Getting married in a few weeks and then off on honeymoon. We’ll be going to Sri Lanka for a week and then onto the Maldives for a week.

I want to take with me:
Nikon D80 with 18-135 and probably 50mm 1.8, but am also weighing up taking 70-300 VR too (probably won’t bother though)
Nikon P300 compact
Nikon AW100 tough camera.

I currently have a Lowe Pro Slingshot that will fit all that into (just) but there will be no room for hand luggage, stuff like a magazine, book, bottle of water etc….
So, really I am after one of the camera bags I have seem that have space for ‘personal gubbins’ as well as camera equipment. I guess if I have one with a laptop sleeve in it, then I can put a magazine in there. I won’t be taking a laptop as mine is 17″ and too large to lug about.

So then – any recommendations? Don’t really wanna spend tons on it, if it can be helped…..!

Ta.

Have a look at the crumpler bags.

Lowepro Rover AW II. Fits in overhead lockers, big, padded camera section underneath, good sized daypack section above for your honeymoon sandwiches and thermos. Also has a built in waterproof cover and tripod holder. Very comfortable, very tough and you can take out the divider and just use it as a largeish rucksack.

Mine’s about five years old now and still going strong.

Why not go the other way? I bought a small, cheap army surplus Polish gas mask ‘man bag’ and a padded insert off eBay. I could fit my ipad and kindle in too, plus water bottle, leica + 1 lens, light meter and film.

That can then all fit into a rucksack as carry on, but just take the small bag for out and about. Rucksack stays in the hotel. Bonus is it doesn’t look like a camera bag.

vorlich. Sounds interesting, but no idea what to search for! A link would be most helpful!

eskay – I have had a look at Crumpler and while their smaller bags are pretty good (I have a shoulder bag), their bigger bags are very pricey and don’t seem to cut it.

user-removed – I think LowePro are leading the way at the moment. Possibly the 22L Photo Hatchback AW….although it is bloody expensive for a bag!

http://bit.ly/183JrtC

http://bit.ly/14xpDrc

Here’s mine:

Was great around Copenhagen last week.

Cool! That looks pretty neat. I would need to look for a padded pouch closer to home due to the delivery time, but that’s gives me something to go one. Thanks.

I wonder if I could clip my Think Tank digital holster with my SLR in to my Slingshot to save space…?hmmm.

Billingham Hadley

I must say I also have a very similar setup to Vorlich’s but wouldn’t want to carry that weight of kit on that strap. Mine does a small body and prime lens, bottle of water and perhaps a few biros (looks a bit smaller than the one above. I stitched industrial strength Velcro into mine for added security.

On the whole though, spend the money on a decent bag – you will never regret it, especially if you’re carting it about like a day pack.

Admittedly, the ipad stayed in the hotel upon arrival. Was a touch heavy when included, fine otherwise though.

Mr Smith, not sure the bag you suggest is very suitable…there doesn’t appear to be much room for other stuff once you have a camera in and they are pretty expensive.

User-removed, yeah I agree it probably is worth spending the money. It’s just that there seems to be quite a few things cropping up to spend money on for this trip and when you count up the whole cost it gets pretty spendy.

I suspect Mr Smith is not quite serious… I hear you – weddings are pricey enough, before you even start on the honeymoon but it sounds like you’re quite into your photography and a decent bag will last several holidays / years. The ability to carry a tripod is a huge benefit if you might get semi-serious about landscape stuff.

The alternative is to lash out on a superzoom bridge camera – I just bought a (35mm equivalent) 24-600mm, constant f2.8 throughout the range, lumix. Astounding! And it’s tiny, takes filters, has built in vr, metal tripod bush, flip review screen, amazing image quality. Crap for action shots but I can live with that…

Oh – £180 second hand from eBay!

Crumpler camera bags look good in the shop but in my experience (having bought a few 🙁 ) they are not very practical – they have way too much padding unless your camera is made of Ming porcelain. I have been converted to using f-stop backpacks – they have a variety of padded inserts that can be taken out and used with other backpacks.

Mr Smith, not sure the bag you suggest is very suitable…there doesn’t appear to be much room for other stuff once you have a camera in and they are pretty expensive.

Expensive? Well they are waterproof canvas and last for years. As for room? I use it when travelling light and it takes 5dIII 24-70, 70-200 2.8’s 13in MacBook Pro, portable HD, charger, spare batteries etc. This is the Hadley large (I didn’t realise there was more than one model)

We have a lowepro photo sport 200 AW that we used to take to Rome with our gear in. Used it as our one piece of hand luggage so filled it up then part way emptied for walk around with and used it yesterday to walk up snowdon and have found it to be a good compromise of personal stuff and photo gear.

My hand luggage bag is a Swiss Gear rucksack, get laptop, D4 body, lenses, and loads of other stuff in there. Never had a problem on flights with it.

Quite a few more options for me to consider there…

user-removed. I bought the AW100 specifically for the honeymoon as I want to do some snorkelling in the Maldives, so I suspect that buying a bridge superzoom as well would not go down well!
I used to have a DImage Z3 (back when a 12x optical zoom was as big as they went) and it was brilliant as a ‘holiday’ camera so I can see where you are coming from.

Still have to buy fins, snorkel, mask x2 as well as some more holiday clothes and other bits and pieces so it quickly adds up – hence why if I can get a bag for £50, rather than £100 it would be nice. BUT, yeah it probably is worth splashing out on something that will last.

DrJ – not heard of f-stop bags. Will look them up. I agree with you about Crumpler bags.

MrSmith, that Billingham bag probably would suit my requirements if I didn’t have all the paraphenalia that goes with hand luggage; large bottle of water, book (perhaps it’s a good excuse to get a Kindle ;o) ), pack of cards, iPod etc. as well as my SLR and 2 compacts.
Also I am not sure how comfortable a 1 strap bag would be when wandering around all day, either? I assumed a backpack would be the most comfortable option.

Golfchick – the Photosport is on my shortlist, but the cheapest I have found it for is about £130. Should probably look for second hand on eBay perhaps. The LowePro Photo hatchback seems to be a similar idea, but less ‘sport’ and more ‘urban’.

footflaps – they use those SwissGear packs at work. I should probably take a look at one. Cheers for the suggestion.

I got a Manfrotto shoulder bag with my new/old Fuji. Nicely laid out with a quick access zip through the top & cheap too.

For me, the problem with using a rucksack as a camera bag is that the camera never comes out.. I much prefer to use a shoulder bag, just to make the camera more accessible. This is from walking round cities taking photos.

If you’re planning to walk around with the camera round your neck and use the sack to transport the camera from one place to another then it will obviously be the better solution..

beanum – Member
For me, the problem with using a rucksack as a camera bag is that the camera never comes out.. I much prefer to use a shoulder bag, just to make the camera more accessible. This is from walking round cities taking photos.

If you’re planning to walk around with the camera round your neck and use the sack to transport the camera from one place to another then it will obviously be the better solution..

Yeah, I agree to a large extent, but my ‘camera bag’ is also going to be my ‘hand luggage’ bag, so it needs to be large enough to accomodate all the stuff that goes with that….
DSLR with zoom lens and 50mm prime, normal compact and ‘tough’ compact, book, magazine, perhaps a pack of cards, iPod, bottle of water etc….

Your reasoning is why I bought myself a LowePro Slingshot when I first bought my SLR as it’s easy to get the camera out and put it away. But it’s not big enough to carry all the camera stuff AND hand luggage stuff.
Perhaps it would be easier to just get my OH to carry all the hand luggage gubbins! Sure she won’t mind. Much.

If I’m using the camera, it just hangs over my shoulder/neck on a Blackrapid strap. I put it in the rucksack when I stop for lunch / don’t want it on view, I then tie the rucksack to the chair / table (or put the chair leg through the shoulder strap) so no one can wander off with it eg distraction thefts etc. I have a shoulder bag for camera use as well, but the rucksack is more comfortable esp with a lot of gear eg a set of Nikon f2.8 zoom lenses are quite heavy.