48 22 June 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
ManfrottoNoregCameraBackpack-30
l£129lwww.manfrotto.co.uk
Manfrotto’snoregbackpackis aimedat
thosewho’dlikeanadaptablebagsuitable
foraccommodatinga medium-sizedDsLr
ormirrorlesscamerawitha coupleof lenses,
whileofferinga convenientspaceabovethe
cameracompartmentforwaterproofs,foodor
otheritemsyou’dliketotakeona shorttrip.It’s
similartotheMindshiftUltraLightDual36Lin
thewaytheinternalcameracompartmentcan
beremovedandturnedintoa smallshoulder
bag;howeverit’snotasdeeporspacious,and
lacksananti-slipshoulderpad.If youdon’t
requirethecameracompartmentor15in
laptopsleeve,bothcanberemoved,allowingit
tobeusedlikeanyconventionalbackpack.
theoveralldesignhasbeenwellthought
through.there’sa tripodholderandlarge
pocketonthefront,twozippedpocketson
theinsidethatareidealforthinaccessorieslike
filtersormemorycards,andit’ssuppliedwitha
raincover.theshoulderstrapsat thebackof
thelaptopcompartmentandrearof thebag
arewellpadded,andalthoughthebaglacksa
waiststrap,it hasanelasticatedsternumstrap.
thematerials,stitchingandoverallfinishareof
a veryhighstandard,withtheredpullstothe
externalzipsofferingquickentrytoboththe
loweranduppersectionsof thebag.the
exteriorfabricis water-repellentanda rain
coverforboththebackpackandremovable
compartmentis providedforextraprotection
whenexposedtotherainforlongperiods.
If you’renotoneforlumpingaroundvast
amountsof photokitandwanta backpackthat
givesyoutheflexibilitytocarryeverydayitems
whileoutwalkingorexploring,the noreg 30 is
a backpackworthlooking
at.It’sessentiallytwobags
in one,andtheluxuryof
themodularsystemgives
youtheoptiontocustomise
it forwhateveryou might
have planned.MindshiftUltralight Dual 36L
l£167lsnapperstuff.com
theULtraLIghtDual36Lis oneof the
smalleroptionsin thisround-upandfeatures
a removableinsertmuchliketheManfrotto
noregthatcanbewornasa shoulderbagor
beltpack.theideais thatit allowsyoutoleave
thebackpackat yourbasewhenyou’dliketo
travellightandcarryjustyourcameraanda
selectionof lenses.alternatively,youcantake
outthecameracompartmentandusethe
entirebackpackforcarryingpersonalgear.
It’sdeepenoughtoaccommodatea DsLr
ormirrorlesscamerawitha 70-200mmf/2.8
lensattached,comessuppliedwitha high-
qualityshoulderstrapandis pulledoutand
reinsertedintothebackpackviaa panelat the
side.thissidepanelhasa dualpurposeand
providesquickaccesstokitwithouthavingto
putthebagdownonwet,muddygroundwhen
you’reusingit asa backpack.Withthelower
halfdedicatedtocamerakit,it leavesa good
spaceaboveforclothes,foodandotheritems.
there’sa spaciousinternalzippedmeshpocket
foraccessories,plusa dedicatedcompartment
fora 15inlaptopor3Lhydrationreservoir.the
drawstringandfold-overcoverprovidesgreat
protectionforpersonalitems.If yougetcaught
outin a shower,a raincoveris providedfor
boththebackpackanddaypack.other
featuresincludea deepstretchsidepocket
that’shandyforcarryinga waterbottleand
thereareintegratedstrapsbehindcoloured
tabsforattachinga tripodormonopod.
Withwell-ventilatedpadding,a thickwaist
strapandadjustablesternumstrap,there’sno
discomfortwhenfullyloaded.theYKKzips
glidesmoothlyandtheexteriorfabrichasa
durablewater-repellentcoating. the downside
is thattheinternalpadding
toprotectcamerakitisn’t
particularlythickandmore
paddedinsertsareneeded
topreventcamerasand
lenses from shifting about.Lowepro Powder
BP 5 0 0AW
l£260lwww.lowepro.com
WItha 55Lcapacityandweighing2.4kg,this
is thelargestandheaviestbagin thisround-up.
Whatit hasin itsfavouris a deep,spacious
cameracompartmentthataccommodatesa
pro-specDsLrwith70-200mmf/2.8lens
anda batterygripattached,withroomtospare
foruptofourextralenses.thecameraboxis
removableanda dividercanbestrippedoutif
you’dliketouseit solelyforcarryingnon-
photo-relateditems.tokeepthecamerabox
secureyou’llfindfourlugsthatfeedthrough
elasticatedloops.thezip-aroundcovercanbe
stowedawayforfastaccesstoyourkitviathe
rearpanel,andthehugeYKKzipsmakelight
workof quicklyaccessingkitorsecuringit.
abovethecameracompartmentthere’s
amplespacefora fewdays’worthof clothes,
waterproofsorspareshoes,withdedicated
spacefora 15inlaptopandpersonalgear
suchasheadphones,smartphone,keys,wallet,
sunglassesandothersmallaccessories.there’s
a spaciouspocketat thefronttoo,butit is a bit
lightoninteriorzippedpockets.a drawstring
helpssealthetopcompartmentshutandthe
flip-overtopcoverhasgood-sizedpocketsfor
essentialdocumentsorothersmallitems.at
thebottomyougetanall-weathercoverthat’s
permanentlyattachedsoit can’tbemisplaced.
Whereasononesideyougetanelasticated
sidepocketthat’sperfectforholdinga water
bottle,ontheotheryougeta pull-outpocket
toattacha tripodthat’ssecuredwithstraps.
theshoulderstraps,elasticatedsternum
strapandbrightorangewaiststrapsdistribute
theweightof heavycontentseffectivelyandit’s
amazinghowmuchkityoucansqueeze in. the
capacityforthepriceis
fantastic;theonlydownside
is thatit exceedsbudget
airlinescarry-onbaggage
allowancesin termsof
height,whichcouldforce
you to put it in the hold.
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