outside of the bag, so you can put a jacket between it and the bag? Or does the flap have a big zippered pocket in it?

Its just a flap with a mesh pocket in it.

Dave.H wrote in post #6591303
The following weekend (last weekend) we drove from Pheonix to Sedona to the Grand Canyon to Glen Canyon to Zion to Bryce to Capitol Reef to Arches and back to Indy. .

Are you mad?
that trip was a 2 week holiday for me! In a weekend?? lol

EOSAddict wrote in post #6651825
Are you mad?
that trip was a 2 week holiday for me! In a weekend?? lol

No I was "working" and had already been gone 2 weeks, family wanted me home. It was a "teaser" trip I'll be back there again.

Just a wee update. As previously mentioned the Primus has been used out walking the dogs, mountain biking and recently photographing deer with no problems to report. Shortly after taking delivery of my Primus, I took it on a family holiday to Majorca, where it was on the beach, shopping, general sightseeing and even on across-country horseback trek (this was particulalry special for me as it allowed me to take my two-year-old daughter on a double saddle with me as we headed back to camp to a beautiful sunset - mum tried to get a good shot, but thankfully, the organisers had a pro to capture the moment - and 'Yes' I bought a copy - such a tourist! lol) I used a slip-lock pouch on one of the straps to carry my G9, spare battery and memory card, this was mostly used for 'family' type shots. In the bag itself I took:
40D with 28-135 IS USM attached, 580 EX2, 20-40mm 2.8, 50mm 1.8, remote and radio triggers, mini tripod, 3 spare 40D batteries, 2 spare G9 batteries, chargers, two memory card boxes with 4 cards each, The Minds Eye (Henri Cartier Bresson book - what a great read!), a Buff (IMO a great piece of kit, incredibly useful in any kind of weather and environment), camera cleaning kit, hi-vis vest (always in my bag for shooting in low-light - just to be safe) 3 or 4 spare sets of speedlite batteries, notepad, pens, 2x emergency ponchos (as long as my daughter and I are okay, Mum can look after herself, right?), maglite torch, water bottle, passports, tickets, wallets etc. and the outside 'pouch' was used for a couple of hooded tops & t-shirts. All this - and I still had room in the top compartment! It was comfy to carry around all day and whatever I needed was always just at hand.
All-in-all a really useful addition to my kit.