Bag is now too small!

[Marc Wilson]

Hi guys,
I've been using a lowepro omni trekker bag very happily for the last few years.
I really like this style of bag for my interiors, etc work as it can get layed down flat and everything is there for me to pick out as I choose.
No hunting in the depth of rucksacks, etc. (I do use a rucksack but thta si for other shooting)

(I also use it with its pelican outer case for extra protection.)

But, I've now started to use a 1ds mkII instead of a 5d and all of a sudden the bag is just too small...not high enough as the body sticks up out above the top of the bag by about 7 cm!...as the picture shows.
Width and length is still fine, just the height.
I like to leave a lens on the body so it it needs to sit upright so all of you out there using a 1 series body, or any medium format digital system, do you have any recommendations for this style of bag that will fit my new body?

Thanks,

Marc

 

[LJL]

Marc,
If you are definitely needing the Pelican hard case also, your choices start to become a bit more limited. However, if you are looking for an outstanding bag with good configuration possibilities, you really should take at look at the various Airport (plain and roller bag types) from ThinkTankPhoto. They have a good variety of sizes that will work with 1-series bodies. I use an Airport Addicted (large, no wheels) and an Airport Accelerator (largish, no wheels) to carry my gear. The bigger one is deep enough to stand a 70-200mm f2.8L IS lens straight up, so that is deep. Both accommodate several of my 1-series bodies with the lenses attached, including a 400mm f2.8L IS. Take at look at how things get packed into them, as they show some good configuration examples. These bags are among the best around, but they are not hard cases. (And they are available at a number of shops in the UK, so you can go look at them if you have a chance.)

LJ

 

[Marc Wilson]

Thanks LJ.
Pelican case not essential. I was looking at the kata bags but I'll take a look at these thinktankphoto bags also...had forgotten about them.

Marc

 

[Marc Wilson]

Well I picked up an airport accelorator today...it's brilliant.
Not only is it easily deep enough for the 1 series bodies, and has great internal dividing system but the front pocket with laptop sleeve which takes both my laptop and cabling, means one less bag for me to carry on shoots. No hard case for now but that is ok.

My lowepro bag and pele case are now on the buy and sell forum!

Cheers,

Marc

www.marcwilson.co.uk

 

[fotografz]

Hey Marc, if there is any interest in a small roller, take a look at the Think Tank Airport Airstream. It's their smallest roller bag and the one I usually use for weddings because it's deep enough for a Pro sized DSLR like your canon.

Here's a pic of my configuration for tomorrow's wedding shoot: One D3 body, a Sony A900 with battery grip and 24-70 (same size as a 1 series Canon), a D700 with 50/1.4G, a Nikon 24-70, Zeiss 85/1.4 and Zeiss 135/1.8, CF wallet, Mila Grid diffuser, and 12 spare flash batteries. ... in the outer stretch pocket there are 3 flashes, and in the zippered compartment 2 spare D700 batteries, 2 spare A900 batteries, and one D3 spare battery. It has handles on both sides, and a security cable with integrated lock. There is also a lock for the zippers. Wheels are inset and flush to the body.

-Marc Williams

 

[fotografz]

Oops, I didn't see your last post Marc.

 

[docmoore]

Marc,

Can you make this work with your H3D and a couple of lenses? I am tired of having 5 different Lowe Pro bags and none of them will hold enough unless I take the largest then it seems too large...


Bob

 

[LJL]

Well I picked up an airport accelorator today...it's brilliant.
Not only is it easily deep enough for the 1 series bodies, and has great internal dividing system but the front pocket with laptop sleeve which takes both my laptop and cabling, means one less bag for me to carry on shoots. No hard case for now but that is ok.

My lowepro bag and pele case are now on the buy and sell forum!

Cheers,

Marc

www.marcwilson.co.uk

You got a great bag, congrats. The separate computer sleeve bag comes in handy. I tend to even use it by itself to haul my MacBook Pro around. While you could get one separately, I found the Airpot Accelerator nice in that it included the sleeve. As the other Marc (fotografz) pointed out, the Airport Airstream is a great smaller wheeled bag. You could add a laptop sleeve to it, or get the low divider set and put the laptop inside. However, I found that you need all the height with the 1-series bodies, so there is not enough depth inside with the low divider set. Still, for a compact and versatile roller bag, it is a great choice. (If I can ever reduce the amount of stuff I drag along, it will be my next choice, but right now my Accelerator bag has a 1Ds MkII body, plus a 1DMkII body for back-up, a 24-70 f2.8L, a 70-200 f2.8L IS, an 85 f1.8, a Sigma 150 f2.8 Macro (really nice for portraits also), 2x 580EX flash units with the extra battery unit, plus an RRS off-camera flash bracket, off-camera flash cord, extra batteries for the cameras and flashes, and a ton of other little items, and there is still some room to spare.) The one thing I really like is being able to quickly reconfigure them to fit different shooting rigs and lens needs. It may be my most used bag, and like a lot of other folks, I probably have a closet full of bags that work, but not quite as well as these ThinkTank bags.

Let us know how you like it after a bit of use.

LJ

 

[Marc Wilson]

Thanks Marc. (2 Marc's can get confusing!)
The Airstream looks like a great option for a slightly smaller set up...and wheels to boot.

Yeah I had agood look on the website..very informative...and then tried a few out for size with my gear at the shop...went with the accellorator as it comfortably held all my bodies+lenses (with room for more of course!) and some lighting bits and pieces such a elinchrom slyports, spare bulbs, etc, as well of course as filters, batteries and the laptop set up is great.
Went for this over a roller as 9 times out of 10 I'm carrying (as opposed to wishing I was rolling) this bag so lower initial weight was good.

I currently also use a dakine sequence for hiking and skiing and a couple of domke f bags for around town stuff.

The domkes are of course great and the dakkine I like for hiking as it allows easy and quick tripod carrying in the axe slot, and lays flat on its front for opening so no wet backs, and feels fairly comfortable even on long shoots/walks...even with all my hasselblad gear in it.
Good for skiing also due to its low profile but I don't feel it offers quite as much protection for the odd high speed crash as a kata bag I used to use...but that was a touch bulky so i'm still looking for the ultimate skiing bag...workings and profile of the dakine, but smaller overall and with the better high impact protection of the kata's...perhaps I could modify a smaller dakine...

anyway...thanks for all the help guys.

Cheers,

Marc

 

[fotografz]

Bob, I have no doubt the Think Tank Airstream will fit the H3D-II with prism and lens attached, plus two lenses and some accessories. Maybe three lenses as long as one of them isn't the 120, longer zoom, or 350. which are too tall to stand upright.

I currently use a Kata shoulder bag (with Kata's Insert Dolly when I want it to be a roller) for my working H3D kit, but this bag would work just as well or maybe better.

 

[Marc Wilson]

So I've used the Airport acceleration for the last few weeks now.

Many things about it I really really like:
Lots of room inside.
Very protective of equipment
Seperate pouch in front to take laptop bag.
Good pockets all over.
Strong soft carrying handle.

Things I like less:
The lid hinges along the shortside. I like to put my bag down along a wall so when the bag is opened the front often containg the laptop can not rest against the wall but flops open to the ground..a small point sure but...

Here's a question.
When it is fully loaded with all my gear and laptop it really does get heavy...and that's when I wish for wheels. Now I did look at the roller cases but I really like the completely seperate laptop area and lighter weight on this one so that is what is went for. I was also unsure of wether a pro body and laptop would fit (height wise) in the main compartment.
Has anyone successfully attached this bag to a trolley or do I need to change it for the similar size roller and just live with my laptop in the main compartment...if the ro body and laptop actually fit in there!?

(I did look at a similar kata bag that takes a trolley insert but the exterior size was just too much for my liking.)

Cheers,

Marc

 

[LJL]

Marc,
Here is a link to the comparison chart that lists all the "Airport" bags, roller and not. The Airport International v2.0 is about the same size as the Airport Acceleration v2.0 that you have, and it says there is an external compartment that will hold up to a 17" laptop, though it does not appear to have the security flap and such as your bag does. It will also hold full-sized pro-level cameras, and there are illustrations of that on the ThinkTank site. It will weigh more by itself, but it does have the wheels, and it is supposed to fit all International airline size requirements, but it will be a bit larger for some of the smaller regional planes.

http://www.thinktankphoto.com/pdfs/ThinkTankPhotoAirportBagComparison.pdf

LJ

 

[Marc Wilson]

Thanks LJ,

I missed that bit in the spec list.
I may still look into trolley options for the acceleration as I am not sure yet if the shop will accept the return..its still as new so I hope so!
If they do though I'd take the extra weight for the wheels...short trips are fine anyway..it's the longer walks where the extra weight would hurt...but with the wheels..no problems!

Cheers,

Marc

 

[LJL]

Marc,
I believe that trolley insert for the Kata bags is available separately, and that could be an option for you to use whenever you needed it. You might only need a bungee cord or something to hold the bag to the trolley, if there was not a way to slip it through the back panel that holds the should straps. Worth looking into. I have thought about doing the same myself. Most roller bags sacrifice internal space to accommodate the wheels and handle, but if you could easily attach/detach them from a bag that you like to use and fits your needs, it it worth considering.

LJ

 

[Lars]

Hey Marc, if there is any interest in a small roller, take a look at the Think Tank Airport Airstream. It's their smallest roller bag and the one I usually use for weddings because it's deep enough for a Pro sized DSLR like your canon.

Here's a pic of my configuration for tomorrow's wedding shoot: One D3 body, a Sony A900 with battery grip and 24-70 (same size as a 1 series Canon), a D700 with 50/1.4G, a Nikon 24-70, Zeiss 85/1.4 and Zeiss 135/1.8, CF wallet, Mila Grid diffuser, and 12 spare flash batteries. ... in the outer stretch pocket there are 3 flashes, and in the zippered compartment 2 spare D700 batteries, 2 spare A900 batteries, and one D3 spare battery. It has handles on both sides, and a security cable with integrated lock. There is also a lock for the zippers. Wheels are inset and flush to the body.

-Marc Williams

Hey Marc, what's that handstrap on your D700? I lost my "Nikon glove" strap with my D2x and frankly it wasn't the best solution.
- Lars

 

[fotografz]

Hey Marc, what's that handstrap on your D700? I lost my "Nikon glove" strap with my D2x and frankly it wasn't the best solution.
- Lars

It's a Canon hand strap left over from my Canon days. I use a Hasselblad H one on the D3 ... but the best of the bunch is the Sony hand strap ... which comes with the bottom mounting plate to attach it to the D700.

 

[Oxide Blu]

Kind of depends on where you're going with your case. Porter Case is probably the best built, most flexible case I have, or have seen. It is hard shell, not cheap...it is not even close it being cheap. I think any other camera case costs less, but there is no better camera case.

http://www.portercase.com/

 

[fotografz]

Kind of depends on where you're going with your case. Porter Case is probably the best built, most flexible case I have, or have seen. It is hard shell, not cheap...it is not even close it being cheap. I think any other camera case costs less, but there is no better camera case.

http://www.portercase.com/

Those Porters look very interesting. I can tell you one thing, you cannot put hardly any extra weight on the Think Tank bags ... and roll with it ... the pull out handle is the weakest part of their bags. With the Porter's you can pile it on.

Question I'd have concerning the Porter roller is whether you can put a Pro level DSLR in one upright ... considering the additional height added by mounting plates, my D3 is 7.5" deep.

 

[LJL]

Marc,
It may be close on the Porter Cases. If you look at there "dimensions" link for the various photo cases, they all seem to have pretty much the same internal specs. They show a distance of 5.38" from base to hinge level height. The distance from the base to the lid, where the handle stores when folded, is listed at 6.94". There appears to be some added room down the center line in the case, and their specs show that to be 7.75" (inside base to inside of lid at maximum). Of course, not sure if these measurements include foam padding or not, as they do not seem to indicate. They do look pretty sturdy for also being able to haul some added stuff, which, as you point out, the ThinkTanks are just not built to do.

LJ

 

[Oxide Blu]

You know, whatever bag/case you get you can take the lens off and lay the camera body flat inside.

I believe the dimensions given are for the case without the padding.

I put my Nikon DX2 inside my Port Case standing up. It is 6-inch tall, fits inside prefect between the top and bottom padding.

I would not put a camera standing in a Porter Case if the fit is close. While the Port Cases are hard shell and will support hundreds of pounds on them, it is not like the case shell does not flex with weight in one area. You do not want your camera inside to be what is preventing the case from flexing if you going to pile crap onto you camera case -- I do, I even lay my Porter Case flat and stand on it, with cameras and lenses inside.