Camera Labs

My Lowerpro SR100AW is now too small to hold all my gear so this is the bag I got to replace it. It's Crumpler's largest messenger style camera bag (outside of Europe) and I've got it in the black/gun metal and green colour option although they have a few others as well. It's the new version which I only noticed on the website a few days ago and I'll explain what the differences are later.



The front flap is slightly different in design but the main difference is in the release where there are now two on each side instead of one in the middle.




The base is very rigid and well padded and it stands upright by itself.




This is one of the two secondary compartments and this is one of the downfalls of the bag IMO. While the compartment is big and easy to see in to, it does nothing to keep your stuff organise and it will more around when you open the flap. I don't really see myself putting much in there.




This is where the bag excels, in the padding. The entire bag is thickly padded and holds it shape very well. It feels a lot tougher than my Lowepro. Also note that the dividers can be positioned anywhere inside the main compartment so you aren't limited to where the manufacturer has chosen to sew on the velcro. I've removed two dividers that cover the top so you can see inside. Sorry about the shadow, the 50mm f/1.8 was thrown in for a sense of the size.




The dividers are thick and well padded. Also, the material isn't quite the soft fleece that it appears to be. It's actually quite coarse but I've no complaints here.




EDIT: Fixed incorrect image.

This is one of the two side pockets and honestly, not much can fit in. It would be useful for smaller items but even my large Matin blower (same size as the large Giottos rocket) has difficulty fitting in. Memory cards and batteries should be okay. The flap that is "standing up" on the left of the blower folds in on itself when the bag is closed and keeps the elements out but does not seal the interior.




This is the front pocket. Fairly large, but again, no way to keep your stuff organised.




Just a close up of the zip for the meshed compartment. Note that the greens captured are a bit more vibrant than in real life. I'm glad that's not how it actually looks!




The shoulder pad is not very thickly padded but it is very wide so distributes the weight quite evenly and seems to be comfortable but I haven't carried the bag for extended periods yet. In fact, the entire strap is very wide and made of what seems to be the same material as car seatbelts. It's not detachable but is secured very well to the bag.




This is the velcro (one on each side) that helps to hold the flap shut. One of the complaints of the older 7M Home was that it was too loud. When I was thinking of buying the older version, I had planned to cover this in tape but fortunately, Crumpler has a solution!




From behind the velcro, folds out a matching piece that then......




Covers it up! I am very thankful for this feature as the flap stays shut and supports the weight of the bag (carry handle is attached to the flap) without the velcro.

I've only just gotten the bag so don't really have much to say about it yet. If the weather holds up, I will take it out tomorrow when I go test my 10-20 and see how they both perform and come back with my thoughts.

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Graham
Flickr

Nice review Graham! Do you feel like a messenger bag that big puts too much weight on one shoulder when it's full of gear?

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Olympus E620 | 25/2.8 | 50/2 | 12-60 | 14-42 | 14-54 | 40-150 | 70-300
Olympus E-P2 | Panasonic GH2 | 20/1.7 | 14-42 | 14-140
Leica M7 | M9 | 21/4 | 35/1.4 | 50/2.5 | 50/1.5 | 70/2.5 | 90/2
Sony NEX-3 | 16/2.8| 18-55
My FlickR!

very nice review. if i were to try a different brand than lowepro i would try crumpler.

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Canon 40D + 70-200mm f/2.8L IS + 50mm f/1.8
Manfrotto 055CX3 + 496RC2
www.thomaslowe.com

Thanks guys. This reminds me that I have to finish the review!

@Armanius, I find that this crumpler spreads the weight across one shoulder better than other shoulder bags (or a backpack slung across one shoulder) but it would never beat two straps. I walked around with it for about 2-3 hours without putting it down and a rest would have been nice but it wasn't bad at all.

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Graham
Flickr

Sorry about the lousy pics







You can see that the dividers rise up quite high above my lenses. If you have a long lens like a 70-200 this wouldn't apply but you can actually fold the top of the dividers back down over the lens to keep the hidden out of sight. The two middle flaps in the first photo where the camera would be can also be folded inwards and create a surface that I've found to be convenient when I want to keep the camera in the bag but take it out very convenient. This way, I can lay the camera on top as I would with any flat surface but I wouldn't recommend it if you plan to move the bag around a lot, standing still or walking slowly is fine. I'm sure it's not a feature of the bag but it's very convenient.

I had the bag out for about 3 hours the other day and was quite pleased with it. It's a lot more comfortable than my Lowepro even with the extra weight of the bag itself and my 10-20 which I could not carry in the Lowepro. The styling couldn't be more different from most camera bags but nothing hides the sheer bulk of all that padding. Fully loaded it's about 20cm in depth which is unusually thick. I'm not sure what the public's perception is of "thick" bags but if I see a bag like this I normally think of cameras or laptops so there's no way to completely hide the fact that you are carrying valuables. It does a lot better than most though that vibrant green is even more vibrant in the sunlight which might attract some attention.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the bag!

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Graham
Flickr