Camera Backpack

[Kayaker72]

I am sorry to bother all of you with this and I have tried going through the threads to see if this information is covered, and it is to an extent.


But I recently jumped into dSLR buying a 7d with a EFS 15-85 lens. As part of buying accessories, I bought the Canon 200eg backpack from Amazon. After receiving everything and putting the 7d in the Canon backpack, I am very concerned that the backpack does not offer enough protectionfor the 7d. Reading the threads, one comment I thought might be on target for this was the that canon backpack was a great starter backpack, but potentially intended for the lighter rebel series cameras. Thus, I am concerned that my 3+lb camera set up is too heavy and requires better protection.


I am planning on adding the EF 70-200 f 4 L and a couple of prime lenses at some point in the near future (a macro and 1 or 2 "faster" lenses). Imay need a couple of bags asI like to hike, travel a fair amount and I also want something less bulky I can take over to parties and family functions.


After reading threads in this forum and a few others, I am leaning toward either reinforcing the Canon backpack or buying a new Lowepro. But I spent Saturday driving around to local camera shops and they hardly had anything. So, I am probably back to ordering online.


Any suggestions? I am thinking about the Lowepro Fastpack 250 or 350, are those well enough padded for the 7d? Is the 350 "really big"....it seems that most people go for the 250. I am also interested in the mini and nature trekker, but I am worried those do not have enough room for everything else I want to take on a day hike (water, food, clothing, safety stuff, etc), which is also a drawback to the canon.


Thanks in advance.

[Ehcalum]

I am highly biased towards Think Tank bags. Their holsters and shoulder bags are great, matter of fact, I should be receiving a Retrospective 10 this week for my 1D2, 70-200 2.8 and rest of my usual shooting kit. The thing is truly TARDIS like, and its the smaller of the three.


I personally prefer shoulder bags, belt packs and holsters to a true backpack for accessibility.

[erno james]

I also recommend considering the Think Tank Streetwalker. It is relatively compact and can easily fit my Canon 7D with an f/4 70-200 with lens hood attached (NOT reversed), a 135 f/2, and a 24-70 f/2.8. I am sure I can find space for my 50 mm prime too. Lots of side pockets for water bottles and a compact point and shoot, inside pockets for CF cards, cable releases, and a large Giottos Rocket Blower. Don't forget that you can also attach a tripod to it. I used it hiking in the Southwest National Parks and was very happy with it. The straps allow one to carry additional CF cards, lip balm, or a sunscreen stick. They're a little hard to find but as with any bag purchase, grab your gear to see how things fit. Call around to see if any local camera shops carry them. Adorama but not B&H sell them online.

[Ehcalum]

If you do go Think Tank, buy directly off the site, and let me know before hand, I'll shoot you a code that will get you a free security tag/pocket rocket/or press pocket thing.

[thekingb]

I have the Lowepro Fastpack 200, plus the following equipment:

• 7d
• 70-200 f/4 IS
• 17-40
• 50 f/1.4
• 430ex flash
• various filters etc

<div>If the 70-200 is mounted on the 7d with hood reversed, I can neatly fit everything in the backpack with room to spare in the lens/body area below and the storage area above. BUT, if the 70-200 is not mounted, there's no good place for it, so I have to put the lens in a case, and then put it in the top storage area of the pack. That does open up room for another lens below, though. Hmmm....</div>
<div></div>
<div>I really like the Fastpack 200. Sure, it's not exactly the best all-weather option, but it is well padded, very well built and comfortable to wear -- even on long hikes. It's not helpful if you need to carry a tripod.</div>

[Kayaker72]

Thanks for the replies. I just checked out the Think Tank Streetwalker and it does look like a good pack. I like the one "negative" review that said it was built too well (they wanted more "flex" to the pack). I'll look at it a little more tonight. It sounds like the Fastpack 200 is also nice, but I did notice on the pictures the tripod was side mounted. Thanks for thefeedback.


On a tangent, King, do you like your 50 f1.4? I am thinking of getting one.

[Jorundr-Jorgensen]

Hey Kayaker72, I'm sorry if I'm a bit late and I see others already made great suggestions, but you might also consider looking into the Flipside 400 AW.


It's sturdy, has got lots of space but still is quite compact. I use it almost always now, no matter what I'm doing, MTB'ing, hiking, sessions, anything. The best thing about this bag is ofcourse that you never really have to take it off completely, unless you need to reach the space on the back, which I only use for pens, pendrives, little flashlight and mobile, nothing important fits there, really.


I even used it once as table for my lunch while standing on a narrow ridge with my back against the rock, great fun.


And ofcourse if the 400 is still to bulky, the 300 is also there and can also hold a 70-200.


Did I also mention that the tripod holder on the back of the bag is very good? It has handeld my rather heavy tripod many times without even moving! Even while on my mtb.


I wish you luck in your search.
JdeJ.

[thekingb]

On a tangent, King, do you like your 50 f1.4? I am thinking of getting one.

I am very satisfied with my 50 f/1.4. It is a very fast, adequately constructed lens that opens up the world of low light shooting. On a crop body it is pretty good for portraits too. It is almost unusable at f/1.4, but at f/1.8 things get going, especially on a body that has decent high ISO results. Shooting indoors in low light, your exposures will have a yellowish-orange color cast; it's best to shoot in RAW and use a gray card like the WhiBal so that you can more easily correct the white balance.


At f/4.5 and up, it can be scary sharp -- L quality sharp for a fraction of the cost. I think it is worth the premium over the "nifty fifty" (50 f/1.8) because of the better build quality and far better results at f/1/8 through 2.5.


However, sometimes -- more often that I would like -- I misfire with this lens, and I am not sure why. Maybe it's camera shake (most likely scenario), or maybe the lens is front focusing a bit, or who knows. But the winners make it worth it for me.


Here's a shot I took handheld, in terrible light, on my 7d at 1600 ISO at f/1.8. I corrected WB using a WhiBal card and reduced the noise a bit in post processing.


[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.45.77/nk.jpg[/img]


Good luck!


Brian

[Richard Lane]

Hey Kayaker,


Basically.., I've tried the Think Tank, Lowepro, Tenba and Kata Backpacks, don't buy anything until I can post some info tonight, because I'm at work right now.I was trying to achieve exactly what you were describing. I think you will find my experiences valuable.


TTYL,


Rich

[Richard Lane]

I am sorry to bother all of you with this and I have tried going through the threads to see if this information is covered, and it is to an extent.


But I recently jumped into dSLR buying a 7d with a EFS 15-85 lens. As part of buying accessories, I bought the Canon 200eg backpack from Amazon. After receiving everything and putting the 7d in the Canon backpack, I am very concerned that the backpack does not offer enough protectionfor the 7d. Reading the threads, one comment I thought might be on target for this was the that canon backpack was a great starter backpack, but potentially intended for the lighter rebel series cameras. Thus, I am concerned that my 3+lb camera set up is too heavy and requires better protection.


I am planning on adding the EF 70-200 f 4 L and a couple of prime lenses at some point in the near future (a macro and 1 or 2 "faster" lenses). Imay need a couple of bags asI like to hike, travel a fair amount and I also want something less bulky I can take over to parties and family functions.


After reading threads in this forum and a few others, I am leaning toward either reinforcing the Canon backpack or buying a new Lowepro. But I spent Saturday driving around to local camera shops and they hardly had anything. So, I am probably back to ordering online.


Any suggestions? I am thinking about the Lowepro Fastpack 250 or 350, are those well enough padded for the 7d? Is the 350 "really big"....it seems that most people go for the 250. I am also interested in the mini and nature trekker, but I am worried those do not have enough room for everything else I want to take on a day hike (water, food, clothing, safety stuff, etc), which is also a drawback to the canon.


Thanks in advance.

<span>Hey Kayaker,


<span>Welcome to the Jungle!


<span>Your off to an excellent start, realizing that you will need a few different bags, for different occasions.


<span>Lowepro and ThinkTank are all very good choicesI would also like to add Kata-Bags and Tenba to the list.


<span>I have tried all of the above brands, however not all of the models.


<span>To avoid being redundant I will just preface this entire review to say that all of the bags mentioned so far are very well made and anyone should be proud to own any of these.


<span>I've tried the Lowepro Fastpack 250 and 350, and I've used the Lowepro Vertex 300AW, beautiful bag, lightweight, roomy, dust sealed zippers, rectangular design, which means that you can fit more stuff in it at the top of the bag, as opposed to some other backpacks that taper at the top, which have their own advantages too, like jamming it into an overhead compartment, or not banging into trees while riding down a trail. Great backpack for the beach, parks, trails and picnics. I did really like the harness system on this Vertex 300 as well. Beautiful bag, but I returned it since I didn&rsquo;t think that it was rugged enough for my needs. I live at the beach, and I&rsquo;m into Mountain Biking, Skiing, Sailing and Hiking. I&rsquo;m not a serious climber, put I want my camera equipment to be well protected.


<span>The" tapered at the top" backpacks also have a better center of gravity and stays in the middle of your back better when climbing as opposed to the rectangular backpacks like the Lowepro Vertex. Don't let this keep you from Lowepro, as they also make very nice tapered backpacks. So, it's a trade-off, between room or tapered fit to your back and balance.


<span>I've also tried the Tenba Medium Shootout Backback, again, beautiful construction, well made, tapered at the top, strong zippers and with above average protection.


<span>I am actually surprised that Lowepro Fastbacks are as popular as they are, because I felt that they were poorly padded on the inside walls and dividers, and poorly protected on the outside. Regarding, the Lowepro Backpacks, I do feel that the Trekker Series is much better than the Fastpack Series.


<span>I've also used the Thinktank StreetWalker which is nicely constructed, however it's also lightly padded, but for walking around town it is more acceptable. Some people don't like them around town because they are considered too conspicuous, with the bag screaming, "I have $5000 of equipment in here."


<span>In my opinion, I think that the Tenba offers a little better protection than the Lowepro and the Thinktank, and the Thinktank offers the least protection out of all of them.


<span>The Thinktank Streetwalker has a fairly narrow width, which is fine for walking around in crowded streets, however, since my 300mm/f2.8 is fairly long it needed to be placed in the middle of the bag, which would not leave enough room around the periphery of the bag for other lenses. You could easily rearrange the dividers so that a smaller, attached zoom lens like the 70-200mm/f2.8 could be placed on either the left or right side of the bag with your other lenses placed on the opposite side of the bag, however I felt that that threw the balance of the bag off. I feel that a backpack is better balanced with the attached body and lens in the middle part of the bag, however this bag is a bit narrow to do that, if you would also like to carry a few extra lenses around the sides of the bag.


<span style="font-size: 12.1528px;"]Furthermore, the shoulder straps and belts on both the Lowepro and Thinktank have less padding and are thinner as<span style="font-size: 8.33333px;"]compared to the Kata-Bags. Don&rsquo;t get me wrong, for those of you going to the park, beach, or hiking down a dirt trail, they are all more than adequate.


<span>But, with a name like Kayaker72, I will assume that you are young, active and that you will need a rugged, well padded bag. If waterproofing is necessary, then you may want to look at the Lowepro Dryzones.


Now.., the bag that I choose was the Kata HB-207 GDC Hiker, it's tapered at the top, but it also has a top compartment. It is very rugged, so you could throw this bag around without any concerns. I also like that this bag will stand upright on it's own. I chose a bag that would be able to hold everything that I could ever possibly need. The size of the bag should be based on what you will need and what you are willing to carry, and not based on how much equipment you actually own.


Kata is a Company that makes gear for the Israeli Military.


<span>My bag is huge and can get heavy if I load it up fully, but "I try to just take what I think I will need, and I only try to forget what I will actually need."


<span>The harness system, shoulder straps and belt systems are all very user adjustable, with very thick padding and the belt system works as described to put the load on your hips, it also has a lumbar support pad and it breathes very nicely. I'm telling you that this is a serious backpack.


<span>When needed, mine will hold a Gripped 7D/ 300mm/2.8, with an extra body, plus 3 other nice sized lenses, 2 tele-extenders, 580Ex flash, laptop, filters, cables, cards, external tripod mount, external monopod mount. This bag actually holds too much equipment to walk or bike around with, for a sustained period of time, but it does provide a lot of protection for transport. I also have the optional trolley.


<span>The bag is very rugged with external pads for protection, the inside walls are also better padded than either the ThinkTank or Lowepro bags. The Tenba bags are somewhere in the middle.


<span>I actually think the Kata HB-205 GDC Hiker, may be a better size for you, based on your equipment description. Remember, I needed mine to be able to hold my 300mm/f2.8 and possible future 500mm/f4.


<span>If you want a rugged backpack to throw over your back, carry around town or toss into the back of your car, then get either the Kata R-104, or R-106 Rucksack, depending on your needs.


<span>Out of those two rucksacks, I would go with the larger R-106 since it has removable pockets and can therefore be carried larger or smaller. You&rsquo;ll never be sorry to have one size bigger, it&rsquo;s always nice for lunch, cell phones, water or whatever.


<span>I would also like to mention that I absolutely do not like the design of the Kata Sling Backpacks. Not, to be confused with the Kata T-216 Torso-Pack Sling which I have and I do like (and have heard that others do not) and it can be worn front side or back when I want to travel light and also shoot out of the bag. I feel that the Kata T-214 or T-216 bag is also a good bag for Skiing, depending on how much stuff you want to Ski with, or if you have a Pro Body or Gripped Body.


These Kata Backpacks are not a camera bag that you will fling over a suit and take to your friends engagement party. That's what ThinkTank is for, and I think any black camera bag can do that!


I do have a full ThinkTank belt system with all of the accessories that I enjoy very much, so I am a big fan of Thinktank and I also like their airport rolling bags and their discreet Urban and Retrospective shoulder bags, although I don't own any of those yet.


By the way, B&amp;H sells Kata, sometimes they're hard to find.


<span>


<span>Feel free to ask me any questions.


<span>Rich
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