Reviews for Nikon F5 / D700
Review #1
Equipment list in bag:
Nikon F5 with 135mm f/2
Nikon 85mm f/1.4G
Nikon 24mm f/1.4G
Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR micro
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G
Nikon 70-200mm F/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR II
MacBook Pro 15 inch
Power supply,camera cable,iPhone,earbuds,batteries,CF cards
Polarizing filter,Lens cloth,Car key,Lip balm,Cable release
Gitzo carbon basalt tripod and head
This 38 is the largest of the new Heralder Series from Vanguard—and boy, does it hold A LOT. It’s a messenger style bag that is meant for event photographers and other photographers on the go who need quick access to their gear.
Here is the bag all packed up:
Here is the bag empty, with everything it contained parked in front of it:
I substituted my old F5 for my DSLR, which I used to take these pictures. My DSLR is a Nikon D700 , so it’s actually smaller than the F5. I used my 50mm f/1.4 to take the shots, so it is also not pictured.
From the top down:
The Heralder has a nice adjustable padded shoulder strap with some silicone grippy stuff to keep it on your shoulder. The strap attaches to the D-rings on the sides of the bag with rotating clips—so the strap is unlikely to get twisted up on you.
If you carry it on your right shoulder as I would, there is a gorgeous stretchy pocket for a water bottle or your smartphone. It’s a nice large pocket. You could even put a speedlight in it.
Along the top of the bag there is a straight zipper with a magnetic security clasp. This is nice—it’s not super strong or like a lock, but it is likely to keep someone else from reaching into your bag on the street. Unzip this, and the top of the bag opens right up—enough for you to reach in and pull out your camera quickly.
Like a messenger bag, the whole top is a flap that attaches with a buckle clasp. Undo this, and lift the flap, and you’ll see that a zipper runs around the top of the bag, to hold the flap in place. If you preferred to lift the flap, rather that undoing the straight zipper, you could just leave this unzipped. But if you were buttoning up your gear for transport—where the bag might be upended, this interior zip will keep everything in place.
Inside the main compartment, there is enough space for up to eight lenses—but I removed one of the dividers so the F5 and 135 DC could slide in. That still left space for six lenses—but the 14-24 is FAT, so I gave it a wide berth on one side of the F5. On the other side, I have the 24, 85, 105VR and 70-200VR.
This whole insert is removable, so you can store your gear and take off for the weekend with the Heralder and your laptop and some clothes—because when you take the insert out, the bag is like an ordinary messenger bag—only with a little more structure (which is actually nice.)
The laptop is packed in its own removable padded case. There is a Velcro strap attached to the back of the bag on the inside that would hold the laptop case in place if you were to remove the camera gear insert.
There is also a small padded case, which turns out to be a perfect fit for my Mac’s power supply cord. I tucked this on top of the 14-24 under the side of the F5. I could have put it on the other side too. Or if I left one lens behind I’d stick it in one of the inserts.
Behind the laptop case there is a zippered pocket—you could fit an iPad in there.
In front of the main compartment is a zippered organizer pocket for pens and cables and extra batteries – I also put my cable release and polarizing filter in that pocket.
On the bottom front of the bag, there is a hidden panel—undo the Velcro and a flap for holding a tripod emerges. I just belted the tripod in, and hooked the two buckle clasps and the tripod was quite securely attached to the Heralder.
The bag comes with a rain cover which is inside a zippered pocket along the back of the bag, and there is a luggage strap—so you could put it on top of your pull behind suitcase and not worry about it falling off.
The bottom of the bag seems to be rubberized a bit—good if you want to set it down on some wet grass—the bag will keep your gear from getting damp.
All in all, this is well-designed bag from Vanguard. It’s fully customizable—you can carry up to a 15-inch laptop with a power supply, as well as one or two pro DSLRs with grips, and 5 or 6 lenses up to a 70-200 or a 300 f/4. Or, you may take the laptop insert out and use the Heralder as a camera bag only. Or, you may take the photo inserts out instead, leave your laptop and put something else in the bag’s main compartment (like clothes for a long weekend.)
We always want one bag that will do everything, and for most of us, it’s kind of illusory. But with this new Heralder, Vanguard is aiming to be the bag on your shoulder ALL of the time.
Thanks to NikonJunkieGirl for review
