Reviews for Nikon D70 / D100 / D200 / D300 / D700
Review #1
(Added 18th June 2009)
Nikon D200 with Nikon 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
Nikon 12-24mm f/4
Nikon 70-200mm VR f/2.8 AF-S ED
but batteries, and Pol. filters, and spare CF cards
I am an old, fat guy, who likes to travel. With this bag, I can put in 12 to 14 hours and still be "OK", that is very important, If I leave anything in the hotel, that is want I need. I have 6 to 8 other (older) bags, up to a great "real" back pack, that will hold all my kit and 4 more lens/flash, but I do not like to travel with a "real" backpack when I am shooting, it is to much of a pain to get into it on the move.
This bag has done me very well during 2 weeks in Turkey, 1 week England, 2 weeks Caribbean, 3 weeks Thailand/Laos, plus day trips around home. Only problem, is I would like to have two more lens
Likes about the bag:
Everything, very well made,
Dislikes about the bag:
I would like one more size up, to add a 105 and a flash
Thanks to Michael Berman for review
for Olympus E-410
Review #1
(Added 4th Feb 2008)
Photos contains:
Olympus E-410 + Olympus 40-150mm Kit Lens
I've received it and played with it a bit, though I haven't had a chance to actually take it out on a shoot yet.
First impressions - the build quality is excellent, as one would expect from Kata. The shoulder strap is heavily padded, and the zippers are heavy-duty. There's only one piece of Velcro, holding closed the main pocket, but it's just a backup for a clip and the dual zippers, so when it wears out it won't be a big deal.
The bag sits very comfortably on the back. There are a couple of different ways to carry it on the front (with the shoulder strap across your neck on the right shoulder or vertically on the left shoulder), which would still be comfortable even with a heavy load. The positioning of the bag on your front is a little bit awkward, since it wants to sit off to the side a bit and interferes with your left arm, but it would make it easier to get the camera out. The main opening is fairly horizontal when worn on the front, but the cover zips down from the top, so it doesn't feel like there's any danger of the camera taking a dive unless you suddenly unzip it all the way. Getting the bag from the back to the front involves taking it off and putting it on again, which might be inconvenient if your hands were occupied (say, with a tripod or monopod).
There are four pockets - the main pocket, a small (cellphone- or iPod-sized) side pouch, a shallow pocket built into the front surface, and a full-depth pocket built into the back surface. The main pocket has a very small inner pouch attached to the wall, with a picture of memory cards or batteries on it. Actually, I think it might be a bit small for many batteries, though it would certainly hold cards fine as long as they're cased individually. The front-surface pocket would hold batteries, charger, etc., and maybe a small flash. The back-surface pocket has plenty of volume, but putting something bulky there might make the bag uncomfortable, so it might be best for flat and/or flexible things like cables, flattish batteries, manuals, etc.
I shoot underwater, so I've made a conscious effort to keep my kit as small as possible. To that end, I use the Olympus E-410 with the kit lenses, and I haven't yet gotten an external flash specifically for this camera (though I have a couple of older ones that won't talk to the Oly). That kit (body, two lenses, plus miscellaneous junk like chargers, batteries, cables, etc) is lost in this bag. The main pocket is divided into three sections - obviously, the intention is that you'd put a flash or lens into each of the side sections, and the body would sit on top with its lens in the center section. My Oly with the 40-150 kit lens will go into the center section sideways, and is actually shorter than the dividers. My 14-42 kit lens vanishes into the shorter side section, and I've got nothing to put into the taller section yet (jonesing for the Zuiko Digital 7-14 wide angle lens!) The top area, where the camera body is supposed to sit, is entirely empty. The main pocket would easily hold a big SLR body with a telephoto lens, an external flash, and an additional long lens.
All in all, an excellent bag. If anything, it's more than I need, though I imagine that my kit will fill it out as I buy more toys.
Main pocket:
Small (front) side pocket:
Large (back) side pocket:
Side pouch:
Back side:
Engulfing my E-410:
Thanks to aaronsher for review
General Photos of T-214 being worn
Thanks to Trailspotting.com for photos
