Tricky
16-02-2009, 2:32pm
As you may have seen on another post, my Crumpler 6 million dollar home has felt a bit small and cramped since I bought a 70-200 f/4 lens. And with the expectation that this year I will buy at least another one or two small lenses and a flash, I felt it was time to buy a bigger camera bag (keeping the Crumpler for light/walk-around duties). Given that even the crumpler was starting to feel a bit heavy on just a single shoulder strap, I decided it had to be a backpack.
I was after a 'modern-looking' backpack, rather than one of the more traditional styled ones that have been made specifically for photography, but without sacrificing protection (ie decent padding, inserts/dividers and shower-proof).
I looked at the medium-sized (10 litre?) Crumpler Keystone ($300) and large-sized (16 litre) Whickey-Cox ($330), and also a cheaper alternative, the Bagman Snapshot (medium/large size @ $80) which basically looks like a fake Crumpler. In terms of sizing, its sort of halfway between the Keystone and Whickey Cox.
I decided to give the cheaper Bagman a go as there really wasn't much difference that I could tell in terms of quality or design; they really look like they've been made in the same factory except one of them costs three times as much. It comes with a 12 month warranty for defective workmanship (I think the Crumpler is lifetime?).
Amusingly enough, the price seems a bit varied between shops... one camera store in Brisbane had it at $80 whilst Ted's Camera Store next door had it at $108 (but came down to $85 pretty quickly upon mention of 'price-matching', which they claimed was their 'cost' price). The bagman website says $80, but they don't list the colour combination that I bought. Both stores in Brisbane said the bag had just come out.
As with the Crumplers, the Bagman Snapshot is made from heavy duty material, is shower-proof (though I might spray it with some 3M to be sure), has a detachable inner housing for the equipment (ie so the backpack could easily be converted for non-camera uses) and the main compartment opens at the back so that your camera/lenses can't be pick-pocketed whilst you're walking along with the backpack on.
Some pictures below, taken with my wife's P&S camera:
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/Tricky999/bagmanoutside_sm.jpg
Rear of the backpack, showing zipper which can only be accessed from rear with the pack off.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/Tricky999/bagmanback_sm.jpg
Bagman Snapshot and Crumpler 6 million dollar home side by side. I noticed the bagman looks a little 'lob-sided' in this picture, but its really just an illusion re how it is sitting... its evenly proportioned in reality:)
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/Tricky999/bagmanandcrumpler_sm.jpg
Interior netting to stop any lenses etc falling out of the bag or moving around.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/Tricky999/bagmaninsidenetting.jpg
More dividers than I knew what to do with, so ended up using some of them for extra padding
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/Tricky999/bagmaninsideempty_sm.jpg
With the kit in place. As you can see, the camera equipment sits in a padded detachable tray within the bag, allowing the backpack to be used for other purposes if required.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/Tricky999/bagmaninsidefull_sm.jpg
This configuration allows me to keep any of the lenses (incl the 70-200) on the body when I put it away. Previously, with the Crumpler, everything would only fit into place if the body had the 24-105 lens on it.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/Tricky999/bagmaninsidefullcloseup_sm.jpg
Once I buy some further lenses, a flash and maybe a second body, I plan on turning the camera's orientation in the bag by 90 degrees, as there is currently a lot of unused space either side of the camera and at the top of the bag. With two cameras/lenses facing each other in a 'Pd' shape, you'd fit a bit more in.
Downsides so far?
- The handle for carrying the bag when its not on your back is a bit thin and not sufficiently padded. Not sure I'll end up carrying it much this way anyway, but could add some padding if required, I guess.
- The zip doesn't go down quite far enough to the bottom, so accessing equipment at the bottom of the bag requires a bit of technique to jiggle it free.
Other than that, all good so far... we'll see how it stands up to the test of time...
I was after a 'modern-looking' backpack, rather than one of the more traditional styled ones that have been made specifically for photography, but without sacrificing protection (ie decent padding, inserts/dividers and shower-proof).
I looked at the medium-sized (10 litre?) Crumpler Keystone ($300) and large-sized (16 litre) Whickey-Cox ($330), and also a cheaper alternative, the Bagman Snapshot (medium/large size @ $80) which basically looks like a fake Crumpler. In terms of sizing, its sort of halfway between the Keystone and Whickey Cox.
I decided to give the cheaper Bagman a go as there really wasn't much difference that I could tell in terms of quality or design; they really look like they've been made in the same factory except one of them costs three times as much. It comes with a 12 month warranty for defective workmanship (I think the Crumpler is lifetime?).
Amusingly enough, the price seems a bit varied between shops... one camera store in Brisbane had it at $80 whilst Ted's Camera Store next door had it at $108 (but came down to $85 pretty quickly upon mention of 'price-matching', which they claimed was their 'cost' price). The bagman website says $80, but they don't list the colour combination that I bought. Both stores in Brisbane said the bag had just come out.
As with the Crumplers, the Bagman Snapshot is made from heavy duty material, is shower-proof (though I might spray it with some 3M to be sure), has a detachable inner housing for the equipment (ie so the backpack could easily be converted for non-camera uses) and the main compartment opens at the back so that your camera/lenses can't be pick-pocketed whilst you're walking along with the backpack on.
Some pictures below, taken with my wife's P&S camera:
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/Tricky999/bagmanoutside_sm.jpg
Rear of the backpack, showing zipper which can only be accessed from rear with the pack off.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/Tricky999/bagmanback_sm.jpg
Bagman Snapshot and Crumpler 6 million dollar home side by side. I noticed the bagman looks a little 'lob-sided' in this picture, but its really just an illusion re how it is sitting... its evenly proportioned in reality:)
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/Tricky999/bagmanandcrumpler_sm.jpg
Interior netting to stop any lenses etc falling out of the bag or moving around.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/Tricky999/bagmaninsidenetting.jpg
More dividers than I knew what to do with, so ended up using some of them for extra padding
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/Tricky999/bagmaninsideempty_sm.jpg
With the kit in place. As you can see, the camera equipment sits in a padded detachable tray within the bag, allowing the backpack to be used for other purposes if required.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/Tricky999/bagmaninsidefull_sm.jpg
This configuration allows me to keep any of the lenses (incl the 70-200) on the body when I put it away. Previously, with the Crumpler, everything would only fit into place if the body had the 24-105 lens on it.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/Tricky999/bagmaninsidefullcloseup_sm.jpg
Once I buy some further lenses, a flash and maybe a second body, I plan on turning the camera's orientation in the bag by 90 degrees, as there is currently a lot of unused space either side of the camera and at the top of the bag. With two cameras/lenses facing each other in a 'Pd' shape, you'd fit a bit more in.
Downsides so far?
- The handle for carrying the bag when its not on your back is a bit thin and not sufficiently padded. Not sure I'll end up carrying it much this way anyway, but could add some padding if required, I guess.
- The zip doesn't go down quite far enough to the bottom, so accessing equipment at the bottom of the bag requires a bit of technique to jiggle it free.
Other than that, all good so far... we'll see how it stands up to the test of time...