Reviews for Canon 350D / 400D XT / 1000D / 450D
Equipment list in bag :
Canon 450D + grip
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Canon 580EX II
plus misc extras like batteries, flash triggers,
So, after some intensive bag research (you know how it is!) I finally decided on, and purchased my next camera bag, the Crumpler Muffin Top 7500.
To cut a long story short, my main requirements were:
- Shoulder bag, not backpack
- Larger than previous bag (Lowepro Rezo 160) (the battery grip and flash just would not find a way to fit in this)
- Comfortably store all my stuff (Canon 450D + grip, 18-55IS, 55-250IS, EF 50mm 1.8, 580EX II, plus misc extras like batteries, flash triggers, gels, cards, card reader, cables, strap and so on)
- Not look like a camera bag
The Muffin Top range is a European range, and so is not directly available in the US. It's the new replacement for the older Pretty Boy range, and is the model below the Delhi range (replacement for the older Daily range). They are about £60+VAT (£69) for the 7500.
This one is the 7500, the largest Muffin Top (I looked at the others in the shop - too small.) The Delhi's were nice, but overkill for my needs, and quite a bit more expensive.
I found the clasp a little tricky at first, and I'd have liked a carrying handle on the top of the bag, in addition to the strap, but otherwise it's very cool - not too big and heavy, but substantial enough to give you confidence it's not going to fall apart.
I got another little Crumpler pouch to keep all my batteries (camera, flash, remote triggers) together rather than leaving them loose in the bag, and I utilise the space above the camera with an unused divider to gain a "shelf". The XSi with attached battery grip with 18-55IS lens goes in lens down, and I created another little pocked under the grip handle for some extra bits (filters or whatever).
The 580EX II flash and flash gels goes in the left compartment. The right compartment holds the 55-250IS vertically, with the hood still mounted, and inside that I keep the 18-55IS hood and the EF 50mm 1.8 lens. This leaves another little compartment free for my flash triggers, cable release and other bits.
The front pocket holds all the other stuff (the other battery grip magazine, a Lowepro card holder, card reader, camera strap, lens pen, cables, another set of ebay triggers and whatever else I need.
If I had another lens, I'd probably put that into the left compartment, and lay the flash over the top on my "shelf", but this would be pushing it in terms of what the bag could comfortably hold.
So in short, this is a great bag for a crop camera with grip, a few lenses and a flash, and all the associated bits. Anyone with a larger lens collection you'll need to look to the Delhi range, which offer some advantages, including laptop storage options.
If you had, say, a gripless camera, and no flash, you could move down to the 5500, but the 7500 offers a decent storage capacity without being a massive bag to lug around.
I got this from the Crumpler store in London which was very cool - it's quite important to check these out in the flesh, as sizes in pictures, together with the specs can be quite misleading. None of these are *massive* bags, and they are probably smaller than they appear in pictures.
Anyway, I hope this helps for people with similar requirements to mine, and looking into the Crumpler range, especially the European range.
Thanks to talbot sunbeam for review.
