jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

tripsy76 Loc: Northshore, MA

I have 2 that I love.

The first is my Lowepro ProTactic 450. It’s great for hiking larger amounts of gear around.

When I’m walking around Boston or any other city for that matter, I love my Domke F-6.

For work, I use Pelican, and Think Tank mostly.

philo Loc: philo, ca

On my last two trips I carried my Canon 5d4 and a Tamron 28-300. Both did a great job.

Steamboat

Ahhhh......The joy of the hunt.
40 years of buying camera bags ....this is going to be a long long thread.
Like the perfect meal or the perfect camera the perfect camera bag does not exist.

Some of my faves have been:
Think Tank, Billingham, Temba, Artisan & Artist.
.....my all time 1970s favorite is a US army surplus gas mask bag I used a sock to protect the extra lens.
Second fav for a body and 3 lenses Cannon gave away in the 80's an un padded fanny pack with 2 dividers

If your hiking and doing dirty stuff. Don't be too hung up on your equipment. get a few great light lenses (prime are my choice) and a body that you don't mind replacing from time to time.
Us less your rock climbing your not going to drop your camera bag and odds are if you do no matter the bag its going to break something.

Keep your kit small and enjoy the hike.

small light not too big ....start with temba or think tank.

and enjoy the hunt;-)

CO

You mentioned that you would like a bag that can be dropped and keep the gear from being damaged. Take a look at the Lowepro Adventura and Lowepro Magnum series shoulder bags. They have a molded bottom that is made to take abuse.

The strongest shoulder bags I've checked out are the Lowepro Magnum series shoulder bags. They have a one-piece molded bottom that can take a lot of weight and not sag. I have the Lowepro Magnum 200AW.

Bottom of Lowepro Adventura series. Molded bottom protects from abuse and moisture

(Download)

One-piece molded bottom of Lowepro Magnum series can take a lot of weight and protects from abuse and moisture.

(Download)

Aragorn0404

I whole heartily agree with this opinion. None of the bags or backpacks I have will hold all of my equipment. The variety of styles and sizes though allow me to pick and chose how much and what variety of lenses I want to carry at any time.

redfordl Loc: Carver,Ma.

you mention unmarked generic camera BAGS as being the best, but which generic bags? Thanks!!

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Those are great choices. Nobody has mentioned hard cases yet, but for a pro carrying a big load, Pelican is top shelf. My large format gear generally sits in the original Graflex fiberboard cases; I just can't justify the investment for the relatively few times I use it. But I do get a nice old-timey feel hauling those grey boxes around. I have a luggage cart that I could use on smooth surfaces; they didn't have rollers back then!

Andy

CO

He wants a bag that he can take when hiking.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Yes, I know that, which is why nobody has mentioned them. But there seem to be a lot of others also interested in recommendations for carrying around all our gear. I do have a small surveyor's transit hard case, which is literally completely waterproof and floats. I've used it to carry an SLR when canoeing, kayaking, or fly fishing. It even has a strap, so I can sling it over my shoulder.


Andy

tripsy76 Loc: Northshore, MA

Most durable sling bag ever! 😂😂😂

Probably better quality than most other things out there

bcrawf

[quote=AllenParkerPhotography]I started out by purchasing a camera bag from Amazon. I didn’t know what to really look for when deciding what camera bag to get so o got the bag that had a high rating with several other Amazon customers reviews.

As of right now, I have a Nikon 5600 with several lenses both prime and kit. My camera came with two kit lenses as I added 3 more over a two year period. I’ve added a Nikon Speed Flash and other miscellaneous items.

I’ve outgrown my current Altura Photo Camera bag. To be honest the Altura bag felt on the cheap side of quality. I always had a slight bit of doubt my equipment wasn’t as secure as it could have been due to the bag.

What camera bags do you recommend that’s the best bag for the buck?

Thanks for your help!


The "best" camera bag is the one which best accommodates the photographer's purpose and preferred process. A bag which holds practically everything may interfere with a photographer's efforts -- for example in a press coverage or a birding outing. On the other hand, on a long excursion, such as a safari or other extended outing, one may need to have everything along. Just shooting a wedding and reception can require a lot of stuff. So, I guess it is apparent that a photographer might need more than one bag in order to be able to take along only what is best for a given outing.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Hell yeah. Back in the day, theodolites and transits cost more than a DSLR does today. Those babies are rugged. I got mine at a used tool store, for a Jackson IIRC, no idea what became of the original instrument. You can get cuttable high density foam at most craft stores to fit your camera. Its bright yellow color makes it easy to find in the event of a spill (so long as it doesn't go too far downstream!) but, knock on wood, it's never come to that yet.


Andy

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Indeed. Your advice to have more than one option is very important.

At the moment I have a couple of small shoulder bags (A Domke and a Tamrac) in addition to the larger bags. There's a bag or case that holds my complete 4x5, medium format, 35mm, and DSLR outfits, but I can grab a camera from any of these formats except 4x5 and throw it in one of these for a quick outing or walkabout. I keep our tripods in separate bags, with added craft store padding, and a basic lighting outfit with stands, reflectors, and triggers, in a Neewer lighting bag. I can grab what I need for any particular outing.

Andy

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

I have about 6 or 7 bags. I have not found just one that will fit the bill and do everything I want.