Reviews for Canon 300D / 10D / 20D / 30D / 40D / 50D / 5D / 7D
Review #1
Please do note that the review is completely subjective and based on my requirements.
What I needed: A "compact" backpack that is easy to carry around and could carry my 20D, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM, 40mm, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, flash and other small stuff.
I am not an "all-terrain" hiker and generally walk around in places that even a 10year old would be comfortable going on his own ;-)
The other bags I looked at and did not go for (specific to my needs):
* Lowepro - the classic trekker was a little too large and somewhat too professional for me - it was heavily padded - and as a result was a tad bit rigid - perfect for serious travellers not so much for me. The micro trekker was a tad too small
*crumpler - too informal/crumpled looking for me :-)
* kata - well, I only liked the kata panda 402 and it was very large.
It may be worth noting that all of the above bags were > $90 or more.
I chanced upon the 200EG that was less than half the price shipped and looked, well, very reasonable for my needs. I searched everywhere for reviews and found very few - whichever ones I found said this bag was good value for money. I get the feeling many people do not look at this simply because its made by canon and one may feel that canon is not known for bags. My advice: Dont ignore this bag if you need a general purpose backpack !
So here goes:
Here is a look at the eqpt I needed to be fitted in.
Canon EOS 20D
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
hoods
velbon luxif
6 filters
battery charger
coperhill cleaning kit
lens pouches
sunpak 383 super and some other small items you can see in the image.
Im happy to say all of this fits very comfortably into the bag.
Here is the bag front and also compared in height to the luxif tripod. As you can see the bag is very well proportioned in the 'compact but ample space' category. Im pretty sure I can fit in more into this bag than the micro lowepro - though I never really tested this fact.
The roped front can be eased open or tightened and you can stuff in some clothes or other stuff in front. Very thoughtful and easy access.
The luxif tripod folded length is around 15inches, fyi.
Now here is a look at the front zip opened. This is a very nifty compartment to stuff filters into the pouches, a set of keys clipped to the convenient clip on top, and other papers/wires as well.
Now here is a look at the main compartment:
the compartments are pretty deep and the equipment fits neatly and smugly in with no part popping out. All the strips are velcro adjustable (there were 2 more strips - I took them out). There is an elastic strap that will hold the DSLR in place. There are no straps for the other compartments. As I mentioned, the eqpt fits very smug and I dont believe I need extra strap holders - but if you do, all you need is to attach elastic strips with velcro sides wherever you want (you need to buy them of course). As you also see, there are nice meshed pockets at the top for stuffing in other stuff.
Here is a look at the back - as you see its very well padded. I must say the back is very comfortable, the weight equally distributed. I can see myself walking around comfortably with this. Also, its got a nice soft padded feeling (not the hard feeling I got from some other bags) that feels good on my shoulders. Take a look at the top loop for holding the bag when not on your shoulders. More on this later.
It also has waist and chest straps which you can clip in to distribute the weight better. Very good for long walks
Here is a side view. Sorry for the noise - I underexposed and had to bump up the contrast in PS. I did not want to do NeatImage for a review !!
Notice the nice side pouch as well as side strap to attach a water bottle. Very useful for me. I drink water like a fish.
Now here is a look with all my eqpt inside the bag. Everything fits comfortably - no tight squeezing. I will be able to fit in another lens in here (say a 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 or something of that size) but not another large lens. This is just right for me. But if you are in the market for fitting more lenses, it may be tight. Here you see the 20D with 17-40/4L fitted, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM inside its pouch, 50mm1.8, sunpak 383 super and battery charger, 17-40L hood + pouch sitting comfortably in. The other equipment that I listed in my first image has been fitted in the other compartments (with a lot more space for more small stuff to go in)
And finally, this bag also has a tripod holder below. Since its below, the weight evenly balances. Ok, I admit, I haven't figured out how to tie the tripod securely to the bottom - never had such a bag before - need some more work on it. If I can't secure it tightly, Ill just carry the dang thing in its bag slung around my shoulder.
Now, the things that could do with improvement:
a) I wish they had added more padding to the top of the backpack. The padding between the top of my DSLR body and the bag is less. Im planning to push in one of the padded velcro strips I took out into this area.
b) The top loop for carrying the bag when not on the shoulder looks a little flimsy. Well, I picked up the bag with this several times and it looks like it can carry the weight well, but it does look flimsy. Maybe the stitching is good and it will hold . Don't know. I don't plan to use it often, though it would be nice to have a stronger hold.
Well, so there. All in all, for less than 50 bucks shipped this is a great bag for the casual photographer.
PS: Some people complain that the 'Canon' logo is an invite for people to steal. Well, if you are that concerned, just patch that logo with some cloth or something !
UPDATE: Even though I found the bag to be adequate, I do have some concerns on the amount of padding between the body of the 20D and the
top of the bag. Since the camera body is placed right at the top of the bag, I would have preferred to see more top padding. It is a
personal preference, but I think the top camera slot is better suited for a smaller body such as the 300D. Once again, I know several people
who do not think this is an issue, even with the 20D body"
thanks to Arjun Roychowdhury for review www.pbase.com/arjunrc
Review #2
Photo contains:
Canon EOS 20D
Canon EF 85 mm f/1.8 USM Lens
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM II
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
Canon EFS 18-15mm
Canon 420EX Speedlite Flash + Difusser
Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM
Blower
Manuals
Thanks to Ed Waters for photo
Review #3
Photo contains:
Canon D60 with Tamron SP 28-105 lens
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM zoom lens
Lens hood for the Canon 75-300
Canon Dual battery charger and cable
Cajun Rice with beans and sausage MRE in front pouch.
4 BP-511 batteries and 2 CF cards in front pouch under the MRE in the small little pockets.
Thanks to Manny Desantos for photo
Review #4
Photo contains:
Canon EOS 20D
Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8L IS USM
Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro
Canon 580EX Speedlite Flash
Tripod collar
Remote Trigger
Filters, Memory Cards, Batteries , Cleaning supplies
Thanks to Dave (SplitPickle) for photo.
Review #5
(Added 18th Jan 2007)
Photos contain:
Canon EOS 30D/BG-E2 Battery Grip
Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 SP AF Macro XR Di LD-IF
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Canon 430EX Speedlite
Sigma tripod collar
Stofen Omni Bounce
Whi-Bal inside main compartment.
I small blower,
2 tripod quick releases,
Canon cable release
inside inner compartment. 8 1/2 x 11 18% grey card, Lumiquest Promax system, Lumiquest Soft-Box, spare batteries for camera AND flash, battery charger, lens cloth/cleaning fluid inside outer compartments.
Thanks to Anthony Skorochad for photos
for Canon 350D / 400D XT / 1000D / 450D
Photo contains:
Canon EOS 350D XT + Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM attached,
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM kit lens,
hoods, flash.
For the price of $30+, it's not a bad deal. It has plenty of space and dividers and seemed to be decently made.
There are a few reasons I decided not to keep it:
1. I would be using the pack primarily for night photography and hiking, and I think a better option are the Lowepro backpacks that have the camera storage on the bottom and a pack on the top where you can put in water, snacks, flashlight, light jacket etc. the canon pack has a front zippered pocket but you probably wouldn't want to overstuff that much. so it seemed kind of limited in that respect...who wants to carry a pack AND have to carry something else to carry extra, non photo gear?
2. I have realized that i am going to have to buy a few bags to cover my needs. I do some paid photo work and I personally think it looks a little unprofessional to carry my gear in a pack. so I wanted a shoulder bag or a carry bag for that purpose.
I looked at the Lowepro Nova 5 AW, liked it, but found it so bulky.
I've just purchased a Domke F-3X bag, and am waiting for it to arrive, if it's too small, i will trade it for the Domke F6. it's a nice looking bag, doesn't scream "camera gear!!!" and is lightweight and not bulky. looks really well made and it's also made in the states, which i like.
if someone needed an inexpensive camera bag/pack, that canon bag is a great value.
Thanks to Lane Hartwell for photo
Review #2
Photo contains:
Canon EOS 350D XT
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Kit Lens
Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Canon EF 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM
Canon 420EX Flash
Lens Hoods
Thanks to Tyler Merrick
www.tylermerrick.com for photo
Review #3
Photo Contains:
Canon EOS 350D XT
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM
Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro
Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 EX DG (8/8/06)
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Kit Lens (8/5/06)
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II (8/9/06)
Tripod
Manuals, CF Cards, Hoods
Thanks to Dylix (Chris) for photos
