Is a bigger bag better?

I am in the market for a new camera bag. I don't have tons of gear; rebel w/28-135; speedlight; extra prime lens (haven't purchased it yet.) Then of course I throw in extra this and extra that!

Presently I am using a National Geographic Earth Explorer Midi Bag (9.5x6.3x7.5) Just doesn't seem tall enough as the camera with lens sticks up a bit. And it is very uncomfortable for all day carry.

So I'm looking at the Domke F3 rucksack; F3x or the F2. Looks like the F3x would work with some room to spare. I do think the F2 is a bit overkill for the gear I have. But the F3 rucksack looks appealing, plus it has a top storage pocket!

So what would you do?

tawcat wrote in post #10318192
So I'm looking at the Domke F3 rucksack; F3x or the F2. Looks like the F3x would work with some room to spare. I do think the F2 is a bit overkill for the gear I have. But the F3 rucksack looks appealing, plus it has a top storage pocket!

IMO, carrying a lot of equipment for an extended amount of time in a shoulder or slingbag, will eventually wear you down. However, for small to moderate sized kits, shoulder bags have the advantage of being "always ready" (no need to take the bag off to get to your gear). Domke bags, for their lack of padding, have the added advantage of collapsing when they hold less than their maximum capacity: they get smaller as you put in less gear. The lack of padding (and thus protection) may or may not suit your personal preference though.

Once you get serious about photography and find yourself shooting in different situations, you'll soon find out that one bag won't do. Bags that try to be everything for everyone generally compromise on all fronts. Try to find a bag that suits your personal needs. Going to a brick & mortar outfit to try some on and see how it fits your gear is generally the best way to find the right bag without having to go through several "almost but not quite" bags first.

That sounds like a good fit for the F3x. If you don't mind having to take off the backpack to get at your gear, the F3 Backpack would probably work too. Keep in mind that unless you unzip the divider between top and bottom sections, the backpack won't handle as tall a gear setup as the regular F3x will, since the top cover for the F3x is slightly bulged up; the backpack divider is flat across. I have the F2 Backpack which works nicely when I don't need to do a lot of lens changes or need to carry a bunch of extra stuff that's not photo-related; If I expect to be changing gear around I'll use the F1x, F2, or F7 though (2 bodies 4-5 lenses).

Bought an F3x. Now the wait for FedEx to arrive.

I think you'll find that over the years you'll accumulate bags for different purposes. My home office floor is currently covered with 5 of them (I'm planning a 2 week Montana/Canada photo trip in a couple of weeks.) I'll definitely take my Tamrac backpack for the majority of the camera equipment, my Lowepro slingbag with accessories and flash (3 of them) and another general bag for the rest of the stuff. Not to mention my tripod bag and other stuff in other bags. [Note that I'm driving]. General rule of thumb for me is to get one slightly bigger than you currently need. Empty space carries no weight (except for the weight of the bag material itself.
Previous poster was right about carrying a lot of equipment all day--it is a pain. I plan to carry only what I need for that day, but part of the shoot is a macro class that will be partially in a lab environment.

2 smaller bags are much better........... Lots of ways to go....... But it looks cool if you have a 300 pounder that looks like a small refrigerator, its about as portable too

Mark H

I intentionally limit the size of shoulder bags to keep the weight down. I'd rather have a backpack and a small waist bag than a heavy shoulder bag.

Does not matter which one you get / got . It's too big or small . You need a different bag for parties , friends , vacation , one that holds this and / or that .
The inportant thing is padding .

I have several bags.. One large that houses all my gear which I take on a big shoot and need a pile of gear..

I also have a couple of smaller ones I use when travelling light and don't need a mountain of gear..

How could a rebel with 28-135 stick up in the bag? Do you put it upside down? My midi bag could hold gripped 450D with the kit lens and 430 EX inside, with a 85 mm on the front pocket. It could also store 2 body only 450D, 430 EX kit lens and the 85 mm, and when i use it with 5d2 and 17-40 it also does not stick out. If you put it in vertical position, you might want to try put it in horizontal position, much more spacious and it's easier to grab, imho.

I like the short bat bags as aposed to tall . A fat bag - it's easier to see and find things and you don't have to remove things to get at a leaf , twig etc - that finds it's way to the bottom . It's also harder to tip over .
About 90% of time my bag is full of lenses , flash , batteries , chargers . I have the blue canon waist pouch that camera goes in . I generally have it [the blue canon] and one other bag with me .