I use a Peak Design sling 10ltr. Carries E-M1 and x3 video cams. Same reason as you, for access. Bag also doubles for business / EDC as it can handle 13” MacBook. Only use Backpack for hiking / wild camp gear. 😊👍
Only one answer for me: backpack. If I carry a shoulder bag it gives me a bad back, so bad that I have had to cancel travel in the past. A backpack balances the load (but you must use both straps, and not hang it off one shoulder) and reduces the chances of me getting a bad back. Also, I try to carry the minimum of gear that I think I will need, and these days I have two or three different sized Tenba BYOB inserts that I put inside a regular walking backpack, to use depending on what gear I will be taking. As you get older, health factors can trump all other considerations...
I use the Think tank retrospective 40 leather/pinestone and travel a lot with it... Very attractive and the best I ever found... Thanks for this nice video!
Either bag has some plus and minus, it really depend of your shooting gears, time of travelling, and environment..ie : you’ll need a backpack to carry lots of gears or big and heavy camera gears or when you travelling full day covering miles of walking, best you need a backpack with easy access. For a place like downtown Tokyo, I suggest use shoulder bag, you will be appreciate and less annoying than carry a backpack. Thats why I always own both 😄👌🏻
Primary for me is a shoulder bag.. Only with the strap going across my chest, not just over the shoulder the bag is hanging from.. I find it this to be quite comfortable, and can always swap sides if needed.. I can access gear quickly, and I can easily swing it behind me when I need it out of the way.. It's also convenient to remove when I sit down, and less bulky.. No padded double straps to deal with! That being said, if I'm going off trail hiking or camping, it's a backpack, for sure.. I like a (medium) sling style for skiing, as I can quickly slip it around front, to get on/off, and sit safely on a chair lift.. PS: A bit of a shill for Manfrotto, eh? LOL..
Depends on the situation. Street, hiking, traveling, amount of equipment, etc. Lowepro makes a backback that you can turn to the front for quick access.
I use two small shoulder pouches. One contains a basic kit. The other contains extra lenses. Some times I take just the basic kit sometimes both - no repacking is needed. One or both can be easily slipped inside another bag - e.g a bike bag. They both have removable straps and can be threaded on a rucksack hip belt for hiking. If I wear them both across my chest, but on different shoulders, weight is evenly distributed and they are both easily accessible for changing lenses on the go. Not sure if I'm fashionable, but it works very well.
One great tiff with a shoulder bag is while travelling. Its a pain esp with long walks at airports. Camera Shoulder bags are as big as backpacks in dimensions but hold less than half as much as stuff. I regret buying one myself as I always feel the need for a backpack becoz I am mostly travelling.
backpack for me personally. shoulder bags I have, but they wear me down if I bring too much gear. If I need just one spare lens, I find it easier to just bring a second camera and forego the hassle of lens changing altogether. If on a longer hike, I might bring a chromebook along to do photo editing and uploading while on the road, which again, just adds to the weight. Shoulder bags work well for weddings, where appearance matters more and I can stash the bag in a corner when not needing it on me.
Peak Design travel backpack and some other bags have side access. Just swing bag around on one shoulder and you have camera and lens access. I love my peak design bag with camera cube.
I have a Crumpler medium shoulder bag which is a bit on the heavy side. For street shooting I prefer a Kata light pic 60DL, not very protective but very very light. I found that the Crumpler insert fits the bottom of my regular "working man" urban backpack though, so I repurposed it. Bonus, it doesn't look like a camera bag at all and it's very handy to carry a lot of gear on vacations (a lot in MFT terms).
I understand having access. I use a backpack and I also use primes with my D90. But using a DSLR means I need to distribute the weight. Tried the shoulder bag, maybe I'll reconsider when I upgrade to MFT ;)
I agree that with FF gear, shoulder bags are a big no-no due to weight. Even for MFT systems, I use the shoulder bag when travelling, but when I am out shooting street photography for the day, I'll take a small light shoulder bag, 2 cameras (E-PM1 and E-M10 with 14/19/25mm prime lenses) and all that weigh less than 1.5 kg!
I think, if caring not much, shoulder bag is even more comfortable. The back doesn't get sweaty, and you can move it, change the way weight is distributed on your body. But it has to be really light, say a M4/3 camera, mobile phone, documents, a bottle of water.
This is such an beautiful video and well filmed 🤍 I am more of a shoulder bag because of the same first reason you mentioned because I can get access to anything more faster and easier + another random reason but a very important one for me is I feel awkward wearing a backpack I don't know why I think it's Just not for me.. but I like the way it looks in general but not on me I just feel awkward.. both of bags in the video are so cool! Thanks for the beautiful video^^
you know I think a smallish sling is ergonomically preferrable to either choice that you mention....With a backpack you tend to take too much and with a shoulder bag...inevitably your shoulder ends up getting sore or you constantly shift from one shoulder to the other....Cheers from British Columbia
Ok I will through my two pence in ha ha I use a canvas WWII Boeing shoulder bag if going somewhere and you dont wont to look kije a pack animal, I use my sling bag for movingaround like tourist sights airshow and such and a backpack when I need the GEAR and it mostly lives in the car boot that I ca eturn to there really enjoyed this thanks stay safe see ya
Never used anything other than a shoulder bag (Billingham - various) for ease of use/access. I don't carry that much stuff so pain not an issue. Backpack would be too much of a faff for me.
Hmmm two complaints about shoulder bag : can't carry a lot and if we use it too long, one of our shoulder gets weary. Most of the time i use backpack Lowepro Protactic 350
It all depends on what kit you’re carrying and what you’re shooting. So for weddings I will use a backpack to carry all my gear to a location then setup my camera on a monopod and then use a very small shoulder bag for batteries and a couple of small primes. If I’m in tourist mode and don’t have a location to decant my gear from the rucksack to small shoulder bag then I will take a rucksack and only take what I need to save my back and not get tired. Sometimes I’ve even just taken my camera using peak design strap and carry the prime(s] in my pocket. No need for tripod as IBIS does the rest. (No bag). It all depends but no bag is a lot freer sometimes.
When I use shoulder bags, my back and elbows are painful very quickly. No problem with a good backpack. If your back is not very good, backpack is the way to go. And I like backpack because you have your both hands free and nothing who can come on the way when you shoot. But problem is your back can be very sweater easily... 😅
I prefer to backpack Because it’s have more space to put other stuff within only one bag. (I’m using 1 mrl and 2 prime) Moreover, it’s feel more comfortable when moving around a place that have a lot of people. Some backpack is also easy to access at the side just like lowepro fastpack (as fas as I remember).
Yay Tracey ;-) Shoulder bag for me but, I dont carry gear about in a bag. I use a bright red Crumpler Doozie. In the removeable padded camera insert I divide off one partition and use the other partition pad to add padding to the bottom of it. This partition is big enough to take my Nikon D700 with lens but usually has either my Panasonic GX9 or Leica TL2. The other side of the partition is a glory hole that takes my makeup bag, comb, umbrella, glasses case and any other rubbish i might be carrying for a day in town. I only take one camera and i decide what lens to fit before I leave home. If I decide I must have a second lens i stick it in a CCS padded bag and throw it on top. Two compartments inside on the back take my phone and my purse. The slot in front of them takes my HP Spectre x360 7i 13inch Ultrabook. If i am at the Zoo with the GX9 fitted with the Olympus 45mm f1.8 then I slip my gorgeous red Olympus Mju TG-3 Tough into the rear zipped compartment to provide a zoom lens; its in its natural environment in the tropical house he he. Front zipped compartment takes keys, train tickets, magnifying glass, pens etc. The crumpler is absolutely lightweight, waterproof and looks stunning; I love it ;-)
Using Lowepro 400AW backpack. I have a bad shoulder making carrying a lot of gear painful by the end of the day even though it's M43. Backpack is just easier for me. Also, I do not have to take it off to access my gear.
I use a low pro sling back (an AWP 300 I think) when needing more gear and it spends a lot of time in the boot of my car and decant what I need into a Billingham One, I also have a Peak Design 15 LTR sling with my EM5 MK2 and 4 of the OLY 1.8 primes for trips out within the family, at the end of the day we are all different and have our own mix of gear, I like to travel light which was my main reason for switching to MFT, on another note why is the Olympus backpack so bloody expensive, is it handmade by pixies or somthing using thread made from the main of a unicorn?
I store my gear in a shoulder bag that I carry to my car where I keep a smaller shoulder bag and a Lowepro Streetline 140 sling style bag that I transfer what I feel I'll need while out and about...
From a practical point of view - easy eaxcess for sure and that cool factor, shoulder bags are always attractive and you sort of feel more at ease when your gear, espically if it is Leica is 'by your side' at a glance range so to speak. I dont like how it slops on your hip or starts swinging as you walk, that said you can always swing it out to your back while walking around, I personally have a brown boxy leather bag - made by contax in the 70s I beleive, opens like a doctors bag and can stay open on its own.
The perfect camera bag, is not one bag. Thats why so many people have more than one. I use both. I have just bought a Paul Marius “Le petit reporter”. It’s a tiny leather shoulder bag. I bought it because it doesn’t look like a camera bag. Eventhough it is small, I can put more in it than is comfortable to wear. It is not a rainy day shoulder bag. If I need to bring more or in bad weather I use a backpack. I may bring both. Transport the gear in my backpack and then pack a smaller set for the day in my shoulder bag
I’ve bought backpacks over the years but rarely used them. But honestly it’s the same with the shoulder bag. I was more than likely to use a pelican case and just roll it behind me. I have to say at the 6:40 Mark I did like that You could extend the camera section out. I may have to look at this one
Have you seen the shoulder bag co-produced by Olympus and Manfrotto? It is beautiful and I would like to buy it, but I think it is only sold in the UK at the moment and I am from Malaysia.
Get a backpack that only opens within the shoulder straps as that is theft proof. Thieves cannot access the camera gear unless the backpack is taken off the shoulder.
But then again, caring always that same weight in a backpack - it's also quite unhealthy over time. However you turn it, it's not like human body was meant to carry all that stuff a lot of us carry around nowadays.
I’ve settled on my favourite 2 brands. Billingham for street walkaround shoulder bags, Fuji shooter with Hadley Digital, S3, F1.4 & Hadley Pro depending on gear load but keep it light. Think Tank backpacks are superb, rugged & comfortable for travel carry & landscape, Trifecta 8, Urban Disguise 15 & Streetwalker Harddrive Pro ( used as a non photo clothes carry ) satisfy my needs. Just got to sell my other 9 bags now 😂 ( I don’t have a wife so I can get away with my bag fetish )
Backpack is comfortable but geeky, shoulder bag for style but back pain
Simply put.
thanks for sharing .... I like the shoulder bags .
If I'm moving home, I take a backpack... but if I'm going out for work, shoulder bag is my go2 option.
I use a Peak Design sling 10ltr. Carries E-M1 and x3 video cams. Same reason as you, for access. Bag also doubles for business / EDC as it can handle 13” MacBook. Only use Backpack for hiking / wild camp gear. 😊👍
Oh, I love both
If I'm out in nature a backpack, but in Urban environments definitely a shoulder bag.
Only one answer for me: backpack. If I carry a shoulder bag it gives me a bad back, so bad that I have had to cancel travel in the past. A backpack balances the load (but you must use both straps, and not hang it off one shoulder) and reduces the chances of me getting a bad back.
Also, I try to carry the minimum of gear that I think I will need, and these days I have two or three different sized Tenba BYOB inserts that I put inside a regular walking backpack, to use depending on what gear I will be taking.
As you get older, health factors can trump all other considerations...
I use the Think tank retrospective 40 leather/pinestone and travel a lot with it... Very attractive and the best I ever found... Thanks for this nice video!
Great vlog and discussion!!👍👍👍
Either bag has some plus and minus, it really depend of your shooting gears, time of travelling, and environment..ie : you’ll need a backpack to carry lots of gears or big and heavy camera gears or when you travelling full day covering miles of walking, best you need a backpack with easy access. For a place like downtown Tokyo, I suggest use shoulder bag, you will be appreciate and less annoying than carry a backpack. Thats why I always own both 😄👌🏻
I do use both these days too. Shoulder bag is still my preference as it's quick especially when I am doing street/travel photos.
Primary for me is a shoulder bag.. Only with the strap going across my chest, not just over the shoulder the bag is hanging from.. I find it this to be quite comfortable, and can always swap sides if needed.. I can access gear quickly, and I can easily swing it behind me when I need it out of the way.. It's also convenient to remove when I sit down, and less bulky.. No padded double straps to deal with! That being said, if I'm going off trail hiking or camping, it's a backpack, for sure.. I like a (medium) sling style for skiing, as I can quickly slip it around front, to get on/off, and sit safely on a chair lift.. PS: A bit of a shill for Manfrotto, eh? LOL..
Depends on the situation. Street, hiking, traveling, amount of equipment, etc. Lowepro makes a backback that you can turn to the front for quick access.
I use two small shoulder pouches. One contains a basic kit. The other contains extra lenses. Some times I take just the basic kit sometimes both - no repacking is needed. One or both can be easily slipped inside another bag - e.g a bike bag. They both have removable straps and can be threaded on a rucksack hip belt for hiking. If I wear them both across my chest, but on different shoulders, weight is evenly distributed and they are both easily accessible for changing lenses on the go. Not sure if I'm fashionable, but it works very well.
One great tiff with a shoulder bag is while travelling. Its a pain esp with long walks at airports.
Camera Shoulder bags are as big as backpacks in dimensions but hold less than half as much as stuff. I regret buying one myself as I always feel the need for a backpack becoz I am mostly travelling.
backpack for me personally. shoulder bags I have, but they wear me down if I bring too much gear. If I need just one spare lens, I find it easier to just bring a second camera and forego the hassle of lens changing altogether. If on a longer hike, I might bring a chromebook along to do photo editing and uploading while on the road, which again, just adds to the weight. Shoulder bags work well for weddings, where appearance matters more and I can stash the bag in a corner when not needing it on me.
Backpack - definitely: for the same reasoas Tracy But finding THE bag, is hard. Do like the manfrotto backpack, because of the removable bag. Thanks!
Yes, hence I have lots, and my wife screams about it all the time LOL
Peak Design travel backpack and some other bags have side access. Just swing bag around on one shoulder and you have camera and lens access. I love my peak design bag with camera cube.
I have a Crumpler medium shoulder bag which is a bit on the heavy side. For street shooting I prefer a Kata light pic 60DL, not very protective but very very light. I found that the Crumpler insert fits the bottom of my regular "working man" urban backpack though, so I repurposed it. Bonus, it doesn't look like a camera bag at all and it's very handy to carry a lot of gear on vacations (a lot in MFT terms).
I understand having access. I use a backpack and I also use primes with my D90. But using a DSLR means I need to distribute the weight. Tried the shoulder bag, maybe I'll reconsider when I upgrade to MFT ;)
I agree that with FF gear, shoulder bags are a big no-no due to weight. Even for MFT systems, I use the shoulder bag when travelling, but when I am out shooting street photography for the day, I'll take a small light shoulder bag, 2 cameras (E-PM1 and E-M10 with 14/19/25mm prime lenses) and all that weigh less than 1.5 kg!
I think, if caring not much, shoulder bag is even more comfortable. The back doesn't get sweaty, and you can move it, change the way weight is distributed on your body. But it has to be really light, say a M4/3 camera, mobile phone, documents, a bottle of water.
Big backpack and a smaller shoulder bag. Horses for courses, pick the bag for the day as you see you will need it. Have both, only use one at a time🙀
I like using a backpack more than a shoulder bag.. basically it is a shoulder bag with 2 straps.
This is such an beautiful video
and well filmed 🤍
I am more of a shoulder bag because of the same first reason you mentioned because I can get access to anything more faster and easier + another random reason but a very important one for me is I feel awkward wearing a backpack I don't know why I think it's Just not for me.. but I like the way it looks in general but not on me I just feel awkward..
both of bags in the video are so cool!
Thanks for the beautiful video^^
you know I think a smallish sling is ergonomically preferrable to either choice that you mention....With a backpack you tend to take too much and with a shoulder bag...inevitably your shoulder ends up getting sore or you constantly shift from one shoulder to the other....Cheers from British Columbia
Ok I will through my two pence in ha ha I use a canvas WWII Boeing shoulder bag if going somewhere and you dont wont to look kije a pack animal, I use my sling bag for movingaround like tourist sights airshow and such and a backpack when I need the GEAR and it mostly lives in the car boot that I ca eturn to there really enjoyed this thanks stay safe see ya
I prefer a backpack but do use a small shoulder bag on occasion.
I too prefer shoulder bags but I am still searching for a perfect one.
Never used anything other than a shoulder bag (Billingham - various) for ease of use/access. I don't carry that much stuff so pain not an issue. Backpack would be too much of a faff for me.
Shoulder bag. I shoot street events & need ultra quick access. & yeah, my neck & back hate me for it. Old F 64 bag for me.
Hmmm two complaints about shoulder bag : can't carry a lot and if we use it too long, one of our shoulder gets weary. Most of the time i use backpack Lowepro Protactic 350
It all depends on what kit you’re carrying and what you’re shooting. So for weddings I will use a backpack to carry all my gear to a location then setup my camera on a monopod and then use a very small shoulder bag for batteries and a couple of small primes. If I’m in tourist mode and don’t have a location to decant my gear from the rucksack to small shoulder bag then I will take a rucksack and only take what I need to save my back and not get tired. Sometimes I’ve even just taken my camera using peak design strap and carry the prime(s] in my pocket. No need for tripod as IBIS does the rest. (No bag). It all depends but no bag is a lot freer sometimes.
When I use shoulder bags, my back and elbows are painful very quickly. No problem with a good backpack. If your back is not very good, backpack is the way to go.
And I like backpack because you have your both hands free and nothing who can come on the way when you shoot. But problem is your back can be very sweater easily... 😅
I prefer to backpack
Because it’s have more space to put other stuff within only one bag.
(I’m using 1 mrl and 2 prime)
Moreover, it’s feel more comfortable when moving around a place that have a lot of people.
Some backpack is also easy to access at the side just like lowepro fastpack (as fas as I remember).
but for some backpack like peak design, it does have quick access from both sides so you can grab camera or change lens quickly.
Yay Tracey ;-) Shoulder bag for me but, I dont carry gear about in a bag. I use a bright red Crumpler Doozie. In the removeable padded camera insert I divide off one partition and use the other partition pad to add padding to the bottom of it. This partition is big enough to take my Nikon D700 with lens but usually has either my Panasonic GX9 or Leica TL2. The other side of the partition is a glory hole that takes my makeup bag, comb, umbrella, glasses case and any other rubbish i might be carrying for a day in town. I only take one camera and i decide what lens to fit before I leave home. If I decide I must have a second lens i stick it in a CCS padded bag and throw it on top. Two compartments inside on the back take my phone and my purse. The slot in front of them takes my HP Spectre x360 7i 13inch Ultrabook. If i am at the Zoo with the GX9 fitted with the Olympus 45mm f1.8 then I slip my gorgeous red Olympus Mju TG-3 Tough into the rear zipped compartment to provide a zoom lens; its in its natural environment in the tropical house he he. Front zipped compartment takes keys, train tickets, magnifying glass, pens etc. The crumpler is absolutely lightweight, waterproof and looks stunning; I love it ;-)
Using Lowepro 400AW backpack. I have a bad shoulder making carrying a lot of gear painful by the end of the day even though it's M43. Backpack is just easier for me. Also, I do not have to take it off to access my gear.
I used to sweat easily.. and a backpack would be wet .. sling bag are only wet at the strap
I use a low pro sling back (an AWP 300 I think) when needing more gear and it spends a lot of time in the boot of my car and decant what I need into a Billingham One, I also have a Peak Design 15 LTR sling with my EM5 MK2 and 4 of the OLY 1.8 primes for trips out within the family, at the end of the day we are all different and have our own mix of gear, I like to travel light which was my main reason for switching to MFT, on another note why is the Olympus backpack so bloody expensive, is it handmade by pixies or somthing using thread made from the main of a unicorn?
I store my gear in a shoulder bag that I carry to my car where I keep a smaller shoulder bag and a Lowepro Streetline 140 sling style bag that I transfer what I feel I'll need while out and about...
From a practical point of view - easy eaxcess for sure and that cool factor, shoulder bags are always attractive and you sort of feel more at ease when your gear, espically if it is Leica is 'by your side' at a glance range so to speak. I dont like how it slops on your hip or starts swinging as you walk, that said you can always swing it out to your back while walking around, I personally have a brown boxy leather bag - made by contax in the 70s I beleive, opens like a doctors bag and can stay open on its own.
wait was that the tag hanging off his scarf? loaners eh?
looking good though! haha
oh wait, its a table cloth!
The perfect camera bag, is not one bag. Thats why so many people have more than one. I use both. I have just bought a Paul Marius “Le petit reporter”. It’s a tiny leather shoulder bag. I bought it because it doesn’t look like a camera bag. Eventhough it is small, I can put more in it than is comfortable to wear. It is not a rainy day shoulder bag. If I need to bring more or in bad weather I use a backpack. I may bring both. Transport the gear in my backpack and then pack a smaller set for the day in my shoulder bag
I’ve bought backpacks over the years but rarely used them. But honestly it’s the same with the shoulder bag. I was more than likely to use a pelican case and just roll it behind me. I have to say at the 6:40 Mark I did like that You could extend the camera section out. I may have to look at this one
Have you seen the shoulder bag co-produced by Olympus and Manfrotto? It is beautiful and I would like to buy it, but I think it is only sold in the UK at the moment and I am from Malaysia.
Wotoncraft Shoulder Bag - big $$ but amazing quality.
Backpack for me : ) but I guess if I am traveling I want to keep things in front of me and not get robbed
Get a backpack that only opens within the shoulder straps as that is theft proof. Thieves cannot access the camera gear unless the backpack is taken off the shoulder.
Pro backpack with access from the back of it. Safe from being robbed but fast to access on your own because u don't need to lay it down.
Shoulder bag combined backpack = medium or big waistbag with shoulderstrap , 😁
Shouldn't the name be Red 43 photography? 😁
Caring quite a bit of weight, on a shoulder bag - my guess it's quite unhealthy for the spine.
But then again, caring always that same weight in a backpack - it's also quite unhealthy over time. However you turn it, it's not like human body was meant to carry all that stuff a lot of us carry around nowadays.
Shoulder bag for me....
You can crick your neck and other muscles trying to take off a backpack on public transport. Yeah it's all about access.
OK, are you ready? Are you reading this? YOU CAN GET A SECOND STRAP AND CONNECT IT TO YOUR SHOULDER BAG!!! YOU'RE WELCOME!
I’ve settled on my favourite 2 brands. Billingham for street walkaround shoulder bags, Fuji shooter with Hadley Digital, S3, F1.4 & Hadley Pro depending on gear load but keep it light. Think Tank backpacks are superb, rugged & comfortable for travel carry & landscape, Trifecta 8, Urban Disguise 15 & Streetwalker Harddrive Pro ( used as a non photo clothes carry ) satisfy my needs. Just got to sell my other 9 bags now 😂 ( I don’t have a wife so I can get away with my bag fetish )
In 5 year's time, you'll be switching to backpacks when your shoulders scream enough!
That only applies to full frame shooters
Killed by wife
What kind of neo-mod garbage is this?
Shoulder bags are only good for light loudouts