Camera Backpack recommendation e-m1 plus wildlife lenses

Hi

I just recently received my 40-150 pro with mc-14 teleconverter. Now before I start birding again and taking wildlife photos in the forest or where I can get close to small birds, big birds I need a camera backpack that can hold the following items.

EM-1
FL-600R Flash
m.zuiko 40-150 f2.8 pro + MC-14 teleconverter
m.zuiko 300 f4 pro (when it comes out i'll be adding this to my kit)
m.zuiko 60mm f.28 macro
m.zuiko 12-40 f2.8 pro
Handful of UV and CPL filters
3 spare batteries
4xAA batteries
cleaning kit and cloths
Battery charges etc I don't care for as I wont be charging in the wild
I have seen a few that look ok online but without physically seen them its hard to know how everything will fit.
Anyone know of a good backpack anywhere between 0-100 AUD out there that can accommodate for this or have similar kit even with 4/3 lenses or any adapted lenses?

I have exactly the same gear as you, plus one more E-M1.  I use a Lowepro Pro Runner 300 AW.  It should also have room for the new 300 Pro when they release it.

Thanks, i'll put that on the list of bags to look at

I carry a similar load in my LowePro Photo hatchback 22L AW.  Can't have the body attached to a big lens inside.   And you might need to use the non-photo section to hold the 300mm.  Last week i had the 4/3rds 50-200, Sigma 50-500, 9-18, ec-20, m4/3rds 40-150 kit zoom.  Still room for a few batteries,  etc.   The E-M1 w/12-40 traveled outside in a small case.  Since those 4/3rds are a bit larger than your kit it might fit.

I'm tossing between the lowpro mini trekker and the pro runner 300 aw runner atm. Hmm there is not much difference from the look of things to me. Has anyone had experience with both these?

Thanks for all the advice guys, never had a backpack for a camera before as I used to shoot lumix FZ series camera which came with a fixed lens. I ended up ordering the pro runner 300 in the end. Was a tough decision and I think pretty much all those backpacks mentioned would be great so thanks again for the imput guyz

regards,
Vas

I am in the same hunt, and I thought instad of starting a new thread would just use this one.

To the OP ( apologies for taking over, hope you dont mind)

ANyone has any idea about the Kata 3in1 33?

Much like the OP i will be using it for birding and would like to carry my Sigma 50-500mm and Nikkor 400mm f3.5 both mounted to camera if possible.

Here's my urban photo sling 250, with an extra divider in it. I like it because its the transformer of camera bags, load it like a backpack, wear it like a sling, unload it like a top loader.

• It fits either 4 lens with 1 quick release and a lens on the body

OR

• 3 leans and an accessory such as a camera flash.

• It also fits an 11" laptop or tablet.

• It will also fit a full sized lens attached to your body such as a Canon 5D with a 70-200 in the top loading compartment where that square is.
• It will fit an even longer lens if you take out the divider which I'm using for a flash.

No bag of course is perfect and this bag does not come with enough dividers, so I stole 1 out of my old bag

That said the slots for lens are deep enough to fit at least a full 75mm length EF sized lens in each slot. The top loading slot is designed for a full frame camera body, You could quite easily fit 2 Micro Four Thirds bodies in it with lenses attached.

I have it configured with a 20mm F/1.7 45-150 and 14-42 as well as an FL36. I could fit another lens in it if I had a divider with my 12/2 on my camera body.

All good

R V C wrote:

I am in the same hunt, and I thought instad of starting a new thread would just use this one.

To the OP ( apologies for taking over, hope you dont mind)

ANyone has any idea about the Kata 3in1 33?

Much like the OP i will be using it for birding and would like to carry my Sigma 50-500mm and Nikkor 400mm f3.5 both mounted to camera if possible.

Have researched this a ton, because LowePro and the other popular gear companies don't make a legitimate outdoor / adventure / climbing backpack with modern suspension and layout.

Here are three options that I considered after reviewing and handling dozens more. Each has their own unique layout and features, an external tripod attachment, and is extremely lightweight.

1) FStop Loka UL - the sensible, lightweight choice

My cousin saunters around the flat lands "wilderness" with his FF kit (similar in size and weight to yours) with fstop backpacks, and swears by them. The Fstop Loka UL is something that I've looked at a couple of times, but ultimately, due to having so much space, decided against. I tend to fill the bag up, which means that I'll be less likely to make it to the next ridge or top of the mountain if it's too big.

Fstop has a variety of options - here's the Loka UL

2) Click Elite Obscura (for quick draw pouch) - probably not great for your case

I briefly owned an adventure camera pack from Click Elite (or however you spell it) called the Obscura. It's really a clever design for storing a camera, has a quick draw padded insert, and it relatively light. I would have kept it but abandoned the bulky and heavier zoom lenses from my kit in favor of fixed compacts, and didn't need the larger padded space.

For your purposes, this would fit the bigger telephoto zoom and the EM1:

3) MindShift Gear Rotation 180 Panorama

This is an innovative product with a patented waist belt.

If I were you, I would seriously consider this option, however, you have so much gear, that I'm not sure that it will work - perhaps you could figure out how to make it work.

I'd probably go with choice #3 to see what innovation in a backpack can do for my photography, however, your needs may be different.

All three options would require separate pouches for your extra stuff, but that's kind of a given.

Bit late for you now, but others may want to give the Benro Cool Walker series a look. Here's my experience with the CW200 backpack:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/55357989

Bruce

Arizona Sunset wrote:

Have researched this a ton, because LowePro and the other popular gear companies don't make a legitimate outdoor / adventure / climbing backpack with modern suspension and layout.

Here are three options that I considered after reviewing and handling dozens more. Each has their own unique layout and features, an external tripod attachment, and is extremely lightweight.

1) FStop Loka UL - the sensible, lightweight choice

My cousin saunters around the flat lands "wilderness" with his FF kit (similar in size and weight to yours) with fstop backpacks, and swears by them. The Fstop Loka UL is something that I've looked at a couple of times, but ultimately, due to having so much space, decided against. I tend to fill the bag up, which means that I'll be less likely to make it to the next ridge or top of the mountain if it's too big.

Fstop has a variety of options - here's the Loka UL

2) Click Elite Obscura (for quick draw pouch) - probably not great for your case

I briefly owned an adventure camera pack from Click Elite (or however you spell it) called the Obscura. It's really a clever design for storing a camera, has a quick draw padded insert, and it relatively light. I would have kept it but abandoned the bulky and heavier zoom lenses from my kit in favor of fixed compacts, and didn't need the larger padded space.

For your purposes, this would fit the bigger telephoto zoom and the EM1:

3) MindShift Gear Rotation 180 Panorama

This is an innovative product with a patented waist belt.

If I were you, I would seriously consider this option, however, you have so much gear, that I'm not sure that it will work - perhaps you could figure out how to make it work.

I'd probably go with choice #3 to see what innovation in a backpack can do for my photography, however, your needs may be different.

All three options would require separate pouches for your extra stuff, but that's kind of a given.

I've recently been in a similar position. I needed a proper daypack to carry waterproofs, lunch, geology gear, jumper, spare shoes, hydration pack, etc, and a decent array of camera gear. The problem is most camera backpacks are designed around the camera gear and don't have much space for other gear. These bags - The Fstop Loka with it's ICUs and the Obscura - with it's two compartment setup, looked like the best options for hikers who want to carry camera gear. The gear rotation pack I wasn't convinced about, thinking it may be quite tricky to rotate it back if the daypack is full.

I wasn't able to find those options in Australia, so I bought a nice technical day pack - Mountain Designs Stream T38 and combined it with a Thinktank V10 holster - for fast access to the camera, and a load cell (which is similar to the ICUs from Fstop, but around $30 - http://www.kathmandu.com.au/packs-and-bags/packing-solutions/cells/protective-cell-v2-l-black.html). This allowed me to take a decent array of lenses (12-40, 75-300, 75mm, 60mm, 8mm FE, FL300R flash). When the 300mm comes along, I'll probably pack it separately in its own case, as it will spend most of it's time in the holster and will be so much larger than the other lenses. If pushed, the top pocket of the T38 can also hold the E-M1 + 75-300mm lens.

As for the Kata 3n1 someone asked about earlier - I have a Kata 3n1 22, and it's a magnificent pack. Built really well. I don't use it much, as I've gone to shoulder bags for general wandering and proper backpacks for hikes, but it's exceptional for backpacking/slinging camera gear.

One final option I'm going to keep an eye on, is the idea of a small lens pouch, just big enough to hold the largest lens I'll carry, so I could have one on the camera in its holster, and a second lens available without taking off the pack.

These are some serious backpacks, if you want to carry a fair amount of gear they look nice. It's correct Lowepro don't really make anything like this and there bags are catered around carrying you gear and not your packed lunch also.

The only reason I posted what I posted above is simply to show just how much you can fit into a small pack. I used my Urban Photo Sling as a travel pack that is small enough to be measured and put through regular carry on luggage when going through airports. This was my primary concern as I travel through Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra regularly and I needed something big enough to carry lots, and particularly going through Canberra something that would fit on a Dash 8.