The Search for the Holy Grail of Camera Bags

I hadn’t bought myself something new for quite some time (the second hand car I bought is not new so that doesn’t count) so I started the search for a new camera bag as I really wanted to move away from a back pack and figuring that it could be a Christmas present that would actually see some use.

Don’t get me wrong the back pack has served me pretty well over the years. Its been completely wet from a torrential down pour but has still managed to keep my camera gear dry(ish) and has carried an array of gear including a 17″ tablet/laptop, wallet, phone, food, water bottles, business cards, jackets and then some camera gear such as my Nikon DSLR, lenses, flash gun, filters, cable release, back up batteries and memory cards. It gets pretty heavy because I know that I can jam so much into it I carry a lot, a lot of unnecessary stuff that I didn’t need at all.

So I decided that the the bag had to meet a criteria with the intent to narrow the choices down.

1.     Have quick access to the camera (and be able to put it away with ease)
2.     Be able to carry a DSLR plus lenses, plus some other gear like phone, wallet, tablet/laptop
3.     Be sturdy and have comfy shoulder strap(s)
4.     Be able to not be readily identifiable as a camera bag.
5.     Made in Australia (not a must but a nicety)

So I started the search with the criteria in mind and to much amazement the amount of choices now available is incredible from bags with wheels, back packs, shoulder or satchel bags to small point and shoot bags. It was during the search I was told about a company making these cool bags called No more Ugly Camera Bags and they were fantastic. So I stopped procrastinating and ordered a bag. I felt as thought I had found the Holy Grail of Camera bags. The bag seemed to meet all the criteria that had been set.

Within a few days of placing my order the bag arrived and I tore open the packaging like a 5 year old on Christmas morning…………and I was immediately disappointed.

It looked like a handbag. Now there is nothing wrong with handbags at all, in fact my Wife has a handbag (actually a whole cupboard full of them) and well, I don’t use handbags! Recovering from the shock of ordering a handbag camera bag I decided that I should take a good look at it and see if it is functional and could be used, purely for scientific and research purposes and this is what I quickly realised:

• Its to feminine
• It still looks like a handbag
• It won’t fit my DSLR (with battery grip)
• Large is, well not large enough

Overall, the bag is beautiful, well crafted and extremely well priced for under $90 but its not for me. I simply can’t get past it being to feminine and looking like a handbag. So before I send it back I thought that I may offer it up to you guys. I reckon $70 (AS Dollars & plus postage) is a fair price and if I get no takers I’ll send it back on Monday. Feel free to contact me about it.

Now I’ve heard my Wife say this in the past and now I would have to agree with her but I am now pretty much resigned to the fact that you can’t simply have one camera bag but you need a camera bag for each purpose.

So now the search continues for the Holy Grail of Camera Bags.