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

Equipment list in bag :
Canon EOS 20D
Canon BG-E2,
Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8L IS USM
Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Canon 580EX Speedlite

Price paid: 130

Review text:
So I recently got my Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USMand discovered my current bag wasn't quite big enough to carry it attached to my 20D, as well as my EF 50mm f/1.8, EF-S 17-55mm IS USM, and 580ex flash. So my quest for a new bag began.

Of all the bags I looked at, I liked the thin yet tall layout of the National Geographic bag the most. I really like the color and styling of the bag as well. It has that relaxed look to it. It's made from a cotton / hemp blend of fabric.

Here's a quick background on hemp.
Hemp is touted as nature's strongest fiber.  Commercial Hemp growing is banned in the United States, as it is in the same family as Marijuana. However smoking hemp flowers will only give you a headache, not a high.

The bag is slightly floppy, with most of its structure coming from the contents themselves. Even with the floppy nature of the bag, the padding is still very nice. It's easily on par with my Tamrac System 6's padding; even better in some places. The bag measures roughly 13" wide x 11 3/4" tall x 7" deep. (The floppy nature makes it difficult to measure)

On the outside of the bag you have a nice strong handle sewn in to the top. There is a large flap that comes over the top and secures via some brass snap buckles. I was a little leery about the security of these buckles staying in place when lifting the bag via the handle so I did a little testing. I loaded it up with some heavy items that wouldn't get hurt if they fell then picked it up from the handle and 'bounced' it around a bunch (and I do mean a BUNCH) and the buckles never gave. My confidence in them is now high.
On the back of the bag there is a zippered pocket for storing papers / folders and things. I don't think you'd be able to fit too thick of an item back here comfortably though.
Starting on the side and running along the bottom of the bag to the other side is a strap identical to the one used for the shoulder strap. This strap has some loose areas that you can use to attach other bags or items. They don't provide any straps for this usage though, so you'll need to provide your own. Only the sides anchors are usable, as the bottom of the strap runs thru the bag.

On the outside of the flap you have two pockets that are closed with Velcro. They're about 6.5" x 6.5" and are pretty expandable. There are also two brass D rings for attaching extra bags / equipment.
Inside the flap is a cover which can be zipped closed to secure the contents of the bag, or rolled up and secured out of the way with a Velcro tab to provide for quick access to the contents.

With the flap out of the way, it reveals two zippered pockets measuring about 8.5" x 7". Inside the pocket on the left are some small pockets for storing memory cards or other similarly sized items. The right pocket has some pen holder sized slots (one of them is large enough to hold my bottle of lens cleaning solution. Both of these pockets are pretty roomy.

The bag is basically one big open area, with a small pocket on the back wall that can hold a small laptop. My 15.4" Sony Vaio won't even come close to fitting in here though. I store my camera / flash / other manuals there. That pocket measures about 12" wide, 10" tall and about 1" wide at the sides.

The bottom of the bag also has an added padded 'flap' that is hinged and can be rotated up and back to Velcro against the back wall and increase volume. This flap is about 1/2" thick.
The bag comes with an insert that has Velcro on the bottom and the back. The inside back wall and bottom inside flap of the bag have Velcro that you use to attach the insert and keep it in place.

The insert has two dividers can be positioned via Velcro to hold the camera & lens combo by the camera body, with the lens hanging down. This works great on my 17-55, but the 70-200 is longer than these dividers, so the camera / lens combo sits on the lens cap itself which is sitting on the bottom of the insert. The insert has about 1/4" of padding on all sides. Add this to the flap on the bottom inside of the bag, and you have 3/4" of padding between the lens and the outside world where it sits. The insert has a flap on it which covers the rear of your camera and secures shut with Velcro. However when the 70-200 lens is mounted on the camera, the flap is not long enough to reach over the combo to the Velcro on the other side, so I just tuck the flap down inside the insert and out of the way.

Currently I have it loaded out so that the 70-200 fits on the left side, the camera with lens attached in the insert in the middle, and my 580ex on the other side of that. You can use the canon lens & speedlite cases if you want a little more added protection.

The one draw back I just recently discovered is that when I have the BG-E2 grip mounted on the 20D, the camera is now 'taller' than the insert, so it won't fit completely inside. It ends up with the lens being in the insert, and the camera sort of hanging from a combination of the insert dividers, and the insert wall itself. Still plenty of padding, and I don't think any undue pressure is being placed on any parts of the camera. The wall sits at the joint of the camera and the grip.

I've carried the bag around a couple of full days at Sea World so far and I'm very pleased with it. It's very convenient to be able to just lift the flap out of the way and grab the camera when needed. I tend to carry it directly on my side with my arm laying over it as a security measure and I find that the soft cotton / hemp material almost forms to my side a small amount. I've found the strap to be very comfortable and to have sufficient 'cling factor'. In other words, it stays on my arm. However, because of the nature of the bag to form to your side / back it can get a bit warm on you if it's hot out.

The last time I was at Sea World I actually got caught in a down pour. I noticed the clouds moving in rather quick and started walking out to my car, but I and the bag was still exposed to about 10 minutes of a solid heavy rain. When I made it to my car I checked the bag out to see how it held up and if it managed to keep the water out. Keep in mind this bag is not advertised for all weather use. I was actually very surprised. The outside of the bag was definitely wet. The cotton/hemp material sucked up the water a lot. But underneath the flap, it was completely dry. All my equipment was safe and sound. I on the other hand, was soaked to the bone and still had a 30 minute drive home in front of me. What fun!

In conclusion, I'm very happy with this bag. I find it provides a nice freedom of placement of your equipment while still providing plenty of padding. The brass buckles that hold the flap closed are secure, yet quick to release in order to get in at your equipment. A lot of people don't like bags that look like they have expensive equipment in it, and I don't believe this one does. There's a nice little side effect of having this bag, I've been asked twice now if I work for national geographic. :)

Likes about the bag: Looks, Easy to access flap

Dislikes about the bag: Internal insert isn't tall enough to hold 20D with BG-E2 or 70-200 attached.



 

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