Cambags

Reviews for Nikon D50 / D80 / D90

Review #1

Side of the bag

The bottom of the bag has feet, nice detail that you don`t often see on shoulder bags.

The back of the bag has a full length zippered pocket that`s large enough for a magazine or two. The mesh section below is to enable the bag to be fitted onto a suitcases extended handle when travelling.

The shoulder strap has metal clips and the ring that it clips onto has been double stitched onto the bag strap giving it extra strength. Not shown but the shoulder strap also has a cushioned sleeve for extra comfort on the shoulder area.

Behind the shoulder strap attachment is a zipper. This is the Up-Rise feature. Opening this zipper gives an extra inch or so depth. This pretty much allows you to add the laptop to the bag without losing any size to the camera compartment. It would also allow for some extra room for lenses.

Closeup on the front of the bag shows a hidden compartment on the main flap of the bag. Handy for lens caps or a phone/mp3 player or wallet.

Photo showing phone inside front pocket.

Front flap of bag has an adjustable clip that is easily removed by pressing the two side buttons.

Underneath the flap there are two velcro strips.

Inside the bag there are 6 pockets. Two large pockets on the left and right.Behind these is a large centre pocket spanning the front of the bag that is suitable for manuals,etc. Then a small mesh pocket on the left , a memory card pocket in the centre and then a small pocket to the right which holds a rain cover or phone.

Closeup of the front right pocket has room for pens,batteries,etc
Shown here with lenspen, pocket guide and battery charger for D90.

Front left pocket contains cables and rocket blower.

There`s a large pocket behind the front two shown here with the rain cover.

A mesh pocket for lens caps,batteries,etc

Next to this is a small pocket for memory cards.

Small top right pocket for the rain cover or a mobile phone.

 One of problems with messenger bags is they usually have a large flap so gaining access to your gear is awkward. Vanguard have solved that problem by having a zipper across the top of the main flap to access to your gear. I was a little worried the zipper may scratch your camera when taking it out, but it is protected by material and the zipper itself is has small teeth which are plastic coated so its highly unlikely to cause any damage.

A nice feature for the top zipper is a magnetic flap that stops the zipper being opened unless you lift it out of the way.

The notebook/laptop compartment.
On this bag the specifications state it will fit upto screens of 12" in size, but having measured it a 13.1" screen laptop will fit something like an Apple macbook for example. Anything bigger and you`ll need to go for the bigger Up Rise 38 bag.
One thing I was really surprised with is how comfortable the bag is with a laptop added (apart from the added weight). Often you can noticeably feel the hard laptop against your body, but this bag has such good padding it was hard to tell the difference with or without it.

All the gear outside along with the removable camera container.

Additional dividers. The black divider on left fits across to allow smaller lenses to be carried above other lenses.

The gear inside bag.
1. Nikon D90 + Nikon 18-200mm VR F/3.5-5.6G IF-ED + Nikon 50mm f/1.8 (at bottom)
2. Tamron SP AF 90mm F/2.8 Di Macro + Tokina 12-24mm f/4 (at bottom)
3. Nikon 180mm F2.8D ED-IF AF + Nikon 35mm f/2 (at bottom)

Note: The Camera with 180mm attached fit no problem in the bag.

With the rain cover fitted.

Back of bag with waterproof jacket.

Bag being worn.
Feels very comfortable , its quite heavy fully loaded but is well padded throughout. Take out some lenses and the laptop and you almost forget your wearing it.

I`m really impressed with this bag, I can`t find any real faults whatsoever with it. It looks good, holds plenty of gear and has some very nice features I have`nt seen in other bags of this type ,such as the up-rise feature and the zippered main flap to allow quick access to your gear. The price is also competitive when compared too similar bags from Lowepro , Crumpler and Tamrac.
  The only niggle is that the waterproof jacket is`nt as easy to fit as i`d like. A few minutes of head scratching at first and then I realised how it works and afterwards it wasnt too much of a problem, but its not as quick and easy as how the Lowepro AW bags work.
None the less I love this bag, this along with my Kata 3n1 and Lowepro TLZ bags , it feels like I now have a bag for every situation.
I have been through quite a few messenger bags over the years by Lowepro, Tamrac, Crumpler and Naneu but I`ve yet to find a bag that is so full of features as this bag and yet still looks good as an everyday bag.

Now I have to be honest I didnt know much about Vanguard before seeing the Up-Rise 33 bag. I knew they made cases but wasnt up to date on the rest of their range.
Like many people when looking for a new bag I tend to go for the major brands like Lowepro, Tamrac, Crumpler,etc but I implore everyone to checkout Vanguard bags. They are extremely well made, designed and decent value for money. Highly Recommended.

Likes about the case:
Zipper on top of flap, The up-rise expansion feature, laptop/notebook compartment ,lots of pockets, price, does`nt look like a camera bag, waterproof jacket.

Dislikes about the case:
Waterproof jacket tricky to fit.

Reviewed by Paul @ Cambags.com