Camera Bag Question

[curritch]

<p>My camera bag is falling apart and needs replacement. What I've got to carry is<br>

1. D90 with 18-70mm DX lens in soft pouch<br>

2. 55-200mm lens in soft pouch<br>

3. 90mm Macro lens in soft pouch<br>

4. 50mm lens in soft pouch<br>

5. SB-800 in pouch<br>

6. D90 charger and spare battery, miniature tripod and miscellanious stuff.<br>

I'm looking for a carry bag not a backpack bag.<br>

I've looked at the usual suspects (Adorama, B&H and Amazon) but I can't really get a feel of what bag fits my needs.<br>

Any suggestions?</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>1 body, 4 lenses, flash, accessories?</p>

<p>if you're lugging that much gear, you need a large messenger bag.</p>

<p>you could go for a large cumpler and get the photo insert, or a timbuk2 with domke inserts. or a large domke, which comes with inserts. or a lowepro stealth reporter. or a kata messenger bag. or a think tank. the possibilities are endless. just make sure you get a large or extra large size.</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>Think Tank Speed Demon, Speed Freak, or Speed Racer. Check 'em out <strong><a href="http://www.thinktankphoto.com/ttp_products.html">here</a></strong>.<br /><br />You can pull out the waist belt, or tuck 'em in, and use it as a shoulder bag. In mind, I carry a D300 w/grip, 70-200/2.8, 10-20 ultrawide, a 30/1.4, an SB-800, and one other lens (which depends on what I'm up to). The front pouch carries some other odds and ends.</p>

[phototransformations]

<p>I've been quite happy with the Lowepro Rezo line. The 180 or 190 would probably work for you. My Rezo 180 holds a D80, 18-200VR, Tamron 28-75 2.8, Tokina 12-24, Nikkor 55-200VR, Nikkor 50 1.8, charger, spare batteries, lens pens, flashlight, and other assorted gear and I can carry it around for hours.</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>david, you carry an 18-200 and a 55-200? why?</p>

[douglas lee]

<p>Eric, he carries an 18-70, not an 18-200.</p>

<p>Personally, I'd lose the soft pouch lens bags. Of course, I don't keep filters on my lenses either. ;-)</p>

[lee_fortier]

<p>Lowepro Nova 5 or Nov4 or a Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home. I've used them all. They're all great. (If you like a shoulder bag).</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>I can second the Lowe Pro Nova 5, it fits what you have. And get rid of those pouches - they only get in your way and they do little to protect your lenses once you have a good bag.<br>

But walking long distances with a shoulder bag with this amount of gear in it does get mighty annoying - your shoulder will start to feel like it's going to snap. A backpack is far far more comfortable, I would not rule it out immediately if you're going to walk serious distances with your gear.</p>

[william_mcfarland]

<p>The Lowepro Nova is a good suggestion. I recently got the Lowepro classified 160. I have my D80, 4 lenes, an SB 800 flash and other gear. I find it a great walking around bag.</p>

[photo5]

<p>I bought a second hand Domke bag about 10 years ago that was probably 10 years old when I bought it, for $40. You can spend hundreds of dollars on a bag you think you might need, or a lot less on a bag that will suit you just fine. This bag holds all my gear with room to spare (though it rarely leaves home as I rarely ever need to bring all my gear with me when I go out shooting). A friend bought a nice camera bag backpack before he traveled to Japan and loved it, can't remember the brand though, sorry.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>It's an old story, but I have never found a camera case I liked as much as the Nikon FB-8 case and its relatives.</p>

<p>A flaw was that the leatherette self-destructed after some years of use, but a slight variant was made for only one camera body that had real leather. I paid big bucks for one of the latter a couple of years back, and FB-8s do show up occasionally on eBay. I wish I could find one of the Asunama leather cases that were made in other mounts in a clone of the FB-8, but have never seen them outside the ads of old magazines.</p>

<p>What made it so good was the ability to snap lenses in and out from the metal plate in the base. The front flipped out in what is called a "reporter" style bag, and you could hold the camera in one hand and change lenses with the other. Nothing like the "I-really-need-three-hands" operation of every other camera bag I've used (and I've got more than a dozen from my fruitless quest). The FB-8's only real negative point was that it was heavy for its size, although this made it excellent for self-defense in lines where people were crowding.</p><div></div>

[phototransformations]

<p>Eric, I carry the 18-200 and the 55-200 because I don't much like the image quality of the 18-200 and avoid it unless I'm truly unsure what focal lengths I'll want to be shooting at, and then I'll put it on my camera. Otherwise, the 55-200 is a sharper lens with less distortion and vignetting and I'll use it when I know I want to shoot long.<br>

I've also used and liked the Nova line, but the Rezo bags unzip from the top, which makes getting the lenses and camera in and out quickly somewhat easier.</p>

[bobbymac]

<p>Curtis, try an Ape case I got one used that holds my D1x, 55-200, 18-55, 55 micro and my flash and still has a little room left depending on how it's arranged. Not very expensive and they have decent padding and good zippers.</p>

[RaymondC]

<p>I am with Dave Lee. All bags are personal, best to go in a store near you even if you don't intend to buy from there. </p>

<p>For me personally a bag is a bag. I don't like backpacks. I don't hike a lot. I generally have more portable gears even if I shoot at home because they are easier to use and I use a tripod and stop them down for landscapes / cityscapes. I just dump the bag on the floor and access it that way. I have a Lowepro Primus but I find it very gimmicky. First the ability to undo the shoulder straps but keep the waist belt on and rotate and access it while standing. Second, able to pull the camera out with the backpack still on - doesn't work with me unless I have one shoulder strap undone and I could heave it to the side and access that way. I also find that in all bags I tried the zips are not smooth and that annoys me whe you need two hands just to open up a bag to get your camera out. </p>

<p>But these days on travel I just use a daypack, at the hostel, I take stuff out and pop in a camea and a spare lens and I am out, no flash. Tripod in there compact one. Much of the day I just walk around with the pack and the camea with kit lens on my shoulder. If no tripod I can walk out with a jacket that has my spare lens and my camera with lens on my shoulder. </p>

<p>To me is any bag isa nuisance and any tripod for that matter, I just learn how to cope with it.</p>

[z_newbie]

<p>Curtis, I am using LowePro Compu tracker roller Plus for over 2 years now and its holding it pretty much (although it does get heavy with all the grear and if I am travelling internarional the roller wheels a big plus for me) and here is what I have in it:<br />Nikon D80 with 18-70mm AFS Attached<br />Nikon 105mm AFS VR Macro<br />Nikon 70-300mm VR<br />Nikon 24mm AF-D<br />Nikon 50mm AF 1.8<br />Sigma 10-20mm DX-EX<br />Nikon SB-800 in its pouch,<br />Various Filters (CP-L (67mm, 77mm, 52mm)), 67mm R-72, 67mm ND-4 & 2, 67mm moose warm CP-l ---- all in their own boxes<br />Nikon battery charger with cord.<br />The front pouch containes Lee Filter setup, manuals, wire remote<br />And the internal pouch contains extra battery, wireless remote, lens pen, extra SD cards</p>

<p>Need to say that I am loaded and it weighs about 25Kg to 30Kg will all the equipment,...</p>

<p>Hope it helps<br />LowePro rules</p>