looking for a backpack

looking for a lightweight backpack to carry DSLR, zoom, 3-4 lenses and a flash.

backpacks and slingbags...really do not need to carry a laptop....

all suggestions are appreciated!

thanks

I just spent a week in the Tetons and used a Lowepro Rover AW II. It has two compartments: lower for camera gear and upper for other necessities such as extra clothing, food, etc.

To give you an idea as to what it will hold, I had the following in the lower compartment: 30D body with L-bracket, 5D body with L-bracket, 70-200/2.8L stored upright, 24-105L stored upright, three small MF primes (Oly 21, Oly 24, Leica 35), and a panning clamp for shooting panos.

In the upper compartment, I had a goretex rainsuit, hoods for the 24-105 and 70-200, beef jerky, energy bars, small flashlight and headlamp, CF card wallet, lens cleaning tools (microfiber and lens pens), and a pair of gloves.

To keep my filters handy, I bought a Tamrac filter wallet that clips to the waistband of the pack...this held my 77mm CPL, UV, and a 49mm polarizer. I also picked up a Lowepro belt pack (#10 I think) to attach to the opposite of the waist strap...this was used to hold my GNDs and filter holder.

The pack also has two elasticized pockets to hold water bottles (I can fit a 1-qt nalgene in each), as well as two smaller zippered pockets, plus the tripod holding arrangement.

This is probably the best 'camera' backpack that I have used in over thirty years of shooting, from a utility standpoint. I also have a Tamrac Expedition 7, but its seeing less and less use...its basically a padded box that straps to your back, and does not have the functionality that the Lowepro Rover does. In no way will it carry the additional items that I needed to have while hiking. I saw a fellow shooter in the Tetons with an Expedition 8...he ended up having to have a Tamrac beltpack as well to carry extra items.

Check out the Dakine Sequence

http://dakine.com/spor​t-packs/photo/sequence/

Can't speak from experience, but this is what I am looking at for my next bag because it doesn't portray itself as a camera bag from the outside, let alone, coming from a company that doesn't typically make camera stuff

I love my Kata 465. It's lightweight, can put my 5D with 24-70 attached, another prime lens and a flash in the bottom compartment and all else on top. It's light colored and doesn't look like a camera bag. Anything Kata is sweet.

I have a Lowepro Flipside 300. It fits my 40D with Tamron 28-75 attached, 100mm macro, Sigma 10-20, 85mm f/1.8, Sigma 30 f/1.4, Fujinon 55 f/1.8, and 420EX flash. This all fits comfortably, plus I have a light meter in a zippered compartment on top of the this whole setup. There's also a tripod strap on the front. It's pretty slim for what it can hold and there's a nifty feature where you can flip the bag in front of you and open up the back to get to your gear without putting the bag down. It's durable and really water resistant to boot.

I can take a picture to show you how it looks with everything in it and how it looks with the bag flipped in front of you if you're interested.

What kinds of lenses and which flash? What camera? I hear the Kata R-102 is amazing.

i have a lowepro pro trekker and a tamarac adventure 9. the pro trekker is too big most of the time and the adventure 9 is too small what i want to carry.

i'll look into the rover...thanks for the info.

canon 1dIII
sometimes my 400 f/5.6, sometimes the 70-200, sometimes both.
sigma 150 macro
canon 24-70 2.8
canon 35 1.4
580ex II
580ex II

I have a Lowepro Rover AW II and it is the best backpack I have used. If you are looking to carry your photo equipment and have room for other gear, then it is an excellent choice. I tried several different models and this one fits my needs.

I love my ThinkTank Airport Antidote - they also have some other really cool backpacks that are a bit different from the norm... check 'em out!

http://thinktankphoto.​com/ttp_product_ArprtA​ntdt.php
http://thinktankphoto.​com/ttp_product_GlssTx​i.php
http://www.rotation360​.com/

lowepro micro trekker 200. Perfect.

yeah i saw that and am interested, i have also been looking at the dakine stuff based on a suggestion here. i am going to call them tomorrow to ask them about their product.

I'm eyeballing the Kata R-103 as a future purchase, you may want to look into it. Or the R-102 if you won't ever be carrying a computer, but I feel like the computer sleeve is also useful for any books/folders/paper I may want to carry.

I highly recommend the Tenba Shootout. It's a great backpack with lots of excellent features.

I love mine.

I have a Lowepro Mini Trekker Classic and it holds a 40D with 28-135 mounted, a 100-400, a 10-22, a 580EX2, a 488RC2, battery charger, 2 spare batteries, at least 4 AA batteries for the flash, memory cards, and a card reader in the padded area. If I rearranged things and left out the 488RC2 I could add a 70-200 or 2 smaller lenses. The shoulder straps are comfortable but it has a waist band but not a padded waist belt like a large backpack and a couple of loops on the bottom for attachng a tripod. It may be slightly small for your needs but is well made and for $79.95 it is hard to beat.