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So you get into photography, or get a little more serious about photography, and you decide that you want to carry a camera around all the time. The logical choice is to get a camera backpack, right? Thatâs like, what itâs for!
Yeah you probably donât want to do that. I went through this entire process and landed on âI donât want a camera backpackâ so Iâm going to go over my thoughts here so I can hopefully save you some time and money.
I guess I should start with who Iâm addressing with this post. Do you want to carry one or more camera bodies and a bunch of different lenses and tripods and probably some filters and stuff with you to go on a shoot? Congrats, youâre the person who actually DOES want a camera backpack. Thatâs what theyâre for. Theyâre for carrying a huge amount of camera stuff and very little else.
Thatâs kinda the problem, most people that think they want a camera backpack really want to carry around their normal day to day stuff, AND a camera. Camera backpacks SUCK at this, because thatâs absolutely not what theyâre for. I have a Peak Design 20L Everyday Backpack, which is very much a camera bag. Itâs a GREAT camera backpack! If you want to pack up all your camera stuff and take it somewhere to shoot and be able to easily access all of your lenses, itâs fantastic. Day to day though, I hate it. Because itâs SO dedicated to carrying camera stuff, itâs only good at that. Thereâs next to no organization for anything else, aside from the laptop sleeve at the back. You can set it up so the top pocket is a big open space but then you just have to yeet your belongings into the big open space. Great for a jacket, bad for lots of little stuff that most people carry like AirPods and such. There are little pockets on the flaps but theyâre small and annoying to access.
Contrast this with my preferred EDC bag, the Able Carry Thirteen. Despite being slightly over half the size of the Peak Design, the Able carry has TONS of pockets, thereâs dedicated space for my wallet, my AirPods, keys, inhaler, laptop or tablet, etc, etc. Itâs small and svelte and still carries everything I need. The main compartment is big enough to put a camera in a camera pouch inside.
I had Daisy make me a pouch, but if you donât have a Daisy you can buy one of the variety of styles available depending on what you want to carry. You also obviously donât have to buy the same backpack as me. If you want something a little roomier I really Timbuk2âs stuff, but honestly, a lot of the time if Iâm going to be going about my normal routine and getting in and out of cars all day, I actually prefer a sling bag, specifically the Greenroom136 Quickdraw.
All of my picks are sized to carry primarily my X100VI with the smallrig grip and Fuji AR-X100 filter adapter, but the point is the same for pretty much any small mirrorless camera. Just get a bag that fits your needs overall and is large enough to accommodate the camera you want to carry, and find a bag, pouch, or cube to put your camera in while itâs in the backpack or messenger.
The point Iâm getting at is unless you actually for real need to carry a LARGE amount of camera gear, you likely donât need or even WANT a camera bag. You likely just want a nice bag and a camera can be among the things you carry in it. I really canât say enough good things about the Able Carry Thirteen, and Iâll probably do a dedicated review of it alone in the next few weeks, but either way, find a bag in the size and format you like that will accommodate the camera you want to carry, then find a camera bag or cube that fits inside that bag and youâll be set. Youâll thank me later.
https://mikelsigler.com/2024/photography/you-probably-dont-want-a-camera-backpack/
#bags #CameraAccessories #cameraBags