Camera bag recommendations

[travelcharm]

I recently bought a new camera. Does anyone have any recommendations for a bag for a SLR camera, that doesn't scream I'm a camera bag steal me? Thanks in advance.

Jenny

[bruce-r]

I think you are better off with a real, dedicated camera bag, especially for a SLR and lenses. They are padded and offer more protection than just a bag. You can get a smallish one and put it in your carry-on luggage for most of the trip.

 

I have a Lowepro bag that I really like. They make a huge selection of bags for all kinds of cameras.

[pierces]

I don't know the extent of your system, so here's what has served me well for the last year or so:

 

My travel bag is a Tamrac 5605 Pro 5. (Only $55 or so!) It a medium sized sling bag that's not too obvious. It carries my camera body with lens (Maxxum 7D with the battery grip and usually the 28-75 f2.8, so it's fairly bulky), a couple more lenses, a teleconverter, a large flash unit and an Epson P-2000 photo viewer. It also has Tamrac's battery and memory management system in a pull-out pouch with a clever elastic tether to keep it from disappearing on you. I use the pouch for batteries only and keep memory in a pair of Tamrac MXS563801 memory wallets that hook onto attachment points on the strap.

 

While en-route, I stuff the bag into a wheeled carry-on along with another smaller Tamrac bag containing my A2, chargers and some accessories. On top of it all I throw in an empty standard day-pack. The carry-on stays with me at all times since checked camera equipment WILL IN ALL PROBABILITY be stolen.

 

While walking around in foreign ports or on tours, I leave the regular camera bag on the ship and carry the day's necessities in the regular daypack, sice it looks like, and is, the same bag that 1,000 other people are carrying.

 

That being said, you may also want to look at the Crumpler bags. It's an Aussie company and their bags ar designed to be unobtrusive as camera bags.

http://www.crumpler.com.au/Cart/index.php?catId=22

 

Good luck!

 

Dave

[IPingUPing]

I recieved one of these as a gift for my dSLR and I love it:

 

Canon Deluxe Photo Backpack 200EG

 

It holds a few lenses and is easy to carry and store stuff.

[travelcharm]

Thank you for your responses.

Jenny

[pengu1n]

While I haven't done this, I have seen people suggest using a lunch bag cooler for your camera bag. Then it doesn't look like an expensive camera, it looks like lunch. Many have good padding and several pockets. I might consider this depending on where I was traveling.

 

Karen

[Mississippi Travel Girl]

My husband has a Kata (r-103) from Kata-bags.com. It looks like a normal backpack, comes with a rain cover and has adjustable padded dividers so you can set it up for your specific needs and equipment. It also has a place to carry a laptop. It's tough - it's made by the people that make the body armour for the Israel Defense Forces.

 

Wears comfortably. Lots of pockets - for cell, travel documents, etc. He LOVES it. He's very picky about backpacks and camera bags and he has no complaints.

[taminator]

I recently bought a new camera. Does anyone have any recommendations for a bag for a SLR camera, that doesn't scream I'm a camera bag steal me? Thanks in advance.

Jenny

 

Lowepro and Domke are two very trusted camera bag manufacturers.

 

If you have a lot of gear, e.g. camera body plus lenses and external flash, then get a nice backpack for everything. Otherwise, like others have suggested, I recommend getting a real camera bag. Sure, it may look like a camera bag, but it's built specifically to protect your gear. That's the most important thing to consider.

 

I will also second the recommendation for Crumpler bags, too.