Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for some advice on a simple bag to use when I go out on shoots, walking around town, on the bus/subway, and hiking along the many trails (Bruce trail). I'm looking for something as compact as possible that has a shoulder strap. I'm not too keen on the belt bags but if that's the best recommendation, I do have an open mind. Gear I'm looking to carry are as follows:
- Canon 40D with BG-E2N vertical grip attached
- 17-85mm lens currently, 24-105mm f4L in the future
- A few extra CF memory cards

At this point I'm considering the ThinkTank Digital Holster 40 and would love to hear your experiences, if any, with it or any other suggestions you may have. My level of photography is amateur/enthusiast so I'm not looking to spend a ridiculous amount of money on a bag.

Thanks!

Berge

The accessory kit bags from Canon (Lowepro EX180 or Tamrac System 3) should suit you well. There's always a bunch on craigslist.

A smaller option would be the TopLoader series from Lowepro. I believe you'll have to go with a Pro model of that line to fit a gripped body. I'm looking at the largest (75 Pro) this summer to use at the track.

Crumpler 5 Million Dollar Home or maybe the 6 if you want a little more expansion room.

I don't recommend shoulder bags if you plan to go hiking. It's pretty hard on your shoulder after awhile, and it's not that safe if your trail is off the road. I had a Crumpler 6 mil $ home and found that I was totally unbalanced while climbing up a rocky slope. Dangerous business.

I now have a Lowepro Flipside 300. Not the most convenient, since you need to take your backpack off to switch gear, but at least the weight is balanced on both shoulders.

I second this.

sometimes when I go on short hikes I bring only the 40D, the 24-70 and the 100-400.
I use the hard case the 100-400 came in as a belt holster but I don't find this setup very convenient. It works because I carry only one extra lens but I don't see myself using this setup for anything more.

Usually I use a Kata 30N1 bag. I use it in the backpack configuration most of the time.

Totally agree on the shoulder bag comment. I use a Kata Sensitivity V and carry roughly the same amount of gear. Been hiking with it a handful of times and it's worked great. It's made out of neoprene and is quite durable. Three individually accessible compartments, two for camera gear, third for magazines/laptop.

Agreed on the hiking and shoulder bag problem, depends on the intensity of the hike I guess.

Hiking will be occasional and nothing too crazy. I just threw it in there as an afterthought but I have a Tamrac backpack that I would use for long hikes.

It's more the daily trips into the city to do some shooting that I'm looking to get a bag for.

I recommend MDHs for city use. The 7MDH will fit your needs.

I also agree with the remarks about shoulder bags in the woods. Shoulder bags tend to move at the wrong time.

If you really want only one bag have a look at the Kata 3N-1 series. They come in 10, 20 and 30 flavours. This bag can be used as sling bag for urban walk abouts (go left or right) and then switched to a full backpack style for off the beaten path jaunts.

You can use side openings or open the pack fully to access your equipment. The bag can be left in the normal two compartment configuration or you can unzip the divider and have one big bag.

So options and flexibility.

You won't have any trouble finding one that fits your equipment or future additions if you buy big.

DG

I think you should go green.

Lol, nice, I can reassure you though that I use those for groceries and a lot of other things... just not for my camera gear.

I think a 7MDH is a bit of overkill for a gripped body and two lenses. I get 4 lenses, ungripped 7D, cables, extra battery, charger, and a handful(well 4) CF cards. It will even swallow my 70-200 mounted, it's ugly, but it'll do it.

So what do you recommend for the gear I'm looking to carry, keeping in mind that it will be mostly city-slicking and not hiking?

Well they come in different sizes... just go check out the Crumpler store and see what fits you.

I do, especially accessories, but I do put the occasional body in there with a few other bags thrown in for padding. That considering I also have slings and shoulder and backpacks by Lowepro, Kata and Tamrac.

I also like padded lunch-bags.

LOL

Like I said in my post near the top , the 5 or 6MDH. I traveled to Cuba recently and used my 6MDH for a walkaround carrying: Canon 7D, Sigma 70-200 EX

How about a Lowepro Slingshot. Excellent for accessing gear on the go and comfortable?