(2017) What's in my bag?

*Disclaimer: Peak Design and Incase did not sponsor this blog post. I'm giving my honest, unbiased review of the bags. 

Over the past few years I've switched bags several times. My first "camera bag" was a Herschel backpack with a camera insert. This was difficult to use at times because the draw-strap prevented easy access to my gear. The next bag I purchased was a Billingham satchel. This was perfect for gigs when paired with my Holdfast camera strap. The sling allowed me to access my gear without putting my bag down. As an events photographer I'm constantly changing out lenses; this setup made that process effortless.

Neither bags were suited for travel. When I went to look for my next bag, I wanted three things:

  1. Fit all my gear comfortably
  2. Built-in camera inserts
  3. Included a laptop sleeve

I did a bit of research and found a new backpack that was launched on Kickstarter and was designed for photographers. Peak Design's Everyday backpack seemed to fit the criteria. I reached out to Peak Design and they were kind enough to send me a 20L Charcoal backpack just in time for my Philippines trip. I did a quick overview of the bag on my Philippines VLOG if you want to see an in-depth review of how I packed all my gear for the trip.

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After using the bag overseas for a few weeks, I came to a few conclusions. While the bag is sleek in design, I wasn't able to store as much gear as I'd like. Peak Design offers a larger 30L bag for an additional $30, but it looked a little large for my taste. So I opted to find a better bag that was suited for international travel. The times where I use my Peak Design bag are for quick day trips where I'm carrying one body, one lens, and a drone. The bag has camera inserts perfect for dividing up my gear and the bag unzips from the sides allowing for quick access.

After a bit of research I found another bag that fit my criteria, Incase's DSLR Pro Pack. A few of my friends had been using their Incase bag for years, so when they released a new version with durable 840D nylon; I knew it was time to pick one up. Incase generously sent me a backpack for review.  At last, a bag I can recommend. For $150 you get a lot of bang for your buck. The bag fits a ton of gear, opens up from the back and has camera inserts for organizing your gear (which are completely customizable). As a independent filmmaker I want to be able to carry as much gear as I can on my trips. This bag allows me to fit my new Sony mirrorless setup with ease! The bag is comfortable and has plenty of small compartments to hold smaller things like batteries and lens caps. This is the bag I'm currently using for international travel.

(Click here to see "Why I switched from Canon to Sony?") 

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