Crumpler December Quarter Reviews - Cambags.com Camera Bag Resource.

Crumpler December Quarter

Review for Canon EOS 1D

this is the december quarter sitting upright. the 1dmk2 is ready to pull out and use. the lens is face down - unvelcro, grab, and shoot.

i use this bag when travelling when i don't want to carry both a laptop bag and a camera bag. i can mount the bigma or 80-200L to the body and place the body sideways. there is also room to keep things like a lightweight jacket, lunchbag, or whatever i may want to carry on the plane.

Photos show:
Canon EOS 1D mk II with Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM & lens hood attached
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
extension tubes & Canon Extender EF 1.4x
Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM
Sigma Fisheye
Canon EF 85 mm f/1.8 USM
Dell D600 Laptop
Epsom P-2000 & battery pack , CF cards, Batteries, etc

this is a look at the december quarter with the body & lens removed, and the flap covering the lower compartment removed. you can see there is ample room for several lenses. you can also get an idea of the size of the outer pockets.

i can easily carry both bodies in this bag.

side view of the december quarter, to give you an idea of its size. you can also see the two outer pockets, for flash, etc. note that these pockets are slightly padded.

here you can see the sizes of both the december quarter and the shrinkle backpack.

thanks to oblio for pics and comments.

Reviews for Canon 300D / 10D / 20D / 30D / 40D / 50D / 5D / 7D

Bag contains:
Canon EOS 5D with Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Canon 580EX Speedlite
Elinchrom Skyport trigger and receiver.
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT [backup body]
or
Canon EOS A2 film SLR [backup body]
Lensbaby1.0 (original)
12" Powerbook G4 laptop
memory card holder
Expodisc
Sekonic L-358 Flashmeter

Up until recently, Crumpler's "December Quarter" was the largest messenger style camera bag in their line up. The December Quarter was only available from the Crumpler U.K. stores as they never brought the bag over to US shores.

This bag can hold a lot of gear, but doesn't have a lot of inserts or dividers. Just one mid section that holds my two cameras (back up lying face down, and primary camera lens down with lens attached) and one area on each side with one divider, thus making four "sections". One side I have a divider taken out and have the rest of the lenses stacked up on top of one another, and the second area I have my EX flash and light meter. The Elinchrom Skyports are in one front pocket, and the second pocket is used for laptop wires, cables, etc.

The little cover that opens and closes covering the camera contents is nice, so that if you open the bag up to put in a pen or paper or grab a business card, it doesn't expose all your gear.

The bag is HUGE though, and can sometimes be a burden to walk with. This definitely isn't the kind of bag you would toss a camera and lens in and then hit the trail or work your way down to Boston with.

Originally this was part of my on location setup, but over time I've learned to consolidate my on location gear into my large rolling Tamrac bag.

Because of that, my use of this is limited. I'm actually thinking of selling this bag and picking up Tamrac's new Aero 80 backpack, which can almost hold just as much stuff but I can wear it on my back.

Update: I've recently sold my December Quarter because of lack of use, and instead of the Aero 80 backpack, I picked up the Lowepro Fastpack 350.

Thanks to Sid Ceaser for review

Reviews for Nikon D70 / D100 / D200 / D300 / D700

Review #1

I got the December Crumpler because I wanted a bag that would carry all my Nikon D70 stuff plus a Sony DV camcorder, HP 812 point and shoot and my laptop. This is my usual gear for when we go out to family gatherings and such and normally consisted of 3 bags. I wanted a shoulder bag which would allow me to pull up a flap and grab the camera with lens on ready to shoot. I also wanted something that did not look like a camera bag. The December Quarter fulfills all those needs. I have only been using this bag for about a week but I really do like it alot.

It is extremely well padded all around and on the bottom. The padding of the main body will keep the shape when empty. The materials used are heavy duty. Lots of space inside.

It has straps on both sides, near the front, for tripods or accessory attachments.

The cover flap has 2 buckles as well as 2 long velcro strips which attach to the velcro on the front of the two front pockets. In my daily travels I have been forgoing the buckles and just using the velcro to close up the bag. I do wish the cover flap also had a handle that could be used when the bag is buckled.

The shoulder strap is easily adjustable and has a well padded piece that can be moved as well.
There is also a third leg strap which I do not use.

---

Large zippered pockets.

There are 2 zippered document type pockets, one which is the entire cover flap (not being used at this time) and the other behind the 2 front pockets. The flap pocket is not padded or divided in any way so anything that you put in there will be loose and jostled about when the flap is opened and closed.I use the one behind the 2 front pockets to house manuals and such . This pocket is not easy to work with as it is jammed behind the protruding front pockets and the main body of the bag. Inside this zippered pocket there is also a divider that runs the width of the bag with a thin short velcro strip at the top center. Since I don't plan on needing to get to these manuals too often I don't really mind the difficulties in getting to them.

2 front protruding zippered pockets.

The pocket on the left is wider/larger than the pocket on the right. The pocket on the right has a hole in it near the top re-enforced by a metal ring. This can be used to allow for a headphone cord to pass through to an mp3 player in that pocket, so said the sales guy. Both of these pockets are long but because of their width I have a hard time getting my hand to the bottom of the pocket on the right. I keep things I don't normally use in there . In the wider, easier to get my hand into, pocket on the left I keep things I use more regularly.

Intermal cover flap/lid

Once you push back the cover flap to open the bag you have an option. There is a flap that you can use as a lid for the internal body of the bag. This lid has a bit of velcro at the front. If you wish to use it as a lid for the body of the bag you fold down the bit on the front of the bag that has the logo on it as it has velcro on the backside to secure the lid .

If you do not want to use the lid (as I do) the cover flap has a piece of velcro on it which will bring the lid back with the cover flap when you open it

This lid has 2 netted pockets with velcro on it as well. I use the velcro pocket on the left to store AA batteries for the SB-800, the ML-L1 remote and lesser used CF cards. The pocket on the right stores 2 more CF cards and my PCMCIA adapter .

Since I velcro the lid to the cover flap I also keep my laminated D70 and SB-800 cheat cards in there.

---

Inside the bag

There is a padded laptop area at the back of the bag. The padded divider runs the entire width of the bag so I am pretty sure it would accomodate the widest of laptops. As you can see the ends of the front curve quite a bit and can cut into usable space. On the left corner I removed the dvider and keep my Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 . On the right side front I keep my Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6G and the Nikon 50mm 1.4 or kit lens (whichever one is off the camera). With the depth of the bag I can put a small velcro insert over the lenses on the right to store more lenses if I had them.

In the center front I keep the D70 with a lens attached (normally 50mm or kit lens). The depth of this bag does allow for keeping the 80-200 on the camera as well if needed. In the center back I keep the SB-800.

Here are some size comparison pics with my Lowepro Nova 3 bag.

Oddly enough with the same equipment loaded into the Crumpler as the Lowepro the Crumpler actually feels lighter. Must be the physical size difference playing with my mind.

I do wish that some of the pockets and storage areas were easier to get to, more useful, and that the cover flap had a handle but, it does saitsfy my more important needs of having plenty of space for camera and laptop, well padded and does not look like a camera bag. It also sits comfortably on my shoulder or over my head onto the opposite shoulder. Overall I am very happy with this bag so far.

thanks to Arnold Sese for pics and comments.

Review #2

Photo contains:
Nikon D2h
Nikon D70
Nikon FM2
50mm
35mm
Nikon 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
Nikon 12-24mm f/4 DX
10.5mm f/2.8 fisheye
15" powerbook stuffed in a slot designed for the 12" PB,
cokin filters, battries.

Thanks to overshadowed for photo

Reviews for Nikon D1 / D2 / D3

Review #1

Photo contains:
Nikon D2h
Nikon D70
Nikon FM2
Nikon 50mm
Nikon 35mm
Nikon 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
Nikon 12-24mm f/4 DX
10.5mm f/2.8 fisheye
15" powerbook stuffed in a slot designed for the 12" PB,
cokin filters, battries.

Thanks to overshadowed for photo

Additional Info

Description: Adjustable & removable padded internal dividers Padded laptop sleeve (fits up to 16Ó screen) Protective Seal makes sure no unwanted water, dust or corgis enter your bag External loops for pouch & lenscase attachment Removable padded shoulder strap with 3rd leg stabiliser Easy access front compartment with mesh & zip pockets, accessory & battery loops
Bag Type: Shoulder Bag, Notebook
Interior Size:
Exterior Size: 40x37x22cm XXL
Weight:
Material: Original 1000d fabric with waterproof ripstop lining
Bag Capacity:
Colours Available: Laptop, 2 big zoom lenses or 4 normal lenses + 2 large bodies, flash and accessories

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