Getting and choosing the right camera bag is crucial for so many reasons.
Of any standing photo publication, we’ve done the most reviews of camera bags. If you’re looking for one, you come to us. So today, we’re presenting an infographic on choosing the right camera bag. This is specifically for choosing a backpack. I used to love messengers bags, and still think they’re superior to camera bags in some cases. But overwhelmingly, backpacks are the better choice. If I had a week, I wouldn’t have enough time to explain why. But I’m going to try in this blog post.
Let’s start with packing your camera bag. When you look at a backpack, most have at least two compartments. This lets you separate all your gear easily. Many keep your camera gear in the lower section, while the upper section can hold things like flashes, filters, jackets, etc. This helps you stay much more organized. Then you can take different things and put them in the side pockets. The sides usually hold rugged hard drives, tripods, thermoses, books, etc. Better yet, if you’re traveling, then this is all still TSA approved. Europe probably won’t like it, but in America and other areas of the world, you’ll generally be okay.
A backpack is also much more comfortable as you’re hauling all that gear. It’s ideal to have one with chest and waist straps, which help take the weight off your back and shoulders. This evenly distributes the weight and makes it easier for you to walk with all that stuff. I’ve regularly taken a travel backpack and a duffel bag on trips.
Here are the backpacks I use the most often:
Bagsmart: This is my current daily bag. It’s reliable and very comfortable. It also holds all the gear I typically need for a day. I wish that it had a rolltop, but it has a drawstring that works well enough. It’s not perfect, but it does the job I need it to do. It is also affordable.
WANDRD PRVKE 31: This one holds my Canon gear. My EOS R, lenses, and flashes go in the main compartment. Up top, I usually have flash modifiers and sometimes my Profoto B10. If I didn’t have Canon gear in there most of the time, it would be my daily bag. My complaint is that it doesn’t have leather and canvas. I’ve always asked for those elements to be used, but the brothers don’t want to do it.
Tenba DNA Backpack: This holds my Sony gear: cameras and lenses. Up top, I usually have flash modifiers and sometimes my Profoto B10. It also keeps my older Sony a7 original. I also wish this came in leather and canvas. But they don’t want to do it either.
Thule Covert: This holds my Fujifilm gear. The bottom has the X Pro 1 and the X Pro 3. Up top, I usually have flash modifiers and sometimes my Profoto B10. I’ll also maybe put a third body up here, like an X-H1. Take a wild guess at what material I wish they used.
Billingham Rucksack: This holds my Leica gear. It doesn’t have a lot of equipment, but I can store two cameras, three lenses, film, eye drops and more in here. It’s too light for me to complain about comfort.
Check out our reviews of camera bags over the years.
The Phoblographer’s Infographics are made with VisMe.