well... i bought the r-103 today... at 196 it's much cheaper than buying online (lowest I found was amazon at USD151.75 (about SGD230), plus it can't deliver internationally, and vpost cost SGD70... BH and Adorama both sell at USD179.95, and ebay's cheapest is about USD160, all without shipping costs..
the place looked like a makeshift store, with a few tables to showcase a limited number of products. They said that some items were in the warehouse, and they "had to check for availability", which isn't exactly what they had advertised.
I forgot to ask about warranty too, and called them later to learn that if there is anything wrong, just bring the back to them. While I don't think Kata bags will spoil anytime soon, looking at the state of the place (it's really just an empty room with tables/chairs in them), I think I might go register on the Kata Website just in case.
BUT.
The staff were very helpful, and willing to come forward to offer help and advice. I saw them do a demo on carrying the sling bags to other customers, and I got a mini-lesson on how to use all the features of the bag, including how to adjust the straps effectively (they did a demo, and got me to do it myself so they could see where they could help me better)
:thumbsup: for their service.
First thoughts on the bag:
I must say I am IMPRESSED with the bag.
Large storage space: it easily holds a slr w/ grip and tele lens attached in the middle. space for a couple more lenses/flashes/body, although if u really have alot of those it might be a little small. Accessory space is not too bad, but i'll prob have to keep chargers in the main compartment.
The laptop compartment has foam dividers inside so u can set the space according to the size of ur laptop, preventing it from sliding around inside. :thumbsup:
Thick padding: It feels really good, and the ribbed part in front of the bag is quite solid, to prevent cave-ins. My only gripe is the ribbed part doesn't really have padding underneath, and that's where ur camera is.
Carrying it: when the carrying straps are adjusted properly, the bag fits snugly to my body, with enough space for ventilation behind the back. I don't own much heavy equipment, but i'm sure that I could hold it fully loaded and not feel the full effect of the weight compared to other backpacks or shoulder bags. The weight is spread over the entire shoulder area, and not just 2 points. Again, another prob is it doesn't have a waist strap, which could be solved with their waist pack, but i don't need that much space.
Other comments: the camera straps included are useful, coz the weight of the camera is transferred to the shoulder. BUT for the R-103, the neck strap isn't included, so there's a lack of versatility. Also the clips included are quite hard to take out from the bag, which isn't useful in the field.
and there are only 5 dividers included besides the long one in the middle. really too little. I wasn't prepared to pay for the divider kit, so i'll prob ask my mom to sew something similar.