Yet another bag related query...

[OlyFlyer]

my sentiments exactly!! :sweatsm: i do own a minitrekker myself and i sometimes worry for my equipment when i am traveling around. i would pick Crumpler's Whiskey and Cox over the minitrekker anyday.

I have no idea how good they are and what the difference is. Are those also all weather type or you have to carry a large plastic bag in them to protect yout gear?

OlyFlyer, pardon me for saying this, yes you have space for lots of lens / accessories.. but i do notice there isnt any space for an external flash if you were to fit a 2nd body into the blank area that you suggested on the pic..
but again, you can carry fewer lens.. :think:

Well, I actually used the FL-50 on the camera to take the picture, but before doing that, I tested my configuration with the flash and the dSLR camera in the bag. It is not a problem to have the flash in strait orientation over the long lens in the middle. The flash is protected by it's pouch or just add one more pad over the lens if the pouch is missing from your flash. No problem to close the bag and even after that there is plenty space left for cables, flash grip, batteries and whatnot. Anyway, I don't think my quick configuration is very optimal, I am usually doing more thinking before I pack things for a real journey. I am not using the OM2, it is just there because TS asked for a two body configuration. If I had a second dSLR body it would probably be in the bag without lens. Actually, last night I reconfigured for a more real configuration for my needs. If I have time I will show that tonight. More stuff in the bag, almost all my lenses and still a lot of space left. The front compartment in the lock is not used, I want to reserve that for a laptop, PDA, GPS, paper, pens and other mobile accessories.

note to TS:
if you were to carry all your listed equipment.. you better have strong shoulders. i am pretty sure you would get a pretty nasty backache at the end of the day.. :dunno:

I second that. On the other hand, if you travel to someplace you might not know what you need during the visit. So I always take more and unload in the hotel. Easier to plan on a day to day basis than for several weeks in advance. One day I may need the long lenses but no flash, the other the not so long and heavy ones but also the flash. So, once settled in the hotel I always unload about half of the gear. A backpack is easier to carry during the journey than a sholder bag but I still keep my shoulder bags for they also have advantages. In fact, this is my first backpack type of camera bag. I will be leaving to Luxembourg (I live in Sweden) in about three weeks time and will bring this bag. Get back here to tell you if I get some bad experience.

 

[Vulpix0r]

I don't know about the other Mini Trekkers but I would like to see a person pulling out anything from my bag. I think your worries are a salesman's arguments. I do travel in many many European countries and cities very often but I would worry more for other things than that. You must be sleeping or dead if a person can pull out your camera from any bag without you noticing it. Please note that this bag is not to be used as a check-in luggage, it is a hand luggage.

BTW, what you mean by "some European countries"? Should it be less safe in Europe than in America, Africa, Asia or Australia? I doubt that, but my experience is limited to Africa and Europe. I think travelling always demands certain steps of carefullness, even travelling in your own country, or in some cases your home town, whichever it is. Most of the times risks are limited to certain areas in a town or smaller parts of a country. In those cases the type of bag does not make any difference. If you get hit on the head they take your bag with everything in it. That is one reason never to pay for any camera bag that has OLYMPUS, CANON, NIKON, MINOLTA or any other known brands printed on them. It is very stupid to walk around and ask for trouble by advertising your gear. Lowepro has very discrete signs and the bag looks like a cheapo backpack used by every second person today. At least if you are not carrying an expensive Manfrotto tripod on it with two cameras hanging around your neck, the black bag never gets any attention.

I went around all day today to find a suitable camera backpack that can store a laptop and my camera without compromising much on looks, and not too bulky like Crumpler/Lowepro. Guess what I settled on?

Got myself the National Geographic Explorer Medium Backpack NG5162 from TKFoto. Very happy with my purchase! It's a very well made backpack, the compartments are not oversized and there isn't an overload of useless ones to make the bag thick.

The bag itself it slim in profile and it hugs very well on my small frame. Most importantly it doesn't SCREAM of camera bag as well, nobody will be able to tell if it is a camera bag.:lovegrin: :lovegrin: :lovegrin:

 

[miniUltraman]

I went around all day today to find a suitable camera backpack that can store a laptop and my camera without compromising much on looks, and not too bulky like Crumpler/Lowepro. Guess what I settled on?

Got myself the National Geographic Explorer Medium Backpack NG5162 from TKFoto. Very happy with my purchase! It's a very well made backpack, the compartments are not oversized and there isn't an overload of useless ones to make the bag thick.

The bag itself it slim in profile and it hugs very well on my small frame. Most importantly it doesn't SCREAM of camera bag as well, nobody will be able to tell if it is a camera bag.:lovegrin: :lovegrin: :lovegrin:

How much :lovegrin:

 

[Vulpix0r]

Price is secret, not nice to reveal. But it's definitely below 200. Worth every single cent!

 

[OlyFlyer]

OlyFlyer, pardon me for saying this, yes you have space for lots of lens / accessories.. but i do notice there isnt any space for an external flash if you were to fit a 2nd body into the blank area that you suggested on the pic..
but again, you can carry fewer lens.. :think:

Voila, as the French say.

This is going to be my main travel configuration. Under the FL-50 there is the 400mm Tokina. Easy to close the bag without doing any demage to the gear. After this jumbo configuration there is still space left, and the compartments in the lock are still not used, as I mentioned earlier, need that space for other stuff. The empty space you see is for camera with lens.

 

[speedblade]

hey olyflyer, a qn for ye. (as i have the same config, but some "problems")

I use the computrek and just like you, load it up for travel. (kia su lah, ok.... )

but, no other bag to bring out when in hotel .... i mean, i sure dun want to carry everything, just selected ones. how to leave the "extras" in the hotel room???

what's your plan? thanks!

 

[OlyFlyer]

hey olyflyer, a qn for ye. (as i have the same config, but some "problems")

I use the computrek and just like you, load it up for travel. (kia su lah, ok.... )

but, no other bag to bring out when in hotel .... i mean, i sure dun want to carry everything, just selected ones. how to leave the "extras" in the hotel room???

what's your plan? thanks!

My plan is to leave everything I do not need in the room. I always do that. How and where exactly depends on the room. Some hotel rooms has deposit boxes in the rooms for valuable stuff, these are usually large enough for what I leave behind. Some times I just leave my valuables in a locked bag I use for my shirts and personal stuff. Some times I just put everything under my shirts in a drawer. I always assume most of the hotel personnell are honest people and by not letting everything out on display I do not invite the less honest ones to take anything. Than there are those (personnell or other ppl) who just want to steal. I actually think "Why should they go through my room and stuff? there are a lot of others to steal from." So I just rely on luck. But, I never leave anything on tables. Usually hide even chargers because they always reveal that there are gadgets to charge or gadgets that use batteries... That way I never put out a sign saying "Come and steal from me." I am also carful when I am sitting in the bar about who I am talking to, what I am saying and how much I drink. Even if I talk to friends or family because I never know who else is listening. Important to know how to behave and when to stop talking, even if risking being stamped as anti-social.

After about 35 years of intense travelling on several continents and many countries, not been robbed once, not once lost a wallet or passport.

 

[skinnylatte]

The Kata R103 is amazing. Singapore now has a local distributor, Gin Studio (do a search), run by the friendliest couple ever. They're currently in the midst of working out the distributorship but you can go to their office to check out the bags.. really lovely people. And the bag.. OMG the Kata bags are fabulous, especially the new range. Really well designed for all your gear and weight distribution + modular bag features are to die for. Plus they're not too expensive. They are currently in Israel at the Kata headquarters, back on 10 April -- definitely run to view and buy the bags when they're back! I'm going to buy the Sensitivity V backpack. Not as roomy as the R103 or R102, but perfect for what I need it for (room for laptop and a few lenses). The R 101,102 and 103 even have this modular system whereby you can purchase an add on waistpouch (quite sturdy), and attach it to the bottom of the backpack so you can carry them altogether, but unstrap it and use individually when you're at your destination. The distributor will do a better job at explaining that to you, so pay them a visit

 

[surge]

is it your intention to keep the 2 cameras in the bag for transport and take them out once you reach to hang them around your shoulder for fast shooting?

if yes then backpack is a better solution.

if you wan quick access then forget about backpacks.

get a bag that you can have designated slots for each lens. then when you are familiar w them its much faster and easeir to change lens.

but if you are shooting alot at dusty area like the dessert or beaches all the time then backpack w lens mounted all the tim eis better solution.