Camera Bag for 350D?

[ekk]

Not sure exactly where to post this so hopefully this is the right place. I should be getting my rebel xt soon so im looking for a decent bag thats moderately priced. nothing too expensive. preferebly a shoulder strap one. something compact but offers good water-resistant and protection. it'll probably be awhile before i even buy any lenses for it, and even if i do 2-3 would be most. one that kinda resembles the look of a laptop case would be nice. any suggestions? :)

EDIT: I like this one but kinda expensive lol .. domke j-803 digital satchel
http://www.adorama.com/DMJ803.html

[mcenut]

My co-worker and I purchased the Canon 20D a few weeks apart. While our bags don't look like Laptop bags, we like what we got for the size and protection they provide the cameras.

This is mine:
http://www.tamrac.com/5201.htm

This is my co-workers:
http://www.lowepro.com/Products/Shoulder_Bags/allWeather/Nova_1_AW.aspx

My Tamrac bag is a little larger than the Lowepro bag and has the option for attaching additional bags for things like lenses and filters. Both bags top load the camera which makes it easy to access and (in my opinion) will protect the camera if the bag were to fall.

[ekk]

that tamroc ones looks pretty nice and compact. also some other on that site too thats nice. decisions decisions. guess ill go shop around some stores and check some out in person and also some more online. thanks. :)

[aparmley]

I think I have made up my mind on a bag for my XT. The Tamrac Velocity 7 model 5747.. its between this and 5749 the velocity 9, but the 9 just looks a little too big... I like how you can slide it from a back pack to in front of you ... convenient...

[ekk]

^^^ that one is pretty sweet. quite nifty.

i also like these ones. messenger type bags.

velocity 2 - 5742
http://www.tamrac.com/5742.htm

or

velocity 3 - 5743 .. width is 4" bigger than 5742, not that much diff i dont think.
http://www.tamrac.com/5743.htm

[Bluedog]

I had ordered the Tamrac 5674 but sent it back. It fit good and I prefer a Lens bridge system type bag that cradles the camera and lens like my older Tenba I'm using now from my Minolta 7000i days ... something about it though I just didn't like.

Also been eying these bags too: Ape Case PRO1000 (http://www.norazza.com/New/ape_case/ACPRO1000.htm)

[aparmley]

I like that Velocity 3 thats sharp... interested.... :D
I was considering a trash bag and all of the foam peanuts I have accumulated over the years, but that bag is making me reconsider... LMAO :p

EDIT LOL - Just when I thought I had my mind made up Bluedog comes in and makes me reconsider...

[NeoteriX]

I'm using a different Tamrac bag, the Velocity 5. Seems to work pretty well, it's got space for another lens (i've got two) but still isn't to big to carry around.

http://www.tamrac.com/5745.htm

[Bluedog]

EDIT LOL - Just when I thought I had my mind made up Bluedog comes in and makes me reconsider...

Sorry about that :D ... one thing a Lens Bridge System type bag gives you is added space underneath the camera body for a Lens or such. In my older Tenba I keep my battery charger and spare battery in there.

[aparmley]

Hey NO problem Blue, I appreciate the added contribution revealing options I was not aware existed...

[ekk]

right now, im kinda leaning towards the velocity 3. since the rebel XT is already small. good space for it and small to carry around.

[Clyde]

I was considering a trash bag and all of the foam peanuts I have accumulated over the years, but that bag is making me reconsider... LMAO :p (sic)

It seems to me that the look you want is "cheap." You want your camera bag to say "There is nothing in this bag newer than 15 years old, and it was all purchased for $13.50 at a garage sale." With that in mind, I use an old beat up backpack. The camera is wrapped in an old, soft cotton towel. When I get more lenses, I will wrap them in separate color-coded towels. Spare memory cards go in little interior pocket designed, I think, for car keys.

I hope that the only people who can recognize the camera as not an old Rebel are folks who wouldn't be tempted to steal, or folks who would be educated photographically, but inept pickpocket-ally. It has worked so far...

Clyde

http://www.clydesart.com/

[Rhys]

Exactly - an old-beat-up duffle bag with the cameras inside, wrapped in foam. I suggest buying a foam sleeping mat and cutting that up then fixing it together with duct tape. It's what I used to do in Britain. My sleeping mat came from Famous Army Stores - don;t look for them though - they went bankrupt.

[aparmley]

So when you are out and you have a theif, professional or none, watching you and you whip your camera out to take a few pictures, maybe swap out the full memory card with a new empty one... after seeing that, what difference is it going to make if you have a bag made to carry a camera or not...??

[freedda]

I have a couple of M-Rock bags which are reasonably priced, and they all come with a rain cover and also shock cord straps on the bottom (I add one of those shock or pull cord botton-type locks, so I can more securely strap on stuff to the bottom of the bag). Size depends on what you're carrying--since I've acquired more stuff to carry around, I moved up from the Cascade bag to the Grand Canyon, with a Niagara bag that attaches to the side. Room for lots of stuff. Check them out at: http://www.m-rock.com/products.html

[Rhys]

A professional thief? Such things don't exist outside of fiction. Thieves are largely stupid, greed and drug motivated individuals. Some become proficient at theft but the vast majority are after only things they can recognise and know they can "fence" easily. Disguise something valuable as something worthless and they'll ignore it. Disguise something worthless like a phone book as something valuable such as putting it in a posh laptop case and they'll steal it.

[aparmley]

EDIT : Had to remove my post - I felt it was not proper, im sure young kids read these things and why get into the ways of the professional theif, yes my friend, there are plenty of people who make their living off of stealing peoples old backpacks and cut up sleeping mats. :rolleyes:

[Rhys]

Fiction huh.. wow some one needs to get out from behind the computer more. Maybe its not the computer, maybe its just observational... When you have tourists visiting countries where the average monthly income is less than what most tourists are carrying on there persons at any given time you have the recipe for people who make a living stealing. that was my point in saying professional, sure, maybe they don't wear suits, some do, and maybe they don't have business cards, maybe?? probablly not, but the simple fact of the matter is there are plenty of people who make a living off of stealing peoples belongings, I call those professional theifs - they are different from your hobbyist or drug funding theif. get a grip man.

I don't appreciate the tone in which the underlined remark was made and suggest that in future greater attention is made to the rules regarding personal insults.

Certainly people make a living from thuggery. They're not professionals though. That's just something thugs/thieves/footpads do. They see it as easy money. Criminals are gamblers - they play the odds. Too many times they'll get away with it but at some point they're always caught although maybe not for their current crime. The point is thuggery/theft is not a profession - it is a crime. All criminals are amateurs. The only professionals who relieve unwilling people of their money/property are bankers and lawyers.

[aparmley]

one definition of professional : A practitioner with excellent practical skills and proven results in his field. need I say more...
I'm sure you did not like my tone, just like I did not like your tone when you said A professional thief? Such things don't exist outside of fiction.... it can certainly be derived from your comment that you were implying that I can not tell the difference between real life and a John woo movie and that Rhys is very insulting[I][U]. I suggest you read the forum rules... If you think I am not going to defend a comment I made after you insulted me first buddy you got another thing coming. Im done with this childish nonsense..

[aparmley]

Rhys-

You're right, I apologize about my tone... I knew it was a little confrontational thus I edited and removed my post. You have to give cut me a little slack, even though you may not have meant personal insult with your comment, you have to be able to see how it could be read as having such...Im a little edgy right now pal and I would appreciate a little slack! (that is in a jokingly sarcastic tone) I am currently backing up my catalog of pictures to CD, at 16x, very slow, very frustrating, once they are burned, I must verify, so its like slow x 2 - none the less, I apologize if I insulted you. There lets be forum friends again! :D

[aparmley]

Freeda-

Thanks for the link to those camera bags...

[TheObiJuan]

I have the canon camera backpack and the lovely domke f2. They both serve their purposes and also appear to be not photography related. The backpack looks just like one, especially with the word 'canon' removed. The domke looks just like a regular shoulder bag for carrying supplies or random crap, nothing pricey, or expen$ive.

[jeisner]

I have been using a Lowepro Nova 4 AW bag, it is a good bag IMHO very sturdy and fit all my gear easily.

http://www.lowepro.com/images/products/Nova4aw_black_rt_equip_n.jpg

It has unfortunately been outlived as I now have the Sigma 135-400 which is too bg for this bag, so today I ordered a Lowepro Mini Trekker AW backpack. I will let you know how it goes but based on my Nova 4 and the Nova 2 I bought my GF I assume the quality will be very good..

http://www.lowepro.com/images/products/MiniTrekkerAW_right_cam_1_n.jpg

[Rhys]

I'll have a look at bags in Columbia Photo tomorrow. Actually, I have loads of shopping to do there. Family reunion is on Saturday so aside from getting the most violently clashing and hideously coloured clothing in order to attend and not be seen as the newbie, I'll be buying lenses and possibly a bag too.

I quite fancy the more anonymous looking bags but I'll let you know what I find when I find it.

I used to use a Fotima 192HT when I was in Britain. That;s the largest of Fotima's range. I also had a little bag that I used for causal day photography which took an SLR and 4 lenses - or in my case a Nikon FM2 + MD12 (or 2 x FM2s), 135, 50, 28, 2x tc, macro tubes and sometimes a Metz 45 CT1 hammerhead flashgun as well.

[aparmley]

Currently I am using an old back pack that was built to carry a laptop... so the main compartment of the bag is a classic backpack opening with a smaller section padded around (Very thin padding mind you) for the laptop. I stack my two lens cases on top of one another on one side of the main compartment which restricts the laptop section to one half, which is where I have some large bubble wrap (Much like Rhys foam mat) kind of like another layer of padding and my XT slides in there nicely... its not fancy, its not a dedicated camera bag and its not pretty, it was free and its working for me now... I guess all I really need is some more of that bubble wrap for the big compartment for lenses and I would be ok... ??? I have turned into mr. cheapo now that I have found out what my next lens is going to cost me.... so the camera bag can wait... As it stands now I would much rather have the things that fill a camera bag than to have the camera bag and nothing to fill it with...

[vjack]

This thread was extremely helpful. Thanks to all those who contributed bag suggestions and links. I was just about to post a request for 20D bag recommendations, and then I saw this thread. So many choices!

[Rhys]

This thread was extremely helpful. Thanks to all those who contributed bag suggestions and links. I was just about to post a request for 20D bag recommendations, and then I saw this thread. So many choices!

Lol. Look at this thread on the fredmiranda board about the same thing....
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/242377

I'm actually wondering about something like a Gladstone bag or a sports bag, myself.

[aparmley]

Well since a lot of people prefer non camera bags this site has some cool bags, especially the messenger style...
Manhattan Portage (http://www.manhattanportage.com)

[ekk]

i like those messenger bags. oh well, i already ordered the tamrac velocity 2. something nice and small :D

[George Riehm]

This thread was extremely helpful. Thanks to all those who contributed bag suggestions and links. I was just about to post a request for 20D bag recommendations, and then I saw this thread. So many choices!

If you like to travel light... the Lowepro TLZ Mini will hold a consumer dSLR, with kit zoom, or up to a Sigma 18-200 DC size lens, 2 spare batteries, video cable, circular polarizer/filter, and 6 CFII cards.

Yes, its shaped like a camera, but remarkably small and well padded, and allows quick topside access (zippered). After a year of use, mine has been dropped, banged, rolled down a hillside, and otherwise abused, with no damage to the D70, Sigma 18-125, or accessories inside.

[vjack]

I'm not sure I understand the preference for non-camera bags. Is it the cost, or are you really worried about theft? I'm skeptical that most would-be theives could tell that most of the bags I've seen contain camera equipment (especially the messenger or backpack styles), and many of the camera bags look extremely useful.

[Rhys]

I'm not sure I understand the preference for non-camera bags. Is it the cost, or are you really worried about theft? I'm skeptical that most would-be theives could tell that most of the bags I've seen contain camera equipment (especially the messenger or backpack styles), and many of the camera bags look extremely useful.

Most thieves recognise common items. They all know that camera/camcorder bags have a squarish, solid shape. They know what looks good. The trick is to disguise things. For example, I never had my bicycle stolen from university because I disguised it by putting tape, accessories and so on on it that made it unattractive to thieves.

[mcenut]

i like those messenger bags. oh well, i already ordered the tamrac velocity 2. something nice and small :D

Great looking bag. Enjoy.