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Need some opinions. I currently have a lowepro slingshot 200 and my gear just fits in. Problem is that I want more gear such as a 400/5.6 and I really hate the 1 shoulder support. (I'm also hoping to join the goons in the medium format thread some day - but that's more aspirational than immediate consideration). I was thinking about the lowepro mini trekker or the computrekker. I couldn't find any in stock at my local shop but looking at the other lowepro backpacks today I'm not really sure. They all seem to be padded boxes with shoulder straps added as an afterthought like those small wheeled carry-on sized suitcases that have shoulder straps - good enough for a quick walk through a terminal but not for real carrying. Reviews suggest this may be correct. What else would people suggest? Needs to be able to fit a gripped body, telephoto + 3/4 other lenses, flash and miscellaneous accessories plus support an 055 mounted externally on the centreline of the pack. Laptop is nice but I'm not planing to use it with both camera gear and the laptop so that's less important. Must be designed as a backpack first rather than a box with straps. I'm now looking at the Kata R-103 but for 3x price of the lowepro I figure I can wait 24 hours to hear other opinions.
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Jul 7, 2010 13:07
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| # ¿ May 5, 2024 14:48 |
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DJExile posted:I have the Computrekker AW and it's worked great for me. Very comfortable and I can carry it all day if needed. In fairness, I'm rolling with Oly gear which is a bit lighter than most. It will hold: Yeah, weight and weight distribution is an issue for me and the other lowepro products I've seen in between the slingshot series and the pro trekker series all seem to be ok with weight but support it too far back, and not fit contours too well. The slingshots are small enough that it doesn't really matter and the pro trekkers seem to be good quality but the others I was able to find all looked poo poo. If you put a couple of house bricks in there and strapped one more to the outside back of the pack, would you still say it was ok to carry around all day? Do the hip straps sit on your hips or above your hips (assuming 6')? Whitezombi posted:I have the KATA HB-207 and I love it. Way out of my price range, but the ergonomics look fantastic. How stable would it be with a large-ish tripod like my 055? I've seen bags that would hold it but not securely so the load is able to swing too much edit: only the 104 has the waist strap. and I can only get it from digitalrev in australia. I don't have to use digitalrev do I? 
Captain Postal fucked around with this message at 10:07 on Jul 8, 2010 |
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Jul 7, 2010 23:17
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DJExile posted:All day should be OK, but most I've warn this is for a few hours at a time. I do agree that they can get a little back-heavy. Thanks. I think I'd want to see the bag before buying it though - general lowepro design doesn't look great even if their manufacturing quality is very good. I'll try another local shop (last one I haven't checked in Sydney!) today and look for one. Whitezombi posted:It is fantastic. I was really lucky and got it for $100 on craigslist! I think it would be pretty stable. I found one on our equivalent site but it had just been sold  I've added the 205 to my list of bags and I would buy Kata without ever seeing one - design just seems more thought out and the reviews are better and I guess that's why they cost so much more. Any thoughts on the HB series vs the R series? Do you know what the differences are besides the easy access being included and the waist straps being an extra on the R?
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Jul 8, 2010 23:43
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DJExile posted:If you'd like, I can take pictures of my bag and gear to give you an idea. thanks for the offer but I think I've seen almost every picture online already. Although not many seem to show how the bag sits on your back when fully loaded, just what fits in it (*hint*). I managed to find a mini trekker yesterday and it wasn't as bad as I had feared but I couldn't try it on with weight in it. Sorry to be asking so much but I got to be really picky about packs and how they fit from my time in the army. The flipside 400 seemed more comfortable but couldn't take a proper tripod at all. How well would your bag hold a bigger tripod like an aluminium 055?
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Jul 9, 2010 22:52
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Blindeye posted:Hey all, I'm still relatively new to photography and so for a while I didn't have much gear. At the moment now I have a 55-250mm lens, a 50mm prime, a normal zoom, a small tripod and a smaller DSLR. Knowing my friend's lowepro 100 slingshot bag was really comfortable I was looking at sling bags and have narrowed it down to these: I'm getting rid of my slingshot 200. Can't stand the thing. It's well made and well padded but I just found it was not a good method of supporting weight for any length of time. Your current setup may be ok to carry that way but if you get more gear (I said I would go easy too when I started out) you'll quickly outgrow it. If you have resolve of steel grab either one as they both seem good, but I'd still recommend getting neither and using 2 shoulders. If you were in Sydney I'd offer to do a deal... but try it out fully loaded before you decide to buy! Captain Postal fucked around with this message at 09:56 on Jul 12, 2010 |
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Jul 12, 2010 09:51
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Blindeye posted:So I take it your opinion would be get a small cheap slingbag for a few lenses and SLR and then get a backpack later when I get more gear? I carried 3 prime lenses, pro body and a flash and it's too much for a sling bag. They're great for really light loads like XXXD body and maybe 2 mostly plastic lenses. They can certainly hold more gear than I can carry comfortably for more than half a day, so personally I wouldn't plan on filling it. I'd suggest a small backpack personally, maybe like the flipside series if you want the easy access without taking it off. I used to work at a hiking store and when someone asked to try on a pack (or even if they did it without asking for help) I'd put a few house bricks we kept in store in there because the fit changes with weight. The sling bags are really comfortable with a light load like what they let you try in store, but (I think) crap with what you are describing. If you try one out with a bit of weight in there and you're comfortable, then go for it. Just be sure to test first.
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Jul 13, 2010 04:47
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| # ¿ May 5, 2024 14:48 |
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Blindeye posted:My girlfriend has the 100, which I carried with a 50mm 1.4, canon XSi, kit lens, 420ex flash and a bunch of random stuff with no problem. The reason I don't want a backpack basically comes down to: shoulder bags hurt after a while and backpacks won't allow me to get easy access to my camera, I'd miss a candid shot in the street (what I shoot often) before I can get my camera out. This kind of bothers me. I think slings have all the same problems of shoulder bags combined with all the problems of a backpack. They are a bit easier to access, I admit, but still not as easy to access as a shoulder bag. Would that load be too much for you to carry in a shoulder bag? If you haven't looked at a flipside yet, take a look. It's a backpack that is designed so you slide your shoulders out of the harness while keeping the waist strap connected, then slide the waist strap around and it basically becomes a little table in front of you and you can access your gear from the zipper which is in the back. It's also much harder for someone to unzip and steal your stuff. Here's an example (scroll down) Captain Postal fucked around with this message at 09:32 on Jul 13, 2010 |
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Jul 13, 2010 06:08
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