Bag for EM1 + pro-lenses : my choice TAMRAC Evolution 6 5786

pierpail wrote:

After having tested several bags in the shop, the more adapted bag seems to be the TAMRAC Evolution 6 5786 according to my taste.

It can contain the EM1 with HDL + 7-14 F2.8 + 12-40 F2.8 + 40-150 F2.8 + 300 F4 + 60 macro + flash R600 + 1.4x + battery charger + the 2 wires.

It is not really adapted if you want to let the 1,4x on the 300mm : 1-2 cm are missing...

There is still room for more things but it will be against easy in & out of lenses.

I hope it will be helpfull to you if you look for such a bag because i spent several hours to arrive to that conclusion !

pierpail

Got some pictures?  I have that bag and for me it will fit everything but the 300.  Unless you are putting the smaller lenses in the top compartment?

My current favorite bag is the Lowepro Mini Trekker.  Without the 300, it will take the pro lenses, two bodies, and a tripod.

300mm and 40-150 horizontally are set in the lower compartment both with ISO jackets with everything else, except the Em1 + 12-40 that I put inside the upper compartment for quick accessinility.

Thanks to the 2 lateral openings it seems possible to output / input the 2 big lens (re-input may be difficult if other accessories are moving). All the other accessories can be accessed by the back opening.

It is not perfect but the best that i found. Bag dilema...

pierpail wrote:

300mm and 40-150 horizontally are set in the lower compartment both with ISO jackets with everything else, except the Em1 + 12-40 that I put inside the upper compartment for quick accessinility.

Thanks to the 2 lateral openings it seems possible to output / input the 2 big lens (re-input may be difficult if other accessories are moving). All the other accessories can be accessed by the back opening.

It is not perfect but the best that i found. Bag dilema...

Evolution 8 might be better, but I don't need a laptop sleeve (which takes space) so I haven't tried it. I have mixed feelings about the Evolution 6; sort of like it but the dividers are not as configurable, and the tripod/monopod pocket is too small (mine always falls out).

Still, I used the Evolution 6 a lot before the 40-150 2.8 came out. It worked well with a 12-40 2.8, 35-100 2.8, and 75-300 and two bodies (E-M1, E-M5). The 40-150 2.8 is just a bit too big for that bag, but I can still use it. Just a tight squeeze. With E-M1 and 40-150 on one side, E-M5 and 12-40 plus 75-300 on the other side, other stuff in the top.

I almost always work with a tripod, so I've moved to the Lowepro Mini Trekker and carry the tripod inside the pack. I also use the Lowepro Nature Trekker when I'm using my 300mm 2.8.

I agree about the tripod capability : the tripod must be very small. Mine will not fit at all, as you said.

Currently have a Billingham 335 shoulder bag. Holds my EM1 and grip, 7-14, 12-40, 40-150 with 1.4tc attached, 60 macro, 75-300, 14-150, FL60 Flash, Cokin P filter system with set of ND grads, polariser and 10 stop ND filters spare batteries, cables, papers, lens cleaning pens and still has most of the front full width pocket free for other items. There is the depth to swap out my 75-300 for PanaLeica 100-400 when I eventually get it.

All equipment can be accessed and lenses changed without putting the bag down. To suit the m4/3 system it needs a few more internal dividers, which can be bought separately (although I've just used some from an old Lowerpro bag instead)

The bag seems to mould itself to your side, making it surprisingly comfortable for its size and weight even when fully laden (but then I very seldom take ALL of the kit I've listed above with me on a shoot).

Any shoulder bag isn't the best for an all day hike, but this one is extremely good for the larger pro lenses when you are on a shoot and need direct access.

Build quality is simply fantastic and the waterproofing of the canvas is very robust.

https://www.billingham.co.uk/catalog/product/view/id/15/category/4/

Definitely expensive... but I guess you get what you pay for.

I had a shoulder bag for my 43 ( E5 + PRO Lenses without the 300 F2.8 at that time !) and it was too heavy and hurted my back badly after a few hours of walking (I gave all those to my son who buy immédiatly a backpack to carry them).

So I decided to take a true backpack this time. Nevertheless your are right : it is really less convenient to switch lenses, etc. compared to a shoulder bag. In top of that, as the m4/3 lenses are now slower and so ligther, I could have taken a shoulder bag, that's true...

pierpail wrote:

I had a shoulder bag for my 43 ( E5 + PRO Lenses without the 300 F2.8 at that time !) and it was too heavy and hurted my back badly after a few hours of walking (I gave all those to my son who buy immédiatly a backpack to carry them).

So I decided to take a true backpack this time. Nevertheless your are right : it is really less convenient to switch lenses, etc. compared to a shoulder bag. In top of that, as the m4/3 lenses are now slower and so ligther, I could have taken a shoulder bag, that's true...

I used to have dreadful back problems when I had Nikon FF kit and their pro lenses. I gave up shoulder bags a long time ago, but still had issues when using backpacks (possibly due to the weight of a FF dSLR and pro lens hanging from a neck strap combined with the bulk and weight of the backpack.

Moving to m4/3 has been a revelation. I'm back to using shoulder bags again, even with the pro lens setup, and haven't had any problems at all with the Billingham. Won't suit everyone as it is still pretty large for a m4/3 shoulder bag, but they have a good range of smaller bags too which can be used if you're able to pick and choose your kit for a particular assignment.

I still keep an old lowerpro mini trecker for if I need to hike any significant distance... but I always find that having to take it off and put it down to access my gear tends to stop me from really exploring photo opportunities as freely as I'd like to.

This bag will carry my EM-1, EM-5, 7-14 2.8, 12-40 2.8, 40-150 2.8, TC-14, FL-50, and someday soon the 300 f4.  I have put a Nikon 70-200 with TC-20EIII teleconverter in with this (it's the same length and nearly same width as 300mm with TC-14).  There is room for the 40-150 with TC-14 as well.

The advantage is that I can easily configure the bag to have cameras attached to lenses in most combinations.

Normally, I have a tripod where the 70-200 is, carry an FL-36 instead of FL-50, and put the E-M1 on the side.