Backpack vs. shoulder bag?

I am looking for a new bag as mine is too small and too old.

 

But I think I am looking for something impossible...

 

My equipment is pretty heavy, so I would like to carry it like a

backpack when I do not use it, otherwise my shoulder will break off.

 

But when I want to use the equipment I want to access it really

quickly. All backpacks I have seen so far have a long zipper, and I

have to put the bag on the ground or on a table to access it without

having to fear I drop some of the precious toys.

 

All shoulder bags I have seen allow average or good access to the

contents, but will kill my shoulder and cannot be carried other than

as a shoulder bag. I like especially the very flat bags. The tall ones

always require fiddling in the basement compartments ad do not allow

to just open and grab a lens or ther piece.

 

In other words: what I have seen so far from Tamrac, Lowepro, Domke is

not what I am looking for.

 

And here is what I carry with me:

 

1 EOS 3 with motor

1 EOS 1n without motor

Lens 2.8/70-200

Lens 2.8/28-70

Lens 2.8-4/17-35

Lens 1.5/85

Small flashlight

Filters, films etc.

 

Any suggestions?

P.S.:

 

Yes, I would buy a "Street & Field" or similar system if it would not look that ridiculous, but this looks to me like the Sci-Fi or US Marines version of the old photog vests - it will not suit so well when I wear a suit and tie.

I once talked to a orthopedic MD, who one told me that almost every photographer he saw

had a

bulging Lumbar disc from carrying a camera bag on one shoulder. I have talked to many

photographers over the years and they have that very problem. If you plan on doing this

for a long time, and don't want to have back surgery , I would forget how it looks and

carry your gear in a vest. I once weighed a Domke bag that I carried every day at work and

with the cameras I used , it weighed 48lbs. A vest keeps the load even and a backpack

does as well. I have since gone to using a vest and keeping most of the backup cameras

and

lenses in the car .It has made the world of difference.

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00B8ia&unified_p=1

Consider a modular belt system:

 

http://www.kinesisgear.com/sugsys35.html

 

You can configure the load any way you want.

I find that when I sling my shoulder bag over the opposite shoulder, i.e., around my neck, and shift the bag itself towards my rear, that carrying for a long time is not a problem and doesn't kill my shoulder or my back. And when I'm ready to use, if you have a long enough strap, swinging the bag to the side or front doesn't bother me either.

 

Of course, I am a big guy at 6'2" and 225 lbs, so percentage-wise, maybe my bag isn't as much on me as yours is on you.

 

I carry F100, 70-300G, 24 AF-D, 50 AF-D, SB-24, Yashica Mat 124, assorted filters, film, batteries, battery chargers, and with my tripod attached to the bag.

I have a Lowepro Mini Trekker (backpack). It carries the D70,

35mm lens, 18-70mm lens, 80-200mm lens, Speedlite,

batteries, cards, maglite, etc. with no problem. Sometimes I

cram in an F3HP body.

 

I can access the camera easily by only unzipping about a third of

the way down, and nothing falls out. It also doesn't scream

"photogear" like some camera bags.

 

I've been very pleased with it.

Been a regular user of Billingham bags over the years but have now reached the point where I'm looking at backpack bags.

 

Both Lowepro and Tamrac make those backpack bags that double up as hand drawn/wheeled luggage bags. Sort of either/or. Ugly things but am thinking of using those to lug around field camera gear for interior and architectural work. Been looking at those Crumpler bags from Australia - www.crumplerbags.com - for toting around 35 mm and medium format gear. Very neat - as in no strapping all over the place - well designed and sit tight against the body. Granted, you need to find a flat place to open them up but then, depends on how you work. If you're changing lenses often, there are those lens bags that fit on belts, etc.

I am carrying nearly the exact setup, only with Nikon lenses and bodies, in a LowePro Mini Trekker (actually a Computrekker, which includes a pocket for a laptop). The bodies are a D1x and an F5, which are somewhat larger than the EOS. All lenses are carried with shades (reversed), and either the 17-35 or the 28-70 mounted. The bag could be configured to carry the 70-200 mounted, but I use the others more frequently.

 

It is light enough to carry with one strap for convenience, and easy to mount and dismount as a backpack as well. Because it is small, the Mini-Trekker is almost as easy to use as a shoulder bag, but far easier to carry.

 

It has an ingenious tripod pocket, which folds completely out of sight when not in use. It holds a Gitzo G-1227 comfortably, which is surprising because it is 26" long. A 4-section tripod (G-1226 at 18") fits comfortably below the top of the pack.

 

I've been using it exclusively for about a month in anticipation of a job which will entail a lot of walking in urban environments, loaded with the equipment I will need. My conclusion is that I can live with this bag for general use, which I cannot say for a larger pack (PhotoTrekker). The only caveat for a backpack (compared to a shoulder bag) is that you have to be completely a*** about zipping the bag immediately after each use. Practice makes perfect!

I settled on a backpack because it fits my photographic interests. I routinely go out and stomp around my local woods and fields of hours at a time and often cover several miles in an afternoon. Theres no way I would use a shoulder bag for this. If for some reason I absolutely have to have my camera at the ready I just use the neck strap.

Seems to be a broad search? :-)

Dear Dark,

 

you are completely right:

 

A backpack requires drop down into the mud/street to change gear.

A shoulder bag takes you to the chiropractor/orthopedic doctor.

 

How about something in the middle, such as a hip-pack, i.e., the bottom part of the Lowepro Orion AW, and with part of the too-much stuff carried in its daypack?

 

And - of course - lightening the load a bit? Two cameras with two motors, 5 2.8 lenses from 17 to 200 mm etc. But no macro equipment, no 300mm lens, no TCs. This does not seem right: at least carry a macro rail and reversing rings, TCs and a tripod also for goodness sake! Your imaging capabilities would expand sooooo much. Just try to carry it all, though. I hope you get my point.

 

I in fact went back to 4 primes + TC, 20mm to 120mm. I carry these lightly in the small Lowepro Orion (non AW) hip-pack, and am enjoying it all so much more.

Here, I go again.... check out Crumpler. I always recommend them because they are fantastic! I just bought the larger "company Embarrassment" and it is perfect for 2 camera bodies, several lenses, plus flash, and all the other gear. I is a shoulder bag, and very easy to have over your shoulder, and on your hip, to access your gear without putting it down. I got it tru. Henrys.com on Ebay. But you can check out their site. (crumpler is made in Australia)

As a side note, I just visited the Crumpler USA website, and I must say it is the most moronic, idiotically designed, goofy-to-navigate site I have yet encountered. Cool bags, though.

Dark,

 

I recently got the Lowepro compu-trekker (mini trekker with laptop pouch).

 

I use it to carry 2 fuji gw 690 (6x9 cameras), a small 35 camera, filters, light meters,

and a bogen 3221 wilderness tripod. From what I could find, this is the only small

backpack that will carry such a large tripod comfortably. The tripod legs fit in a

pocket that folds down below the pack so the tripod doesn't tower over the pack.

 

I've been very happy with it for the comfort and ability to carry all this stuff without

hurting my back.

 

When I want to work faster, and not take off the pack, I'll carry a camera on the tripod

and just throw the tripod over my shoulder, resting it on the back pack shoulder

strap.

 

And for plane travel, even though I don't shoot digital, I do travel with a laptop and I

can put it in the pack and use it to carry on the computer and the camera stuff in one

bag. That's really cool to me.

A backpack with wheels?? such as the Lowepro rolling mini trekker

The Lowepro Omni Trekker has backpack straps and can (by design) also be carried as a shoulder-bag. It feels lighter if the native strap is changed for a Op/Tech strap. The bag is slim (quite like a big lap-top case) so everything is stored in one layer and if you put the bag down, all is accessible without moving other things around. You can access via the top of the bag whilst on your shoulder without risking bits falling out.

 

That said the difficult to impossible part of your question is getting something in which *everything* is accessible whilst on your shoulder. I think the only answer to this question involves having the items hanging off you in bits - though there's a convenience (and aesthetic) price to pay for this route, since you might end up looking like one of those street musicians who play eight instruments at once.

 

I solve your problem by having a lightweight outfit (a rangefinder) that I use when carrying a 19lb bag is going to be difficult. You could keep a lightweight shoulder-bag in your car and load that up with that subset of your kit most appropriate to the photographs you think you'll find on your walk. One body;couple of lenses; couple of filters; couple of films. In short-is what you have a bag problem, or caused by insistence on making the equipment decision at the point of shooting, not at the car/at the hotel/at home or wherever?

David,

I also have a rangefinder Leica M6 with a few lenses and I use it very often. The shoulder bag I have for it is very small and does not disturb, allows good access to all parts.

 

But for the big glass and iron equipment that I also want to use I don't have a good solution yet. I would like to take everything with me on longer trips because the Leica does not allow to use very long lenses.

 

The answers so far only strengthen my impression that there is not something on the market that incorporates the advantages of shoulder bags and backpacks without their disadvantages. You are right, some solutions like S&F, Newswear etc. are very comfortable as well as vests, but I really, really don't want to look like a Reuters correspondent or embedded journalist.

Ever try crossing slippery stepping stones in a river with a large shoulder bag? Don't, you won't make it across. Get a backpack - and half the point of the new split designs is that you can sit them down on the dirt.

Your equipment list looks like it weighs quite a lot. For the sake of your health you should put it in a well-designed backpack. I know it's less convenient, but your back will thank you for it.

I can't remember what the company was called, but I seem to remember somebody here posting something about a German company who made photo backpacks which you could slide around your back and access from the side, without setting them down...

Maybe somebody else has a more accurate memory than I do :)

You are obviously referring to the "Holst" bag from germany:

 

http://www.holst-direct.com/produkte_rucksack_l.html

 

It is a nice idea, but not really a good solution. Actually it is just a backpack with a compartment for a camera. The good idea about it is a quick release for one of the straps that allows to move the bag quickly from the back to one shoulder.

Yep, that's the one. You're right, it's not really that great. Was definitely much better in my unreliable memory. But it's still the closest thing I've seen to the best of both worlds.<br>

This <a href="http://www.tamrac.com/5749.htm"> bag </a> by Tamrac has a similar swingy idea but is remarkably ugly.<br>

I use a Crumpler courier bag with a padded insert. With its "3rd leg strap" it sits pretty comfortably on my back when not in use, and allows me to access my camera without putting the bag down, but it's nowhere near as comfortable as a backpack.<br>

I suppose you just can't have everything- I always wanted a lens that works like my eyes - with a wide view and the ability to zoom in on something while still seeing what's going on around me. But I'm just weird... :)<br>

<br>

Good luck with the quest for the ideal bag and let me know when you find it!

I remember a time when the german car manufacturers had dificulties in selling cars in the USA. One of the reasons was a serious lack of cupholders in german cars. They all complained about their sales figures in the USA but never built enough cupholders into their cars. In the meanwhile this has changed, but it took many, many years. And I think it is the same with bags.

 

So, I would not say that "you cannot have everything" (cupholders or a shoulder/rucksack bag). It is a HUGE gap in the market. Who would buy a standard shoulder bag if he knows he can carry his gear without an aching back? Who would buy a backpack if he know he could grab the camera and lens he needs without putting the whole thing on a table or on the ground to open it?

 

I simply cannot understand why the bag manufacturers are so narrow-minded and simply build different versions of the same old ideas over and over again. They could make a fortune with the right product.