Camera bag

Susanhill

Any advice on a camera bag? I have several lenses and just upgraded to a 70-200mm.

bruto

Over the years, with tag sales, used sales, and whatnot, I've become something of a camera case junkie. It depends a little on where and when you're carrying stuff, whether you intend to carry it all at once, etc.

I have a Lowepro Fastpack with rain guard that I use for traveling, which also takes some other stuff, making it nice as an underseat air travel bag, but it's a bit tight for more than a camera and two lenses.

For other use, I've collected a bunch of bags over the years, and not all are currently made, but I'll show a few as samples.

We'll start with two small backpacks. The one on the left is a Lowepro that I use most of the time. It comfortably holds the D3200, with any lens up to the 55-300mm mounted, and that lens plus three others, charger, and various little bits. I also put my pocket camera in there, as shown.

The one on the right is a slightly smaller Tamrac that my wife uses. In it are a D7100 with the 55-300mm lens and 18-140mm lens, and the little pocket camera and a few accessories, but no more. It could take more lenses if they're short, but two longer zooms are all it can take.

(see here)

Next up is a square bag, this a tag sale freebie that was made for a Canon Rebel. Many similar bags exist, and I have a couple of others that I use for storage. They are very nice if you simply carry the gear around, and don't need to pack it far. Good for putting in the car, grabbing camera out quickly if you're just going to carry the camera and leave the rest behind. The space is generous and flexible. The one shown currently holds a Nikon F4 which is a very big and heavy thing. Various lenses can go it it.

Next to it is a small case that holds a camera with a medium long lens, one other lens in a side pocket, a flash or pocket camera in the other side, and various little bits in other pockets. For a limited kit this is ideal to carry all day. You can re-arrange the strap to hang as a dispatch bag. It's light and very easy to get the camera in and out, and to change lenses. I took this to the Galapagos with the D3200 and two basic lenses.

(see here)

Finally, a very different approach, this was a cheap case from Lowe's, with a shoulder strap included, into which I added the fitted foam, with cutouts for a variety of equipment. Originally custom fitted to my old Nikon F rig, it now holds an F3 and an assortment of lenses. A cheap but very sturdy case, great for car stowage but not for trekking. Pelican makes a plastic one like this that is waterproof, and ideal for traveling, but again, for actual hiking you need something else. I usually took along the small blue case shown in the previous picture, and decanted what I needed into that when hiking and the like. Nowadays for when I want to take a lot of gear, I have another bigger Tamrac backpack, not shown, into which I can put the camera with even a very big lens and still put in 6 or 8 more. My wife also has a couple of medium packs in which she keeps a variety of lenses and film cameras that aren't getting much use these days.

(see here)

Whatever you choose, make sure you try it for fit, and I suggest you stick with good sturdy brands; Lowepro, Tamrac, Think Tank, Ruggard, and the like. Make sure you can trust the stitching, the fabric and the zippers.