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Xenedis
12-01-2011, 11:46am
After having ‘Lowepro bag for light travel’ on my list of things to buy for a year or two, today I finally purchased said camera bag.

Hitherto, my camera bag rig consisted of a Lowepro Mini Trekker AW and an often-used 12-year-old shoulder bag which needed replacement. I also have a Crumpler 5 Million Dollar Home (Canon EOS edition) which came with my Canon EOS 5D Mark II, but it’s way too small to be practical, and being bright red, stands out from a thousand miles away.

The Mini Trekker AW is a fantastic backpack, and even accommodates my Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM along with camera, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM and both the 1.4x and 2x tele-converters (even with smaller equipment, I can fit a lot into it), but I’m long past the point of wanting to carry a large-ish backpack around, and particularly when I travel (flying especially), I want a smaller shoulder-carry bag for my camera gear. It was not unusual for my camera backpack to weigh 10kg when flying inter-state.

Today I brought home a new Lowepro Nova 190 AW (http://products.lowepro.com/product/Nova-190%20AW,2106.htm). Oddly enough, this was the bag I was considering the last time I looked into this issue and looked at bags. I looked at the Lowepro Nova 200 AW, which is longer and deeper, but I found it to be too large, and in terms of size, it wasn’t a great deal different from my Mini Trekker, so I went back to the Nova 190 AW, which is more pleasant to carry around.

While the Nova 200 AW will hold more gear and would undoubtedly be a great bag, I wanted something smaller and less bulky. The Nova 190 AW will easily hold the camera and three or four fast (ie, f/2 or faster) primes or two f/2.8 zooms.

Important to me was the bag’s ability to hold my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM. The salesman in the store grabbed a 5D II and 70-200/2.8L (non-IS, but close enough in size), and the Nova 190 AW easily accommodated that rig, plus had plenty of room for another couple of decently sized primes or zooms.

For those unfamiliar with Lowepro nomenclature, AW designates ‘all-weather’, meaning the bag has an integrated rain cover. As a seascaper, and one who tends to gets rather wet, it’s important that my gear is protected, and the integrated rain cover will easily keep splashes and rain at bay.

I’ve just packed it, and it very nicely holds a good rig of equipment without being too heavy, or increasing in bulk due to the gear I’ve placed inside it.

At the moment, it contains my:


Canon EOS 5D Mark II;
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM (including hood);
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM (including hood);
Canon TC-80N3 Timer Remote Controller;
Lee filter wallet containing GND4, GND8 and two ND8s;
Lee filter holder and 82mm adapter ring;
Hoya 82mm circular polarising filter;
Hoya HMC 82mm ND8 filter;
hotshoe-mounted spirit level;
spare SanDisk Extreme III 4GB CompactFlash card;
Princeton Tec FUEL headlamp + spare batteries;
Lenspen;
neoprene lens cleaning cloth;
plastic bags and ziplock bags; and
business cards.

Quite a lot of gear!

All in all, I am very happy with this bag, and I will keep it packed as above for the most part, as it contains my seascaping rig, plus my 85/1.2L II, which I don’t normally carry on ‘scape shoots, but which will give me extra reach when needed. I can easily swap that for my Canon EOS 135mm f/2L USM if I want even more reach.

It’s just as easy to swap out some gear for a bag of fast primes and flashes. It’s very versatile, holding a decent rig of equipment without being bulky or too heavy, and when it comes to flying, it consumes a lot less room in the overhead luggage compartments, or could just as easily sit under the seat in front of me.

My Lee filter wallet and the case for the filter holder both consume considerable space. If I needed more room or wanted to take a 70-200/2.8 as well as my 16-35/2.8L II, I could find an alternative way of transporting the filters, as they are flat sheets of resin, measuring 6×4″ at the most, and could be stacked together with tissue paper separating them, and a ziplock bag containing the lot.

The Nova 190 AW offers plenty of options for configurability and holds a surprisingly large amount of equipment for its size.

It was definitely a good purchase; all I need to do now is head out for a shoot. With my state of mind over the past three or four months, that’s proven to be more challenging than finding a suitable camera bag!

Arg
15-01-2011, 10:07pm
Congrats on the new bag and thanks for the nice review! I had similar goals and ended up with the Domke shoulder bag, I just love the classy weathered canvas and the amazing compactness-to-capacity ratio, although this is achieved by less padding. In operation I'm sure it's a lot like the Nova 190, although no AW cover because the canvas keeps water out yet breathes.

Papou
15-01-2011, 11:22pm
Congrats on the new bag also mate:). Looks like the same bag i purchased along with my 5D2 and much as i like it it isnt quite big enough to carry wjhat i wish witht he camera..Now i do have a Tamrac which holds my K10D and three other Lens's as well as odds n ends and have just recently ordered(online) the Lowpro Rover AW11 and the bag appears much larger which hopefully will transfer all my Pentax( or most of) goodies into anf the tamrac should be just nicely sized for the canon , filters, remotes and next lens whenever i purchase..
Hopefully the Rover AW11 wont be too big as it looked good on the net so:D...
Also how do you like your 85 if you dont mind my asking??..

PH005
16-01-2011, 12:01am
Thanks for shareing. Was interested to read because I am waiting on delivery of a new mini trekker aw. I have a large Lowepro Nova that is just not practicle for going out around the shoreline. I wanted something that would carry a tripod and after lots of surfing I came up with the mini trekker. I have owned a few different Lowepros and I find their quality and cost very good.

Xenedis
16-01-2011, 12:16am
Congrats on the new bag also mate:). Looks like the same bag i purchased along with my 5D2 and much as i like it it isnt quite big enough to carry wjhat i wish witht he camera..

Ah, I wanted something that was smaller and lighter than a backpack. I have a lot of gear and I tend to carry only what I want or need for a shoot rather than everything. Sometimes it's just one or two lenses. As I shoot 'scapes and there's rock-hopping involved, something smaller and lighter is definitely needed.

I still need my Mini Trekker, as that comfortably carries my 300/2.8, 70-200/2.8, both TCs and the camera. If I need serious telephoto reach, that's the rig I carry.


Also how do you like your 85 if you dont mind my asking??..

I've had my 85/1.2L II since 2008, and it's a fantastic lens; I use it almost exclusively for portraits, but have used it for other subjects such as bands and the odd still-life image.

Here's a gallery of my published images captured with that lens:

http://www.xenedis.net/viewalbum.php?a=72157600060851672

Thinking of adding one to your rig?

Xenedis
16-01-2011, 12:20am
Thanks for shareing. Was interested to read because I am waiting on delivery of a new mini trekker aw.

The Mini Trekker holds a hell of a lot.

Have you seen the following video? It demonstrates just how much it can carry.

http://www.mackstyle.net/minitrekker.mov


I have a large Lowepro Nova that is just not practicle for going out around the shoreline.

It sounds like you have the Nova 200 AW, which is the largest in that product line, and a step up from the 190 AW I bought.

It is longer and deeper than the 190, and while it's a fantastic bag, I just didn't want to be lugging a sizeable shoulder bag, esp. as this is intended for travel and for many of my location shoots, whereby I take one, two or three lenses as most.

It was also important that the bag would hold my 70-200/2.8. I don't use that lens much, but if I want a rig of two fast zooms, it accommodates them nicely.


I wanted something that would carry a tripod and after lots of surfing I came up with the mini trekker. I have owned a few different Lowepros and I find their quality and cost very good.

The Mini Trekker is quite good in that it can hold a tripod, but oddly, I don't use that feature. Go figure. :-)

Papou
16-01-2011, 12:23am
Thinking of adding one to your rig?[/QUOTE]

Toss up between the 85 or 70-200 for my next purchase???..

PH005
16-01-2011, 10:39pm
Thanks for that video link Xenedis. Just the sort of confirmation that you like to see. Great lookin' bag. I should get mine in the next few days.

Cheers

Paul.

Xenedis
17-01-2011, 9:49am
Toss up between the 85 or 70-200 for my next purchase???..

Both are fantastic lenses. I just use my 85 more.

However, for a tentative cityscape shoot I have in mind for tonight, I'm taking the 70-200. My Nova 190 AW easily accommodates it plus another couple of lenses. I'll pack it when I return home shortly.

Xenedis
17-01-2011, 9:51am
Thanks for that video link Xenedis. Just the sort of confirmation that you like to see.

While that video shows how much the Mini Trekker AW can carry, I'd never pack it that way or mishandle gear like that guy does.