Photo Backpack?

[AZ JazzyJ]

Good initial feedback. Maybe if I get one of these bags I can get my wife Trina to carry all the camera gear around the parks. I can use the "but honey, Mom Possible said it has very comfortable straps and you have to admit you've been saying you wanted to work out more to get some upper body strength." Yeah, this just might work...


Jeff

 

[Mom Possible]

All right not to give AZ JazzyJ's poor wife more to do I have tried the pack out and found it to be great on my shoulders. As said before I have issues with my neck and shoulder. Sometimes even wearing a necklace can set it off as too much weight.

I decided to try out my new bag at our local county fair yesterday. I loaded the bottom up with my Cannon A520 (not the S2IS because I have not told my DH that I bought a new toy yet. )That will wait until my birthday actually gets here next month.

So back to the review. The bottom has my A520,could have fit much more in the bottom. Top has wallet, glasses case, Treo phone, brush, small sunscreeen and lipstick. That pretty much filled the top up. Front pocket had 2 sets extra batteries. A water bottle on each side pocket. So it was filled if not completely up to touring WDW capacity it was close.

What I liked: the bottom strap across my tummy while not attractive took so much weight off my shoulders that I willingly looked dorky. Like that I had good size water bottle pockets, liked ease to get to stuff inside top pocket. Good cushion for the camera.

What I did not like: !.It is a mission to get camera out. Have to unlock front clip then unzipp, tip top back and pull it out. Definitely not for those shots you dont want to miss unless you have a good minute to get the camera out and get organized. I ended up putting the camera around my neck (defeats purpose of saving shoulder) or just lying it in the top pocket portion. It went back in bottom section at the end of the day.

2. as I stated earlier the top pocket does not fit much. I am always picking up stuff here and there and I had no place to put it. Had to get a separate plastic shoopping bag to cary it around. It will definitely force me to streamline what I bring into the parks and what I purchase (unless I send it to the room )

Most important thing is that I had 1 twinge from my shoulder and that was it (probably from the time I had the camera around my neck) for the entire day. In my book that outweighs all the bad and I will absolutely use this pack.

 

[geffric]

My oldest son is going to Philmont Scout Ranch is New Mexico for a 3 week back packing trip. My camera Canon S1 IS is too heavy for him to take. Any recommendations for a nice camera to take pictures of waterfalls, mountains, aminals, etc that is ultra light and not too expensive?

 

[Kelly Grannell]

I'm sorry, but S1 is too heavy? it's only 1 lb!

I guess if you want something lighter then it's going to be Canon SD700, it's 0.5 lb.

I honestly think that if he goes backpacking and can't handle a difference of 0.5 lb, he is in no condition to go backpacking at all.

 

[geffric]

Kelly - thanks for the reply. They tell the boys that 1 oz in the morning feels like 1 lb at night after they have been climbing and hiking all day. He does have to carry about 50 lbs of gear and food daily on the trip.

So we are thinking of a lighter and smaller camera ..Also there is a possibility that the camera will fall down a cliff , so I am not sure that I want to give up my camera...

any thoughts?

 

[tjl1388]

Having been to Philmont myself, first let me say congratulations. It is a life changing experience, one that will never be forgotten.

2nd...1lb should not be that bad...but consider the chances of it getting destroyed are VERY high and it will probably out of your sons control.

Find a camera that can fit in a ziploc bag and can take a beating.

extra tip.....see if you can't find one of those collapsable fishing pole set ups.
It was worth the extra weight, I fed 2 crews of 6 on more than one occasion, remember no one is allowed on that property but hiking scouts so the trout NEVER see fishing lures. You could literally watch multiple trout chase down your lure. Fresh grilled trout beats freeze dried food all day long..

Oh yeah....post up the pics when he gets back, I was not lucky enough to have a good camera. If you have any more Philmont specific stuff feel free to give me a shout.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

The only option for a camera that can take a bit of a beating is Olympus Stylus 720 SW. It's not a great camera, but it's waterproof to 10ft and shock-proof to 5 ft.

the goods: the waterproof and drop-proof thingie I mentioned above
the bad: fake image stabilizer, slow auto focus, uses XD card (in Canada 3-4 times the price of CF card of the same capacity)

 

[go cowboys]

I have outgrown my camera bag and am looking at a backpack. Anyone have one to suggest and/or ideas on where to buy the best deal? I am soooo cheap.

 

[El Nebuloso]

I have the Tamrac 'Adventure 74' (model #5374) which is a medium sized backpack style and have been very happy. I carry the D50, SB600 flash, Nikkor 18-200 VR, Nikkor 50mm prime, Nikkor 70-300 and Tokina 12-24 as well as filters, charger etc. without any problem. It is well constructed and (so far) durable. It comes in at about $80, so I'm not sure if that is a budget buster or not, but I have found mine to be worth every penny.

 

[mabas9395]

I have this one. Good and cheap.

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Deluxe-...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1184043972&sr=8-1

 

[jann1033]

i have the same one as mabas and it is a real bargain. loaded up i can't even carry it but semi loaded, i carried it yesterday on my back for a few hrs no problem( my muscles in my neck are messed up so probably would be better for most normal people)
it fits my rebel body, 70-200 lens, 28-135 lens, 50mm lens, kit lens, 100mm macro lens, flashlight( same size as kit lens) filter wallet, additional filters, memory card wallet, battery charger and batteries, manual, hoods for all lenses, cords etc. cleaning stuff, straps for tripod on the bottom and still has 2 big empty outer pockets, one i used for lunch although my pb&j got a little smushed, and a cord arrangement on the front that i used for my water bottle

 

[MICKEY88]

check www.amvona.com



they have some nice backpacks.

or do a search on ebay for rolling camera backpack
there are some nice ones at a really decent price..

the Square Perfect SP1700 Professional Backpack Rolling Storage System for 39.95 looks exactly like the one I got from amvona, I love it, it goes everywhere with me everyday of the year and shows no signs of wear..

 

[AndrewWG]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone could tell me about this Canon backpack.

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Backpac...9?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1189879275&sr=8-1

It seems to get some good reviews and it certainly seems roomy enough for all my stuff but I thought the same thing about the Lowepro Compudaypack and was extremely disappointed with its large size. Held everything I needed it to plus the kitchen sink, a small car, ....... WAY too big to carry around WDW. I'm looking for something quite a bit smaller that is designed for a DSLR, lenses, etc. Any extra room for a change of DD's clothes would be a bonus too. This bag seems to fit the bill, but I wish I could see it in relation to an actual person holding it to judge the size a bit better.

Anyone have more info on it?

Many thanks as usual!

Andy

 

[AndrewWG]

Noone has used this? Darn... Guess it will be another purchase that hopefully doesn't get returned.

 

[amid chaos]

Look into the Tamrac Adventure series. Bottom part for camera equipment, top part for everything else we haul aorund at WDW. I have the 7 and like it very much.

 

[AndrewWG]

I'll do that. Thanks. The more I look at the reviews for this Canon backpack, the more I don't like it. Seems to be able to carry everything I need it to but I guess the padding is not so great. That worries me too much.

Thanks again.

 

[orchjoe]

I use that backpack.... It's pretty handy.

I can fit my XTI with kit lens.. and I have two 70-300 (one was from a previous canon) and a speedlight flash in it. The backpack has side mounts for a tripod. The front pockets are decent in size and you could probally fit a change of clothes depending on what they where (like adult jeans and tee.)

The size isn't to big but then again it is the same size as a school backpack but with the extra padding inside.

If you go to amazon they post user pictures of the backpack.

 

[AndrewWG]

I use that backpack.... It's pretty handy.

I can fit my XTI with kit lens.. and I have two 70-300 (one was from a previous canon) and a speedlight flash in it. The backpack has side mounts for a tripod. The front pockets are decent in size and you could probally fit a change of clothes depending on what they where (like adult jeans and tee.)

The size isn't to big but then again it is the same size as a school backpack but with the extra padding inside.

If you go to amazon they post user pictures of the backpack.

Do you find the padding to be sufficient? It seems like many of the Amazon reviews say that the padding is a bit light. I want to be able to set this thing down and not have the camera take a hit each time. I would have thought that Canon would have thought of that when they designed it though.

Andy

 

[My2Girls66]

http://www.tamrac.com/frame_velocity.htm

These look like a nice line of camera packs.

 

[orchjoe]

The padding on the back is pretty good. I've set my bag down a couple of times hard without any damages to the equipment inside.

The padding on the front is really light to if you dropped the bag you might have some trouble.

It has a lot of straps that I don't use... it is a good back if you want to bring along a lot of stuff.