# Bag while I am a "tourist"



## RGF (Apr 9, 2013)

Hi

I have been a member of the bag of the month and a closet full of bags showing my excellent standing in the club. I dropped out of the club about a year ago and need to add to my collection (yes I will sell unused bags).

What I don't have is a shoulder bag (showing my bias) or some sort solution for carrying gear while I am a tourist or doing the limited amount of street photography. [NB most of my photography is wildlife with big equipment for which a back pack works well]. 

Wonder what recommendation people have, not sure I want to go with a belt system as I envision using the bag/system while touring with my wife. I hope to carry 5D/6D, 14, 16-35, 24-105/24-70, possibly 70-200 F4 or 70-300 (not the 70-200 F2.8), possibly 100 macro, and flash. Is this too much? I could see taking either the 14 or 16-35 but not both. Thoughts?

Thanks


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## scottkinfw (Apr 9, 2013)

Not sure exactly what you mean by shoulder bag, but love my Think Tank Airport Take Off. It will easily fit all your goodies and fit in even small overheads of jets.


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## chasinglight (Apr 9, 2013)

For being a tourist I cannot say enough good things about the think tank retrospective series. The bags are well made and blend in very well. They are not as padded as some the "airport" bags, but I never found this to be a problem. I can easily fit my gripped 7d, 15-85, 70-200 f4 is, 50, speed light, filters,
Batteries etc. though if I travel with that much gear I normally lock some of it up in the hotel safe when I don't need it. I can also take my 100-400 instead of the 70-200, but that makes things a little tight.


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## Halfrack (Apr 9, 2013)

Bag topics really need to mention if they're gripped or not. If you're not gripped, you have lots more options. Body with lens, second lens and flash fit well in the Niko Messenger from Chrome. I've been looking at the Ari Marcopoulus from Incase but I don't think my gripped body is going to fit.


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## rsk7 (Apr 9, 2013)

I just got a ThinkTank sling-o-matic 30 for my trip to Scandinavia in June. I like this bag because:


the sling is reversible and is easy to switch left shoulder/right shoulder
I can work out of the top of the bag without setting it down
doesn't have the huge flap over the top that you have to get out of the way to work out of it
has laptop sleeve so no extra carry-on bag
can fit my 5D3/70-200 2.8 mounted


I'm taking 5D3, 24 TSE II, 24-70 II, 70-200 II and 17-40 (maybe). There is a smaller 20 but it doesn't have the laptop sleeve and I can't fit a 5D3 with mounted 70-200 2.8 in it depth wise (can laterally). You could get away with the f4 mounted since it is an inch shorter in the 20 but not the 2.8.

http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/sling-o-matic-30.aspx


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## Hillsilly (Apr 9, 2013)

I've got a National Geographic Medium Shoulder Bag that carries a similar amount of gear (and fits a gripped body). While the padding is good, when loaded up, it does cause a bit of strain on your shoulder. (But no different to any other shoulder bag and as a member of the bag of the month club, you would probably know that anyway).


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## ahab1372 (Apr 9, 2013)

I am happy with the ThinkTank Urban Disguise 60 v2.0. Fits under the airport seat (unless you use the front pockets), has a nice shoulder strap, and with the (optional) backback strap you can temporarily convert it into a backpack.
http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/urban-disguise-60-v2.aspx
My 70-300L fits in vertically with lens hood and a rebel attached


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## Hobby Shooter (Apr 9, 2013)

I have a couple of Crumpler slingbags in different sizes. None big enough to carry all that gear though. Still I can recommend you to have a look at what they have to offer. Very comfortable and practical.


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## Quasimodo (Apr 9, 2013)

RGF said:


> Hi
> 
> I have been a member of the bag of the month and a closet full of bags showing my excellent standing in the club. I dropped out of the club about a year ago and need to add to my collection (yes I will sell unused bags).
> 
> ...



I love my bag! I bought the Domke F2 Ruggedwear. It is inconspicious (mine is in brown), and it can hold most of the equipment I need for most shooting assignment. It is made of some special material (in my eyes it looks like oilskin). I can hold two pro-bodies, Four or five lenses, three flashes and a st-e2, or reduce the flashes from the side pockets and have more lenses. The strap is comfortable, and it has some type of rubber inside for better grip on your shoulder. Living in Norway it is quite expensive, but I bought it through e-bay from the US for a reasonable price. I also have a backpack for cameragear, but I seldom use it when out shooting.


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## Hobby Shooter (Apr 9, 2013)

Quasimodo said:


> RGF said:
> 
> 
> > Hi
> ...


Wow, just checked out that bag, looks really nice. I'd much prefer that from the Crumpler I mainly use (and just recommended) today.


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## Darlip (Apr 9, 2013)

With all that gear I would recommend *Gura gear bataflae 26l*, used it myself not to long ago on a trip to Thailand and I was very pleased with it.

http://www.guragear.com/bataflae-26l-black/


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## alexanderferdinand (Apr 9, 2013)

Thinktank Urban Disguise 70v2.
Big, stealthy, broad belt for the shoulder, optional a belt to wear it like a backpack.
Carried it 5 days in venice for many hours, very comfortable for the weight.


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## Grumbaki (Apr 9, 2013)

Tamrac Zuma line. Perfectly "touristy" as it's focused on total impossibility of pickpocketing while still being confortable. Fits 1 body non gripped and 2 lenses tho so it might be too small for you.


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## Quasimodo (Apr 9, 2013)

Darlip said:


> With all that gear I would recommend *Gura gear bataflae 26l*, used it myself not to long ago on a trip to Thailand and I was very pleased with it.
> 
> http://www.guragear.com/bataflae-26l-black/



Thanks, I could not have been happier with it. They even enclose a sort of protective 'fat' to be worked into the material, so that it is more weather resistant. Well, it was put into a unforseen test when I was on a job and it rained quite heavily. The gear was still dry 

Originally I wanted this English bag, Billingham, but had a hard time convincing my wife that I really needed such an expensive bag, lol. What I like also about it is that it does not look like a photobag, thus you are less exposed from both attention and risk.


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## funkboy (Apr 9, 2013)

My Think Tank Retrospective bag is absolutely fantastic. I've got the Pinestone 7 and it really holds everything I need: 6D, lots of smaller primes, and a whole bunch of odd bits stuffed in the other nooks & crannies. It's the perfect companion if you have a 10" tablet or a smaller ultrabook that will fit in the laptop pouch (which also holds magazines when there's no computer in there).

What I find really great about this bag is that it has forced me to rethink the gear I take with me. I have a bunch of other bags, but they're all either too small to fit anything useful besides maybe one extra lens, or once I fill them up they're too big & heavy & clumsy to access. So the end result was either wanting more lenses, or not bothering to drag all my stuff with me wherever I go when I'm on a trip as it's too heavy.

The retro 7 is really the right size; big enough to hold a reasonable amount of stuff & small enough to be practical. It forces me to think about the gear I *need* for the trip & take only that. This usually ends up being the 6D with the 24-105L on it and whatever primes I think I'll need, depending on what I'll be shooting & how much walking there is to be done. I keep all the stuff that I don't need when I'm shooting (chargers, cables, readers, etc) in a lens bag in the front & just pull it out & leave it in the room where I'm staying.

It's super easy to access. Even taking a tablet or computer out to check a map or mail is really fast. And no one thinks its a photo bag. Obviously I'm pretty psyched about it.


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## RGF (Apr 10, 2013)

Darlip said:


> With all that gear I would recommend *Gura gear bataflae 26l*, used it myself not to long ago on a trip to Thailand and I was very pleased with it.
> 
> http://www.guragear.com/bataflae-26l-black/



Have the Gura Gear Kiboko, great for carrying but awkward for shooting. Need to stop, take it off, ...by I have lost the shoot.


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## RGF (Apr 10, 2013)

funkboy said:


> What I find really great about this bag is that it has forced me to rethink the gear I take with me.
> 
> It forces me to think about the gear I *need* for the trip & take only that.



I tend to think I'll need everything so I often take everything and the I get a full and heavy backpack. I want to avoid this trip.


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## SwissBear (Apr 10, 2013)

i use for slightly less gear (600D ungripped with 24-105, 40, 85 1.8, 2 lensbabies, sigma 150, 580xII, cullmann nanomax 200T and batteries, cpl and stuff) a Lowepro Stealth Reporter 300AW, and it just fits. 
This bag is all fine and even has a built-in raincoat 
Did many walks with it, also in the mountains. if this is my only pack, i tend to replace 1-2 lenses with snacks or so 
Although, fully loaded it is already quite heavy...

For your gear, id get the 400 or even 550 version.


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## kirispupis (Apr 10, 2013)

You mention big telephotos for wildlife, but none of the lenses you list really qualifies as one. Are you taking a 600L or even a 300/2.8? If so, then a GuraGear or TTP bag is easily your best/only option. For the lenses you mention, though, they should fit in a TTP Streetwalker Pro.

I took one of these to Italy recently and fit the following.
5D3 with 70-200/2.8 II attached
580 EX flash
TS-E 17
TS-E 24 II
8-15 fisheye
100L macro
24-105
2x extender

On wildlife trips I take my TTP Airport Accelerator. I take the 16-35 instead of the TS-E 17 and add 
MP-E 65
MT-24 EX flash
Either 300/4 or 400/5.6 depending on the wildlife


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## TrumpetPower! (Apr 10, 2013)

When you want to be inconspicuous, there's a lot to be said for _not_ getting a camera bag, even one of the stealth models.

Instead, go to the local college bookstore and find something you can live with. On the way home, stop at the first patch of gravel / mud / whatever you come across, toss the bag in the muck, drive over it once or twice (make sure it's empty!), and be sure to use a generous (but not excessive) amount of bleach when you wash it when you get home.

Cheers,

b&


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## tiltshift (Apr 10, 2013)

I can also recommend the Domke f-2 rugged ware (or whatever the wax finish is called...). great bag. less padding then most but great for when the extra protection is not needed. 

I know you want a shoulder bag, but the Gura gear bataflae 32l is also a fantastic bag.


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## dstppy (Apr 10, 2013)

RGF said:


> (yes I will sell unused bags)



Lie to yourself all you want, just not to us.

You ain't sellin nutthin  None of us do. Once you're a member, always a member.


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## neuroanatomist (Apr 10, 2013)

dstppy said:


> RGF said:
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> ...



Not true. I sold a Lowepro Primus AW bag that I was no longer using. Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact that it was nearly impossible to get the 7D in/out of the quick-access side opening (the main flap was fine), even without the grip on the body...and now I can't remove the grip from my current body at all.


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## crasher8 (Apr 10, 2013)

Buy an insert, such as a domke or mountainsmith and stick it in practically anything.


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## AlanF (Apr 10, 2013)

As described in another thread, I had my big gear packed and then thought this is ridiculous and went out and bought a Powershot SX50. Less than a week later, I have just arrived in Kuala Lumpur having taken some bird photos in Singapore with my entire camera kit in one hand and having taken two flights with cabin luggage only. Free yourself from gear slavery!


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## dstppy (Apr 10, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> dstppy said:
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Let's put this in context:
Above and beyond the 'homes' for your more expensive things, how many bags do you own neuro


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## neuroanatomist (Apr 10, 2013)

dstppy said:


> Let's put this in context:
> Above and beyond the 'homes' for your more expensive things, how many bags do you own neuro



Not that many. Really.


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## Quasimodo (Apr 10, 2013)

crasher8 said:


> Buy an insert, such as a domke or mountainsmith and stick it in practically anything.



Or the actual bag, and use the insert alone when the situation calls for it


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## pato (Apr 10, 2013)

Hi,
I just came back from 2,5 weeks of holiday in Thailand and Philippines. I also took quite a bit of equipment with me, but ended in just using my 550D (my only DSLR) and the Sigma 18-125 on it. Once I put my 400mm on it, but only once. I never used the external flash, but used the internal once or twice for a nice night portrait. 
In the end I just always had the camera, the additional 400mm lens in a normal backback. The lens in a plastic bag to protect it from sand and the camera in a small camera bag from Lowepro where camera + sigma lens fit into.
That's it. Didn't use my macro, didn't use the portrait lens, nothing.
What I did use was my Gorillapod though.
Patrick


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## Quasimodo (Apr 11, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> dstppy said:
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Why am I not surprised, lol!


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## funkboy (Apr 11, 2013)

RGF said:


> I tend to think I'll need everything so I often take everything and the I get a full and heavy backpack. I want to avoid this trip.



& now you start to understand why I haven't bought a 70-200 f/4L IS or 70-300L IS yet. I've been getting by for half a decade with my longtime friends the 135L and 1.4x TC, & now that I've got a 6D that produces pretty clean shots at ISO fifty billion & has lower pixel density than my beloved 40D (& thus is less sensitive to camera shake) the need for a long IS telephoto just went down considerably. Maybe I'll upgrade the TC to the III version instead or perhaps get a 2x to compensate for the loss of "reach".

But that's one less big lens I have to figure out how to carry while still being able to cram the bag under an airplane seat and not breaking my back when I drag it around for hours.

Because I always want the 135L with me .


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## dstppy (Apr 11, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> dstppy said:
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Well Played.


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