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What Backpack would you advise.


dimi3

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I need to choose a back pack to use as a reporters case.

I carry Rebel Xti with grip, 28-135 IS, EX 430 + Leica R8 (35-70 f/4) + if

possible Contax G1 (with 2 lenses and TLA 200)or Rolleicord.

May be somebody has an experience of carrying 2 SLR`s with some extra lens and

an extra body. Any advise would be highly appreciated. Big thanks.

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Lowe Pro Mini Trekker AW. It swallows my EOS 10D + 24-105mm, EOS 300X + 50mm, Pentax 645 + 75mm, plus Pentax 80-160mm and 200mm lenses. Its a great backpack, a bit of a Tardis really (sorry, British cultural reference there - it means it appears bigger on the inside than on the outside!)
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Another vote for the Mini Trekker AW from personal experience, although that's not to say there aren't other good options. I bought one when the extremely restrictive hand baggage regulations for flights from the UK came in during 2006, and with just the photo part in use it JUST fitted the gauge. Now that we are back to the standard 55x38x20 gauge, you could go to the next size up, but with a weight limit of 7Kg or 8Kg, a well-filled Mini Trekker already hits the weight limit, and some airlines at some airports are quite fussy about this. I carried a 20D, 10~22, 24~105, 100~400, 60, MR-14EX, and a pair of Trinovids. The Mini Trekker is deep enough front-to-back to take a 10~22 or 17~40 very neatly endways-on, but not a 100/2.8USM or a 135/2 - you could force the bigger lenses in, but they would be vulnerable.
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I picked up a 200AW a couple weeks ago and it is SLICK! I've got a Trekker AW I purchased a few years ago thinking it would be nice for carrying some other gear in addition to photo stuff. I used it quite a bit but it was never very convenient.
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Am not a pro but have a proclivity to carry more equipment than needed. I am very happy with my KATA R-103 which comfortably fits a 20D, 28-70L, 135L, 70-200f/4L, 100-400L, 580EX, Bogen 3030 & 3249 and a laptop inside and a GITZO 1297 outside.
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Dmitry,

 

If you have a decent local photo store I would advise you to pack up your gear and make a trip there. Bags are about the only thing I buy from my local photo store (Precision Camera and Video in Austin, Texas) but every body is different and I want to try a bag on before I buy it.

 

Backpacks are not convenient to access items from. For street shooting I use a shoulder bag though the new Slingshot bags look very attractive. With a shoulder bag it is crucial to keep the weight down - ask yourself do I need to simultaneously carry the three bodies. A backpack is ideal for transporting items but not really for street use.

 

Robin,

 

Try wearing a photo vest. You can take the heavy items from the case and stow them in your pockets. Michael Reichmann has a nice discussion of this in his ThinkTank International bag review.

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I use the Super Trekker AW and find it to be great. However, it holds so much gear that at full capacity it is too heavy and unwieldy for actual trekking - in those cases, you have to pack some equipment out into a smaller bag. That's why I am likely to get a vest soon, along the lines of Alistair's advice above. Incidentally, the Mini Trekker seems ideally sized for hiking but would probably be inadequate to hold all your gear in one place for airplane travel (which is why I got the Super Trekker, which is just barely adequate for that). BTW, the Super Trekker comes with these huge and generally useless wings for hip support and load balancing, and I had to physically cut those off to conserve space (otherwise the pack is hit-or-miss for an overhead compartment on planes). They do add enough stability for mountain hiking, but unless you are a Sherpa you'd never venture that sort of climb with so much weight on anyway!
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I own the full sized AW Trekker but it is a monster of a bag, and when full weighs about

50lbs. I love the bag though, and would definatly go for the Mini AW Trekker.

I recently bought a Naneu Pro Military Ops bag (The Echo) www.naneupro.com and

although it's small, it neatly fits my 5d, grip, 24-105, 50 1.4, 17-40, 580ex, 3 shirts, 2

pairs of socks, a pair of trousers, lens hoods and other accesories. It's cramped, but

comfortable and discreet, you could try one of their bags, such as the Alpha if you don't

want to go with the camera-bag-esque look that Lowepro provides.

 

Sincerely,

Alex I.

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I have a Computrekker, which is a Minitrekker with a computer slot, and can vouch for its effectiveness. The "Tardis" reference was humorous and accurate!

 

The Thinktank bags deserve a second look (http://www.thinktankphoto.com/). The Computrekker/Minitrekker look like a hiking backpack - the Thinktank models are rectangular and efficiently designed for air travel. Roller bags have a 10 pound penalty for convenience, and must still be carried up steps (e.g., Logan, Newark and LaGuardia). If you need wheels, get a luggage cart.

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