case in point:

the Tamrac Express 6 bag I just bought yesterday:



$35 at my local shop, perfect for my needs (body, 2 lenses, flash and a few odds and ends)

I've never been picky about it. That kinda looks like a camera bag to me, but it's not too obvious. I find most of the ones that don't look like camera bags don't fit my bigass camera though

Originally Posted by emorphien

I've never been picky about it. That kinda looks like a camera bag to me, but it's not too obvious. I find most of the ones that don't look like camera bags don't fit my bigass camera though

i covered up the little tree logo with a 1" *insert popular hXc band* pin so you can't see the element-esque logo anymore. i think the shoulder/courier style that's discreet is 1000000 times better than a handled Lowepro or Quantaray bag that's so obviously a camera bag.

it's like a 1/2 size courier bag, i love it, plus it'll look great with my leather fanny pack i bought for vacation next month!

you're going to wear a fanny pack? *snickers*

Originally Posted by emorphien

you're going to wear a fanny pack? *snickers*

a LEATHER fanny pack!

I've got the Canon 200 EG, and once you remove the obvious Canon logos it looks just like a backpack.



Too bad I'm already outgrowing it though.


And I want pics of you and the patent leather fanny pack!

what the heck?

Ok, who broke the forum? Where's LateApex?

Wasn't me! I only break the chat.

I also like non-camera bag looking bags. I'm saving for a Crumpler Karachi Outpost.


I currently have a Lowepro Slingshot 200AW, but it's too small for anyone with more than a 2-3 lens kit. And it makes your spine crooked after a while.

i'll get pics of me with the fanny pack soon! they were like $7 at Urban Outfitters, marked down from $32! hahahaha.

the crumpler bags are super cool, i almost bought the 3 million dollar house bag but when I checked it out at REI, it was too small and a little overpriced for me. does anyone else foresee crumpler becoming the Timbuk2 of the camera world? i sure as hell do.

I use the Lowpro slingshot 200aw also and it's a good bag but like you said you can't fit much in it.

I have to cram everything in just right to get all my gear in it. I'm thinking about getting something different.

I need to go bag shopping as well.

i learned the importance of not buying a bag online because it's a good deal, it was SO important for me to go see them, pick them up, examine them before i made a decision, pictures don't do justice and sometimes they do too much on retailer sites.

It can be very important to see bags in person, in fact it's often not a bad idea to take your equipment and try it out in the bags you're looking at before buying one.

Originally Posted by emorphien

It can be very important to see bags in person, in fact it's often not a bad idea to take your equipment and try it out in the bags you're looking at before buying one.

+1, that's what i did at the shop the other day.

I would agree.... I got my slingshot in the mail and wondered why the hell someone made a bag so small. My external flash has to me folded in half and reversed in order to get it in there.

My 70-300mm has to be stored in the top compartment, my bag is just a mess right now but I can't really afford anything else.

Originally Posted by jblaze5779

I would agree.... I got my slingshot in the mail and wondered why the hell someone made a bag so small. My external flash has to me folded in half and reversed in order to get it in there.

My 70-300mm has to be stored in the top compartment, my bag is just a mess right now but I can't really afford anything else.

Mine isn't too bad for space, I'll post a pic of how my gear fits in my SS 200 later. My 70-200 requires a bit of space.

The Karachi Outpost
I been holdin the fort so long I been eatin my own forts to stay alive. There’s more sand in my eyes than a beach volleyballer’s swimsuit. In the desert, you can’t remember your name and there ain’t no classic rock radio to give you no pain.

that company seems to be full of dorks.

the bag looks good, but it is expensive.

I've seen the weird image overlays here once before. Seems a F5 will fix it though... Something something you get what you pay for with free software something something...

As for camera bags, anyone with one hasn't had cameras for long...

I have an old school DaKine photo pack that you would mistake for a LowePro is it was unbranded. I like that it's all black and that it doesn't look too much like a photo pack BECAUSE it says DaKine. But I never use it. I also have a LowePro top load zoom that I love for skiing/hiking. Anytime I have a backpack on for hiking (like camping hiking) the camera is in the top load which is awesome because it moves that huge chunk of weight to the front:


I also love shoulder bags so I have 2. One is the LowePro Stealth reporter 650. It holds EVERYTHING I own (well at this point 3 bodies is pushing it but it can take 2 and all my lenses). Here's on older shot with it full:


I also have a Tamrac Pro 5 which is an awesome small bag. The padding in the shoulder support SUCKS though, so I bought a crumpler pad for ~$5 and it's been perfect since:

It's only ~$50 which was nice. I can fit any one body, attached to the 70~200 (with the 1.4tc even) and another lens along the side. Usually I have it with the 5D and both the 12~24mm and 24~70mm, one attached one along side. I wish it was just a hair wider so you could fit a lens on both sides and it would be perfect. I'll be getting a crumpler x million soon for just this reason (whichever can hold the 12~24, 24~70 and 70~200 and nothing else).

The last bag I'm working on is a DIY backpack. I'm not a huge fan of the traditional camera backpacks because 1) they look too much the part, and 2) they need to be set on their back to open so your back gets wet if the ground is wet.... So I'm working on making my own (I either need to learn how to stitch courdura or pay someone to do the zippers for me). It's a crumpler backpack, but the awesome part is the insert from the LowePro 650 stealth above fits inside it. I'm putting a zipper into the side so that I can keep one shoulder strap on, swing it around to the front a la the slings lowpro makes, but with enough space... Here's the pack:


The last thing I use when I'm hiking is I'm getting into the think tank system. I have one of their belts on order (backorder actually) and one lens case (another 2 on back order). When I walk on the beach, I take one lens case on put it on my belt, drop in one lens, then the camera is around my neck on a (optec) strap... This way I have easy access to everything and that way I shoot more. This is more of a shoot solution, not a transport solution. The lens bags also work great for "throwing" gear into any random bag with enough room, like the above crumpler when it's got random stuff in it if the wife and I are out on the town or something... I'm looking to get a lens bag for my 3 main lenses and one that the camera with a lens will fit into to protect it too....

as you guys have already said, I never buy any bag online. I'll gladly pay my local shop $10 (then tax too) more to be able to go in and play with a bag. I've done that with every bag above. The only things I order online are the lens cases because they're obvious with the online dimensions... Beyond that I take my stuffed 650 into the shop (ask first, but by now they know me) and I unload it into whatever I'm looking at. They'll even custom order bags into the store (no charge to me unless I buy it) so for that I'm always sure to give them whatever business I can, bags at the least.

It's never over with camera bags though... at least not for me...

Ben

Originally Posted by LateApex

Originally Posted by jblaze5779

I would agree.... I got my slingshot in the mail and wondered why the hell someone made a bag so small. My external flash has to me folded in half and reversed in order to get it in there.

My 70-300mm has to be stored in the top compartment, my bag is just a mess right now but I can't really afford anything else.

Mine isn't too bad for space, I'll post a pic of how my gear fits in my SS 200 later. My 70-200 requires a bit of space.

Ok I realized why mine is so cramped for space... I have the 100AW. I saw the 200AW and it was much larger, I may need to move up sometime soon.

Originally Posted by jblaze5779

Originally Posted by LateApex

Originally Posted by jblaze5779

I would agree.... I got my slingshot in the mail and wondered why the hell someone made a bag so small. My external flash has to me folded in half and reversed in order to get it in there.

My 70-300mm has to be stored in the top compartment, my bag is just a mess right now but I can't really afford anything else.

Mine isn't too bad for space, I'll post a pic of how my gear fits in my SS 200 later. My 70-200 requires a bit of space.

Ok I realized why mine is so cramped for space... I have the 100AW. I saw the 200AW and it was much larger, I may need to move up sometime soon.

Well, there is a 300 AW, if you are in love with the design. Mine really does hurt my back when carried for a long time, and when full of gear. I had to do a bit of rearranging of the dividers to get the 70-200 to fit.

Right now I keep D50 w/ kit lens attached, 50mm 1.8, SB-600, Sigma 70-200 2.8, a couple filters and quick release plates in the main compartment, and the upper holds my LightSphere, cell phone, and spare batteries. Outer pocket is just remote, lipstick duster brush, and other small items. Ordering a Sigma 2x teleconverter this week, so it'll be fun to find a place for that.

Here's a couple crappy pics:

yeah, no offense but I don't like LowePro's sling design. I love the idea of it, but their implementation sucks IMHO. For that reason I'm working on making my own, but it's way more expensive my way... It's just awkward to use for me... I tried it for a half hour in the local shop with my gear in it and I just could not get it to work for me...

Ben

no offense taken by me. I thought I would like it, but I don't. It's convenient to be able to swing it around like that, but for me to do that I have to wear it very low on my back. It's like it wasn't made in man-sizes.

Most times, I end up carrying it around by the top handle.

Most times when I'm wearing my slingshot and I bend over to pick something up off the ground the damn thing flies over the top of my head or rotates around. It will do that regardless of if I'm wearing the second strap or not.

for some reason they're all ridiculously priced

try the tamrac pro 5:



It holds any of my bodies (up to a 1DmII) with 2 ~ 3 lenses and can do a 70~200mm attached with 2 others in the bag for about $60. The padding on the strap sucks so I bought a Crumpler strap and it's much better ($15 for the added padding). Links:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...amera_Bag.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ulder_Pad.html

I'll eventually get a slightly larger Crumpler x?million $ home but they're $$$. Right now with the 24~70mm L it's enough bigger than the sigma EX DG version I can only do 2 of these: sigma 12~24, canon 24~70, and sigma 70~200... With the old EX DG 24~70 it was just enough smaller I could fit all 3... So I'll be getting whichever crumpler fits those 3 ONLY sometime soon...

I also have some think tank lens cases in the mail with their belt. Should be here for the weekend and I'll get some shots when they get here.

Ben

Ben how does taht front bag hook to the straps?

Looks like it'd be really great for hiking/backpacking along with snowboarding stuff.

edit: I forgot to mention I use a n00b canon bag most of the time now, but anytime I'm near water I use a cool yellow pelican 1200. Its just big enough to fit the body with one lens, and rugged enough to bounce around in teh bottom of a boat, canoe, waterproof, etc.

the chest bag has it's own chest straps. So you wear it independent of your other bag. You could rig some straps onto your shoulder straps for your pack if you wanted because the chest bag has 4 plastic D rings stitched to it that the chest harness uses, but I just use it's (included) harness, put it on first, then put on the backpack over the top...

As for pelicans, I'll be looking at using one again. With a 1 series they don't make them deep enough (w/o getting HUGE) to work without taking the lens off. Now with my 5D it should work, I just need to see what I can fit in the case I already own (I've been keeping my video camera in it since it fits) and maybe buy a new insert set to customize it again...

Ben

Yeah, that 1200 case is just barely big enough to hold the digital rebel body height wise. Its a squeeze to fit it in so it probably doesn't have the reccomended padding level around it, but it works. I usually am stuck brining the kit lens only when I use the case, nothing else fits besides my 50 f/1.8 and thats not really as versatile in the situations I'm in.

i have the tarmac express 6 but shoot a pentax k100d so it probably won't do you any good, but i can take some pics for size comparison, etc. if you want.

I just picked up yet another camera bag for a project today.
Whiskey Militia had this for $11.99:

and I'll be getting a Domke insert from B&H for it:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...30_Insert.html
the only gripe I have is the zoo york logos (black sharpie should take care of them) and the fact that the domke insert is back ordered right now...

so for ~$30 I have a pretty stealth bag that will hold a bit more than my tamrac pro 5.

I have a Naneu Pro Lima bag in green that I like a lot. It's not huge, but big enough for an SLR with 200mm lens attached and 2-3 other smaller lenses, plus misc accessories.

naneu pro will also sell you inserts if you call them direct.

Originally Posted by jacobsen1

I just picked up yet another camera bag for a project today.
Whiskey Militia had this for $11.99:

it's too bad you have to wear a zoo york bag.

Originally Posted by boosted84wagonmonster

it's too bad you have to wear a zoo york bag.

like I said, a sharpie should take care of it...
Plus if I hate it enough, the paratrooper bags I got the idea from are ~$20 locally.

Originally Posted by jacobsen1

Originally Posted by boosted84wagonmonster

it's too bad you have to wear a zoo york bag.

like I said, a sharpie should take care of it...
Plus if I hate it enough, the paratrooper bags I got the idea from are ~$20 locally.

word.

speaking of being cheap and liking good deals, check this out ben: http://www.classiccloseouts.com/item...4490&iid=70733

Originally Posted by boosted84wagonmonster

word.

speaking of being cheap and liking good deals, check this out ben: http://www.classiccloseouts.com/item...4490&iid=70733

Which color should I get...
For $9.99 I'd almost consider one....

Originally Posted by jacobsen1

Which color should I get...
For $9.99 I'd almost consider one....

seriously, i bought 2. not those colors, but the 'titanium' and the 'burnt orange'

seriously.
serious.

I have no words for those jackets...

Originally Posted by tardypizza

I have no words for those jackets...

i'll put some words out there then.

cool, in-style, cheap, fun, flirty, flossy

disposable.

Originally Posted by jacobsen1

disposable.

very nice.

Originally Posted by boosted84wagonmonster

flossy

LOL

sassy?

classy.


in a lower class kinda way.